“Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:12b NLT
I want you to get a mental image of two soldiers who have been standing back to back fighting off the enemy day and night, while they wait for their battalion to arrive to give support. During the night they lay down in the trench, side by side, so they can keep warm. A call comes over the radio informing them that help is on the way and they are instructed to lay low until the battalion arrives. At this point they know that all they can do is wait! They pray for safety and they encourage one another to hang on. They are tired and they are weak; physically, mentally, and emotionally. The battle has been long and their strength has run out. So they wait.
At day break they feel the ground tremble and hear the sound of tanks coming over the hill. They sit up and peer over the edge of the trench to see their battalion ascending over the hill. Their hearts begin to race because they know that victory is on the horizon! Their once tired and weak bodies are filled with new strength and their spirits are filled with hope! They are no longer alone!
“But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles,they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 NKJ The literal meaning of the word “wait” in this Scripture is “to bind together like a cord”. In order for us to comprehend what “Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken” we have to understand the dynamics of rope and Isaiah 40:31. First, a rope maker knows that the strength of the rope is not in the rope itself. It is in the binding of several cords of rope together. The more cords, the more strength the rope has! Second, as Christians we know that our strength comes from the Lord and that He is the only One who can renew us in times when we are weary and faint!
So “Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken” is a picture of Christ in us, the hope of glory! It is our assurance of the Holy Spirit as our help! And it is fully understanding that God is always for us and never against us! When we are in trouble He sends a battalion of Angels to help us in our time of need just as He did for Jesus after He came out of the Desert of Temptation! (Matthew 4:11)
“Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.” (Psalm 91:9-16)
In regards to ourselves this means that we make the Lord our refuge and our dwelling place! We remind ourselves that we are not alone in the battle of life! When we feel the temptation of evil crouching down on us; we reach out to fellow soldiers in the Army of God and ask them to pray for us in our times of weakness. We give the Holy Spirit His rightful place in our lives as our helper and we submit ourselves to His authority. This enables us to allow God to will and work according to His good pleasure in our lives! (Philippians 2:13) Doing all these things sets our minds on things above and not on earthly things which enables us to view ourselves and the fallen soldier through the eyes of Jesus Christ, and not through the eyes of man!
In regards to the fallen soldiers this means that we pray for them and wait for the Lord to deliver them! We don’t judge them or criticize them. When we get weary in the waiting we remind each other that victory belongs to the Lord and that our prayers avail much! We lay down in peace at night knowing that it is just a matter of time until the Holy Spirit helps them in their time of weakness! Until that happens, it is our responsibility to pray and wait just like the soldiers in the trenches do as they wait for the battalion to ascend over the hill! We set our focus, not on their actions, but on the power of Christ in them, the hope of glory! When we do this our minds become prepared to receive them when they come back into a relationship with Christ. And when they step foot into our churches we will be able to love them with a Christ centered love and give them the support they need! Let us put off all judgment against ourselves and the fallen soldiers and let us be unified as a triple-braided cord through the power of the Holy Spirit!
Prayer: It is a time to pray for a full understanding of these passages of Scripture. It is time for us to pray for the body of Christ to become a unified body, braided together with the Holy Spirit, so we will become strong in the battle against the enemy. Spend time meditating on the Word and ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom as Solomon did and watch and see as the Lord gives you more than you could ever think or imagine!
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