As we enter 2023, the mantra remains the same for us all. Keep pushing forward in Jesus Christ, no matter the circumstances. Even when things are going well, there is a need to stay prayed up and focused on Jesus. There is an enemy who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy.
John 10:10 – “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”
Walking with Jesus gives us wisdom, courage and strength so that we are not blindsided. There are times when we are not aware that there is a force in the background in our lives trying to take us out.
Walking with God is about trusting Him and believing His Word for your life. His promises are yes and Amen. Look to the future through the Word of God.
Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you,“ says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
This is one of my favorite Scriptures. If you have read a few of my posts, you will see that I refer to this Scripture often. Why? Because it gives me peace. It builds my trust in God. Through Jesus Christ, God has already proven that He loves us. If He has already given us eternal life, would He not even more be faithful to us to give us life more abundant?
John 10:10 – “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”
Repeating his Scripture, there are two sides to this coin. Jesus came to give us a better life here also. He didn’t say He came to erase every trial or every challenge. In growth, we have a better life. Growing in Him…in grace.
This post follows my post from Thursday. As I stated there, it was a rough week full of challenges. However, I have recouped. I would like to offer thanks to the bloggers who post the Word of God and share the timely truths that get us back on the right track. Although I do have my own Bible and read it, it is nice when the written word comes from those who speak the Gospel in what they write. I have been truly blessed the last couple of days reading the reminders that help us stay on track. Although I have been very busy, it is nice to be able to read the blogs when dashing here and there. Below are some posts worth reading to be re-energized to run this race.
The enemy takes advantage of this opportunity by adding fuel to the fire with more negative thoughts. We are the product of our daily habits. I found that I had slipped in the practices that had me right on track. Consumed by the “necessities” of life, like paying bills, etc. I found myself drowning. Although temporary, it is necessary for me to put this in the forefront to remember what happened. I am not sure when it happened, just how it happened. We find ourselves getting too busy for the right things on a daily basis. I pray in my car all the time. But what I wasn’t doing was the concentrated prayer. Setting time aside not to be distracted by the traffic, the drivers or the customers. Drive by prayer. Not good.
That is not saying that God has not spoken to me, He most certainly has. It is necessary to give God the time, praise and worship He deserves without the extras. This is where we build strength and staying power. I say this because multi-tasking has become such the thing to do these days. You cannot do just one thing at a time. I believe it may be because our jobs now require that you do four things at once because it has to be done yesterday, we have lost the pleasure of enjoying what we do. With single parents having to do so many things just to provide a decent life for the families, we can’t afford to do one thing at a time, do it well and enjoy it. So we think. However, when the rat race becomes overwhelming, we have no choice but to stop and slow down. Revisit the priorities and take a stand.
Finally, the book review for The Confident Woman by Joyce Meyer. It has been a bit of time since reading the book. However, in dealing with the challenges that I was facing, the book truly helped me to keep my thoughts focused on the Word of God. Not only that, some of the information included was added to my daily spiritual declarations.
I believe all of us know what the word fight means. It is to contend or struggle in war, battle, single combat. It is a conflict or struggle. It is a vigorous effort in the face of difficulty. Holding our own in this world is a daunting task. However, God knew that we couldn’t do this alone or without Him, and because He loves us so much, He sent Jesus to die for us and Jesus left us His Holy Spirit to arm us. Let us fight the good fight of faith! God gave us all that we need including the descriptive details of what this looks like in Ephesians 6. There are no excuses other than we just don’t want to. I believe that equipping ourselves daily-yes, daily-with the Word of God is one of the first and very critical steps in fighting this fight.
It is imperative that we get this. God is so detailed in how He gives us His Word that we should be excited. He has covered all the bases. Are you wearing your full armor in this battle? Fighting the good fight of faith is about the unseen. It is not necessary to have faith in what you already see because you see it. The unseen world, or the heavenly realm is just as real as the natural. The enemy seeks to steal, kill and destroy by any means necessary and he certainly will use the supernatural realm to try to stop us from walking by faith. You have no ammunition that can fight the enemy when you do not have God’s armor. Those negative thoughts will come and those testy situations from the enemy are used to wear us down. However, we are not to be weary in well-doing. If you don’t put on the armor, you get weaker the more you get hit. Ask any veteran about the true art of war. To fight the battle, you have to be prepared. God is so gracious to us because He has given us explicit instructions on how to fight this thing. The battle is truly not ours anyway but the Lord’s. We are His soldiers. Make no mistake because Jesus has given us the victory in His death and resurrection. The requirement from us is to fight in faith here on earth. The extent of His love is so phenomenal because He still gives us free will to say yes. God gave us Christ to save us, gave us His Holy Spirit for power in the resurrection and the Word of God to arm us. How much more can we ask for? The enemy certainly has a clue of the value of you standing in faith for your purpose in the kingdom of God. I now ask again, “Are you wearing your full armor in this battle? Is not this a fight worth fighting for? ” Our eternity is based on the answer.