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Perseverance

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“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

The Lord spoke to Joshua when he was to lead the Isrealites into the promise land and He told Joshua just as He was with Moses he would be with him. To successfully lead the Isrealites, Joshua had to trust God, be strong and courageous.

Even when you feel heavy and the weight of the world is on your shoulders you still have to push through. Just like Joshua. Push through the uncertainty, the lack of strength, the voices inside of your head telling you not to and this is stupid and worthless. Push through with courage and strength from God.

God has called us to be warriors not worriers. He calls us not to be timid but reminds us that God give us power, love and have self control (2 Timothy 1:7).

In my last post, Lighting up the Lies of the Devil, I talked about what are you holding on to that the devil told you that is holding you back. When life gets hard, as it always does, what do you do? Do you sit down and give up believing the lies from satan that you are not enough, you don’t have what it takes? OR do you fight back? I hope that you fight back. There is always going to be the moment that life will knock you down but you also have to stand back up. Life is not about what knocks you down, it’s about how you stand up.

There have been things you have been learning to overcome your whole life and there is a purpose for that. You may not know that purpose now but I promise you one day, God will show you why. I’ve had insecurities about being enough for others, having enough money, worried that my work ethic isn’t good enough on the way to burnout. I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety and having the strength to keep pushing forward. Beating myself down trying to maintain what the world deems as enough but the truth is that God already made me enough. He has made YOU enough.

Those obstacles that you are constantly fighting to get through are going to show you that you have the strength, you are enough because God said you were and he will always provide a way when it’s his will for your life.

Maybe you keep getting knocked down because that road you keep trying to go down isn’t meant for you. What if you are meant to get up and go in another direction? The direction that God is calling you to. Will it be hard to turn around? Yes. Will it require change and sacrifice? Yes. Will it be worth it? Absolutely. Trials produce perseverance and perseverance produces character. (Romans 5:3 & James 1:2-3)

When I was 15 until I was 21 I worked at a hot dog/ ice cream shack and when I would work day shift and see people leave their job to come get lunch I used to think to myself and pray to God, one day I will have a job where I can leave and enjoy lunch. I will have a job with benefits, a salary and good people to work with. Did it happen right away. No. It took time. When I was 21 I started a job at a boutique that opened my eyes to a new world of possibilities for a job. When I was 24 I got my first job with a salary and benefits. When I was 27 I finally made it to a job where I have great benefits, a great salary, great people to work with and I get to go out for lunch and enjoy it. It took over 10 years, with a lot of bumps in between. This may seem trivial to you but this one area of my life has impacted others areas of my life and my faith in what God can do for me.

Little by little God gave me what I was asking for to ensure that once I got all of it I could handle it. Little by little I was thankful for the small wins and did I question why I couldn’t get it all at once, of course I did but now looking back on it I kept pushing forward in the hope that one day God would provide.

Trusting God is hard work but the return of love, protection, provision and so much more will enrich your life tenfold. The God that holds tomorrow in his hands also holds you. He has a purpose for your life, don’t let it pass you by because you won’t step out in faith and trust Him.

God I thank you for the person that is reading this blog. I thank you for your words of wisdom and guidance. Lord I pray that you continually work in our lives to persevere through life’s obstacles and that you will provide us with guidance, strength, courage and love every time we stand back up. Lord I pray that when our internal flames start to dim that you will reignite our flames to move forward in the purpose you have for our lives. Lord thank for you our challenges, thank you for your love and thank you for another day to follow your will. In your Son’s name we pray, Amen.

Faith - Strength, Uncategorized

Lighting up the Lies of the Devil

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“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full Armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For 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. Therefore 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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6: 10-17

“But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.” 2 Thessalonians 3:3

The devil will tell you lies to deter you away from the will of God. Unless we are familiar with the truth that God speaks about us we will think that the devils lies are the truth.

In my experience it starts with sin and insecurities and then the devil will build lies around it saying that you are that sin and that you will never change. Trying to hold you in a position of defeat from the beginning. But God says that if we will turn away from our sin we can have freedom. The goal is to not to sin and live a life for God’s glory, but we are human and mistakes will happen but we must earnestly seek forgiveness after the sin and try and not to sin again. The devil knows you just like God does and he knows that there are areas of our lives that make us insecure and he will pick those apart to try to keep you for the Lord and living a life of freedom. The difference between the Lord and the devil is that the Lord loves you and does not want to cause you harm, the devil wants you under his control(misery loves company).

In the last 20 something years especially, the devil has attacked my insecurities of never being enough, my confidence in who I am as a person and my worth. I have struggles with depression and anxiety because I have listened to the devils lies telling me that I don’t belong in my position, that I don’t deserve love, I don’t matter to anyone. But the TRUTH is that God created me and called me worthy, loved, and his child. That is TRUTH that I need to believe.

Here is what God says about you:

  • Ephesians 2:10 – You are special
  • Jeremiah 29:11 – You are created with Purpose
  • Jeremiah 31:3 – You are loved
  • Psalm 139:13-14 – You are unique
  • 1 Peter 2:9 – You are important
  • Psalm 103:12 – You are forgiven

When we call out the lies of the devil we no longer give them power. In order to do that we have to use the sword of truth mentioned in Ephesians 6. When we continually listen to the lies that the devil keeps speaking we are letting the devil kill the light within us. We all have a light within us that should be shared with the world but when we listen to the lies of the enemy we dim our own light because we do not think that we are worthy of sharing our own light God placed in us when we were created. BUT please hear me when I say that YOU ARE WORTHY! God created you for a purpose and you are not meant to live a life of depression and darkness, you are meant to live in the light to grow and blossom and share your beauty within.

I planned this post last week and planned to post it before now but I didn’t feel worthy of writing this post and I had to dig into the word, ask God for forgiveness and pull myself out of the trap of the devil. I say that to say I am not perfect nor will I ever be but I do know that I serve a God that will forgive me and teach me how to work on not giving into sin. The devil will try and stop us from sharing the word of God but don’t give up and give into the devil. Pursue the Father that loves you and wants a relationship with you. You are stronger than you know and you will continue to get stronger if you lean into God’s word and continually go to Him in prayer. Life will not be easy but God will always provide his strength to help us get through. ” I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13.

Lord thank you for another day on this earth, thank for your forgiveness, mercy and grace. I pray that the person that is reading this may be renewed by your strength and that they come to you in the good and bad times. I pray that they know that you are their God and you will always be there for them. Lord I ask that you protect them as they go through battles that you would strengthen their minds and that you would bless them and keep them. Lord I thank you for the person that is reading this and I ask that you remind them that they are loved and that you created them on purpose for a purpose and that you will never leave them of forsake them. You have a plan and you will work all things out for good for those that love you. Lord I pray that if they do not know you that they may have their hearts soften to know you and to love you. In your son’s name, Amen.

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Obedience & Fear

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“I took you form the ends of the earth, from the farthest corners I called you. I said, `You are my servant`; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous hand.” – Isaiah 41:9-10

“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.” Jeremiah 29:11

God has a plan for every single one of us, whether we want to admit it or not, he does. God created us for a purpose and on purpose but in order to fulfill that purpose we must be obedient and not give into fear. Over the course of my life there have been choices to make and every time there is a choice to make there is also fear. Walking in obedience with God can bring up fear and the devil knows the lies to start speaking to you to make you question what God is calling you to do.

So how do we combat fear and be obedient to God’s instruction?

We have to dive into God’s word about us and understand who God created us to be. We also have to be in communication with God by prayer.

Growing up I always heard I was a child of God but it wasn’t until I was older that I truly understood and believed that statement. God sent his son to die on a cross for our sins and all those that acknowledge that are co-heirs with Christ (brothers and sisters). When you dive into the word of God he speaks of our power that he has equipped us with. 2 Timothy 2:7 “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self discipline.” If we have power, love and self discipline where does fear fit in? It doesn’t! The devil uses fear as a distraction to try and keep us off the path that God created for us.

So where does obedience come into play? There are times when God calls you to do something and you will experience fear but you do it anyway. When I graduated college (War Eagle) I was still interviewing for jobs and before an interview in Birmingham I got in my car and prayed to God, if this is the door I am supposed to walk through please open this door, show me the plans that you have for me. That day on the drive up I was almost in a wreck because someone pulled out in front of me but I was not hurt. I lifted my hands in the air and said “Thank you Lord!” and then a still small voice spoke to me and said, “You have to trust me.” and I said okay I will (that’s a way to get someones attention). That day I had a great set of interviews and eventually moved to Birmingham a few weeks later. God has had a hand in my career moves and life before then and ever since. He also introduced me to my husband and helped me start to get healthy and take care of my body. In those moments of working through new things there has been fear but I have to make a decision, live in fear or live in God.

Fear often speaks lies such as is this the right move, am I good enough to work there, will things ever change, you will just be stuck and nothing will ever happen for you. But when we walk in God’s obedience he will strike down the lies and open doors that we never thought would be there. But YOU have to listen to GOD and follow through.

When being obedient the 2 things I know that work best for me is diving into the Word, because it provides strength for my soul, and constant pray with the Lord. With the Lord, we are allowed to feel fear we are just not meant to stay there.

Prayer is our communication with God and we have to be honest with him about how we are feeling and asking for his direction. When I am walking in his obedience and I feel fear creeping in, I call out to him and ask for his help to combat the fear and show the way that I am supposed to go. I pray in different ways, there are days when I write my prayers out in a notebook, I talk to God while I am driving, I sing praise music to him and sometimes I just cry, tears are still communication with God.

Just as the two verses at the beginning of this post said, we are chosen by God to be his servants on this Earth to lead others to Christ but he also instructs us to not be afraid for he will uphold us in his righteous hand. God has a plan for each and everyone’s life that is meant for good not for bad. We will experience problems and we will face trials that will cause us to fear but if we cry out to God for help, for strength, for a way out I promise that he will provide it. It may not always be the way that we think it should be but God’s plans are greater than what we could ever dream of.

Heavenly Father, I thank you for this day, I thank you for the person that is reading this blog and I thank you for your love and encouragement to start this blog. I pray that you be with every person that reads this blog that they may learn to call out to you in the good and bad days, that they will follow your plans in obedience and that you will rip the fear and lies of the devil out of them. Lord I ask for your protection over them and that you will bless their lives. Lord thank you for your strength to get through the good and bad days and thank you for your word that gives us strength, guidance, hope and love. Thank you Heavenly Father, in your Son’s name, Amen.

Reminding you about the fire that is already within you that God placed inside you when you were created.