God has been allowing some pressure on my spirit lately. Slowly
but surely I am learning that when that happens I am to remind myself of His
word.
I have a bad habit of grasping for the wrong things in order
to satisfy my ache. I want some comfort, so I will go buy a starbucks (oh that
may have hit a nerve for some of you coffee drinkers) or I think of a vacation
spot far, far away that I could escape to for some peace. But the reality of it
is that the only place I can get the comfort & peace I so wish for, is in
the presence of Jesus.
I went through a tough time lately where I was allowing the
voices in my head (and sometimes other people’s voices) to get me down. I
believed that I wasn’t capable, and that I wasn’t good enough, which allowed
the fear of being a failure & getting rejected to hold me back from what
God has called me to do in life.
I was shrinking back, becoming a shriveled spirit. Not one
that stands boldly in the face of battle, but one too tired to even bother.
That is not the life God wants for me, or you. We are to be risk
takers, to fearlessly declare the gospel and stand firm while doing so, KNOWING
who we are in Christ.
There was a gap for me between knowing in my head, and
knowing in my heart. I just couldn’t grasp the fact that I already am. I
already AM redeemed, I already AM righteous, and I already AM perfect &
complete in His image! So lately I have been memorizing scripture to help remind myself of these truths. It’s amazing how it pops up just at the right time, either when I am in need of some encouragement, or when a friend is in need of some! I get to steal Gods wisdom and use it as my own!
When we live out of a place of fullness, we walk in freedom
& confidence.
If we are seeking to be filled, we will grab at whatever is
in front of us hoping it will quench our desire… and it never will.
The answer that helps me (helps, not helped…because I still
struggle with it!) overcome my dreadful thinking is Scripture. God gave us His
word to fight the enemy with.
Ephesians 6:10-20 explains it perfectly.
The Armor of God
10Finally, be strong
in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full
armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is
not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of
evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done
everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your
waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet
fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all
this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the
flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of
salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the
Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in
mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. 19Pray also for me,
that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly
make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an
ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Take in His word; make it a part of you so that when you
come up against battle, you have something to fight with. Grab hold of a verse every morning to be your anchor for that day. Then pick a verse to memorize and get into your heart monthly, in fact I'm going to name it your heart verse. Because you don't want to just communicate it to your mind, you want your heart to soak in it.
My verse today is Matthew 11:28
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
My heart verse to soak in is Romans 15:13
"May the God of hope fill you will all joy & peace, as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit."
Two questions to leave you with:
What are you grabbing for? Scripture...or Starbucks? :)
And what will your heart verse be?
Kat, That was awesome!!I think we are on the same page!In my devotions over the last several weeks The Lord was asking me to step out and to take risks and walk in obedience, which in turn poses the question, Do I trust You Lord? Of course I trust You, but... what if? then comes the the enemy...did He really ask you to do that? you are not capable and you are so inadequate, all lies from the father of lies,then I remind myself that if God asks me then He will empower me.I can trust Him! I put on the armor of God everyday and remind myself of who I am in Him!! You go Kat, you remind yourself and the devil of who you are in Christ every day! and you continue to memorize His Word and hide it in your heart and at every lie the enemy throws at you, you speak God's Truth back! :)Connie D.
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