Tag humility

While You Are On the Way

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

The Window That Closed

War never erupts in a vacuum. It grows in the soil of pride. It grows in the silence after warnings. It grows in the stubbornness that refuses to bend even when the ground begins to shake. The headlines coming out of Iran this week are not merely the record of a conflict. They are the final chapters of a story that began long before the first missile left the ground. They show the outcomes of a spiritual law Jesus expressed with unnerving simplicity. “Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him…” (Matthew 5:25).

That phrase, while you are on the way, is the hinge on which this entire moment turns. Jesus was not giving diplomatic advice. He was revealing the way judgment works. There is always a window, a narrow and merciful one, where peace is still possible. A moment where humility can still soften what pride has hardened. A moment where the matter can still be settled before it reaches the judge, the officer, and the prison. Once that window closes, the process takes on a life of its own, and the consequences become the teacher.

The Headlines as Parable

For weeks, diplomats moved back and forth across the region, trying to pull the situation back from the edge. Warnings were issued. Opportunities for de-escalation were offered. Even Iran’s own foreign minister admitted that a deal was close. But instead of humility, there was defiance. Instead of softening, there was boasting. Instead of seeking peace, there was the familiar posture of ideological rigidity—the kind that has toppled empires and buried kings.

And then the dam broke.

Israel and the United States launched coordinated strikes across Iran, hitting missile sites, air-defense systems, and IRGC command centers. Explosions lit the night sky over Tehran. Iran responded with ballistic missiles aimed at Israel and U.S. bases across the Middle East. Air raid sirens wailed in Jerusalem. Airports across the Gulf shut down. Thousands of flights were canceled.

The wages of sin are always paid in human lives, and the innocent often pay the highest price. “For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23).

This is what it looks like when a nation refuses to make peace on the way. The matter is handed over to the judge. The judge hands it to the officer. And the officer carries out the sentence. Jesus’ imagery is not poetic; it is prophetic. It is what we are watching unfold in real time.

Persia’s Prophetic Trajectory

There is another layer here—one the headlines cannot see but Scripture has already spoken. Persia, the ancient name for modern Iran, is not a footnote in biblical prophecy. It is a named participant in the alignments described in Ezekiel 38–39. The nation is drawn into a conflict it cannot control. Its pride becomes the very snare that tightens around its feet. The current moment does not fulfill that prophecy, but it moves along the same trajectory. It reveals the same spiritual posture. It exposes the same refusal to bow when God extends the offer of peace. “Let them make peace with Me… yes, let them make peace with Me.” (Isaiah 27:5).

There are three sides to every argument: yours, mine, and God’s—and His is the only one that matters. Nations tell their stories. Leaders craft their narratives. Commentators choose their angles. But heaven is not confused. God is not taking sides in geopolitical disputes; He is opposing pride wherever it rises. He is resisting arrogance wherever it speaks. He is judging violence wherever it is embraced as policy or identity. He is calling His people to see through His eyes. They should not look through the lenses handed to them by governments, media outlets, or tribal loyalties.

The Consequence of Rejecting Peace

A Watchman does not predict outcomes. A Watchman names patterns. The pattern here is painfully clear. The window for peace was open. Pride closed it. Now the shaking has begun. The question is not which nation is right. The question is what God is saying in the shaking—and whether His people will hear it.

What we are witnessing is not simply a war. It is the consequence of rejecting the Prince of Peace. It is the harvest of choices made long before the first strike. It is the arrival at a destination. Each mile was chosen. Decisions were made one by one. Acts of defiance accumulated, all while the world was still on the way.

Closing Prayer

Father, teach us to walk humbly with You. Give us the wisdom to seek Your face while we are still on the way. Help us find You before the moment of reckoning arrives. Soften our hearts where pride has taken root. Lead us into repentance where we have resisted Your voice. Make us peacemakers in a world that rushes toward conflict. And keep us anchored in Your truth, Your mercy, and Your sovereignty. May we choose humility now, not after judgment has already begun. In Jesus’ name, amen.

A Lesson Inside Goodwill

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

A Discount You Don’t Expect — And a Grace You Don’t Earn

I stopped into Goodwill as I often do. I quickly scanned for Corning Ware. It’s a treasure hunt among the shelves. It’s already a place where everything is marked down, everything affordable, everything priced for people who need a break.

The cashier asked whether I had any additional discounts. Specifically, they asked about a senior discount. I was caught off guard. A discount on top of a discount? At Goodwill?

I laughed and declined. Not because I couldn’t use the savings, but because I know the money helps people who need the opportunity. Still, the moment stayed with me. A discount on something already discounted. A kindness on top of a kindness.

And suddenly, Scripture whispered.

“Grace Upon Grace” — Not Stacked Blessings, But Steady Mercy

John wrote that “from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” This isn’t grace like coupons or bonus points. It is grace in layers.

  • The first grace: God gives eternal life through Christ — the undeserved gift that changes everything.
  • The second grace: God continues to deal with His children patiently. He does so mercifully and with fatherly understanding. He guides them as they stumble through life.

He doesn’t throw a penalty flag every time someone missteps. He doesn’t eject His children from the game when they drift offside. He doesn’t call a foul every time they trip over their own humanity.

Scripture says:

  • He remembers that we are dust.
  • A bruised reed He will not break.
  • His mercies are new every morning.

This is grace upon grace. Not extra grace, but ongoing grace. It is the steady, patient, fatherly mercy of a God. He knows His children will stumble and still chooses to walk with them.

The Goodwill Lesson Hidden in Plain Sight

Goodwill already offers discounted prices. But then the cashier offered another discount — one that was unexpected and unrequested.

That moment became a reminder of how God deals with His people.

  • He saves — that is grace.
  • Then He continues to carry, forgive, restore, and patiently grow — that is grace upon grace.

People don’t always expect it. They don’t always think to ask for it. Sometimes they even decline it because they think they should pay their own way.

But God knows their frame. He knows their weaknesses. He knows their missteps before they make them.

And He chooses mercy anyway.

A Closing Thought

I walked out of Goodwill smiling. It was not because I saved money. It was because I was reminded of a God who gives more mercy than I realize. This happens even when I’m already living inside His grace.

Not stacked blessings. Not bonus coupons. Just a Father who refuses to give up on His children.