It's a war

I've always been very aware of the fact that there is a battle going on that we cannot see. It's a battle between good & evil, God & Satan, a battle for our very souls. For the person that hasn't chosen to be a Christ-follower, the goal is to keep them from becoming on. For the person that has chosen to follow Christ, the goal is to take our focus off of God and thereby give other things (aka Satan), the glory. Less we forget, we are always glorifiying something/someone, it's just a question of who.

The past 2 weeks have been the absolute hardest I've had a Christian in a very long time. Nothing crazy or earth-shattering has happened other than I just couldn't get my act together. I made some bad choices, sometimes being deliberate about sin, and I just didn't feel strong enough to do anything else

I knew that there was a war going on in the heavenlies, I knew that we, as Christ-followers, would be the subject of much of this war and yet I was tired. I felt very battle-weary. Perhaps you can relate to that, I don't know.

God is always faithful in the midst of that.

My friend, Dina, emailed me this today. A little background, Dina works for a company called Newell & Associates (if you are at a church or ministry that uses volunteers, you need to check them out) and she has a prayer team (more on that subject on a later blog). Her prayer team receives weekly updates & prayer requests so we can assist Dina in her ministry. She is my very best friend and an incredible woman of God.

Read this:

God has reminded me this past week: We are at WAR! Whether we like it or not, whether we want to be or not, whether we feel like fighting or not—we are at war with the enemy of our souls, who prowls around, seeking to taunt and intimidate, steal, kill and destroy. When you have a moment, read I Samuel 17. It’s the famous David & Goliath encounter. Al (her boss) shared a devotional at the American Heritage Girl's conference on this passage: the Israelites and Philistines were at war, both sides had drawn their battle lines, but no one had engaged in battle because the giant Goliath yelled taunts and hurled a seemingly impossible challenge to the Israelites, which caused them to tremble in fear. So for 40 days, the enemy giant taunted and intimidated the Lord’s people. And although they were dressed in battle array, no one engaged in battle. It took David, a young boy with great courage and amazing faith, to step up and face the giant head on and engage in battle. For him, it didn’t matter what his size, qualifications or abilities were, it mattered that he came in the name of the LORD Almighty. v.45-47: “….I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me….and the whole world will know there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves, for the battle is the LORD’s and He will give all of you into our hands.” So often, I feel that I am at war, yet have not engaged in battle (prayer)—and I often catch myself much like the Israelite army, gripped by fear and intimidation. Your ministry as a prayer partner on this team has an amazing impact on the LORD’s kingdom. You are Davids—full of courage and faith, stepping in to engage in battle. The prayers you offer on behalf of our ministry and family are like the smooth stones David chose to sling at the enemy giant—fueled by God’s Almighty power, the enemy is defeated. I thank my God for each of you!