Tag Archives: Spiritual Warfare

Mar30

Fearlessly

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along the shore,

toes in the sand,

tickled by the tide,

Heart opened wide

And suddenly,

His gaze meets mine,

Hand extends,

“My beloved, come with Me,

And let our dance begin.

I want to show you how,

To move within the depths of Me,

Lean into the motion of my Sea,

All you have to do-

Is Look up and believe.

His rhythms, like waves, becoming mine,

His leadership, steady and constant, keep the time,

Overwhelmed by Majesty,

Connected and loved, completely

Piercing eyes, gazes locked,

Hearts and hands too,

Deeper we dance,Into the blue

When will fear come for me?

When will I sink?

When will I fail?

Questions bombard me

Fingers under chin,

Tilting my gaze back to Him,

Smiling He reassures,

“You are mine, and I’m yours”

New hope blossoms,

Confidence soars,

Going deeper still,

Away from the shore

And suddenly,

The lightning strikes,

The waves toss me to and fro,

How did I get here?

What do I think I know?

I’m stupid, ridiculous,

This wasn’t His way,

Or else I wouldn’t be drowning,

Alone and afraid.

Once more,

His eyes meet mine,

“Don’t quit now, you’re doing just fine.”

New depths reveal deeper truths

New depths require deeper roots.

This can never change,

Nothing can separate,

You are in Me, and I am in You,

No matter how shallow or deep is the blue.

So we dance.

We dance in the storm,

We dance in calm,

The steps change, as does the pace,

As do I, as I look upon His face.

He is really everything,

Everything else fades away,

He is mine! I am His!

He’s making it all new, everyday.

We dance, He leads, perfectly.

Keeping time, making space, abundantly.

Fear comes and goes, as the dance deepens,

But I keep gaining more and more of Him.

I know now, that no matter what,

Wherever He calls I will go.

He is in Me, I am in Him,

Nothing can stop us, now that I know.

“But I’m tired Lord, and overwhelmed

Just let me sink, I’m gonna let you down,”

Oh Daughter, I’ll carry you,

You can rest, we’ll make it through.

True to His word, He makes a way,

I get to dance another day.

This time with His strength,

Having none of my own,

I’m learning deep requires,

The letting go.

I let go of pride, of making my own way,

I let go of the fear of failing Him each day,

I let go of the lie that I’m all alone,

And I pick up love, true love,

Running red love, the victory,

And it is done.

I’m loved-

I’m loved and free-

I’m loved and free and clean-

I’m loved and free and clean and called.

Called to be loved.

Called to love.

His big plan and purpose for me,

To love and be loved, fearlessly.

Jan6

We are beginning!

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Don’t forget this year we embark on a journey to intentionally memorize and live out the Word of God by focusing on the same scripture at least three times a day.
You can find this journey on my coaching page on Facebook, or on my coaching website. Please join us. We can literally change the world and reach the nations by being LOVE to the world on purpose!

Here is the first step:

Good Morning and Happy Monday!
We are about to begin Morning, Noon, and Night- a journey into memorizing and living out the Word of God! I AM SO EXCITED! This has been on my heart to do for about 5 years!

First things first, how do you memorize scripture?
I have a few ways that work for me- but you can try or suggest to the rest of us any ways that work for you.

1)I read it every day and say it out loud.
2) I write it on my bathroom mirror and read it while I’m getting ready.
3)After I’m more familiar, I close my eyes and begin trying to say it without looking.
4) Write it on a notecard and look at it whenever I have a second.
5) I ask the Lord to hide it in my heart and allow it to become a part of who I am.

Let’s begin that way today. Our first section of scripture is on Love, and it comes from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails.

May9

The Lion is not afraid

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This is a season of acceleration in learning. Learning comes mostly by experience. He is teaching me so much in this awesome hands on course we call life.

A few months ago, I was chatting with my mentor, and she brought a word to me from the Lord. She began teaching me the difference of intervention(which is what happens once it all falls apart), and interception (which is stopping it before it gets to far.) She taught me how the Holy Spirit, who is alive in me, wants to intercept the plans of my enemy for which the purpose is to destroy and/or  distract me from walking in the fullness of who God created me to be and fulfilling my Kingdom assignment on the Earth.

She went further to help me understand how I need to tune my spiritual ears in and ask Him about everything. By asking Him to help me intentionally listen more carefully, He is revealing truth ahead of time,and by choosing to obey even though I didn’t understand fully, He has kept from a few disasters. The sole purpose of my enemy is to kill me, BUT I have Christ in me….and He came to give me ABUNDANT life. This means as I listen, I am learning( learning-just learning-I don’t always get it right-but in process) to say no to bad things, and good things, and yes only to God things.

What do I mean by God things? I mean when I ask Him, “Is this what you have for me right now?” If He gives a green light, I continue to walk forward, Yellow I wait, Red I stop. There are so many good opportunities to do good, but God has specific opportunities for each of us always, which align us with the right people, put us in the right direction, and fulfill our purpose.

The next thing ( and I believe these are linked), is all about identity. I am learning how important it is to know who God says we are because when an attack on your identity comes, and you know what is true, you will not be defeated, destroyed, or devastated. When I am agreeing with lies, then the enemy can find agreement in me and tackle me all of a sudden.But when I ask Jesus consistently, Who do you say that I am? Who am I in you? And I allow Him to build me up in my core, my foundation is stronger when the storm comes. I will be found standing on my Rock, who CANNOT BE SHAKEN!

And finally the Lord  revealed Himself to me on Sunday as the most majestic, most powerful, most fierce Lion I have ever seen. He laid in front of me and said, “I AM the highest. No one preys on Me. And I have you. You are in Me. You have nothing to be afraid of. I have you covered in protection.”

The very next night, this Monday, I find myself in an emergency room watching my husband crash. His blood pressure and oxygen levels were dangerously low. The nurse had a crash cart placed right outside of his room just in case. For a split second, the attack came. I saw Brendon and I with no Troy, my eyes filled up with tears, and devastation was about to take a seat in my spirit.

BUT……

Because of being aware of interception- I heard the Holy Spirit say- THAT IS NOT TRUE! Think on only what is true-look Troy is alive right in front of you.

The Lord just the day before promised me as I was in Him, He has me covered in protection. Because I was fully confident in the truth of that aspect of my identity, the LIE of death and fear of the unknown could NOT find agreement in my spirit and was KICKED OUT before destruction,devastation, and defeat could get comfortable ruling my emotions.

Instead, I was able to stay calm and peaceful. I was able to pray and be strong for my husband in his moment of need. All of the fruits of the Holy Spirit were abounding in the midst of chaos. IT WAS AMAZING! And the only reason I’m sharing this is because as this is becoming my new normal response to the surprises of life, I am left AMAZED because I know it is only by the grace of God that I have authority to step into being an OVERCOMER. It is only because of the love of God, and the very real presence of the Holy Spirit living in me, that I have been blessed to have dominion over my emotions and allow the Truth to lead me instead of how I feel. This is not shared so you can think I’m some amazing, spiritual person. I simply want you to know this is available to all of us. I want to share the goodness of God, so you can be spared from unnecessary attacks and defeat in your lives. I’m sharing this so we all can step into our Christ given authority and identity as OVERCOMERS so our children and their children would know how to stand up and believe in who God says they are!

This is revolutionizing my life- will you join me? for your sake and for all of those who will come after you?

 

Mar12

Say YES!

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Something so beautiful emerges out of the hardest storms we are called to weather. The Lord asked me to do one of the hardest things I have ever had to do about a year ago. This was an opportunity for obedience that was beyond my understanding. As I said yes to the Lord and walked forward in obedience, many of the steps were filled with tears, suffering, and much judgement. Even so, I chose to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus, and move to where He was calling me.

A little more than a year later, I am in awe of how beautiful the budding fruit from this storm is. He asked me to do something hard for the people I love more than I can put into words, and God is working mightily in their lives as a result of many things, including my obedience. Amazingly though, I am watching God unfold incredible gifts in my own life and household that I would not be aligned with if I had chosen the easy road, the path of least resistance. There is tremendous blessing along the road of being in God’s will for your life.

I am not sharing this to boast about my obedience, because I can assure you I am in included in the scriptures when it says, “For ALL have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God.” I am simply sharing this to encourage you. If the thing the Lord is asking you to do will be hard, painful, bigger than you can understand, know this- YOU DO NOT NEED TO UNDERSTAND. You simply need to know the truth of how loved you are, and that the One calling you is always FOR you, not against you, and is always WITH you. Nothing He calls you to is bigger than Himself, and if He is for you, you need not be concerned with whoever is against you.

It is important to know that our choices not only affect ourselves, but everyone we do life with, people we do not even realize are watching, and the generations to come. The only hope for our lives, our legacy, is to be a people, to rise up as The Body, by surrendering our will, and resolving that no matter what the call, the sacrifice, the level of obedience needed, the journey: WE ARE A PEOPLE WHO SAY YES TO GOD!

If we determine to live this way, REVIVAL will come!

Jesus, help us to be fully surrendered to You! Help us to have your heart and be willing to do whatever it takes so that every person will have every opportunity to see You and come to desire You by the example of our lives. Lord ,I so desire to say YES to everything you have created me for.Would you fill me supernaturally with the courage I need to be able to say YES! I want to see revival break out all over the world, teach me how to do my part! Oh Jesus we need more of You, more than ever before, start with me! I love You Jesus! In Your name I pray! Amen!

Mar3

He does not disappoint!

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I have a desire in my heart. I get spoken to by someone who does not know this desire that the Lord wants to bring this forth. Faith is stirred up. Then I see the Lord doing a few things, boom, boom, boom. Confirmation. Hope is swelling. Then, WOW, this MUST be God because x,y, and z are all seeming to fall into place. I give testimony as to how God is moving, and BAM the momentum is halted and consequently I am left wondering why I ever allowed hope to take over the contentment I had with what I had.

Has this ever happened to you? You felt stirred up and excited about something the Lord began speaking to you about, only to be left wondering why He didn’t just leave you alone? I have to ask myself is what I was experiencing previously really contentment? Or was is complacency? Am I being honest with myself if what I thought I was content with was void of hope for a brighter future? Is it really being content or settling because I got tired of being disappointed? And if I was so tired of being disappointed- how did I get there? How did I arrive at the corner of “You have enough to be thankful for,” and “You probably can’t handle anymore than what you have to do already,” at such a young age.

I had to get real with the Lord and ask Him what was the purpose of allowing me to experience this cycle once again. He began to  remind me that my goal for the year is to move forward. I am moving forward by replacing destructive cycles with constructive cycles. This particular cycle is very destructive. This is the cycle that causes me to lose hope. When the enemy can steal our hope, our faith tends to diminish, and Hebrews 11:6 teaches us that without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God. This is a VERY IMPORTANT LESSON TO LEARN!

I am beginning to see what the major problem is, when God speaks to me, I start trying to figure out how what He said could become possible. Now let me tell you He only spoke to the desire of my heart, but didn’t say as to how He was going to bring that forth. Yet in my desperate attempt to be in some sort of control I begin grasping onto anything I can find to see how this could work. When those theories I have crafted fall short, remember this is NOT what God had said, is when devastation and/or a deep disappointment collide with my once soaring hope and hope plummets out of the sky and lies on the ground slowly dying.

Here is how I can mature. I can mature by staying the course He has spoken to me about. I can mature by not running with vain imaginations and becoming fixed on how I think “it” will work out. I can mature by NOT putting my faith in circumstances, results, or outcomes. My God does not disappoint. He never leaves me and He always works everything together for my good. If that is not what I am experiencing, I am learning that means I am the one with a huge misunderstanding. I am learning that when He speaks to stir up my faith and remind me of the desires of my hearts, the one which maybe my little heart got weary in the waiting but He still cares about and still wants to bless me with, I can listen to what He has to say and not add to it a deadline. I can choose not be in a rush for that desire to manifest in my life. I can trust that if He is the one reminding me of something I tried to forget about because in my weariness I deemed it “impossible” that I do not need to take the reins and then try to make it happen. The One who reminded me, will take care of the details. I was reminded this week that my only focus needs to be, “Seek first the Kingdom of God….and all things will be added unto you.”

I have chosen this week that I can stop compartmentalizing contentment and hope. Somehow, as a coping tool or maybe a self-declared limit, I had determined I needed to choose one of the following, 1) being thankful for what I have or 2) hoping for more. But as a conclusion to the ride I have been on this week, I have determined something new. I am choosing to enjoy what I have on the way to where I am going. Already there is an elevated joy and peace. The limits are off and the manipulation of my future has lessened. There is expectancy for God to be God and joy in the waiting because I already have so much to enjoy. What an awesome God we serve. He loves me enough to undo every knot that is binding me when I was not aware I was being bound. He has yet again set me free. He is so worthy of praise.

Dream BIG- don’t settle, and enjoy the journey. This life we have is a gift to be fully enjoyed, not a deadline or rush just to arrive, and where are we hoping to arrive? I just want to see Jesus, and share Jesus, and love love love….and I already have everything I need to live in that reality-everything He chooses to bless me with beyond that is a surprise and I give thanks!

Jan10

Are we really protected by God?

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For a little while I have been wrestling out the topic of God’s Protection. I had a beloved friend share with me a horrible event that happened to her son. My heart filled with anxiety as I listened. “Wait, how could this happen?” I thought to myself, “She loves God, she prays for her children, I know she was agreeing in scripture over their lives……I HAVE A SON, could this happen to him too?” I was completely wrecked.My whole world had been thrown off axis. I needed answers.

I began my journey by asking the Lord to teach me. I had to put my heart back in place in the center of Truth. God is always Good. His NEVER breaks His promise. Nothing separates us from His love. He NEVER leaves us nor forsakes us. He answers the prayers of His children.

I started by talking to my mentor. She said to me, “So Jenna, do you pray to try to control the outcome? Did God not love Jesus because He allowed Him to suffer and die for us? Did God not protect the disciples when they each considered it an honor to be martyred for His Gospel of Peace? What do you do with the scriptures about sharing in His sufferings?”

I did NOT like this response! I did NOT like someone alluding it may be true that because I am in Christ doesn’t mean  harm will not befall me!!!! I did NOT want THIS bubble to get burst. I didn’t want to mature in this area of thinking…..NO NO NO! But God said, Yes, so I continued on.

I spoke with a dear friend of mine and she said, “Jenna I think the problem you are having is that you are trying to understand an Infinite God through finite eyes.” Through this powerful statement ( and I am sure the prayers of others asking God for my heart to be softened to learn His truth on the matter) I was able to remember something the Lord showed me not to very long ago.

I was contemplating His protection one day, as I was studying Psalm 91, and I was thanking Him for innumerable events I could specifically see His protection on my life in. As I finished He responded, ” You are welcome, Jenna, but they number of times Satan has asked to bring things into your life and I have said NO keep them far from her, is far greater than the protection you are aware of.”

As I remembered this, I also considered the truth that God can work everything together for our good. I began to allow myself to consider how we are in a world where sin exists and how everything that happens IS NOT God’s will. He gave us free will, and He will not violate that. However, because He is God He makes beautiful out of our ugly. And man, can it get ugly!

He reminded me of a dream I had not too long ago where I was being tortured in every way because of my profession of Christ and because I would not stop sharing the Love of God. As I was enduring every blow they gave to me, the strangest thing was happening. My joy and peace were untouched and the only thought I had over and over was, “I have been crucified with Christ, therefore I no longer live, but Jesus Christ now lives in me. You cannot take that away, no matter what you do to me.” As I meditated upon this dream, asking Him to reveal to me what I need to learn through it, He was showing me how His protection doesn’t mean we won’t face suffering, it means He will walk through it with us, and we can have Victory in Christ, in our hearts, spirits, and minds even through the trials. That is powerful! That is true protection!

I was allowing Him to mature my thinking, renew my mind, in this area, and one morning I finally said, ” Just show me in Your Word again, affirm to me again what is really true about your protection. Please continue to redefine for me what it means to be protected by You.”

He brought me to Psalm 73. It was remarkable, please read it for yourselves. What I got from it was there is no doubt that God is Good. So even when bad thing happen, God is good. The psalmist expressed, “I almost missed seeing His goodness because I was too busy looking in another direction.” I began to understand how this issue and fear of being protected from evil really isn’t where my focus should be. My focus should be, “Seek first the Kingdom of God…..and all things will be added unto me.” He continued to say, “Although I’ve been ignorant as an ox in Your Presence, I was STILL in Your Presence. And You led me gently, compassionately, and then You blessed me!” What an awesome God, although I was asking questions that were not even where I needed to worry about, He gently led me and blessed me anyway! The psalmist ends by saying, “God You are all I want in Heaven AND on Earth.” As I read that, I thought, “Could that really become the cry of my heart? He was enough, everything, all?” Everything besides having Him is truly icing on the cake?He alone is more than enough for me?

I’m not there yet friends, but that is the cry of my heart. I want Him to be everything. I want to whisper a surprised thanks for everything above the gift of having been saved through Christ. I want to recognize everything as a blessing, a not deserved, not promised blessing from the hand of a good and loving God. I want to get this so deeply rooted in my heart and spirit so that when the next storm comes I do not have a faith crisis and life crisis simultaneously. I am choosing daily to declare, “God is always good, and I am always loved.”

One last thing was when I was talking about this to my counselor, he brought me back to Genesis and how God’s original plan was NOT for us to be concerned with good and evil, but to only eat from the Tree of Life and enjoy Him and His creation. Praise God! I can do that! =)

We can count on Him. He has our back. He is Faithful. He is Trustworthy. He earned my trust on the cross, and nothing can change that. You are divinely protected my friend! It is the TRUTH!

Jan8

Angry? Not me…..or am I?

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Recently the Lord has reminded me that anything I try to do in my own strength or power will end ugly.

I have started attending a group which makes you journal and the first week is probing inward about anger. I found that my anger (which I was highly unaware of it’s existence ) was mostly due to me constantly saying in my mind, “Let it go,”….”don’t worry about it,”….”just keep moving, it’s not a big deal.” The problem was, it was a lie! I wasn’t letting it go, not worrying about it, or moving on, I was actually stuffing it. Which means my tendency, always to my own great surprise, is to reach a point where, “I JUST CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!”

I wasn’t able to let it go, although I was fully believing I had, because I was trying to do it in my own strength, by myself. After journaling the Lord has shown me that a much more beneficial road to take would look like this:

“Lord, thank you for giving me the emotion of anger so I can discern when something is wrong. Right now, something is wrong because I am feeling angry. Do You have a solution or a higher perspective or reality for what I am currently experiencing?”

This takes a lot more time and effort than being ruled by my emotion, but I am fixed on moving forward this year. I am partnering with Jesus no matter what it takes to replace my destructive cycles, like this one, with constructive cycles. I am willing to take the extra step for freedom!

The truth is, I cannot muster up enough strength consistently to hold in all the stuff that flies at any of us in just one day, not to mention, weeks, months, and years. I need God, I need Him in every NOW moment, and He is available and with me! What incredible Love! Lord, I fully admit my dependence on You. I need you, Lord, more than ever before! I love you Jesus! Amen!

Ephesians 4:26-32 MSG

26-27 Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.

28 Did you use to make ends meet by stealing? Well, no more! Get an honest job so that you can help others who can’t work.

29 Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.

30 Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted.

31-32 Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.

Dec12

All about our Anchor

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Ahhh…..I love the Word of God! I am so blessed how His word is alive! I went into my email to find something I will be sharing with you all shortly and the Lord brought  me back to an email I wrote almost exactly a year ago. In His perfect timing, He has brought this very thing up in the forefront of my thoughts again, however I had no recollection of writing this email. This is living water! I pray you drink deep and find hope. I did/am.
I wanted to share with you a scripture that I have been meditating upon and researching for greater wisdom! You know the Lord speaks to me about my life in reference to a ship, and the other day He began to highlight to me that a ship always needs an anchor. He is our anchor, and though the storms may rage, He will KEEP us anchored to Him….
Before I share the scripture, I wanted to share a little of what I have recently learned about anchors. Anchors were originally ROCKS!!!!! He is our Rock and our salvation! Hallelujah! Anchors have a “crown” Praise KING Jesus!
Anchors that are not strong enough to hold, will be ripped up and the boat will sink in the storm. He is our ever-present help in time of need! He will never leave us nor forsake us! When we are slipping we cry out and He reaches out and pulls us up. If God is our anchor, we can NEVER sink! Hallelujah!
Also, the word “HOPE” can mean a cord, or rope, attached to the Lord. A dear friend of mine helped me to envision this as an umbilical cord from Heaven to “this piece of Earth” ( meaning my life, your life) feeding me my daily nutrients vital for sustaining life in Christ, and I can also envision this as an anchor which is so totally wrapped in Christ, who is my ROCK, that it could never be pulled out or up. There is such thing as “temporary” anchors, and “permanent” anchors. May I just encourage us  that we most definitely have a PERMANENT ANCHOR! Hallelujah!
Here is the scripture in a few versions! May the Lord bless you and keep you! I am praying for you! Your ship will not wander to and fro for you are securely anchored by the Rock, King Jesus!!!!!!!!!!

Hebrews 6:19

Amplified Bible (AMP)

19[Now] we have this [hope] as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul [it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whoever steps out upon it–a hope] that reaches farther and enters into [the very certainty of the Presence] within the veil,

Hebrews 6:19

The Message (MSG)
  18-20We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 6:19

J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)
 16-20 Among men it is customary to swear by something greater than themselves. And if a statement is confirmed by an oath, that is the end of all quibbling. So in this matter, God, wishing to show beyond doubt that his plan was unchangeable, confirmed it with an oath. So that by two utterly immutable things, the word of God and the oath of God, who cannot lie, we who are refugees from this dying world might have a source of strength, and might grasp the hope that he holds out to us. This hope we hold as the utterly reliable anchor for our souls, fixed in the very certainty of God himself in Heaven, where Jesus has already entered on our behalf, having become, as we have seen, “High Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek”.
Nov2

Laying our burdens down

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So I had an amazing experience with The Lord and just thought I’d share it in case you wanted to give it a shot.
As I was spending time with Him, I had worship music on. The words to the song were, ” and I lay every burden down, at the foot of the cross,” next thing I know, I find myself drawing the cross, on a hill, and above it writing words that describe what I receive from His sacrifice and who He is to me. Then I proceeded to to write down all of the things that were burdening me. After doing that, it was like I knew they were no longer in my hands, but in the hands of the only One who could work them together for good. After this exchange, I was able to hear and focus on what He wanted to share with me, to encourage me in, and to lead me to pray about. It was powerful for me, and I just thought it may be for you too! Be blessed!

Sep21

Overcoming even in the Wilderness

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Can you take a minute to read Luke 4 before going on?
Something that stood out to me today as I read in chapter four was that satan waited until Jesus was really really hungry, probably almost desperate to eat, probably feeling very weak before he started to tempt Him.
It said that Jesus had been in The wilderness for 40 days and had not eaten a thing before satan started to tempt him.
I have personally had this type of experience with the tempter, aka accuser. I have had many times where I was beaten down, at the end of my rope, overwhelmed with fear of the unknown, and just plain desperate and that is when I would get kicked the hardest. I have had many “wilderness” experiences where I felt all alone, and even sometimes separated from God. Satan loves to kick us while we are down. He loves to tempt us when we are desperately fighting, and he especially loves to tempt us with what we are desperate for.
I strongly believe we were given this example because Jesus showed us how to handle every type of temptation we would be faced with. He showed us there is NOTHING satan can throw at us that cannot be defeated by the TRUTH in the Word of God. He showed us that in order to deny satan from defeating us, we will constantly have to deny our flesh, meaning our physical needs, our pride, our need to prove God to others, any desire we have that does not line up with the plans of The Lord on our lives. He showed us that the only strategy needed to live in victory is to be in relationship with the Word, JESUS! It’s serious. He came to give us a perfect example of living a human life completely dependent on The Lord and this was His only and very specific strategy for overcoming every temptation. What an awesome example.
So how can you really apply what Jesus was teaching us? Here is something I try to do. I pray this scripture: Psalm 139:23-24
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
When I deliberately ask for this, He does reveal any offensive way in me. Often times, it would be something I would never otherwise have paid attention too. But mostly, if they would be left in the darkness to grow, it would take root and be much more painful to rip up and out. So although it is painful to see it at all, I’m grateful when it is revealed to me at just the beginning.
So next I have to make a choice to agree with God and line my heart up with His will. I have free will, so this is my responsibility. I have to choose to say, “Yes Lord, I recognize that is not from You, what are we going to do about it?” Often times, I don’t want to say that, but because I know Him, and I know He is FOR ME, I trust that He is saving me from future pain by revealing it to me. Then as I search the scriptures, He gives me truth to defeat the lie attached to the offensive way. So now that The Lord has made me aware of this thing, I’m hyper sensitive to it. I can now recognize the ploy and I have the specific strategy from The Lord, the specific scripture(s) to defeat the enemy. Together with The Lord’s help, with Jesus alive in me, I can overcome! Praise The Lord!
Lord Jesus, thank you for providing everything. Thank you for being the Truth! Teach me in your ways. Deepen my desire for holiness and continue to make me aware of every offensive thing in me. Cleanse me, purify me, make me more like you! Oh Lord, that is the deepest desire of my heart! I love you and it in in your name, Jesus, I pray. Amen!