Rise Above....

"Those who hope in the Lord He will renew their strength, they will mount up on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary they will walk and not faint. " Isaiah 40:31 one of my all time favorite verses. Something I discovered last week while listening to Joyce Meyers was the depth and power behind Gods word and the significance each verse holds. Eagles are beautiful, rare and amazing creatures. When a storm starts to approach an Eagle can sense the winds and rain and instead of hiding they put out their wings and  use the storm to lift them higher above the chaos. I long to live this way in my life, the way that God meant in Isaiah when we read that through Him our strength is renewed, because of that overwhelming strength we are lifted high above the storms of life, high above the chaos into a place of peace. When the winds begin to rage around me and I am overwhelmed by the circumstances I'm facing in life I can remain confident in the faithfulness of Christ. I can stretch out my hands in total surrender and allow the Lord to lift me up above the adversity.

"Remember that no matter how dark your situation may become, He is the light of your life and His light can never be put out. No matter what dark clouds settle on you, He will lift you above the storm and into the comfort of His presence. Only God can take whatever loss you experience and fill that empty place with good. Only God can take the burden of your grief and pain and dry your tears. Invite Him to do that. And every time you rise above the difficulties in your life and find the goodness, clarity, peace and light of the Lord there, your faith will increase."

ZING....ZAP....AHHHH!

ZING,ZAP..... “Ahhhhhhhh” were the noises coming from my living room made up of a fried satellite box and my pour husbands black sizzling fingers. We weren’t prepared for a comedy show but with the sounds taken care of and black smoke rising from behind the t.v. I would say maybe we were prepared. It was a series of events that lead to this point, our original t.v. bit the dust and a very generous couple from church offered us a replacement which we felt blessed. We get the T.V. home, plug it in and ZAP!!! So over the next few days we went through the battle of dealing with our terrible old electrical wiring on our home and no T.V. 

Now it seems silly but at one point I may or may not have gone out in the middle of the backyard and let the tears pour for a short meltdown moment. It wasn’t about the T.V. ultimately but instead I just felt like “seriously God, why can’t anything ever be simple?” I warn friends to be careful hanging out with me because my bad luck may rub off on them lol. After two days of having no T.V. I started to feel a sense of freedom, like I could breathe easier, I felt less distracted and this little voice who had been trying to talk with me had become audibly louder. It’s amazing how so many things can become distractions in our life from what God is trying to say to us. I am a doer, because if I can keep continually busy then I don’t have to sit back, be still and listen to the hard things. Having no T.V. for 2 days seems so pitiful but it’s really allowed me to have some focused, quiet time. God is showing me that either A, there is something from the past that He wants me to revisit and deal with more, or B, something is being prepared for your journey ahead and God wants to grab your attention and alert and prepare you. God uses every single ounce of pain, turmoil or trials in this life to continue to shape and mold us more into His perfect image. 

Although I am typing this now with the background noise playing from my T.V., I am thankful for those few days of freedom, quiet, and whispers from God. I am reminded that there are worse things in this life than a T.V. but even then He uses my moments of frustration to break me of my humanness. How many of you feel like things can never be easy? Your alarm never goes off, your out of milk for your kids cereal, you get a flat tire on the way to work, spill coffee on your new blouse the next thing you know you are in “stinkin thinkin” mode? "One of the biggest steps we can take toward consistently glorifying Christ and walking in peace and joy with our heavenly Father is to recognize the deceit which had held us captive. Satan's lies distort our true perspective, warp our thoughts, and produce painful emotions. If we cannot identify those lies then it is very likely that we will continue to be defeated by them."

I am learning that I am a pro at this sometimes and when I start to become distracted and overtaken by the weapons of discouragement, fear, turmoil and pain that the enemy tries to throw in my way then I must immediately take those thoughts captive and turn them about as truth because Jesus has the ultimate victory already and we know longer have to be prisoners to negative thinking. 

Say goodbye....

Why are goodbyes so hard? Even when we know its for the best and bigger things are instore for the road ahead its still difficult to let go and trust in the unknown. There is freedom in letting go of the chains that Satan uses to keep us prisoner to his lies but its a continual process to stay free. When Jesus died on the cross He died for the things of the past, present, and future. He died for our failures, weaknesses, burdens, pain and suffering but just as Jesus worked to set us free Satan is working to hold us captive.

There are things in my life and situations from my past that it seems like regardless of how many times I fall broken at the feet of Jesus I still find myself struggling. I have moments where I feel like I will never have complete freedom, Satan uses doubt, discouragement, guilt and pieces of the past to tell me I don't deserve freedom, happiness or joy. I used to carry such guilt and confusion around because I thought once you seek freedom from the past or a stronghold Satan had over you that "poof" it was gone, never to be seen or heard of again, but that was never the case. I came to a point in my journey with Christ that I realized those enslaving thoughts were exactly what Satan wanted and instead of drinking from the poison he wanted to quench my thirst with, God had a much bigger plan. 

To the voice
To the liar in the mirror
Saying you can't ever change
To the guilt that's sittin on your shoulder
Always keeping you wrapped in chains

To the past that you can't undo
To the pain that your walking thru
To the small and the big mistakes
This is what Love wants to say
 

Say Goodbye Say Goodbye
To the one that used to be
Say Goodbye Say Goodbye
Everday is a brand new mercy

 I love those words, I love the hope they offer that regardless of how dark our situations may seem that everyday is a brand new mercy. When Jesus died He gave us the gift of freedom and promised to throw our burdens, struggles and transgressions as far as the East to the West but that doesnt mean Satan wont use every weapon possible to throw those charges back in our face until we find ourselves a prisoner once again. Freedom has been won but its a daily fight to keep our freedom because the moment we turn our back even for a second the enemy rushes in and takes our minds captive. 1 Peter 5:8 "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." This passage in scripture is a warning, a descriptive message that Satan is on the hunt to distract us, entice us and consume us. "Satan does not give up on you when you become a Christian. He knows who you are, what you have, and where you are as a child of God. He knows that you are chosen, accepted, adopted, appointed, valuable, justified, reconciled, redeemed, righteous, free from condemnation, holy, sealed, complete, and completely forgiven. His mission is to keep you from walking in the truth of who you are and we must recognize Satan's tactics in order to fight the battle for our minds." Sharon Jaynes.

When someone robs a bank you never read stories of them warning the tellers or customers, they don't give the location time to prepare but instead they walk in unannounced, dressed in disguise to try and throw their victims off guard. The goal is to sneak up and take what they want without allowing time to put on armor, guard all the doors or call for backup. Satan is like this, he comes unannounced and disguised, his goal is to suprise and attack us at our weakest most distracted moment. Each day is a battle and an opportunity to be thrown into prison by the enemy.

 

"One of the biggest steps we can take toward consistently glorifying Christ and walking in peace and joy with our heavenly Father is to recognize the deceit which has held us captive. Satan's lies distort our true perspective, warp our thoughts, and produce painful emotions. If we cannot identify those lies, then it is very likely that we will continue to be defeated by them." Robert McGee

 

Scripture reminds us in Ephesians to put on the full armor of God so that we can take our stand against the devil's schemes. Ephesians 6:10-18 "In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides]. Put on God’s whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil. For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere. Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place]. Stand therefore [hold your ground], having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God, And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace. Lift up over all the [covering] shield of saving faith, upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked [one]. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword that the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God. Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people)."

 

Whatever battle you are facing today be reminded that Satan comes to hold you a prisoner to your circumstances. Where ever you have been,  and whatever you have done Jesus has vindicated, redeemed, and renewed you. There is freedom in Christ and His mercy is endless. Remind Satan that although trials may strike  "I will not be distracted, enticed or consumed because I have been ransomed by the blood of Jesus and the chains have been broken so that I never have to be held in bondage again. 

Safety from the Storm....

Driving home from dinner today with dark clouds hanging overhead the evenings silence was interrupted by the echoing man over the loud speaker warning us of a thunderstorm approaching. "A severe thunderstorm warning, a severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for this area." Macie is 6 and still doesn't understand where this voice is coming from or that it can be heard all over our county but what she does understand is that when the echoing man speaks its our cue to seek shelter, safety and security from the storms ahead. 

Why is it as humans we understand when a thunderstorm comes you seek shelter, when a tornado is possible we seek shelter but when life is crazy and the chaos starts raging around us and blowing winds of confusion and turmoil we ultimately forget to seek shelter? If your like me at all you just assume you can handle things on your own and after awhile you realize the chaos is much bigger than your human strength and you start becoming overwhelmed, frustrated, discouraged and weary.


I read a quote today that really struck deep  within my heart. "When the challenges of life seem overwhelming, step away from the negative and keep on moving ahead holding on to the Father's hand. We have a choice -let the negative define us or God's love describe us. Although hiding in a basement or ditch can help protect us against the storms they aren't full proof, but when we face the storms of life God can tuck us beneath the shelter of His almighty arms and calm the storms within our hearts.

Psalm 91:1-2, 4 NLT     

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
Will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
This I declare about the Lord:
“He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
He is my God, and I trust Him”.

He will cover you with His feathers.
He will shelter you with His wings.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

 It is through the hope of Jesus that we can find protection, healing, restoration, peace and security from the storms of life. Whatever you are going through, whatever storms are raging within your heart seek shelter beneath the wings of our loving God.

Building Walls.....

A few months ago Macie and I discovered a new hobby together. There is something surprisingly therapeutic about building castles, houses, flowers, cars, people and animals out of Legos. Red, yellow, green, blue, pink, black, round, square, big, little there are so many different parts and pieces to Legos now it’s crazy. I’m not sure what it is exactly but for some reason when I am helping Macie construct whatever it is we are building I get mesmerized and captivated by the blueprint laid before me. I like structure and things to be planned out and so with the new Legos they give you a book with numbers that coincide to the pieces you have and you basically follow the instructions until voila’ you have the most amazing tree house adorned in flowers, butterflies, windows and furniture, literally its fail proof and you feel like a world renowned architect. 

Although constructing castle walls from Legos is therapeutic there is an area of construction that I am learning lately I struggle with and is very destructive. The purpose of building up walls is to separate two things, to cause a division and to keep something out. Although I have come a long way I know that one area in my life I struggle with is by building up walls around my heart so I can keep people out and at times even God. In life we don’t have a master blueprint like Lego has created for us to follow, there is always room for error and instead of failing or being hurt it often seems easier to place a barrier up so that you don’t have to take the chance if you don’t let people in then you can’t be hurt. Maybe there is some logic to this idea but really one of the beautiful things about life is in letting go and letting God lead you to endless possibilities and have your eyes opened to lessons along the way. Honestly it terrifies me of the possibility that we may some day loose the directions to our Lego designs, what if I can never build anything as great, what if I forget? I allow the mere possibility of failure to build a wall before I even allow myself to step out and take a chance. 

“God wants to build His walls of protection around us, but as long as we are trying to do His job-as long as we are trying to protect ourselves-God doesn’t do it. As God’s children, we don’t have to labor to protect ourselves. We should place our faith in His protection. If we continue trying to do it ourselves, we may find that we are not protected at all. If we allow the Holy Spirit to tear down the wrong walls, then He can activate the protection of God that became available to us through salvation.” Joyce Meyer

 

By letting go and trusting solely in Christ it doesn’t mean that things will always go as planned, it doesn’t mean we will never be hurt or that failures will never happen but it does mean that we took our hands off the steering wheel and let Him drive regardless of where the road takes us. Are there areas in your life where you find yourself building walls to avoid being hurt? Submit those areas to Him and ask for wisdom, discernment and strength to make yourself vulnerable, unprotected and open to His plans for your life. Proclaim these words over your life "Jesus I declare that rejection has no power over me now because I know who I am in You. I know my worth. I know that my value is not in what someone else THINKS I am, but in what I KNOW I am!!!! I am accepted in the beloved (Ephesians 1:6)."