Divine Difficulties

Each trial we face with Jesus help, choosing to walk with Him through and in it, shapes us closer to his image. Trials are "Divine Difficulties", blessings actually, that He uses to chip away at our old, sinful nature and leave us more and more in His image...If We Walk With Him! It is our choice how we face trials and how we allow them to affect us. They can make us more of a heavenly creature or more of a hellish creature (as C. S. Lewis stated so eloquently). Each day is not stagnant or stationary. It is moving us closer to one or the other. It is FREE WILL/ our choice! Choose wisely and set your mind on Christ. Look for the blessings in and that will come out of trials. See them as opportunities for growth. I'm not saying that it is easy. It is a difficult and deliberate choice we make each day, but the rewards are priceless. Trust that He is good and able to do more than we can see or imagine. (2 Corinthians 4:16-17) Don't focus on the problems, focus on Him. When anxiety and fear creep in and wedge its way into your mind, speak words of truth and praise. Remember it is safer to be in His hands and His will than anywhere else. Don't be afraid to trust in Him. Nothing is impossible with God! (Luke 1:37) (Ephesians 3:20-21).

Here is a cool video about spiritual warfare . It is very powerful. Watch the whole way through. It gets better as it goes. It gave me chills. Sooo true how the enemy and his demons are always luring us with lies of better things to keep us from God and Jesus.

Spiritual Warfare--It's On!

Sorry I haven't written in a while again, but things have been crazy. Like I said last time, Brook broke, well, shattered her knee cap and I just recovered from gall bladder surgery. Two days after my surgery, we had painters come and paint since I was home. Not the brightest idea. A two to three day event turned into 5 days and Jason spent this weekend re-spackling and repainting the bathrooms and laundry rooms since not done well. Ugh. The painters did a great job on the first half of the job, but rushed and did poor job on second half of house. I spent 5 days holed up in my bedroom, trying to hold my pee and not eating until dinner time when they left so not in the way. It was insane. At same time, Sam got sick last Monday and Tuesday and was holed up with me. Today was supposed to be my first day back at work and it snowed so home with kids. Fun for Sam since it is his birthday! Happy Birthday sweet Sammy! But I once again had to cancel clients. To top that off, both Max and Sam started throwing up thirty minutes ago. Here we go again. But.....God is good. Nothing changes that. It took me a long time of trials to be able to see that, in all circumstances. Praising Him is the best thing we can do in times of frustration and trials. It changes our attitude and makes the devil run.

Ok, I have been thinking about spiritual warfare a lot lately, wondering if my family is under attack. Then, had a conversation with a dear friend where it came up out of the blue, our church service yesterday was POWERFUL and focused on this, then I read my bible study material yesterday afternoon (Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Myers---Awesome!, but isn't she always! Love her stuff). Then my quiet time reading this morning in another material, was on this subject. Ok! I'm listening Lord. You have my attention.

I don't know what you believe, but I'm here to tell you that Satan is real and his demons too. They aren't at war with God or Jesus. Those fights have already been won and they were kicked out of heaven to roam the earth. But their fight is against US because we are God's most precious creation. Their only way to get back at God is to destroy us and that is Satan's entire mission and focus. He is a liar set on destroying us. He is the most cunning of creatures (as stated in Genesis--with the serpent as Satan) and is patient in his attack. He slowly layers on the lies so that we don't notice it. The attack starts the moment we are born.

The war isn't against flesh and blood, but a war of THOUGHTS and WORDS. (Ephesians 6:12) I sometimes forget how powerful words are. We are the only creatures God created that have words to communicate. There is a reason I think, because words are powerful and need to be used wisely. The tongue is the hardest muscle to train on our bodies and can be the most destructive. (Proverbs 18:21) (James 3: 1-18). God created the heavens and earth with words. He spoke and all things came into being. Jesus is called the Word and the Truth. This is not by chance. Take notice of it. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he". (Proverbs 23:7).

God's word is our weapon in spiritual warfare. We need to know it, study it and spend time in it. Jesus fought Satan when tempted in the desert with the word. Satan tried to twist the word of God just enough to deceive Jesus, but Jesus used the word to speak the truth and win. If we are to survive and succeed in an attack, we must know the word and use it. The bible calls it a sword so we should use it to defend ourselves.

Prayer and praise is another strategy God gives us to fight the enemy. When Jason was sick, I used "Hoo-Hoo's" to help my kids, and ultimately myself even more. It was a time of yelling out praises to God and Jesus, speaking words of truth, even if they didn't feel like the truth at the moment due to trials. At the time I didn't feel like God was good and had to say it through gritted teeth initially. I am not kidding. It was physically hard for me to say the words, I was in such a dark place in my attack. But the more I said the truth, the more they resonated in my spirit and changed me. Each night I did it, I was transformed and had enough strength for the next day. It was accumulative in its affect also. Each day the blackness lightened for longer periods and the words stayed with me in my spirit. Eventually I could feel what I knew to be true. But it took speaking and walking in obedience, speaking the words of truth not because of joy, but out of obedience and faith, that changed me. We have to be obedient and focus our minds on the truth and not the lies of the enemy, and not on our circumstances. Whatever they are, God is able and faithful to do more than we can imagine.

We can pray for help in times of spiritual warfare. God plays a part, but so do we. We must do our part to be ready and prepared. The enemy is out there next to us, constantly, even if we aren't aware of it. Don't be foolish to ignore it. Even science has proven time and time again, that there are many things out there we can't see, but that are real and have an impact on us.

Not only is there spiritual warfare, but there is also a legacy of strongholds that are passed down to us from generation to generation in our families. Ask God to show you what they are so that you can work on it and pray for God to break down these strongholds and free you. For some it is alcoholism, addictions, lust, greed for money and power or the perfect image. I feel that in my family it is overeating and a lack of faith, a fear and worry that plagues us because we don't trust God to provide for us and come through and protect us. We struggle trying to be safe and wise, but never find the peace and victory.

Lord, please break down the walls of this stronghold in my family's lives and any others I'm not aware of. Free us so that we can be the people you created us to be and can do the works you created for us to do. Help us live in victory and peace.