"Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10
"Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen." 1 Peter 5:9-11
It's been a bit of a week. I knew it was coming. I just knew it. Earlier this week life was rosy and wonderful and we knew we were wrapped in God's Love and overall, we've just been rosy and ducky this week. Then two days ago I began writing to our small group about our fall plans. We've been seeking God on the next step for our small group, and felt confident with where he wants us to go, so it was time to share this with our group. I was smack dab in the middle of writing to everyone about our exciting plans (literally, in the middle) when the devil came a-calling. And that is almost literal as well- the person on the other end wasn't the devil himself, but boy, was the devil using an unpleasant phone call to try and rile me up and attack at me. Of course, I didn't recognize it at first, but really, about 20 minutes later as I was trying to decide whether or not to finish my letter, I knew. I knew what had just happened, and I began to pray.
I've been praying quite a bit over the last two days over this matter, because it's really been bothering me, and then last night I was literally losing sleep over it. Once again, I felt a knowledge come into me and I began praying "God, take this away. Take away my anger and my offense with this matter. If it's your will, take away the matter altogether, but I refuse to dwell on it any longer." And I'll tell you, I very shortly fell asleep after praying, and I slept well last night.
Then this morning, first thing I check my e-mail, and I swear to you, there is another one. A completely different, unrelated thing...but a whole new matter to stir the pot with! Now, I'll tell you, a few months ago I would have looked at both matters, and clearly saw an answer. Saw that "oh my gosh, it's a sign! A sign for us that we should start looking to move on to something else!" But by the grace of God, I know better. I recognized this attack for what it is. The enemy will use anything, anything to get us off track and mess up our lives. The devil knows that God has great plans for us, and now that we know what some of them are, we can expect the devil to try and wedge his way in. Except that he has no power here. This home and this household, and the hearts within are property of Jesus Christ, and as such we are under His protection. The Holy Spirit dwells within us and is there to help us pray away the enemy attacks as they come. And you know, a few months ago, right now, I would be stewing. I would be fuming and enraged, and instead, I am excited!!
Yes, excited! Because we will remain steadfast- and these spiritual attacks are indeed a sign- but not a sign to flee, a sign to persevere. A sign that God is indeed working and that we are on the right course. We will remain steadfast and persevere to reach our goals and no one is going to be able to stop us, because we carry before us the banner of the Lord. Yahweh Nissi- The Lord Is My Banner. With God before us, who can be against us?
I refuse to take any offense and I pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to to help me recognize these attacks and that He will give me the words to pray and the right words to say in all these situations as they come up.
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