Today, we are living through a season that is defined by threatening and uncovering words like pandemic, racism, sex trafficking, conspiracy, and fear. Conversations leave a gritty aftertaste of disunity because stones of anger, shame, arrogance, and pain are thrown with words. Lost control and unbalanced influences have gripped so many individuals in their own world that outbursts, panic attacks, binging shows or food, and escapism are the picture of our weekly if not daily routines. Life is foggy and you are asking yourself, “how do I move forward in such a fog?”

Can I inspire you to leverage the fog rather than be concerned about it?

Let’s take a quick journey to August 22nd, 1776.

My favorite stories from U.S. History are the ones that show God’s providential hand making a way where there wasn’t one to the natural mind. General George Washington and the Continental Army were surrounded at the western end of Long Island (NY) by the British Army, a better trained and better equipped army.

In the night a dense fog settled over both camps and Washington decided to capitalize on the moment. He was able to lead an army of some 9,000 men towards Manhattan and ultimately evacuate without loosing a single soldier.

Later that month, being in a better position to fight, Washington lead his army to victory and as the story goes the Revolutionary War was won and ended years later. The United States was born after a war that lasted eight years.

What I admire about George Washington was his ability to capitalize on something uncertain in battle. Rather than allowing the fog to force him to shrink back or be concerned about their fate General Washington recognized an opportunity to use the fog as a tool. The fog became part of the strategy for ultimate victory!

Today, many of us are living in a fog. We are waiting to hear what our state governments are deciding about education. We are waiting to hear about vaccines but then who will actually get one because there is still a disagreement there! We are hearing of businesses shutting down, spouses and parents abusing loved ones, suicide rates are increasing and the hope of the world has not yet come to take us home.

It is in the dark fog that we hide and the Lord provides a way for us to escape the entrapments of our enemy. Instead of worrying that we can’t see or that we don’t know what we are going to do we can choose to use the fog to our advantage. Ultimately, this may look different for everyone but our purpose is the same. I believe we will get through this together if we stick together. *Not to be confused with thinking the same. I mean sticking together by believing the best of each other when we think differently and becoming the new thing that the Lord is doing in us.

So how do we do that? How do we capitalize on the fog we are experiencing? What is so powerful about the fog we are in? Here are a few thoughts.

1. The fog can build a resolution in us to live by conviction.

2. The fog can teach us to live by faith.

3. The fog can position us to slow down.

4. The fog can provide us the opportunity to get healthy and to live better.

5. The fog can show us a new perspective, one that we are missing.

6. The fog can provide us the opportunity to teach our staff, neighbors, and kids what it means to stick together.

7. The fog can give us a space and time that we may never have again to realign with our purpose.

We can capitalize on the presence of fog when we know what our purpose is and we make choices that keep us in line with that purpose.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

So what is your purpose in this season?

One last thought, sometimes the fog isn’t providential. Sometimes it is a spiritual attack. We rise above that kind of fog through worship.

In 2 Chronicles 20, we see King Jehoshaphat in battle long before George Washington ever was. History shows us what happens when we worship before, during, and after a battle. The king proclaimed a fast for all of Judah. As a part of their strategy, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him as they went out ahead of the army.

When you are faced with a battle and you aren’t sure if the fog is an attack or an advantage know this,

YOU ARE APPOINTED FOR THIS BATTLE!

To get the advantage in a battle where the fog is spiritual fast and worship. Get closer to the Lord.

To fast: Give up a meal and use that time to get into the Word of God. Give up watching that show for a night. Read the Bible and pray with a pastor or friends over the phone.

To worship: Turn on your favorite worship song, stand in the kitchen, stretch your hands high and sing. Do not be concerned if your voice is good or if your kids give you the side eye. Go ahead of the family-army! This is leadership at home. More on leadership at home next week.

Position yourself to see the Lord work on your behalf as he did for the Children of Israel and for the Continental Army. Watch for opportunity then when it comes >>> Take it! Trust that the opportunity in front of you IS FOR YOU to advance in the presence of the fog.

Here is a link to one of my favorite worship playlists right now on iTunes. I hope it will help you see through the fog and draw closer to the Lord in this hour. Your turn! Will you share with me what your favorite worship song is? Just let me know in the comments.

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*Sources linked in the post above.

*If you are wanting to learn how to hear God and how to read the Bible so that it influences your daily life, check out this book. I wrote it to help you discover the power of the Word in your everyday life. Cheers!