Attacks

It seems that when you put yourself out there and say "these are the lessons that God is teaching me"...then Satan goes "oh yeah???" And wham you are under heavy spiritual attack. I have been battling this for about a week and a half. It's TOUGH. Yet again Ephesians 6:10-12 says, "God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels."

You know I would prefer that this WAS an "afternoon athletic contest" instead of a life long fight, in some ways. But in other ways I am glad that that this is on going. It forces me to depend on God. When things are good it is more of a challenge for me to remind myself that I do desperately need God. But the reality is I always desperately need Him no matter what is happening in the spiritual realm. If you don't believe in God I imagine that "the spiritual realm" sounds like a really bizarre thing to believe in. But trust me it's just as real as everything that you can physically see.

Do you know what I am just learning? Satan has a defence for everything but one ...doesn't mean He will win if we fight the good fight, as it were, it just means that he knows his time is short and he is trying every trick in the book to derail everyone he has a legal right to derail. The one thing that Satan has no weapons against is THANKFULNESS! So in James 1 when it says "Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides." you realize that that is amazing advice. And something that I need to take to heart in quickly.

I am trying to teach Mercedes about thankfulness...especially at meal-time. She is a pretty picky eater. She doesn't like this and that. There are times when I get so frustrated because I see the bigger picture (which she does not yet) that there are so many people who would love to be in her place surrounded by so much plenty. And you know it's not just my 3, almost 4, year old. I do this as well. I moan and complain about so many things...this is one of the many things I am working on and now I have more incentive. Satan cannot possibly win the THANKFULNESS battle. There is a story that I heard recently about this. There is a pastor and his wife, in the states, that that had a son and then their second son was a still-born. He was born on a Tuesday and that Sunday they got up in the pulpit and for the whole service read from a list that they had made of what they were thankful for. I find that absolutely AMAZING!

You know in the storms, when we praise God, there is still joy and grace to get us through that storm . God doesn't promise we won't have hard times He promises us that He will be there, He will provide everything that we need to get us through. Thankfulness in the midst of hardship is all about praise and trust. "my yoke is easy"...

And then there is always the whole "getting a different perspective" thing :)...You know like there are a whole lot harder situations to go through. I find it gives me much empathy and compassion. There is always a reason.

doing battle on my knees, Tama