Do you have a warrior’s mindset… or have you ever had one?
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Maybe, I should ask this instead: Do you feel emotionally strong or weak?
Surely, you know what it is like to enter a day feeling strong and then end up across the field in the weak zone surrounded by the imaginary booing crowd.
LIFE IS SO UNPREDICTABLE AT TIMES, and too often we are not bending with it – instead, we are breaking.
What are we to do when we cannot control all of the circumstances around us, or the people we love, or the world we live in?
We recognize our human strength is not enough, and WE ASK GOD FOR HELP
When I was younger, I had a backbone that melted like hot wax.
Fear convinced me that living in the shadows of life was safe. I didn’t think there was an ounce of warrior DNA in me. The amplified lie I had believed had me shackled deep in misery.
What do you think about when you whisper the word warrior to yourself?
There is something inside my being that loves to imagine the layers encased in the word: Warrior.
I immediately think of God – He is the God of the Angel Armies – a true warrior.
Warrior defined by Webster’s dictionary tells us: “A person who shows or has shown great vigor, courage, or aggressiveness – a soldier.”
Friends, we all know that LIFE IS HARD. No one is exempt.
What are the battles you are facing today? Are they personal, relational, financial?
Not all of us may be battling addiction, suicidal thoughts, or holding on to unforgiveness where we can’t see past the pain, but we can be sure that the battles of life come to all of us.
WE ALL HAVE BATTLES TO FIGHT
In life, we can choose to just take what comes our way… or we can get in spiritual and emotional boot camp. Things can change with God’s help. We can’t just give up on ourselves that easily.
Carl shared a quote in his message this weekend and I pray that God amplifies it in your hearing this day as I read it once again:
“Don’t depend on the enemy not coming, depend rather on being ready for him”
The Israelites were not ready for battle when the Amalekites attacked them once they crossed the Red Sea.
Their own strength would have been spilled like hot wax all over the fields at Rephidim if God had not intervened.
Please don’t read past the fact that this miracle included the participation of human beings.
Moses, Joshua, Aaron, and Hur, plus all of those fighting warriors, allowed this giant-sized miracle to prevail.
Perhaps walking back to camp and toward their families, these warriors believed they were enough for their enemies on their own strength after all. I hope they didn’t think that.
We don’t know if they were able to view Moses on top of the mountain holding his staff in his hand – maybe they did. One thing we know is there were others who helped the man of God help others. Joshua chose and led the army and Aaron and Hur stayed back to assist Moses. They ended up holding his arms up so the staff of God stayed up in the air. Back at camp, bragging rights or purple hearts quickly faded when God’s people heard that their strength alone had not produced the victory. God was at work in teaching his children the rhythm for success because they were headed into a place with many enemies and the battles would resemble this one if they would trust him and remain humble.
What keeps you back from chasing your dreams in God rather than success in this world?
I BELIEVE TOO MANY OF US HAVE COME INTO AGREEMENT WITH CRAZY LIES ABOUT OURSELVES, AND WE HAVE GONE AS FAR AS MAKING THEM FALSE IDOLS IN OUR LIVES.
“To thy own self be true”
God wants to give us a backbone of steel – but first comes the heart business.
Happiness cannot be chased – it’s an illusion, nor can we run from our truest selves. Living trying to prove ourselves is tiresome.
Carl shared these words on Sunday, but I imagined it was God speaking them to me:
“Better the ugly truth than a beautiful lie”
What are the things that hold you back from being a warrior in the spiritual realm?
I hope you didn’t say, I am a warrior. I don’t take crap from anyone. Well, that’s not what I am talking about.
Sometimes, we are our worse enemies. We give up on ourselves and self-protect with walls of anger and loud arguments. That doesn’t help and that is not the definition of a warrior in God’s eyes.
Where in life are you being lied to by yourself or others?
What is the truth about your unhappiness – you are not enough to make yourself happy…it’s an inside job with God’s help.
What about the lack of success in life? God is not done – turn to him and watch what is still possible.
What about the truth about your divorce – it’s always easier to blame. Is there some unfinished business in your heart that you need to release?
What would you say is holding you back – would you allow someone into your life to help you? We are here for you and it is our desire to hold the space to see you free.
As I have seen in my life, the lies I have overcome with God’s help have actually become steppingstones that allow me to connect with others who are hurting. God never wastes a hurt.
In order to obtain what we want in life, we will have to fight for it.
