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My guy WASN’T the only scoundrel. Humph. Imagine that.
You may chuckle, but I’m telling you, this was a revelation to me, courtesy of the Lord Jesus!
The adversary of our very souls will always try to convince us that we are alone in whatever situation and/or struggle we are going through. I thought I was alone; The only one who had experienced such a cruel and heartless deception. But now, as many others have shared their stories with me, I know without doubt that I am not alone. Never was. Just deceived – again. Honey, the mean ole devil wants to isolate us so that he can whisper doubt, fear and discouragement in our ears. He wants our undivided attention so that we will continue to think about the things that hurt us, disappoint us and discourage us. That’s the sweet spot for our enemy. If he can get us feeling that low, then he can continue to kick us in the gut.
And that’s why we have to do better.
We, in our grief, will often times turn inward. We want to be alone with our sadness. We want to crawl up on our beds and just lay there, being baptized with our tears. We find comfort in taking off any presentable clothes, putting on our jammies and laying on the couch, watching Lifetime Movies about other scorned and deceived women, with our Kleenex box in hand. The kindred of the hurt and helpless lures us. Don’t let it.
Open the blinds and window dressings; let the LIGHT shine in and learn to RESIST the attacks of the enemy!
I don’t know what has happened to you. And I’m too bored with my own story to tell it again regarding what happened to me a few years back. The details just don’t matter anymore. What does matter is knowing who is behind it. And that’s the devil. Christian sister, know this, people can be used for good or for evil. And sometimes, deceptively, the evil masquerades around looking like it’s good. That’s why we have to be perceptive. But that’s another post for another day.
For now, just know that when you have a "hurt" or something is beating you down, don’t crawl into bed right off with the bon-bons, potato chips and Diet Coke. Stop long enough and think about who is behind it and decide right then and there who is going to get the victory in the spiritual battle that you are about to fight.
If you want to concede, then just crawl into bed, and call up a bonafide prayer warrior to help you. You can do better than this, but if that's where you are on your journey, at least turn to a mature Christian for help. But if you want to fight and stomp that mean joker in the head, then rally your spirit and get down on your knees and pray to the Father who sees. Thank you Lord for the privilege! Know that you are not alone in what you are about to battle. Know that since God is for you, then the world against you still doesn’t stand a chance. And know that God wants you to have life and have it more abundantly. He does not want you lounging in your pit of despair. Don't get comfortable there!
Fight for your peace. I know that sounds strange, but just do it. And if by chance, you get knocked down, that’s alright, get back up. You may be down but you don’t have to be out. To borrow a phrase from my pastor, Reverend Daniel Sanders, that got me through some tough times, “you can’t lose if you don’t quit.” When you get tired, call for some godly reinforcements, but don’t give up. Don’t quit. Fight on your knees in prayer. Fight with your worship words to the air. Set the atmosphere for victory and you will defeat the adversary. Resist him and he'll flee. You can do it, because as a child of God, you are never alone. You have a Comforter, the Holy Spirit dwelling in you.
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” – 1Peter 5:8
C'mon Christian. Stand up now. Stand on the Word of God. Stand on His promises. Stand on His truth. It’s time to fight!
Candidly speaking, birds like me more than I like them. There. I've said it.
Maybe I should really say that they like my things more than I like them occupying my things.
I used to think that birds were ultra cool. My dad has always had a fascination with them. His Aunt Sarah did too. Part of the reason that my dad has the career that he does, flying folks around, is because of birds. They flit and fly and well, you know what birds do.
Nevertheless, I always regarded birds as those things that never stood still long enough for me to really study them. You know what I mean. They fly away right when they catch your eye. Carefree, floating on a breeze.
One year, a bird build her nest on my front porch. I thought it was cool to be able to observe the whole egg hatching process so closely. But what I originally thought would be fascinating quickly turned into a chore. In two words, I'll say "bird poop" and you can figure out the rest.
So, imagine my surprise when I found, just this year, a bird hanging out in my outdoor dryer vent. Really? C'mon Mr/Mrs. Bird. That could not have looked like a good place to be. Nevertheless, I called my dad to "rescue" my dryer vent from the bird drama before there was an opportunity for those "two words" to be streaming down the side of my house...again.
I found myself all clear with the birds until last week. Here is what I saw...
...isn't she gorgeous?!
My non-bird-loving-self just adores THIS bird. There she is just perched up on the straw that she's collected from somewhere. Hanging out. Peaceful.
And then it struck me. How many times do we say that we don't like something and then out of the blue, God gives us an opportunity to appreciate it. It's all His work. All His creation. And all for His glory.
Humbling.
So, hopefully, this tree will provide some comfort to its new tenant. And maybe just maybe, I'll get to see one of her offspring soon. God cares about all of His creations. We should too.
The sky was clear and the green light beckoned. It was an early Sunday morning. I began to cross the intersection when mid-way, I looked left. A Ford Explorer, black, with a big grill and passengers in both the front and back, was speeding toward me.
Running through the red light.
I thought, “my God” but before I could get my two-word thought developed, the traffic violating Ford Explorer was slowing down. The driver, applying their brakes. I made it through the intersection safely because of God.
He was protecting me in dangers seen and unseen. Had He not, I would have had the side-curtain airbag getting real personal with my face, along with the grill of the SUV in my side. Undoubtedly I would have been injured. That SUV was rolling faster than the speed limit and coming through the light as if it weren’t there at all. But God! He spared me. Saved me from imminent danger.
I want to encourage you today to not take God’s hand of protection for granted. If you get in a car or other mode of transportation and make it to your intended destination, tell Him “thank you.” Then seek out other ways to let Him know that you appreciate the fact He’s not a God which slumbers or sleeps, but instead, He is always watching over us.
Last week, my church was in revival. I always look forward to this time of year in the life of our church. We have guest speakers who will come in and impart the Word of God to us in their own unique way. This year, we had three speakers over four nights to share with us and as a result, I'm feeling more revived!
I don't know if you can measure a revival's real benefit collectively, but I can speak personally. My personal benefit can be summarized like this: I feel good. I feel strong.
This is not to say that I was feeling "weak" but I DID have some random things that were starting to weight on my soul. Now, I feel lighter. Like my soul can breathe. Isn't that something? I praise God for that. He knew what I was wrestling with and then sent a revivalist to show me the right way to permanently rid myself of that weight. God is good. All the time. And when we look up from our circumstances, taking our eyes off of ourselves, we'll see His goodness.
I won't soon forget this revival. It was right on time. Even thought I didn't realize that until I got my liberty. Wow God. Thank You for loving me like that!
