The Soft War
God’s controversy with men finds its resolution in the sending of the Son, who “took upon him the form of a servant”, submitted to the cross, died for our iniquity – all done in humility. This is the foundation for the soft war – humility. The soft war of the Lord: restoring righteousness, establishing godliness, calling forth togetherness. At its root, an ability made available – an ability to walk in humility, to confront evil with kindness, to undo the works of any enemy with the mind of Christ secretly at work in the inward parts of a Saint.
Our bringing to maturity is a bringing to the humility Christ – for the sake of being able to partake in the soft war. Testimony equals the display of reconciliation. Testimony equals humility and truth intertwined – words are superfluous in such an atmosphere.
Blessed are those who mourn. . . Blessed are the meek. . . Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness. . . Weeping, mourning and hunger are indeed weapons in the soft war. The man or woman who bears this kind of longing becomes a target for contempt and scorn – the combat grows fierce at times. But, it is the tears, the meekness, the beauty of holiness which is under attack, it is “Christ in you” which is under attack. Carnal weapons in the hands of a Saint are in itself a defeat. Ours are weapons of a different nature – belonging to Heaven itself, therefore fitted for a soft war.
He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. Ps 126:6. There is no harvest in the spiritual realm, there is no growth unto maturity in the spiritual realm without tears. There is no reward for the man who abandons his ability to cry out to the Lord. Men who set out for relief from a burden from the Lord will stand without harvest. Men who strive for compensation in difficult times cut themselves off from God’s tempering towards maturity. The man who prays to go free from an inner “Oh”, loses his place in the history of God. A drastic example is given in the Old Testament: A man asked for relief and enlargement. He did not want his “Oh”, his restricted circumstances, to bring him to the position intended for him – God heard him, took away the inner cry and the repressing factors, and the man was never to be heard of again. . .
The soft war consists of a longing for godliness, for holiness, for righteousness, for redemptive ministry, for fellowship – and God creates history by using men’s and women’s tears. God creates history with men and women who dares to take up their cross, dares to allow tension and restrictions to bring forth mature ministry. There is a harvest time coming for every person and fellowship who engages in the soft war.
The man, who has been brought to a seeing of Heaven, will rejoice in awe for ever. The man, who has been made aware of the absence of heavenly conditions in areas and regions nearby, will be made able to bear the burden of the Lord for the deficiency – he will be made able to pray forth a remedy, he will be made able to engage in priestly ministry unto redemptive consequences.
The burden of the Lord, correctly handled, will write heavenly history. Never say no to the burden of the Lord – tears are a precious gift, they alone opens for a harvest time. Never say no the burden of the Lord – it will bring you to a point where the humility of the Lord come into focus and operation, also as a weapon in the hands of the Lord wielded effectively in the soft war.
Lars Widerberg
