“Behold, I send you out as a sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you”. Matthew 10:16 NKJV
Have you ever felt like a poor little sheep being sent into a pack of wolves? In Matthew 10, Jesus is sending out his twelve disciples to encourage the lost Jews to be saved. He tells them that there will be those that reject them and even persecute them. He tells them that they must be wise as the serpent and innocent as the dove.
We are told in Genesis 3:1 that the serpent was more cunning or crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. Jesus is telling His disciples to be as wise as the serpent. In Matthew 3:16 and John 1:32 we are told that once Jesus was baptized the Spirit of God descended like a dove and alighted upon Him. Luke 3:22 says, “And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in you I am well pleased.” My study bible says that the dove was used as a symbol for all kinds of virtues in those days. Today we see the dove as a symbol of love. Some even release doves at wedding ceremonies.
We must remember that when we face hardships and tribulations that they are spiritual battles. We are told in Ephesians 6:12 that we do not wrestle with flesh and blood but against the principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places. My friend, if you are a Christian then you are in a heavenly place. If your children are Christians, they are in a heavenly place. The devil does not discriminate. He will attack children and adults alike.
As Christians, we are often sheep being sent into a pack of wolves. We must remember to be wise. This is where knowing God’s Word comes in. James 1:5 says that if any of us lack wisdom, we can simply ask God and He will give it generously without reproach. It’s that simple. The problem is that many of us consider ourselves to be wise on our own. Proverbs 3:7 tells us that this is not so wise and that we should fear the LORD and depart from evil. Ask God for wisdom and discernment. He wants us to be wise when we are dealing with the devil and He will gladly give us wisdom if we will only ask. This is often where we run into trouble, we don’t have because we don’t ask (James 4:2).
The other area where we run into trouble is maintaining our righteousness. By this I don’t mean being indignant or self-righteousness. I mean being in a right relationship with God. I mean imitating Christ (Ephesians 5:1). The dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit in Luke 3:22, it is used as a symbol of love and peace for us today. Jesus commands His disciples to be as innocent as doves. Our job is to love others, even our enemies. He tells them they will be brought before governors and kings for His sake, for testimonies. Our pastor tells us that we may be the only Bible that someone will ever read. When people come against us, this gives us a perfect opportunity to show them the love of Christ. When we respond with wisdom and not with anger and bitterness, we show them something that looks a lot different than what they see in the world. We have an opportunity to show them God’s love. We have an opportunity to show them what true inner peace and joy look like. When they see that we do not respond out of fear or anger, but out of peace and love, they may actually stop and listen. Proverbs 20:3 tells us it is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling. We don’t need to argue or fight because God fights our battles for us. (2 Chronicles 20:15-17).
Finally, Jesus tells them not to worry about what they will say. When we engage in Spiritual battle whatever comes out of our mouths or our fingertips with today’s technology, should be from God. Don’t say something you will later regret or that will cause you even more trouble, pray for God to give you the words to say.
“You will not need to fight this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you…” 2 Chronicles 17. When you do this you are being wise while maintaining your innocence. When God fights your battle, you can’t lose!
Have a great day!