“In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will gather the lame; I will assemble the exiles and those I have brought to grief. I will make the lame my remnant.” (Micah 4:6-7)

I love the heading that the NIV uses just before this passage of scripture, “The Lord’s Plan.”  The Lord’s plan is to gather the lame and those that are in spiritual exile and to bring them to Mount Zion where He will teach them by His own hand.

This passage most certainly points to a literal restoration of the nation of Israel after the fall of the two ancient Jewish nations.  But I also see hidden beneath the surface a deeper spiritual metaphor for the people of God.

But first let me say that Israel and its people will always be important to me.  They are God’s people whom He separated to be a great nation of blessing and to be a blessing to all nations.  As I bless Israel, so am I blessed. This is Scriptural.   We must always look for ways to be a blessing to the Jewish nation.  We must not tolerate anti-Semitism in any form because it comes with a great curse on our lives.  Nazi-Germany is still a stench in our nostrils and will always remain so.  This is the fruit of anti-Semitism.

God told His people through Micah that they would be destroyed because they did not keep the covenant that the Lord handed to them through Moses.  But then he says, the Lord will gather you to Himself once again.

Those of us who have suffered greatly outside of Christ know what it means to be lame spiritually.  We know what it is like to have hope stolen from us time and time again.  Before Christ I had no hope.  My hope for prosperity, family, and a good life was robbed from me. Before I came into covenant with God through the blood of the Lamb, my life was lost.

When the hand of Jesus is upon my life, I am blessed.  Everything I put my hand to do is blessed.  My enemies might surround me, accuse me and say all kinds of things falsely about me, but in the end God will promote me and bless me and leave me with a good name in the earth.

As I enter into the place of the cross as a lame man and use that cross to keep myself from stumbling, my feet are set upon the rock which is higher and mightier than I.  Jesus is that rock.  When I hide myself within the cleft of His presence, I am safe.  The cross is a crutch that sustains me.  I need this crutch because I am weak but He is strong.

Many in the world think they are strong on their own strength until their strength fails them.  They mock those who would rely upon Jesus as God.  They will call you weak.  So rather than argue with them, I just come into agreement with them because humility demands I do it.

I will not give strength to their mockery.  I will tell the whole world that I am a lame man needing my God Yahweh to lift me up out of the miry pit.

I am not ashamed of the cross, because it is the power of God to set the captive free.  The wisdom of the mockers of this world is not wisdom for the man of God.  Their wisdom will die with them.  But a man of God is only too happy to tell the whole world that he is weak and lame.  In fact he hides himself in the shelter of God’s wing and knows that no matter what comes he will be safe.

Let this assurance guide you as you fulfil the Lord’s plan for your life.

Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. (Habakkuk 3:2)

I was in New York City two weekends ago ministering with my friend David Yankana.  David is originally from Trinidad but has been living, working and ministering in NYC for about 16 years now.

Before I went I asked David if we could do a tour of Manhattan Island.  I particularly wanted to see the new Freedom Tower that is being rebuilt in the place of the 911 attacks.  This new building actually stands in the same spot as Tower 2 that came crashing down in NYC 12 years ago. 

As I stood there looking up at that great tower a certain foreboding swept over me.  I couldn’t help but see this new tower as a monument to the destruction of that day.

David had not been to that spot in all the years that he had been in the region.  He said it was too difficult to go.  His wife told me that on 9/11 she was on a train crossing the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan on her way to work, when the power was cut to the train.  There was fear that perhaps terrorists might also be attacking the train system, therefore as a precaution power was shut down to the trains.

She had to walk for five hours that day to her home in Queen’s.  She was covered in ashes coming from the towers. She told me that day her sister was actually in the Twin Towers when the first plane hit.  She ran out of the building to safety.

I was eating a meal with David, his wife and members from his church and I asked them what that day was like.  I began to hear stories about how people were led out of the building by angels. 

David told me that Christians who were in the building would have people walk up to them and lead them out, but when they got outside these people were nowhere to be seen.  David said many believe these were angels guiding people to safety.

The above scripture in Habakkuk was prayed in a context where the prophet is looking back at the deeds that God did in Moses’ time.  In so many words he is saying, “I have heard of your deeds of old and your miraculous power.  I have heard how you conquered kings and destroyed nations by that power.  God, do it again in our time, but have mercy when your wrath is being poured out.”

We will certainly see more judgments upon our nations in the coming years, but I pray that in the place where God is making Himself known that a miraculous sound will go out into the earth so that His people understand they are experiencing God’s Glory in the midst of His wrath.

I pray that you will come to understand His supernatural hand of protection, His compassion and mercy when these events begin to occur.  I pray for mercy during wrath for your families so that you will be protected in your nation just as the Israelites were protected when wrath fell on Egypt.

I know that this may seem like a tough word, but better you hear it and know that God will be with you than to go through it with uncertainty.  Now may God bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you always.  Be blessed as you advance toward your destiny.