There's more ... (3)

Overwhelm ... it's the straw that breaks the camel's back or death by a thousand paper cuts! Tiny and relatively insignificant things which when added and added to, can easily take us to the brink; the tipping point; the place where we sense a spiralling into somewhere scary ... a place where we feel out of control and alone ... it's fearful, unknown and overwhelming. We get worn down. 

Words like 'tedious' and 'relentless' come to mind ... they don't exude positive well-being do they? So even though my circumstances may not be full of great trauma in the sense of persecution, enslavement or natural disaster, yet the build up of these tedious, relentless things can often bring us to breaking point … to the point where the next thing to go wrong may be the dishwasher breaking or someone spilling milk, literally. They can lead us to a point of despair and meltdown that for a brief moment in time I suppose, (when you consider our life-spans and then beyond to eternity its just such a little speck, a vapor) we implode into something of great and disproportionate magnitude which leads to responses of untruth, overwhelm and utter despair.

It's not about criticising or even challenging myself to never get to those times again because inevitably they will come. It's the learning process so that when they do come, they might not be quite as magnificent in their deploring, demonstrative emotional breakdown ... maybe that might be shorter; it might be more manageable. Then it's the picking up process; the learning; the rising and moving forward which becomes more of a reliable response. It's noting that God is in the moment, that He is there. It's us that obliterate our own view, create a fog, normally made up of our emotions that distort and distance God from our view even though He's right there; even though He's the one who is agonising with us. 

He will see us through, He will not let us down. His plan is greater; His plan is wiser; His plan is for our betterment. And even though it may not feel as though he is answering our call because our immediate pressing circumstances or feelings are not being relieved in the way that we humanly wish they were, we have to rest in the fact that His grace, His love, His forgiveness, His vengeance, His justice, His desire to elevate us to a better place, a healthier path, a greater life of holiness, far supersedes and outweighs our momentary despondency.

God is most definitely there. I keep trying to really glimpse him and have an awakening as to his majesty and power. I want my life and all it entails to depend entirely on a constant knowledge and awareness of Him and His goodness.

Let's learn to speak truth over feelings.

Let's learn to trust God when we don’t feel like it … we’ll never regret it.

Claim the promises God has given us through his word … He cannot forget or ignore them.

God is GOOD, all the time. He cannot be otherwise.

It is moving on to the stage of grasping and knowing who God is that will translate and elevate us into a place where we will know his presence in a deep, personal and real way. We will know that despite grief and devastation He is there. It will give a sense of purpose and peace; preservation and provision. We will know without question because He is the God who made us; the God who sustains all things though the word of his power. 

We lift our eyes to the hills and we know our help comes from God, God the maker of heaven and earth; the God who flung the stars into space; the God who determined the exact detail of my DNA for a purpose and a plan. He's not going to give up on me. He thought I was valuable enough to die for ... it would be illogical to ignore me when he determined before the world was created that I was more precious and valuable and of greater worth than anything else, so much so that despite rejecting him and rejecting his perfect creation, he determined on a plan of redemption. 

It's incredible and I feel very ashamed that I got cross when an outcome didn't go the way I thought it should. I will endeavour to keep a firm grasp on the goodness of God. We live in a fallen and unjust world so we can expect more and more battles however it is knowing that when in the eye of the storm God remains in control and is good.

Goodness of God ~ Bethel Music:

https://youtu.be/IvSuGyJQ6oM

Ingrid x

The Breastplate of Righteousness

Ok so following on from a previous post, I was thinking about the different pieces of armour whilst driving in the morning (berating myself for not thinking about dressing myself ‘properly’!). I went through the verse in my head and mulled over the various elements … this is my rather basic and unresearched analysis, in no particular order:

The Helmet of Salvation

This makes sense to me. At the point of accepting Christ as my Saviour, my mind and thinking should be governed and guarded by the helmet of my salvation … I should think in the new way, having been given new life, not as the old me. My mind should be transformed and cleansed as well as protected through this new birth and salvation … my mind has been redeemed.

The Shield of Faith

A shield would be held up against attack whether from arrows or sword. It was often impenetrable and would save a life … but it required active holding and being deliberately positioned correctly in order to be effective. If held to the side when an arrow was being shot at the front, the shield would be of no use. In similar vein our faith can be mightily effective if we hold it up against attack … actively, consciously and in the right direction. It is often our own failings and weakness that allow the penetration of an attack against us to succeed … we simply haven’t wielded the shield of faith adequately or accurately.

The Sword of the Spirit

In contrast to the shield of faith which is used to defend, a sword is used to attack with, although in the act of attacking with it, one would also be protecting oneself. So the sharpeners of the sword being the word of God is what we are to use going forward in battle. It ties in with that verse which says: “for the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirits of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4v12). To me, one of the best ways we can wield and utilise this asset in our armoury is to memorise plenty of verses including many of the promises given to us in God’s word.

Peaceful footwear

The passage tells us that our feet should be shod with the gospel of peace and that they are to be ready. We shouldn’t miss out on opportunities just because we haven’t got our shoes on! Wherever we go and therefore whoever we meet, we should be approaching and leading with the peaceful gospel … our arrival should exemplify the beyond understanding peace which we have secured through the redemptive gospel of Christ and his atoning death.

The Belt of Truth

I love this one. Truth should hold us together. It should embrace our very being, neatly securing our identity and purpose, reassuring us of our position in Christ and the power that brings. It is only when completely surrounded by truth that we are in a position to wear and wield all the other elements. But what is truth? I recall watching a video of many people on the streets of America being asked this question and so many struggling to give an answer at all. To me, ultimate, pure and simple truth is whatever God says and is. Only God can provide and share pure truth.

So that leaves me with the one element I had to stop myself on because I honestly didn’t really know what it meant without thinking more deeply …

The Breastplate of Righteousness

It’s easy to reel it off, but when I imagined putting it on, I wasn’t entirely sure what if would look like or relate to. I understand righteousness in some ways and I know that a breastplate was a protective piece of armour similar to what our police and soldiers would use these days in the form of bullet proof vests, essential to protect vital organs. In dictionary terms, righteousness means ‘the quality of being morally right or justifiable’, however before God we are not and never can be in and of ourselves, righteous … this is something that comes from God. In Romans ch 5 it talks about the gift of righteousness which is of course given through Jesus Christ. So this ‘right living’ before God can only be achieved through our faith in Christ and the growth of that through the study of his word and prayer … only in this way can we protect our innermost being and heart to withstand temptation and attack. We must surely work on properly crafting our personal breastplates, blended with the impenetrable ingredients of faith, the word of god and prayer … only then will we begin to live righteously and provide the appropriate layer of apparel to guard our hearts from harm.

To finish off Pray at ALL Times! That’s the final command as though when you’re fully clothed and kitted out for the days battle ahead, your constant necessity to progress forward is to pray … always.

Let’s get our battle clothes on folks … for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the power of this world, the spiritual forces of evil in this present darkness (Eph 6) … in the process of defending and attacking, we bring peace!

I found Chuck Swindoll’s paraphrasing of Proverbs 4v23 helpful, it reads like this: “More than all else to be closely watched and protected (like a city or a bank vault), protect your inner self—your mind, your emotions, your character, your discernment—like a sentry at the gate watches over a city from his watchtower, because this is the source of all the decisions, responses, and deeds that represent your life”.

Ingrid x

Getting dressed

So when was the last time you carefully calculated and decided to get thoroughly dressed spiritually before you did physically in the morning? I get it ... I haven't done it either, not in a very specific way!

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour 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. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people". (Eph 6v10-18)

Think about the actual act of getting dressed ... you have to find each item of clothing and then take ahold of them and put them on one by one, completing your attire suitable for the day ahead. Once downstairs and before you leave the house, you'll put suitable footwear and outerwear on too. Each piece is needed and appropriate (usually!).

Can you imagine what sort of days we'd have, if we did the same spiritually, putting on the armour of God? Visualise actually taking each item and putting it on you, fully clothing yourself with the power and protection God has readily given for us to use.

I quite often don't stand firm ... I falter, faff about, fail and almost deliberately want to give into temptation or complacency. Surely if I had gotten myself dressed properly first thing, I wouldn't even have to think about whether or not I could stand firm; it would be a given that I would! With that list of armour and the application given, I honestly feel as though I could conquer any challenge a day may bring. I would have courage and commitment; clarity of thought and motive; I would soar above the pettiness; I would deflect the arrows of self-doubt and false accusation; falsehoods would not deter me from pursuing the truth and standing my ground. What mighty power there is in this passage and I would venture to say for the most part, untapped by the majority. 

I've a good mind to stencil the exhortation in these verses on my bedroom wall, or maybe on my wardrobe, so that I consider getting dressed for the day's battles, before I get dressed in my physical clothes. 

The passage starts with BE STRONG and ends with BE ALERT ... in the middle STAND FIRM ... and always pray.

Let us try, from this day forward, to prioritise our spiritual attire over our physical dressage.

Ingrid x