Fight! Fight! Fight!

Do you want to know the joy that Christ promises is already ours?

Are you willing to fight for it?

Fight the enemy who is trying and succeeding in stealing your joy.
Fight the enemy who is stealing the peace that Christ has died to give you.

It is for freedom that we have been set FREE.

So what is keeping you in bondage?

Shame?  Guilt?  Comparison?  Fear?  Worry?

You are not bound to live by these attacks from the enemy.

You are free. Free to fight.

Why would you want to stay in bondage?  Why would you want to remain under these attacks?

Do not take them on as your identity.

If you resist the devil, he will FLEE from you.

So do you know how to fight?

Put on your armor.  And take up your sword.  (Eph 6)

You have been rescued.  You have been chosen.  You have been bought with a price.  And now you have been equipped.  With gifts from Heaven.  Gifts from your Creator have been poured out on you.  Receive them.  Learn to walk in them.  Know what has been promised to you and given to you so that when the enemy tries to steal them from you, you can fight for what is yours.

Two things I have learned in this short month.

The LORD is a fierce warrior.  He is ready to part the heavens and come down and battle for us and rescue us from the enemy.

And…He equips us to fight.  He strengthens our arms for battle. (See Psalm 18 below.)  He renews our minds and plants His truth deep in our hearts.  He equips, He enables, He trains…so that we can fight from the place of victory that He won on the cross for us.

God has armed us to fight every spiritual battle.

So again, I ask, what are you battling?  And are you engaged in the war or are you sitting in hopelessness, waiting for your circumstances to change?

Here is one battle that I've won because of the LORD’s strength:

 A few weeks ago, my squad was gathered in another night of worship.  And I was crying out for God to move in my life.  I wanted to hear His voice.  I wanted more from Him.  I wanted to know the joy of His presence.  As my squad worshipped and prayed over one another and ministered to each other, I knelt and let the attacks come once again. 

“God is not going to meet you here.  You are forgotten.  Your heart is too cold, too distracted, too dried up for God to want to move in your life.”

I went outside and tried to pray, tried to battle it out with God.  Whether He was silent or I could not discern His voice, I don’t know, but as the night ended, I was left in heaviness and depression.  I fell into bed that night, hoping sleep would bring relief to this mindset.  Instead the next morning, I awoke with a heavy heart and sat down and wrote this:

“I’m full of sadness right now.  I feel like my heart is dead and I’m not sure how to revive it.  I thought this Race would change me – or rather – I thought you would change my heart on the Race.
But here I am again.
The morning after it seems you encountered everyone but me.
And I’m tired.
I’m tired of feeling this way.
I’m tired of not knowing if it’s my sin or your unwillingness.
I’m tired of fighting for it.
I’m tired of being depressed.
Feeling empty and not knowing how to be filled.
Feeling like I’m dry…dried up.
It’s like my heart isn’t moved by anything."

I put down my pen and suddenly felt the fight come up in me.

"NO!  This is not how I will live this day.  God has more for me.  He didn’t set me free for me to live in this place."

I walked outside and started to fight in prayer for God to show Himself, reveal truth to me, and restore hope.

And His still, quiet voice came.

"Rest.  Just Rest.  Just Rest. Just Rest."

He started reminding me who He is.
Mighty Warrior, Wonderful Creator, Kind, Long-suffering, Gentle, Wise Teacher, Perfect in all His Ways…on and on, He revealed Himself to me, reminding me who He is.

And then…
“And I see you.  I know you.”

This spoke to other battles I was fighting and I finally found the rest I was looking for.

There have been other battles.

I’ve battled the fear and identity I had taken on of rejection.
I’ve battled a spirit of comparison.
I’ve battled low self-esteem.
I’ve battled fear and comparison when leading worship.
And I’m learning to fight daily for freedom from every lie that wants to keep me from walking in the plans that Christ has for me.

I used to think some battles were hopeless ones that I would never win.  But I choose to believe that Christ has truth that leads to freedom from every fear, sin, and concern that crosses my path.  So, I continue to fight everyday because I want to walk in more freedom in every area of my life.
And I hope you will join the fight.

One more incredible thing I've learned this month is about community.  Sometimes the lies are too deep, the hope too far gone, and you need others to fight for you.  So, humble yourself and ask.  Confess your struggles and fears and everything you are living by that doesn't seem like God's plan for His children.  And ask others to fight for you.  Not just, "Could you pray for me sometime."  But, "Right now, speak truth over me and seek the Lord's Word for me in this place."  Allow others to help you uncover the lies you are believing about yourself and God.  It's worth it to be free.  What a powerful thing the Body of Christ was created to be!

Psalm 18
¹ I love you, Lord, my strength.
² The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
³ I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I have been saved from my enemies.
⁴ The cords of death entangled me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
⁵ The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
⁶ In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.
⁷ The earth trembled and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
⁸ Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
⁹ He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
¹⁰ He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.
¹¹ He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.
¹² Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
¹³ The Lord thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
¹⁴ He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
¹⁵ The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, Lord,
at the blast of breath from your nostrils.
¹⁶ He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
¹⁷ He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
¹⁸ They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.
¹⁹ He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
³⁰ As for God, his way is perfect:
The Lord’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
³¹ For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is the Rock except our God?
³² It is God who arms me with strength
and keeps my way secure.
³³ He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.
³⁴ He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
³⁵ You make your saving help my shield,
and your right hand sustains me;
your help has made me great.
³⁶ You provide a broad path for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.
³⁷ I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
³⁸ I crushed them so that they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.
³⁹ You armed me with strength for battle;
you humbled my adversaries before me.
⁴⁰ You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
and I destroyed my foes.
⁴⁶ The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God my Savior!
⁴⁹ Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing the praises of your name.