Photo by Eric Crouch
The past couple of months have been hectic to say the least. I know everyone has had family circumstances, work related stresses or just life in general to contend with. In these times of stress or life’s unexpected happenings, our desire, our first thought should be to draw closer to Jesus and dig deeper into God’s Word. Life has a way of getting people so busy they do not make time for prayer, the study of God’s Word or spending quality time with Jesus. If we step back and examine these times, we are able to see how they play into one of satan’s schemes to slowly re-align a believers focus away from God’s living water. As life becomes hectic and the pace unsustainable, satan uses these circumstances to slowly creep in, little by little drawing Christians away from Christ. This world is successful in creating environments where we may focus on the riots around the country and world, the economy, inflation and the price of gas, political follies back and forth, Afghanistan and now Ukraine. All of these circumstances work together slowly taking our attention away from what really matters, why we are on this earth for the short time we are here? To spread the Gospel and resemble Jesus Christ in our daily walk.
Through all of this, we should live in peace knowing that none of this has taken God by surprise. He remains in control and on the throne no matter what we see or experience on this earth. Knowing this, we should keep Psalm 46: 1-3 in mind,” God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear”. I would encourage you to read the entire chapter of Psalm 46, it will bring light to your day and peace to your heart.
As I stay in a time of prayer, it becomes more evident the ploy that is at hand. Ephesians 6:12 tells us “our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” When reading this verse it brings to reality that our focus is our future. How we spend our time, where we get our information and how we encourage our hearts, souls and minds makes a difference. During stressful or busy times in our lives we do not always make the time to spend with our Creator, but I ask you, how do you build a house or a building? One brick at a time. How does this world and more specifically satan turn you away from God’s Word and the abundance He has for you? One crisis at a time. Five minutes here or five minutes there begin to add up and if we are not careful, before we know it, we have realigned our daily activities to align with this world and not God’s Way (John 14:6).
I like going to the beach. The magnificence of the ocean is phenomenal. The mere size, depth and overwhelming intensity captivates me with the wonder and magnitude of God Almighty. What captivates me even more is the wonder of God and His ability to control the sea. Jeremiah 5:22 states, “For I have placed the sand for the boundary of the sea by a perpetual decree so that it cannot pass over it.” God limits how far the sea can come inland, but what about the intensity and constant movement of the elements within the sea? The sand continually changes, the sea shells move around, the tide is consistent. Over and over the tide comes in and over and over the edge of the sea never changes. To me this seems very consistent with life. God is in control and His plan for this world predestined. God has a plan and He sets boundaries for mankind that we are not allowed to go beyond. What I would like to focus on today is life within those boundaries. Ever changing, ever moving forward, similar to the tide, it just keeps going whether we like it or not.
As life moves forward, our time and attention should be focused upon our calling as set forth by God and His living Word. We are instructed during the hard times to stand strong in Christ and represent Him no matter how disruptive and chaotic our lives seem to be. We are called to be Christ’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20), but in order to understand and be encouraged to walk with Jesus, our focus, our time spent and our daily walk should be in right alignment with God’s truths. I encourage you to pray for God’s guidance and discernment for your life, but in these times of pressures and stress, I would also encourage you to pray that you are covered and surrounded by the Armor of God.
Through prayer and a developed relationship with God, He begins to open our eyes to see circumstances from His perspective. A life viewed from His perspective is able to see the fiery arrows that continually come at each one of us. The arrows that continue to remind us of the past we have been cleansed from or the faults and mistakes we make through out a day. The arrows that if not rebuked and repented of, can not only stick, but smolder and burn causing us to focus on the problem or issue and not on our Savior. In Christ we have been forgiven, in Christ we can live an abundant and free life. Released from life’s every day struggles and free to live in His Grace, His forgiveness and His Peace.
To stand ready for the spiritual battle at hand and to stay engaged with our Savior no matter the circumstance, we have been given the Armor of God. Ephesians 6:13-17 tells us, “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
The Armor of God is a comprehensive Armor that not only protects but equips believers to stand ready and be successful in the daily battles that we can find ourselves in. Today, as mentioned above, I would like to expressly look at, “the [protective] shield of faith which can extinguish all the flaming arrows….”. An unwavering, undoubting shield of faith that not only protects and repels harmful thoughts or revelations, but strengthens and encourages our souls. Just like the tide, time after time, when the negative thoughts come or the fiery arrows are launched at you, go to God’s Word and read the True Source, the Truth that God has for you. Do not allow the things of this world to cloud the perfection of His Word and the Peace He has designed for you to not only enjoy, but walk in, live in and be the world changer He created you to be. God’s Word is the Rock, the foundation we are to build our lives upon. In His Spirit, keep the portals of your eyes in correct focus and the encouragement of your heart, soul and mind in correct perspective.
To develop and strengthen your faith, spend time in prayer, the study of His Word and focused upon our Savior. When your focus is in proper alignment, God will remove the scales and open your eyes to see the opportunities at hand. The view from His Peace that allows you to see the souls around you that need to experience Jesus Christ within and through you so that His full glory may be revealed! Be blessed my friends and may your days be filled with His Peace, your hearts comforted with God’s Word and your walk fruitful and prosperous for the Kingdom!
Shalom!!
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