Iron Sharpens Iron

I will be honest and let anyone interested know that I have not posted in awhile because I have been going through some serious crises in my life, and yes, I mean plural. Besides suffering from a wicked bout of some kind of nasty flu which the enemy tried to take me down with and having to move for the second time in the last two and a half months and both moves were completely unexpected and unprepared for—I was also devastatingly hurt and completely betrayed by someone very close to me and this person is someone I trusted and thought would never do to me what they did. My purpose in telling this is not to make this person look, seem or feel bad and I’m not going to dwell on them or what they did—I say it simply to make the point that just when we think we can count on people as much as we can count on and trust God we will soon come to realize that people will let us down and they will do it just when we trust and count on them the most. People will hurt us and harm us even when they don’t mean to and never wanted to—it is human nature and it happens. Yes, that also means me, I have hurt and let others down many times, I am not proud of it, I am just being honest.

     God is the only source of total and complete trust and if we can understand this then we can learn to have relationships with people without unrealistic expectations and thus not be so devastated when they can’t live up to what we want from them and vice versa. Now, I am not saying that there are no trustworthy people in the world or in our lives, but people are people, they are not God and only God Almighty can be trusted ALWAYS and FOREVER and once we realize this we can stop putting expectations on ourselves and others that should never be put on us and them. Yes, even if they are brothers or sisters in the Lord, they can and will hurt us and harm us and let us down. God wants us to look to Him during these times and ask Him to show us what the purpose in the hurt is and how we can learn something spiritual from what we have gone through. I’m not going to say that I have arrived at some special place where I know how to avoid getting hurt or hurting others in my relationships or that I always learn the spiritual lesson in a hurtful experience, but I want to and that is why I am writing about it now.

God’s word tells us in Micah 7:5, 6, 7 (NKJV), “Do not trust in a friend; Do not put your confidence in a companion…” and “…A man’s enemies are the men of his own household. Therefore I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of My salvation; My God will hear me.” Now again, this does not mean there are no trustworthy people in our lives it simply means that we cannot put our complete and total trust in people, even those we have close ties and deep relationships with because if we could completely count on people we would have no need for our Savior and closest friend Jesus Christ.  But we do need Him and it is never more evident than when we have been crushed by people.

I think the key to a successful relationship is, first of all, we should seek to have relationships with others who are walking with and completely committed to the Lord and I think we have to put and keep Christ at the center of those relationships and if things are not centered around Him and His plan for everyone involved then we must ask ourselves what is the purpose of the relationship? Is the relationship bringing glory and honor to God and is it furthering His kingdom in some way or another? Is the relationship edifying and uplifting to everyone in the relationship or is someone constantly feeling like they can’t or don’t measure up to the other/s? Are there unspoken and misunderstood expectations from one or all parties in the relationship? I don’t think it is wrong to want to know what is expected of someone in a relationship and to let them know what you expect.  I know that if relationships are new and just beginning then maybe we don’t know exactly what we expect but there are some basics that can always be considered and, of course, this begins with mutual respect and honor for each other and as I stated before a desire to seek the things and kingdom of God and what direction He would want the relationship to go in. Worldly relationships aren’t easy and they usually don’t have much depth to them, but a Christian relationship is not necessarily easy either because it will take effort. But with God at the forefront and what He wants from and for each of us and if we are looking to Him for our direction and purpose then it shouldn’t be extremely difficult or tumultuous to acquire and maintain a friendship and if it is then check it (the relationship) with the Spirit and purpose of God. In other words, we shouldn’t be consumed with unfulfilling, demeaning and or damaging relationships with others. This is not part of God’s wonderful plan for us—to be in relationships with others that aren’t really serving His purpose for our lives. That doesn’t mean we can exclude loving others no matter what, but we can’t waste our God-given time, energy and effort pursuing friendships with people who aren’t equally yoked with us in the ways and purposes of the Lord. The scriptures tell us in Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV), “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.” This means that if we are actively seeking the Lord and His ways and purposes in our relationships He will keep us in the way we should go and I believe this means our friendships and relationships with others too as He knows who will edify us and who needs to be uplifted by our qualities and virtues.

Remember, we serve a God who knows everything about us and that includes who we should have close and purposeful relationships with. In Proverbs 27:17 (NKJV) it tells us that “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” This is the kind of friendship God wants us to pursue and nurture, one that will sharpen each other for His cause and purpose.

Even if you have spent time in a destructive or damaging relationship be at peace because as I like to remind you (and myself), there is no waste with God and what the enemy meant for harm God will turn into a spiritual lesson for our growth. Of course, there is the obvious lesson and that is, you now know what is not healthy and edifying when it comes to future relationships and you can draw strength from knowing that what you experienced before will be like a “Holy Spirit” flag of warning for your future relationships. I believe another lesson is learning to love just how individual and unique each and every one of us is and as I have said before, that can make life on this earth interesting. How boring and unchallenging would our lives be if we all moved, walked, learned and loved in the same way? I think it would be extremely boring and uncreative and we don’t serve an uncreative God, we serve “The Creator” and His people are creative and exciting!  So if you are dealing with regret about past relationships try to remember that God turns regret into redemption and restoration for our souls and I believe that God doesn’t even know that word—regret. Of course, God knows everything, what I mean is that God doesn’t want us to know what regret is and if we are genuinely remorseful and have a contrite spirit and heart about past relationships then there is nothing to regret because we now have more of God’s wisdom and guidance for the future. Again, I must reiterate, There Is No Waste With Our Great God!

I believe another way to avoid unhealthy relationships in the future is to remember that His purpose and plan for us is now our purpose and plan and there is always a godly goal to everything and a spiritual purpose for everyone who comes into our lives so when we are pursuing relationships we can ask ourselves this question, do I know that the ultimate result of this relationship is serving an eternal purpose? Another way to put this is—will we be talking about this with each other and our Father God when we get to heaven? Will what we are doing and pursuing matter in heaven?

Yes, now that we are becoming these new, exciting and interesting creatures that God is creating us to be our lives have so much purpose and meaning that even though it wasn’t so before we came to God, it is now true that even our so called mistakes have an eternal purpose! What a great God we serve, that He gives meaning to what never had meaning before and everything big or seemingly small we experience or encounter has (if we let it) an eternal, heavenly and godly purpose!

This does not mean that we go without direction or God’s wisdom into relationships just because God makes our mistakes matter—that is the very purpose of turning our missteps into something for our good, a life and spiritual lesson to glean from for our future relationships. So trust God when seeking your relationships and ask Him if it is a relationship in which He not only approves of but that He in fact ordained.  If it is such a friendship you will know because together those involved and invested in the relationship will both benefit and grow in the things and ways of God and all parties will know this in a deep place in their spirit. This is the kind of sharpening of each other that God will honor and cause to grow and blossom for our benefit and His glory! This does not mean there will never be challenges as the relationship grows and develops but each person should be able to tell that there is something spiritual that takes place when the relationship is being focused on and lived out.

We should seek to sharpen and be sharpened and I believe if we do this we will find that even if we don’t have many friends or relationships the ones we do have will be meaningful and full of eternal, spiritual and supernatural purpose and what more could we ever want from any relationship? If we are honest we can say that before we had godly friendships we sought relationships for how they could benefit us and that was usually the extent of it, but now we want our relationships to not only benefit us but to also benefit the other people in the relationship, but mostly we want them to have a heavenly and godly purpose. This is what God wants—for us to sharpen each other for all of eternity.

   “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” Proverbs 27:17 (NIV).

       I think one of the most difficult things we may have to face concerning relationships is that sometimes we outgrow them or God has shown us that they are no longer serving the purpose they once served and we have to realize that we must seek God during these times and see, if in fact, He is requiring us to end the relationship because it is going in a different direction than God intended it to go. I am writing about this because this is exactly what I am going through in my life right now so I don’t have all the answers. I am seeking the answers because the last thing I want to do is continue to pursue a relationship that no longer has the Lord and His will for me (and others) as the purpose of it. I am not saying that we stop loving those we have been in relationships with as we are commanded to love others no matter what, but our goals, desires, purposes and relationships should always have God and His kingdom at the center of them.  Nothing is coincidence or random with God and His ways so we must remember that if we seek Him He will show us and guide us and He will lead us to the truth of the situation and relationship. This can be difficult as sometimes these relationships that are now coming into question can be with not only loved ones but family members and people who we are biologically connected to and our flesh may tell us there is no way that God would expect or want this relationship to end, but we must remember that in any situation we have our free will so unless we are diligently seeking God about our friendships and relationships we cannot know what the outcome will or should be.  

       God loves us so much and He certainly doesn’t want us involved in relationships that are damaging to anyone in the relationship. No, instead He wants us actively pursuing and growing in relationships which will sharpen us for future relationships and our eternity with Him.

       Oh what a glorious thought, in heaven (eternity) there will be NO dysfunctional, co-dependent, hurtful or damaging relationships. Yes, we will just love each other with an eternal love and because we will have already reached our eternal destination there will be no more struggling to get along with each other! I don’t know about you, but I want my relationships on earth to be ones which will sharpen me and all those I’m in a relationship with and I want them to continue to grow and flourish and bear godly fruit now and for all of eternity.

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Waiting On God

Maybe you have been walking with God and growing in the Lord and you are doing great, you are experiencing for the first time in a long time (or maybe ever) the freedom of not only a newly created life in Christ but the freedom from addiction you have longed for—but now you are waiting for the next steps in your walk with Him. Maybe God has shown you some of the new path you will walk down but the door has not yet been opened, you are waiting on God’s timing and direction.

Sometimes we are waiting on God and something new to happen in our life and it can be a real test to go through especially (as I sometimes say) if you are new to the family of God. We have to learn to trust Him and seek Him and His word during times of waiting. The waiting has purpose.

When you think you know the direction you should be moving in and you haven’t yet been told by God to move you must remember that God has an absolute perfect plan. He isn’t putting us through trials and tests because He likes to see us suffer and He isn’t making us wait simply to see if we can—I mean, of course, if He wants us to wait, wait is what we will do, but there is a perfect and spiritual reason for the waiting process and it isn’t just to develop our patience, it is also to put His plan for us into motion at the right time involving the right people and places. Our plans don’t ever just involve us; they involve the plans of others too.

     

It can be difficult to trust God and sometimes waiting can feel or seem like you are doing “nothing”, but during those times you can seek God and pray and ask Him for His divine guidance. His word tells us in Proverbs 4:2 (NLT), “For I am giving you good guidance. Don’t turn away from my instructions.” Thank God for His wonderful living word (Hebrews 4:12) which gives us the answers we so desperately need while we journey from this strange land to our home in heaven. Remember that “…Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” Philippians 3:20 (NKJV). His word also tells us in James 1:3-4 (NKJV), “…The testing of your faith produces patience, but let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” Patience, if we let it, will do a “perfect work” in us and that makes the waiting worth it.

“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 (NKJV).

Pursue patience (1Timothy 6:11) and know that God hasn’t put you aside or become too busy with someone else and left you to wonder what you should do next. Once again it comes down to knowing just how wide and how deep His love for us actually is and then we can know that He isn’t leaving us to be the God of another.  For our God is omnipotent which means He can save, help, love, guide and correct all of us at the same time and never once lose sight of or heart for any of us. This intense measure of God’s love is described in the following verses from Ephesians 3:18-19 (NIV), “May (you) have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” If this love surpasses knowledge (which is acquired and known in our intellect and our minds) but we can be full with it, then it can only be known spiritually.

 This is what you do while waiting on God—you embrace and soak up His great love and get to know Him.

      Getting to know Him is to understand His nature and it is not to make us suffer, wait, or endure hardship for an unknown or unnecessary reason. Yes, the reason might be unknown to us but I assure you the purpose is not unnecessary. Some people really do have a distorted view of God and why we go through the things we do. It is one of the many things I have been set free from and I finally met my God, the God who would rather love me than watch me suffer— I once believed it was the other way around. Sometimes it takes us realizing that what we might feel is suffering is not necessarily considered suffering in God’s eyes. We have to remember that He knows our big picture, our end result, our finished faith. Trust Him.  

      If we can imagine God sitting on His throne demanding everything go His way just because He is God and He said so—then we can just as easily imagine Him working lovingly on our behalf to make sure all of the pieces to our newly created life in Him fit together just as He planned for them to and just as His word tells us. I know for some this may be hard and because we come from dysfunctional families (all are, to some degree) we can have a hard time seeing God as the loving Father that He is, but let’s imagine and believe that God is the loving and caring Father that He is and know that everything He does He planned before we were ever created and He not only knows what to do, when to do it but He knows what is best for us. It literally tells us this in 2 Timothy 1:9 (NLT), “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time—to show us His grace through Christ Jesus.”

 Isn’t that what we are in this for, to live out God’s great plan for our lives? After all, when we pursued our own plans we fell prey to addiction/sin and the bondage that goes with it, our plans don’t work for our good they work to destroy us. Take God at His word, and He tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV), “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” If the One and Only Living God has plans to give us a future with His prosperity and hope then let’s be patient enough to wait on Him to put these wonderful plans into motion for our benefit and not our harm.

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God Knows Us So Well

 If you are struggling with addiction but you are ready to give up the struggle and seek the help you need there is available the most powerful help you will ever encounter if you take the help available and use it to your fullest. I am talking about the help of God Almighty and His Son Jesus Christ. If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior and now you want Him to set you free from the bondage of addiction He is more than willing to be the strength you need to, once and for all, end your bondage to addiction, He is the tower of refuge and strength you need and without His help you won’t be able to find the freedom you seek.  But I believe what makes this (freedom from addiction) successful for anyone is that you must want and seek after a deep intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. If you haven’t received Him as your Savior and Lord I share how to do that at the top of the blog page, just be sincere when you pray and I promise your life will change.

     What it means to desire and seek a deep and intimate relationship with Jesus is to want to know Him and to be known by Him in the deepest most meaningful way your spirit, soul and body could ever be known or know another. Simply put, we have a Savior who wants nothing more than to know us and for us to know Him, and for us to have a living, growing relationship with Him.   

     Your relationship with Jesus can only grow stronger as you realize that if He saved you from the judgment of sin and eternity without God He can certainly save you from the horrors of addiction. When you know Jesus well and you let Him know you then you can go to Him with anything and trust Him to give you the strength you need when temptation and the urge to give in or give up comes. Talk to Him like you would a friend, He is one who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24) and tell Him about all that troubles you and tell Him about all that brings you joy. He already knows all about you but He wants you to willingly bring (let) Him into every area of your life; especially, as He creates a new one for you, a new life living for His purpose.   

God knows us so well. Jesus said in Matthew 10:30 (NIV),”…Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Do we think He knows the number of hairs on our head and that is the extent of not only what He knows but that it is all He wants to know about us? I don’t think so. Sometimes I am astounded at just how much we actually limit God.  He is not a God who sits in heaven counting the hairs on our head because He’s good with numbers and has nothing better to do. There are a lot of references in the Old Testament in which God protected people and it was a sign of that protection if during battle or a trial not a hair on their head fell to the ground (1 Samuel 14:45, 1 Kings 1:52). If God cares about our hair this much just think how much more He cares about and wants to know our heart.

God knows the things about you that you don’t even know and He longs to help you know yourself, the person He meant for you to be and the person He is going to create as you get to know Him and let Him get to know you.  

If you really want to know and be known by Him it will take a strong sense of “knowing” that you have been forgiven for all of your sins (past, present and future), a lot of people struggle because they carry their shame of the past and therefore they also (unknowingly) negate their precious gift of forgiveness and what Jesus did. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” Romans 8:1 (NKJV), this is a scripture that must be known and deeply not just on the surface, you must know that Jesus did not die for your sins to leave you with the shame of them. When He was nailed to the cross for your sins He also took upon Him your shame and it was also nailed to the cross and it has been conquered and He remembers your sin no more and if there is no (remembrance of) sin there is nothing to carry shame for.

Sometimes while God is healing and mending our brokenness we may still struggle with low self-esteem especially when we are taking the first steps to change the path we were on and now pursue the path God has marked for us. And until we acquire some godly characteristics and get some good deeds under our belt we may have a hard time seeing ourselves as a new creation in Christ, but don’t get discouraged because the enemy likes to play on self-pity and self-image problems—don’t let him use your temporary situation against you. Soon you will see the things God has in store for you and they will not only take the place of the things of the past but they will give you a sense of purpose and it won’t be the meaningless purpose of chasing addictions.  No, it will be purpose in the kingdom of God once you are there (treasures stored up in heaven), and it will also be God’s purpose for your days left here on earth. I can tell you from experience of serving both purposes in my life (no purpose, His purpose) there is NOTHING that compares to living a life that God has laid out for you.  Think about it, if you are obedient to what He wants for you and it is truly His plan for your life there can be nothing short of success for you because God’s plans never fail!  

Remember that we all need God and no one is better than another in God’s eyes and we are fearfully and wonderfully made so when you are struggling with “self” issues study the beautiful verses in the 139^th Psalm which David wrote and he begins this Psalm with “O Lord, You have searched me and known me” and he ends this Psalm in verses 23,24 with “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties…and lead me in the way everlasting” David had a desire to know and be known by God. This is my very favorite Psalm and it has literally helped me heal from “self” issues and doubts about what God’s actual (not perceived) thoughts are towards me. This is a Psalm in which David writes (NIV vs. 17, 18), “How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!” When you read this Psalm you can see that we were not just some after thought of God’s we were intentionally created and He knew us from inside the womb.

He is the relationship you have longed for and He is the one who will know you and show you that He knows you. Some people are put off by God knowing them because they think it only refers to Him knowing all that is not good or right about them but that isn’t how or what He wants to know about you, those are the things He has chosen to remember no more! When you have taken something (anything and everything) to Him in prayer and sought Him in joy and His peace and laid it at His throne and trusted Him and then you get your answer, it is then that you understand just how deeply He knows and loves you. When you have been in a crisis and you have had no other choice but to call out and surrender it all to God and He honored that by giving you such peace in your heart and spirit that you had no doubt it was the supernatural power of God, it is then that you become aware that He knows you and He knows exactly what you need and when you need it.

 Our God knows us whether we let Him know us or not (John 2:24,25, Heb.4:13, Matt.10:26) but I encourage you to let the God who created the very being that you are know you and love you and create the creation you were meant to be. Take hold of another verse David wrote in Psalm 40:5 (NKJV) which says, “Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You…if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.” If His thoughts toward (about) us are so many they can’t be numbered, He knows and cares about us deeper than we can ever imagine. I don’t know about you but I want to have a relationship with a God whose thoughts about me are so many they cannot be numbered!

 I didn’t know I had things about me that could entertain little more than a few thoughts, but God’s thoughts toward me are so many they can’t be numbered—wow! Yes, even I want to know that me.

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The Armor of God

       

     I know of some people who would engage in a full-on battle for their addictions and the means to feed them. They will do whatever it takes to get their want satisfied and they don’t care who they hurt while they are getting what they think is satisfied. When you live in the world of addiction you do have to have a sort of warrior mentality in order to live in such a way because otherwise you would see your selfishness and the harm you cause others and you wouldn’t be able to sustain a life so self-pleasing and destructive. You have to have a kill or be killed mindset but people don’t realize so does the enemy and when people who live as addicts think they are living for and serving themselves they need to see they are really serving the enemy and his schemes.

 Trying to live and be content by feeding some all-consuming addiction and believing you are satisfied is nothing more than deception and when you live in that world you are basically a warrior of (for) the enemy. Even if you are unaware of it, if you are not putting on the armor of God and warring in the spirit realm you will not be able to live in the Victory our powerful Savior conquered for us. When you don’t live in the victory of Jesus then you have given the victory over to Satan.

       The only real satisfaction comes from Jesus Christ, knowing Him personally and serving Him as Lord and Savior. Until we come to Him and surrender everything to Him we will never know satisfaction. The world is full of people looking for something they will never find because true joy, peace, contentment and yes that ever elusive state of “happiness” can only be found in a deep and intimate relationship with Jesus.

      

We can live victorious in Christ and we can do it every day if we put on the whole armor of God. God gives us everything we need to not only live in Him but He also wants us to live in the victory Jesus died to give us. A Victory means a battle has taken place and we as Christians know that Jesus has already won the battle for us, all we have to do is abide in Him and live in that victory.

       One of the ways we can live victorious is to put on the whole armor of God and wear it always. God has great plans for His people (Jeremiah 29:11) and because the ultimate climax to His plan has us living triumphantly with Him in heaven our walk with Him here on earth is learning how to walk in the victory He already won for us when He conquered sin on the cross and death by resurrection! We already have the victory because our wonderful and glorious Savior did all that was needed to fight and win the battle. 

       So our responsibility is to suit up with God’s armor which is perfect in every way and remember there is a battle going on—yes, I know I said it has already been won and that is true but the enemy would have us believe that it isn’t and if he is successful we don’t live in the victory that Jesus already won for us. Jesus tells us in John 10:10 (NKJV) that, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy…”, another way to say it is the “enemy” wars against us to steal our victory and to ultimately kill and destroy us—don’t let the enemy steal your victory.  

No warrior would go into battle against a formidable enemy without first suiting up and putting on every piece of protection available to them nor would they midway through the intense battle or right there on the battlefield start to take off or put down some of their protection. And so it is with the armor of God, put it on and don’t take it off.  And what a wonderful and GREAT Warrior we serve under who gives us everything we need to stand in the victory of this battle, but it helps us not if we don’t first put it on and then leave on every piece of armor we need to stand, live, and abide in our victory.

       Let’s look at what the bible tells us about God’s Armor and how we are to use it. If you are new to God’s family these instructions about God’s armor will be very important to learn but no more important for new Christians than for those of us who have been with God and serving in His army for awhile—we all need the armor of God or we cannot live in victory over our addictions (sins) of the past or our temptations of the future. 

       The scriptures about God’s armor and how to use it can be found in the book of Ephesians chapter 6 verses 10-18. I am going to paraphrase these verses but when you study them yourself insert your name where I have mine and learn how to put on the armor of God.

 Finally (ultimately), Sarah, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (not your own). If you put on the whole armor of God you will be able to stand against the wiles/ schemes of the devil. For your war/fight/battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly/supernatural places. Therefore, Sarah, take up the whole/entire/complete armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all (you know to do) to stand—stand therefore, (Therefore stand, don’t retreat or fall) having belted your waist with truth, and put on the breastplate of righteousness (Jesus is your righteousness), shod your feet (everywhere you walk do it) with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all take the shield of faith—you have a shield of faith, Sarah, take it up (hold it high) and use it to quench (stop) all the arrows being fired at you by the wicked one. Take up, put on the helmet of salvation and protect yourself with the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God; and Sarah, pray always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. Be watchful and stand (stay) on your guard to this (the) end with all perseverance and supplication for all of God’s chosen people. 

       Note that all of the armor is protective and defensive gear the only actual weapon is the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. God’s word is so powerful that it is the only weapon we need as it tells us in Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV) that “…The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” We can live in our victory by wielding our sword (of the Spirit—which is the word of God) at the enemy.  

       We don’t have to wander around with no protection from and unaware of the schemes of our enemy because we can suit up with the whole armor of God:

1.  Belt of truth-without truth none of the rest of the armor matters

2. Breastplate of Righteousness-Jesus is our righteousness and He must be in our hearts

3. Feet shod and walking in the gospel of peace-we must walk in peace (violence and discord are the ways of the enemy)

4. Shield of Faith-our faith is how we stop the arrows (attacks) of the enemy

5. Helmet of Salvation-we must be saved and walk in that salvation

6. Sword of the Spirit/the Word of God/the actual weapon-this is the one and only actual weapon, use it

7. Prayer in the Spirit/for all of God’s people-prayer is protection and a way to connect with our Warrior/Savior

8. Stand guard/Be watchful-Never let our guard down

       

So we must understand that we are fighting to stand, walk and live in the victory Jesus already fought and won for us. In her book, A Confident Heart, Renee Swope shares with us the names of God and He is “El ha-Gibbor: The Mighty God, God the Hero (Isa. 9:6)”. Let’s put on the whole armor of God and STAND, therefore, and proclaim that we live and abide in the victory that our Mighty Savior fought and triumphantly won for us!  Our victory is inevitable and certain because of our victorious and Mighty Savior. Hallelujah!!!

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"Share With Me Your Sadness and I Will Restore Your Joy"

       I have had to really seek God during this past week. Some of you may know about the recent wildfire in Arizona that took the lives of 19 HotShot firefighters and I not only live in Arizona but I live about 22 miles from where the fire burned out of control for days. I have family and friends who were affected by this fire and I was so sad and devastated by the loss of life and homes that I started to be overcome with sadness until I sought God and shared my sadness with Him. 

     We can give everything to God. What a blessing, what a privilege and what a joy to experience a God who not only wants us to give our heartache and all of our sadness to Him but He wants us to know He cares about all of it. He doesn’t just tell us to give it to Him so He can throw it away like it doesn’t matter. But He is a God who wants to know who, what, why and how does something cause us to take our hearts and our minds off of who He is and what He’s done to the point our joy has been overcome by sadness and sorrow?! He is there calling to us and saying “I love you with a love that has power over all your hurt!” He wants us to examine our hearts and hurts and learn why we lost our hope that is in Him.

     

     That doesn’t mean we are never to feel sadness or other emotions; after all, it is God our Creator who created us with our emotions, but He does want us to share with Him our emotions, our feelings, our hurts and our sorrows, and yes, our good and joyous times too—our “everything”. God wants to and should be part of everything we do and all that we are. So, not if, but, when you are experiencing sadness or sorrow in your life you can learn to share it with Him and let His light shine through the darkness of your sorrow.

     We can learn to share our sadness and sorrow with God by learning and living in His word and such scriptures as these beautiful verses in psalms (prayers and songs) which David wrote when he was seeking God during troublesome times. Psalm 34:17-19 (NKJV), “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.” If we understand that God wants to be a part of everything we do and all that we go through we can learn, grow, and even experience our sadness through Jesus and let Him get us through it His way so that we don’t start to succumb to it. Also, we will somehow grow from it because nothing we experience or go through is ever in vain.

     We can feed, grow and live on His word and see that there is help for us when we are hurting and we can let Him get us back to a place of joy and we can grow even in and through our sorrows. One way we can do this is to seek Him (once again) in the form of worship. Honestly, there are so many ways to worship God and there are so many benefits to doing it that you cannot go wrong if you do nothing in a crisis but worship and or praise Him—and if more needs to be done He will show you.  

     Another way we can experience our God is to taste of the Lord’s goodness and remember that we serve a God who can be tasted if we will do it with our spirit and everything that is in us. Psalm 34:8 (NKJV), “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” When I read this scripture it speaks to me that we have to taste Him with our spirit. Let’s look at another scripture and we will look at two versions because they are both important and profound, 1 Peter 2:2-3 (NKJV) “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”  This scripture tells us that not only will we grow if we “feed” on “the pure milk of the word”, but that we will “desire the...Word” if we have tasted the graciousness of the Lord. In the amplified version that scripture is stated like this (and I just love it), “Like newborn babies you should crave (thirst for, earnestly desire) the pure (unadulterated) spiritual milk, that by it you may be nurtured and grow unto [completed] salvation, since you have [already] tasted the goodness and kindness of the Lord.”

     Wow, our Lord can be tasted! That might seem strange to some of you who might be new to the family of God, but the thing is, it is possible to taste our Lord with our spirit if we understand that God is a living God and everything about Him is living and full of life! All living things grow and we should too, we are supposed to grow in Him and how we do that is by doing just what the scripture tells us—by desiring and feeding on “the pure ‘(unadulterated) spiritual’ milk of the word.”

     We can grow and be healed from our pain and sorrow by turning it over and, I like to say, sharing it with Him because I didn’t experience my feelings as a child so I need to learn how to experience my emotions without letting them rule and reign me. I don’t say I just give my “stuff” over to God but that I share my feelings and emotions with my Savior and Creator who knows all about them and wants me to experience and use them for good (His good).

     God and His word are the best, top of the line, never generic, always “name brand”, medicine, therapy and food for whatever sickness, sorrow and famine our life is taking us through and He so wants to be what and who we reach for when we are hurting the most!  

    

     

     The Psalms are songs and prayers which (most of them) were written by King David and although it was during troubled times for David which is evident when he writes “Many are the afflictions of the righteous…” but then he goes on to write “…But the Lord delivers him out of them all.” David also writes as a prayer in Psalm 86:7 (NKJV), “In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, For You will answer me”, David doesn’t deny that affliction and trouble are present but he constantly seeks the help of God as he says in Psalm 54:4 (NKJV), “Behold, God is my helper…”, and also in Psalm 54:6-7 (NKJV),  “…I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good. For He has delivered me out of all trouble.” We can follow King David’s example and seek and sing out to God during our sad and hurtful times because He is the one who will help us and He will restore our joy back to us as only He can. Psalm 51:12 (NKJV), “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous spirit.”

     He will restore our joy back to us after we have shared what, why and the things, feelings or emotions that caused us to give up our joy in the first place. He knows about your pain let Him show you how to grow through it and discover just how much He really cares about what troubles you as we can read in Psalm 55:22 (NKJV), “Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” Also, in Psalm 46:1 (NKJV) it tells us that “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.” These scriptures are where to turn when we need comfort and help during sad and sorrowful times and He is our PRESENT help in times of trouble!

     When I was becoming so sad that I had lost my joy in Jesus, I had to get ahold of these scriptures and share my sorrow with Him and let Him show me through His word that not only does He want to know what troubles sadden me, but He wants me to know that He is there going through all of it with me, I am never alone!  And of course, He is there for you in your sad and hurtful times as well, all you have to do is seek Him, taste Him and desire to be fed on His word which will bring peace and healing to your sadness and sorrow.  We don’t have to deny that pain and sorrow exist we just need to share and experience it with Jesus our precious Lord and Savior who is the expert at getting through painful and sorrowful times to stand victorious in everlasting joy!

      Hallelujah, I love Him so much and I am so thankful to Him that I can go to Him with literally everything I am facing in life and He shows me that His joy is my strength as it says in Nehemiah 8:10 (NKJV), “…Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

    

     When you are sad and you spend time talking to Jesus about it, but don’t try to hide how you really feel because God knows your heart and what is going on deep inside of you anyway, then you will begin to experience a peace and a comfort that only He can give to you. And don’t forget to feed on and taste the goodness of the Lord through the pure milk of His word and worship to Him. By doing this you will be sharing your sadness with Him and I promise you He will restore your joy.

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Turn Worry into Worship

     

Our wonderful Savior did not set us free to have us be consumed with worry especially because worry leads to stress. Stress can make us sick both in our soul and physically. I’m not going to dwell on how sick it can make us because we just need to learn not to worry before it turns into such stress that it makes us sick. I want to look at what Jesus said to us about worrying.

      Jesus told us not to worry, He knew we would be tempted to worry but He doesn’t want us to give into it. “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life…” Matthew 6:25 (NKJV), and “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” Matthew 6:27 (NLT), this is the teaching Jesus gives us about worrying, He is telling us not to worry from verses 25-34 in chapter 6 of Matthew. This is not a quick little reminder and He isn’t saying to us “Hey if you’re having an exceptionally good day and things are going your way try not to worry”, no Jesus is commanding us not to worry and if we realize that to worry is actually considered sin we would really learn how to stop doing it.

   

      If you are addicted to worrying like I was then you will want to learn how to stop worrying and start worshiping instead because in the eyes of God worrying is sin and not faith and in His word it tells us in Romans 14:23 (AMP), “…For whatever does not originate and proceed from faith is sin….” 

     Worrying is not a form of worship, but you can and should turn worry into worship.

     Worry, it is the sin of unfaithfulness which really does not believe in His faithfulness. God’s faithfulness never fails! The reason Jesus tells us not to worry is because if we are busy worrying then we cannot be busy praising, worshiping and trusting in the faithfulness of our God. He is so faithful that it tells us in Lamentations 3:22-23 (NKJV) “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” Also, the following verses are a perfect reference for what we are about to discover and they are found in Psalm 71:22-23 (NLT), “Then I will praise You with music on the harp, because You are faithful to Your promises, O my God. I will sing praises to You with a lyre, O Holy One of Israel. I will shout for joy and sing Your praises, for You have ransomed me.” These are just a couple of verses but God’s word is full of references to praise and worship. It is how we obtain and sustain a life in Him. It is a very vital part of our walk and relationship with Him and He wants us to do it sincerely and regularly. And God certainly wants us to worship instead of worry, to trust in Him and His answers instead of trust in the world and or live in torment by the enemy which is what can happen if we don’t learn to give our worry up for worship to God.

      Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV), “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” So you see we cannot please God without faith and He wants us to diligently seek Him and some of the ways we do that are to praise and worship Him. Our everyday walk with God is to be a constant giving up of our heart to Him in the form of worship and that can and should include prayer—if the Lord is new to you, praying means talking from your heart through your spirit to God, or talking to God with your heart. We should also include singing unto the Lord a new song, playing music to the Lord, dancing with joy before Him and many other things—even our obedience is a form of worship if what we are being obedient to is done with a loving heart and willing attitude, also our tithe and other offerings are supposed to be given as worship to Him. If we truly love Him and understand just how lost we were without Him then we want our life to reflect that. God’s word says in 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NLT), “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Everything we do should be a form of some kind of worship to Him who deserves all our praise, prayer, worship, honor and complete surrender.

    

      The sad thing is that most people (Christians) are more comfortable with such forms of worship as giving of their material and temporal possessions and although sometimes God will require us to give up something tangible to or for His sake, most of the time what He really wants is us. He wants you in complete abandon to Him and you can only do that by giving yourself completely to Him, that means no holding back when you are worshiping Him, no wondering or even “worrying” what others will think because you need only care what God Almighty thinks and if you are in complete surrender to Him in worship I guarantee He thinks it is great and He wants you to keep doing it, every day and all the time.

      Make worship and praise something you do every day and do it with all of your heart and your walk with God will change for the better. You and Jesus will get to know each other in a very intimate and close way and you will learn that He is the one to trust in troubles and worrisome times. 

     

 Praise and worship is an absolute perfect way to stop worrying, and if you learn how to have regular praise and worship with and to our Lord Jesus you can virtually eliminate worry not only from your vocabulary but your life as well. Seriously, because after all, He is worthy of our praise and worship and it is what He wants from us. Exchange your worry for worship and discover a new freedom, one without worry and stress. And here is another wonderful thing about God, serving Him and worshiping Him are one in the same—when you serve you do it unto Him and when you worship Him, He knows you have a heart to serve.

      I find it easier to just let loose and worship God when I remember, it is what we will be doing in heaven for all of eternity so I want to not only get comfortable worshiping and honoring Jesus from earth but I want to do it with everything that’s in me. Yes, think about that, in heaven we will be praising and worshiping Jesus our Lord and Savior forever and always!

      Until we get there we must learn from this side of heaven and we can always learn from our perfect example, Jesus. I think if anyone would have had the right to worry it would have been Jesus as He knew in advance the kind of burden He would have to carry for us and yet He did not worry and He instructed us not to worry either.

     Let’s take a look at a couple of verses which tell us that during what would have been a time in Jesus’ life He would have wanted to give into worry He did not, but instead He sought the Father and His kingdom. I’m sure when Jesus was in the garden asking (praying) if there was any way that He might not have to be crucified He was probably tempted to give into worry but He didn’t. I believe He was praying instead (in-place) of worrying and even though He was so distressed that He began to sweat drops of blood yet He still did not give into that distress, He looked to the Father for His strength, His help, His hope and we see that the Father sent help for Him, it tells us in  Luke 22:41-44 (NLT), “And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will but Your’s be done.’ Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” No matter how much agony we might be in during a trial or troubles the previous verses tell us we can turn to the Father for help and He will give us what we need.

      When I stated that I used to be addicted to worrying maybe you were thinking that seems a little “out there” but, remember, we can literally become addicted to anything. Worrying was just part of the ritual of compulsive behavior I would engage in when the stress of life hit me even though I had Jesus, for a long time I still thought that, yes you pray and give it to God, but I also believed that if I didn’t spend a certain amount of time worrying then I wasn’t doing what was my part to do. I was wrong and I finally started to understand that Jesus doesn’t want us to worry and He also tells us what we can do instead of worrying. We can learn how to seek Him instead of worrying because if what we are doing about issues or needs in our life are anything but going to God with it, casting it upon Him, and then seeking His kingdom it is not what God wants us to do.

       Be set free from the bondage of worry and put on a “new thing” of praise and worship and when you do God will show Himself to you as He never has before.

      You can’t be in the middle of full surrender worship to God and be in a state of worry at the same time, it just isn’t possible! You must be doing one of those things or the other but you CAN’T do both. Choose worship to your Savior instead of worry and you will not regret it. He tells us in Matthew 6:33 (NLT) to “Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.”

     Jesus wants us to seek Him in prayer and worship and especially instead of worrying. When we worry the devil knows that what we are worrying about is a weak area for us but so does our Lord and Wonderful Helper, our Prince of Peace and Jesus wants us to trust in Him and look up to Him and heaven and not trust in the things of this world.

      Jesus wants you to use the energy and effort that you would spend worrying to praise Him, seek Him, and trust in Him—and if you truly release your spirit up to Him and give into worship I promise you there is NOTHING on this planet that could ever cause you to worry. You do have to completely surrender to Jesus your Savior, the One who gave His life for you but what would you rather surrender to—the worries of this world or worship and heaven?

     The way to have real intimacy with our God is to give yourself up to worship and fellowship and let the Holy Spirit lead you into a new dimension with Jesus and you will never be the same, and the best part, the more you do it the better it gets and the more effective it becomes. Yes, do it faithfully and watch yourself be transformed into a “worshiper of God” not just one who serves Him but who knows and worships Him in spirit and truth.

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