Words to Grow by

Two of my favorite verses in the Bible are 2 Timothy 1:7 God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind and Philippians 4: 6-7 Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything; Tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank him for his answers. If you do this you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus.

Although these are my favorite verses they seem to be the hardest for me to lean on when life gets rough, and I am not sure why that is. In my heart, I know that if I just wake up every morning and follow these verses than nothing should ever make me sad. I should feel strong and happy every day. I guess it just proves how strong of a pull demons have in my life every day. They keep my focus on the negative and make my heart dark. But Jesus has given me these two verses to fight the darkness every day. Now I must use my free will and choose to put these verses in my heart to fight off the demons.

 But you also need the armor of God. Ephesians 6:13-18 So use every piece of Gods armor to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will be standing up. But to do this you will need the strong belt of truth, breastplate of Gods approval, wear shoes that are able to speed you on as you preach the Good news of peace with God. In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. You will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times, ask God for anything in line with the Holy Spirits wishes. Plea with him, reminding him of your needs and keep praying earnestly for all Christians everywhere. Putting on God’s Armor is about moving past feelings and moving into your purpose. It’s easy to walk around day after day with the “victim” mentality, we live in a fallen world and if we let ourselves be more a part of this fallen world then try to live in the healing light of Christ it’s easy to be the “victim”. Someone has always wronged us, the day is never sunny enough, we never physically or mentally feel well enough. We cancel our engagements with friends and family because if we join them we might feel good. In my life experience these “feelings” our just little attacks from the evil darkness of this fallen world we live in. We have to trust what we know, not what we feel. I have found that these attacks usually happen when we are not putting on Gods Armor.

My trouble usually starts because I forget my shield of Faith. I think I get myself dressed, walk out the front door and BAM get knocked down by Satan’s arrows because I never grabbed my Faith shield. I know so many of you can relate. My biggest obstacle is Faith because for my faith to be strong I have to let go of my control and give God control. Day after day, minute after minute and second after second I have to pick up my Faith shield and let go of my control. I have often wondered how to hold onto my faith shield and my control but it never works out. You need two empty hands to hold up your shield so you can’t have control in one hand and a shield in the other. Something has to give. Usually, my Faith.

 To better understand Faith first you need to understand that Faith is not the belief that God will do what we want. Faith is the belief that God will do what is right. I have always loved the song “It is well with my soul”. The rhythm of the song always seems to take my mind to this peaceful place and the words “It is well with my soul” I can believe with my whole body, mind and spirit when I sing that song. I feel like I am alone singing directly to God even if I am in a church full of people. It seems to be rare moments when my Faith is so strong that I can truly trust God enough with all situations that come in and out of my life. I thought that with age I would become wiser in the word of God which would automatically give me more faith and peace in difficult times but for me at least that hasn’t been the case.

 I often have to ask myself who am I? I am told in the Bible that I am a child of God but what does that really mean? Who am I must come from Faith not our circumstances. Circumstances will always change, the Bible guarantees that, but it also says that no matter what difficulties this life throws at us we remain children of God. I like Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. That scripture reminds me I don’t have to have it all figured out. I am a child of God and my father will instruct me and watch over me. I can rest in the words of the song “it is well with my soul” because God has got it all figured out for me anyways.

 Listen friends I know as I write these words life is hard. To get to the point of unwavering faith in the midst of life’s greatest tragedies is not an easy task. Hebrews 12:4 After all, you have never yet struggled against sin and temptation until you sweat great drops of blood. Very powerful scripture there. Sometimes it’s good to really pour ourselves into the final days of Jesus before he was hung on the cross when a crisis comes in to our lives, for me I think it helps to put things back into perspective. And I can really hold on tight to the words that Faith is not the belief that God will do what we want. Faith is the belief that God will do what is right.

 Can you hear the soft music playing in the back ground…”It is well with my soul” As you hold one hand over your heart and lift the other one to the heavens sing that song and let God strengthen your faith and trust him that he will do what is right, every time, even if we don’t always agree or understand. Joshua 1:9 Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Romans 5:3-5 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials for we know that thy are good for us, they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady. Then, when that happens, we are able to hold our heads high no matter what happens and know that all is well, for we know how dearly God loves us, and we feel this warm love everywhere within us because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.