“And he said, ‘Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel,” ( 2 Chronicles 20:14-16 New King James Version).
Hmmm… strange verse to start an article with, huh? Hold on until the end, and I promise it will make sense.
I’m taking a chance today, one again, of stepping on toes. I really hate that. The last thing I want to do is hurt anyone or mislead them into a direction God would not have them go. So, I prayerfully write this hoping that God will direct and heal you. I pray you hear what He has for you.
See, I’ve had a lot of experience watching people, myself included, suffer under worry, fear and the stress of their situations. I’ve watched precious people become stuck in misery. If you’ve read any of my other writings, you know I’m constantly encouraging people to be completely honest with God. Honesty is the key to the door of healing. The problem I’ve seen happen time and again is that people get stuck there. I’m afraid that in my encouragement for honesty, I’m also encouraging you to be stuck. That isn’t what I want for you! I want you to know God’s healing.
I’ve been blessed to pray with people and hear them pour their hearts out, not once but multiple times. They battle and battle the same thing. For many years, I was that person. I could always sense a wall. Even though I was being so honest with God (just as my friends were), I could sense the distance between the two of us. I couldn’t understand it and it broke my heart even more. Now, I’ve come to see what that wall is. It’s God saying, “I’m here, and I love you, but it’s time for you to step up to the real battle. The battle for faith.”
I’m praying God will help you to see where you are in this because I don’t know. You may not be ready for this now, and that’s OK! Just keep this in the back of your mind; there will come a time when you are ready. At some point, we need to take the step to push back against the attacks of lies and negative thoughts. For example, we can say, “No, I’m not going to think about this worry and follow its trail to other worries.”
You have to also recognize when you can’t fight off the attack, step out of the way and surrender the battle to God. How? We simply say, “God, I can’t fight this (worry, thought, fear, stress). Help me. Help me to know your truths and love.”
Before we can just jump into the battle for faith, we need to let God show us what it is He wants us to battle. Is it a fear? Lack of faith? Spending more time with Him? Replacing old damaging thoughts with new, life giving ones? Does He want you to pop in praise music and worship Him? Go to Him and ask what He would like you to do to grow your faith. There may be something you already know He wants you to do. Or, you may not get your answer until you’re in a situation, and you feel the push to respond in a different way – His way.
Then we begin our attack. Yes, we start the fight to show God that staying stuck is not good enough for us. This first step in battle sounds so small but it’s huge! We can get stuck wanting God to grow our faith and make us trust Him. We have to make the switch and decide to want to trust Him, to believe He’s good, and that He loves us. Do you see the difference? We take the step to no longer be passive in our faith. We decide to really want it. Second, we make prayer and Bible reading part of our daily routine, and we listen to what He has to tell us. Let Him refine you with the power of His word. Third, we determine not to listen to the enemy’s lies and either reject those lies as soon as they pop up OR give them to God when they’re too strong. Of course, we pray for His protection, but we have to be prepared to stop the lies and keep them from gaining a foothold in our minds. Don’t let them take root! Be careful because the enemy loves to twist a little bit of God’s truth with his lies making it harder for us to recognize them. Also, be watchful of the little voice whispering that it’s noble to suffer. Ask God to set you free from that kind of thinking because it easily becomes a source of pride. Yes, we can be prideful of how hard things are for us.
There comes a time, I believe, when God is waiting for us to take a step in faith. It’s a time of growth. If we don’t, we can become stuck in the enemy’s muck. He’s so happy to have us there. There’s nothing better to the enemy than a Christian stuck in darkness. There’s nothing worse to the enemy than a Christian stepping out of the muck in faith.
Again, Dear One, ask God where you are in this battle. Let Him show you the next step, and be listening for the time when He’s asking you to go against your enemy. Remember, as the verse from 2 Chronicles tells us, even though He wants you to go and face this huge adversary, the battle is really His. It’s His to fight. He just wants you to take that step…
In His Love,
Kimberly
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Are you feeling “stuck in the enemy’s muck”? Too afraid to take that step of faith God is asking you to take? Take “The Faith Challenge” and watch your fear become faith while you are empowered by the truth of who God is. Start today and you soon find yourself free from the enemy’s hold!