Where's My Helmet...?

When I think of battles I think of the movies 300, Gladiator, and Clash of The Titans. A bunch of big, hot strong men running around taking care of business..lol

No matter what your battle looks like (raising kids, a family, finding a husband, inlaws, outlaws, family relationships, your boss, co-worker, or just your own inner battles) it doesn’t belong to you alone. What relief! We don’t have to fight our way through life with our own strength—which always wanes, runs out or gets entirely depleted!

The amazingly fantastic news is that God is NEVER tired, NEVER exhausted, and NEVER loses. Woo hoo...I know right.

A wonderful verse to remember when we are totally DONE, EXHAUSTED, and FEEL LIKE WE CAN’T do whatever is that we need to…we can think on this:

2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

We can boldly say, “I can’t, but God can!” I love that!

Romans 8:28-31
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed"!!

Zechariah 4:6, Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, said the LORD of hosts.

I love this scripture because it reframes my constant attempts to do things in MY power. Thinking I must do all things in my own effort leaves no room for the supernatural realm of God. God usually calls us to do things that are beyond of our capabilities because then we have to RELY on Him and we always gain a new level of trust in Him.

We don’t need to grit our teeth and do things alone. All we need to do is ASK Him for help! So often we think it’s ALL up to us, but God has a better plan. We only need to seek Him first. Pray and ask God to reveal His will for our life, and trust Him that He will do it!

We need to prepare for the battle, but it’s God who does the fighting.

Proverbs 21:31 The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD.

iron helmets, swords, and muscles

CLC

Hurt

When we have old hurts in a relationship, we tend to always be looking at that person through a lens of hurt—everything they do or don’t do—is analyzed through that lens. It can cast a shadow of doubt upon the relationship because the old pain is remembered and brought again to the surface. It will seem as if whatever that person does, results in being HURTFUL. Normal things that would otherwise go unnoticed in a healthy relationship, like a delayed call back, will seem like a direct insult. This is because we have been injured and have become extremely sensitive to any action or inaction by that person. It’s like if we have a broken arm and someone bumps into it, normally it wouldn’t bother us at all, but since we have an injury there—ouch! We experience more pain over the “bump” than we would other wise. Our relationships are the same.

How do you get rid of the hurtful lens? How do you heal that old hurt so that you can be well again? What if that person who caused the pain never asked you to forgive them? What if that person doesn’t even know they hurt you? The answer to all of these questions is…Jesus.

We take off the hurt glasses and hand them over to Jesus. Hand it all over to Him who took on every sin the world would ever commit, even as small as hurt feelings, and He will handle it better than any person ever could. Jesus has the ability to heal us (even from the wounds inflicted by others) and to give us a right view of the world and the people in our life. He sees all things, even the depths of our hearts—something we hardly understand ourselves!

I love this verse for that very reason, it describes how we are limited now, but we will see all things clearly later!

1 Corinthians 13:12-13
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

God knows all the details of the relationship that is causing you so much pain, He knows both sides actually- yours and the other person. His understanding, knowledge and wisdom are unmatched. This should give you every confidence in trusting His ways and following His instructions.

Forgiveness, is the biggest freedom fighter out there! Pray and forgive that person who hurt you. Tell yourself it’s okay that you were hurt. Everyone gets hurt in life, no one is immune.

Forgiveness is the antidote to the poison that hurt can become. Knowing this, as soon as you feel slighted or hurt in anyway, forgive that person quickly, regardless if they are sorry or not. This is the best way to live, forgiving quickly and staying free from the bondage of pain.

Of course there are situations that are physically dangerous and we need to make a physical move away from someone one who is harming us. Forgive them AND GET AWAY!

What I’m talking about here are those everyday relationships we all have to face at some point or other.

I know wearing my HURT glasses 24/7 only ended up causing ME more pain because I looked at EVERYONE through them! Be smarter than me, give those old distorted lens to God and He’ll give you 20/20 vision through His love!

Im FORGIVING all of the hurts in my life from family and friends and relationships. Lord help me to forgive as I have been forgiven.

Not keeping any records of wrongs done

CLC

For The Lack Of All That Is Good...

When God calls us to do something, it is NEVER something He wants us to do alone (meaning without Him). It might even be so ridiculously big that you are embarrassed to share with others. This is why we read again and again that “with man, this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Mark 10:27Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."

I really think we all need to throw out our fear of lack. We aren’t supposed to be fearing at all, look at Isaiah 41:10, 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 right hand.

Knowing that you NEVER have to fear lack because God is with you and He says we are made complete in Jesus—lacking NOTHING…why not make a list of the top 5 (or more if you have more) things you are fearful of lacking and then pray and ask God to remove them from your heart and mind.

Incase you were wondering, this was my list of fears a few of them I still struggle with once in a while, like lack of my pupose in life and never making anything out of my life and feeling like a disappointment to my family.

1. Fear and lack of finding my purpose in life and living a sucessful life.
2. Fear and lack of never finding the right guy for me.
3. Fear and lack of money
4. Fear and lack of having having good friends
5. Fear of being inferior to everyone else, like I’m the only dumb person EVER and cant get anything right in life.

Know that God can help you! You don’t have to confident in yourself, but have EVERY confidence in Christ. He is our assurance of life, down to every last detail. By putting your trust, faith an confidence in God, you have unlimited access to the Holy, I AM. Doesn’t that just blow your measly fears out of the water?

Angels In Passing

Its amazing the people God places in your life for a reason.

Whether it is someone that is in your life for a extended period of time of someone in passing. My heart broke today for a man that came up to me for advice on what to do physically workout wise while battling Prostate Cancer. He was so humble and just at the beginning of a long road of uncertainty and starting the process of chemo.

His sweet smile and kind sense of humor made me extremely grateful right then and there for everything simple in life. I pray that the Lord is with him and his family over the next several months.

Waging Storms

Have you ever watched a storm on the ocean? The waves are turned into white caps, the very color of the sea changes as sand is churned upward, and the once docile lapping of the waves have turned into walls of water that crash with such force it’s all you hear.

Does it make you want to head for home and hunker down where you know you will be warm, dry and safe until the storm passes? That’s always what I want to do!

But what if that storm is on the inside, in our soul? No matter where you go, it rages on—you can’t out run the storm within. So many times I’ve had this crazy storm raging inside and no matter where I went or what I tried to do to forget about it- it was there. It didn’t “blow over” or “clear up” on it’s own. That’s why I wanted to write about it, because we need to know WHO can calm the storm and HOW we get to that place where we can find rest, safety and warmth –on the inside.

First, no matter how fierce the gale, how loud the thunder or how scared you might be…God is stronger than the storm.

Psalm 107:29 He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.

God’s power over nature is just a glimmer of His power over our inner storms—how much more can Jesus calm your soul, if He can calm the SEA?! How much bigger is the sea than our little heart? But how much more precious your little heart is than all of the sea? God cares for every last detail of creation, a sparrow doesn’t fall without Him noticing…so how much MORE does he notice when His own child is in pain?
He loves you, more than you will ever know right now, but I’m almost certain, we will know more fully, the depths of His love for us when we arrive in Heaven.

So what do we do NOW, when we are driving to the grocery store and our heart is having a category 5 tornado?

1. Pray. You can pray driving down the highway, just keep your eyes open! Ha ha!

2. Ask. Say, “Father it’s too much, please calm my raging soul, I’m sorry I’ve tried to deal with this on my own, when I know that only You can truly bring what I am desperate for, for peace, for rest and for assurance in your faithful hand…that my life IS worth living. Show me what I need to do in this situation, give me discernment and wisdom to navigate these waters.”


3. Trade your garbage thoughts, like “I totally screwed up my whole life, my marriage is disintegrating, I’m addicted to this or that, my spouse is addicted to this or that, I’ve just received a bad diagnosis, my child is hurting and I can’t seem to help, or I don’t want to live anymore” (any thought that is hopeless, negative in nature or riddled with pain). Give them over to Jesus, He tells us to give Him our heavy burdens. Hand over the storm to Jesus.

Psalm 107:30 They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.

Isn’t this a wonderful verse? After Jesus calms the terrifying storm in our soul, He doesn’t just leave us there…His faithfulness remains as He guides us home.

No matter the size of the storm you are facing now, rejoice because no storm is bigger than our God!

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Considering

I'm alive and well.
I'm not in a unhappy marriage.
I'm not in anything permanent.
I can change the way things are.
I can change my outcome.
And most importantly I can ask for GOD'S strenght through it all!

Romans 8

Everyone goes through difficulties and painful situations in life. In fact, scripture tells us that in this world we will have tribulations and trials. I’ve heard it said that the life of faith is not about the absence of problems, but the presence of power—God’s power at work in us leading us to the place of wholeness and victory. He promises to take those things that the enemy meant for evil and turn them around for our good. It says in Romans 8 that He causes all things to work together for our good because we love Him.

“Without God’s perspective, we miss out on some of His greatest lessons found in this tension between joy and tribulation. Think of a car battery. It fulfills its purpose through its power that comes from both a positive and a negative current running through it. When a car battery runs out of power, we give it a jump-start by hooking up both the positive and negative cables. The tension of joy and tribulation in our lives works the same way. We need both positive and negative currents to energize our purpose and call.”

Today, no matter what you may be facing, no matter what you may have been through in the past, God is not the author of destruction; He is the author of life and peace. He didn’t bring that difficulty into your life, but He can use it to launch you forward into your destiny. John 16:33 tells us that even though we have challenges, we can be of good cheer because He has overcome the world and deprived it of power to harm you. When you put your hope in God, you will never be disappointed! Keep your heart and mind open to Him, keep meditating on His Word, and let Him revolutionize your heart and life!