Skip to main content

When You Know You're Headed into Battle

I tend to forget that there is so much more to reality than what I can see. When nothing will go the way I intend and I can't seem to do anything the right way and kids seem purposefully awful and everything is just a mess, there truly is more going on than can be seen with human eyes. There are battles everyday. We know Who prevails in the end but the battle for hearts still takes a toll on the lives we lead.

I've realized recently that calm waters isn't all it's cracked up to be. I'm noticing that the waves and the storms that make me cling to Him for dear life have much more use than the hypnotizing facade of floating along all unruffled. If I'm skating by under the radar and Satan has no reason to want to mess with me, then I'm doing something wrong. If I'm doing a good enough job at tearing down my own home that the father of lies doesn't need to assist, I'm in a very dangerous place.


There are times when these battles will be worse than others. The times when we are most vulnerable are usually the times where our intentions are the best, when there is the possibility of furthering His kingdom. The times we can't seem to get it right are usually the times we most need to. So when a child of God steps out, dressed in His armor, intent to see the battle through to the end, she better be ready for what is thrust her way.

To be ready she must be strong. The spirit needs training just as the body does. Bodies get soft when they sit idle. So, too, the spirit grows weak when allowed to be lazy.

So I'm writing to remind myself just what is at stake and why it's been so hard lately. I've been trying to contend all naked and hungry. I'll suit up. I'll pray. I'll fast. I'll live off His word. I'm stepping out. Since I know for Whom I fight, I know it's a battle I will win.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Fill...

Five Minute Friday, early on a Saturday morning, but with a new host, Kate . Same deal: Word lovers write with a prompt for the love and the fun. No edits, grammar police or second guessing. Free writing for five minutes...And the heart of the community is that you visit the other lovely writers, to encourage, to make a new friend. This week is.... Go Fill instead of empty. Give instead of take. Pour and love and lavish. You'll feel empty. But when you frequent the well of the Water that always quenches you are never ever empty. Fill the hearts around with peace. Choose to avoid the chaos that expectations bring. Fill the minds with truth. Remember that the only truth is what is good. Something can be accurate but still not true. Fill the house with love because they won't really remember exactly what you taught them but they will remember how it felt to be there. Fill bodies with strength. Actual food and the infinitely more important Bread of L...

My Father's Daughter

My Father's daughter... this title...if you've read at all you know what Father I am speaking of. Somehow, tonight I feel like that rebellious teenage girl: angry and sad and wanting her father to figure out what's wrong and fix it as I push him away. I want to be rescued. I want to be told through my tears and all the fear that it's all going to be ok. Life has been unexpectedly hard. And also really amazing... when I have the strength and state of mins to step back (way back) and look at what my Father has done.. This last year though. It beat me up. It was unspeakably hard... I guess I still need to process. To move forward I think I need to come back to one of my first loves. Well two of my loves, really: my Father, my Abba, the One I'd call out to in the middle of the night because I always knew He was there. And the other love? Words. I wrote before how writing is the one thing that could ever make sense of the chaos in my mind. I left it for so long and it ...

Keeping the Appointments

Happy 7th Day! It's the first Sabbath of the New Biblical Year and Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits are just around the corner. I thought I'd pop in here and mention the Torah Portion and some info on the Appointed Times in general or on Passover specifically, but I'm feeling led to focus on something off topic... or actually... maybe it's not off topic at all. I've been drawn towards studying the Fruits of the Spirit lately. It's certainly not the first time. For most Bible believers this is a well known passage in Galatians. Years ago I wrote a study on it for my kids. I'll have to dig that out again. But this time, perhaps in readying my heart for Passover, I'm seeing it new and differently. If you look at the end of Galatians 5, you see those familiar verses-- 22 But the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self control; against such there is no law. How many times ...