Wrestling With Something?

Child of God,

When outsiders (close to you, or strangers) look into your world and see your hurts and your struggles, it may seem a slight thing to them. They may see that your blessings so much outweigh your complaints that they scoff at how ridiculous you sound; especially in light of all they suffer. They don’t see you, they compare your world to theirs, never stopping to consider that what you wrestle with is the very trying of your faith.

(picture from en.wiktionary.org)

As others grapple with their own faith and get frustrated with their own doubt and unbelief, they may hold you in high esteem and wonder how you could even bring up your struggles in light of theirs, whether you know how much they struggle or not.

But, know this, God sees your heart. When no one else seems to understand what you’re going through or how much you hurt, God sees you and understands. He’s not ignoring you or playing on His cell phone there on the sidelines while you’re getting tackled on the field.

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God sees you. He holds your breath in His hands. He’s continuously pouring His life into you, even when it seems you’re at your weakest.

God hears you. He saves your tears as treasures, because He knows how much they cost you. He knows when it’s a battle to even shed those tears, when they won’t quite breech the surface of your eyes.  (Psalm 56:8)

God feels your heart break. He’s forever joined to your spirit, facing your pain and anguish with you.

No matter how you read Isaiah 59:19 – God is there to rescue you.

“When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.”

“When the enemy shall come in, like a flood the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.” 

(videoblocks.com)

Moving the comma only accents where the flood is coming from; do you feel the raging flood of your enemy? Or do you allow the flood of God’s raging rescue?

No matter how small your struggles feel when you compare them to the struggles others face – they are the trying of your faith.

Stop comparing battles, don’t be discouraged if others don’t take you seriously.

God is in this with you all the way. ---All. ---The. ---Way.

(picture from thespiritbusiness.com)

“…He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6 (NIV)

The trying of your faith proves the power that’s within you. God already knows how strong you are; He IS the power that’s within you. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead – LIVES IN YOU!  (Romans 8:11)

He’s merely exposing that power, so that you can see it and use it!

“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” – Luke 12:32 (KJV)

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When I Don't Know How to Pray

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As my friends sometimes do, one sent me a scripture this morning. Two verses that made me take note – and ponder.

When someone asks how they can pray for me, I often stumble for a response. 

Of course, my loved ones are first on my mind.

They’re suffering.

Yet, God is in control; nothing is happening that He hasn’t already seen, none of this has taken Him by surprise. To pray for their deliverance seems trite, because He’s already working on that. To pray for their salvation; He’s got that covered, too. To pray their eyes be opened and that He reveals Himself to them in ways they will understand and receive – yes, He’s already doing it.

(1ms.net)

 To pray that I trust Him with them, yes, I trust Him completely.

There’s no thought of my loved ones He hasn’t already heard, no cry He hasn’t already considered. How do I identify how to pray over what God is already seeing through to glory? Tearfully and sometimes feeling ill-equipped, I pray in faith and through a yielded heart; rejoicing that God prays through me. His Spirit is in me, and He knows exactly how to pray. Always.

Pray that I not get in His way? Ah, that might be even better, as one who loves deeply, my heart wants to jump right to every situation that arises; it can be hard to close my mouth and sit on my hands and watch pain and anguish and fear twist those I love. Especially when pride tells me that appearing to do nothing might convey that I don’t care or understand.

(mnn.com)

Yet, sometimes my own spiritual growth and understanding comes most brilliantly and powerfully through the painful breaths in my own life. Anguish can be a tool. Fear can paralyze or catapult me. Struggles can teach. Nothing we experience is wasted.

And we can’t experience for someone else.

Freedom is treasured more intimately when we’ve fought for it; when we’ve discovered for ourselves how that liberation exhilarates us.

In “wishing” for less turmoil, I dare not hope to remove God’s hand from the lives of the very ones I love more than life itself, or slow His plan, even if I could......

(theguardian.com)

With every request I bring to my Lord, He assures me: “I Am.........” 

My friend sent me a verse from Isaiah.

“Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is none else; I am God and there is none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure.” – Isaiah 46:9-10 (KJV)

Who Are We Wrestling With?

While praying the other day a point came to mind and of course I pondered it. Sometimes when we pray, we feel futility come in and try to distract us, or even compel us to give up praying for certain people or situations. It can be trying on our patience and a test of our faith to continue to pray even when we cannot see things change.

Sometimes we pray because we don’t know what else to do. Sometimes we pray because we know it’s the best thing to do.

But when we pray because we know it’s the best thing we can do – and we feel like our prayers are bouncing off the ceiling and no changes surface in the ordeal we’re facing, then what?

Most of us humans aren’t all that good at waiting, especially here in America where our culture promises everything from a microwave. If we’re in a drive-thru for more than a few minutes, we’ll mutter, “And they call this FAST food?”

I don’t claim to know the secrets to living a life of patience, quite frankly, if I couldn’t find folks to chat with while waiting in line I’d consider them a form of purgatory.

But I discovered a little nugget the other day that has changed and invigorated the way I pray for people and certain situations. I may not have authority over their minds, BUT – I can have spiritual authority over the evil influences that overwhelm them.

When God bestowed upon us the gift of freedom to choose, He didn’t intend for any of us to wrestle that freedom away from others, even when we think we know better than they do. You may not be able to force someone to see things your way – or God’s way, but you can take authority over the forces that want to see destruction throughout mankind.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” – Ephesians 6:12 (KJV)

(The photo is Australian actor/wrestler Nathan Jones.)