Have you ever felt like you had the wind knocked out of you? You're doing everything you know how, including prayer, fasting, sowing, serving...you see progress and then WHAM! The thought, the action, the incident happens. I am so grateful that I have the Word of God to comfort me. One of my go to scriptures when it gets really hard is Psalm 34:18
If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there;
if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath.
So BREATHE! Yes, doesn't that feel better? The Word of God tells us to "Be Anxious for nothing: In Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Beloved, When we’re suddenly shaken…it’s so easy to become a victim..and when we do that, we give away our power…here’s what I mean…
Have you ever been doing great, and then someone says something, or you see something… you remember something from the past… and suddenly your peace is gone?
Suddenly you feel like a failure. You wonder why you’ve done what you’ve done, or why you haven’t done more, or why you haven’t done things differently. And as you begin to think about it… a cloud of depression comes to block out the warmth and contentment you felt just moments ago.
Kay Arthur shares an instance when her youngest son was leaving to go back to college after spending a weekend at home. She prayed for his safe journey, then turned to finish her nap…but as she did her mind begin to race …wondering if she had been a good mother, if she adequately prepared her son for life…and all the “if only’” and “what ifs” began to attack her. And just like that… her peace was gone…can you relate?
What happened? Nothing had changed… but her thoughts. Yet that was enough to change the entire atmosphere of her afternoon. Her joy… was turned to mourning…and peace to turmoil. Rejoicing over recent spiritual victories was now overshadowed by doubts, inadequacies and fears. Not because of anything her son had done…but because of her own mental turmoil…because of a thought process. This is so…real…I can relate
Recently…as we’re ending the 1Q …I was reviewing my goals to track my progress…and I immediately took the negative route versus the positive route. Looking at what I had not accomplished versus what I had. Questioning myself…what have you been doing… After a few minutes of wallowing and almost getting depressed…I took a step back to RE-LOOK and RE- Focus – Re-Assess
Where do these thoughts come from… And… what do we do when this happens?
Kay says and I agree… we often forget that we are in warfare and that Satan’s target is our mind. Why because as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. It’s only logical that the enemy would attack our mind.
This is why according to Ephesians 6:6-17 God has resourced us with the Shield of faith, to extinguish the flaming missiles of the evil one, along with the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. Along with the other pieces of armor.
This is what we have to do. Purposefully “choose to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2Cor 10:3-6) and he gives us what to think on in Phil 4:8
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
We must actually live by these truths rather than by our feelings, thoughts and evaluations of life…is this always easy…absolutely not…it’s warfare.
How do we prepare ourselves to do this: we must know our God… and His ways… One thing I always remind myself of is that God loves me…and He has a good plan for me and I exchange my thoughts for his.
This is why continual growth and learning… the scriptures and spending time in God’s presence is so important. Learning and growing in your skill and gaining more knowledge is also important… as well as having mentors… coaches and strong prayer partners and …a solid tribe.
Back to my goals for 1Q…as I re-looked and re-focused I could hear my mentor say, “Don’t be married to the plan, be married to the Goal” that helped tremendously.
I hope that you’re setting goals in each area Spiritual, relationship/family, financial, health/wellness, and work and career goals… sooo…anywho...ONE of my spiritual growth goals was to attend a bible class onsite or online for community with other believers and do it by end of January. Which I had not done..and carried over each month…so I had to reassess the goal…and as I began to do this…The goal was to deepen my spiritual walk…sometimes we have to re-frame the goal. I had not registered for a class but I did come under a spiritual mentor to deepen my walk and flow of the prophetic. And in the process… I am definitely deepening my spiritual walk and deepening a precious relationship. So now it’s actually hitting two areas: spiritual and relationships
Maybe you’re frustrated by something that…you just need to re-frame. Change the plan but not the goal (Re-frame it and then re-position yourself…Take another look, get your focus back, reassess, then re-position your posture…you are not a victim of your thoughts and emotions.
Let’s close with this Phil 4:6-9 and Eph 6:10-18 in the message:
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on …he tells us what to think on…
Instructions: Petition, Praise, Prayer = Peace
We are No longer the Victim – We don’t have to be Victims of our Thoughts and Emotions. Let’s learn how to and continue to use our weapons:
A Fight to the Finish – Ephesians 6:10-18 - The Message Bible:
10-12 And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.
13-18 Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
Here's a Nugget for you:
Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom." Viktor Frankl
The enemy did his best to get me down. What he in fact did was push me to my knees. 2cor12:7-10 message
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Note: I have shared portions from His Imprint My Expression by Kay Arthurs
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