Showing posts with label Overcoming Defeat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Overcoming Defeat. Show all posts

June 30, 2011

Get Up


The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. 
Romans 15:20

Been going through some "things" that have given pause to much time to seek God, reflect, and deal with the issues of my heart.  Felt knocked down... bruised, and broken.  Defeated.  Knowing that these feelings are not of God, but of the enemy, the enemy of our souls, but not quite knowing how to overcome them---I've just said nothing.  . . . just seeking God and waiting.  

Greater is HE Who is in us than he who is in the world, right?  Right!  And GOD has promised victory!  

Today I noticed something... of course it was the Holy Spirit that revealed this to me.  In the verse above, the God of peace (not confusion or suffering or pain, but PEACE) will SOON crush Satan.  But notice where Satan will be... UNDER OUR FEET!  

How can Satan be under my feet if I'm knocked down, flat on my back, feeling defeated?   Could it mean that perhaps I must BE UP, on MY FEET, so that GOD will GRANT the victory!??  

OH FATHER, Please grant the strength and courage for us to stand up when we've been knocked down.  In standing up, our faith will be renewed, our courage to move forward will increase, and we know that the faith and courage comes not from US, but from YOU!   So we humbly ask for Your grace and strength to stand up, even now!  In Jesus' Name, Amen!

"My comfort in my suffering is this:  Your promise renews my life."  Psalm 119:50

"He knows just what it means to be alone---to feel rejected, forsaken, deserted, even in death.  The One who endured the loneliness of the cross is the One who comes to comfort you when you're alone."
B.J. Hoff

April 6, 2011

Overcoming De-feet of the Enemy

This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.'   Jeremiah 6:16  (NIV)

Have you ever felt like you were just "going in circles"---wheels spinning 'round and 'round, but you're gettin' nowhere, fast?  

Maybe as a child of God, you've found yourself knocked down, experiencing a temporary set-back; you've slipped up, and are feeling the agony of defeat...or make that the agony of "de-enemy's-feet" doing the "happy-dance" all over you.   You can hear him tauntingly say:  "You've done it again!  You'll never BE the person God wants you to be!"   Now you're feeling like the rut you're in is getting deeper and deeper with each second that you struggle to get free.     Spinning in circles, but getting nowhere fast.   *sigh*


As the world turns, you're in your own world, feeling helplessly lost, with no aim in life.  No direction.   Of course you and I can remember how our Lord promises to direct our steps, if we acknowledge Him in everything. . . He has also promised to make our path straight. .  to lead us in plain paths.    




So how can we overcome this agonizing feeling of "de-feet-of-de-enemy" stompin' all over us?   

God's Word tells us in Jeremiah 6:16 to STAND ye in the crossroads.    Well, it appears the first thing to stopping this "out-of-control spin cycle of defeat" is to get up and stand.   Brush yourself off.    Don't let the nasty De-Feet of De-Enemy continue to stomp on you anymore.   What if you can't bring yourself to stand?   That's okay....Just begin to praise the Lord, out loud.  Claim a Scripture out loud.   That will throw the enemy off his "de-feet" and give you enough time to STAND UP.   
 
In the process, you'll be hearing yourself speaking positive praise~~truth about our Awesome Creator, and you'll be infusing the atmosphere with "positivity!" (Is that even a word??) LOL

Now, what you'll find is you're at a crossroads.   But how will you know which way to go?   ASK. Just like when we're lost, and we finally decide to STOP to ASK for directions~we're hoping to ask someone who's familiar with the area and can quickly point us in the right direction~~we've got to ask someone who's already been headed in the right direction.  To name a few:  we can look at Abraham, Noah, Moses, Paul---goodness knows we've got some serious FAITHFUL Trailblazers ahead of us.   But, let's take it a step further:  ASK GOD for wisdom.  He has promised to "go before us" (Deuteronomy 31:8)  SO He is the Ultimate Trailblazer!  In fact, Jesus  has already gone before us, walking on this earth perfectly before our Heavenly Father.  So let's go to Him and look in His Word to find out which way He says to go.  His Word is a Lamp unto our feet right?  Well, then, by all means, you're standing up, now look at the Map of Wisdom to point your "toesies" in the right direction!    :o)

Um, don't you think it's time to ask for some directions, dear??
Ask God to bring your eyes into focus of the GOOD WAYS, the upright ways, and then when He does, ask Him to help you to WALK in them.   Walking depicts an every-day, step-by-step, movement.  One day at a time. . and surely we can know that our enemy will be trying to throw obstacles our way, to cause us to trip.  So if we do trip up, and he starts "doing the happy dance" with his de-feet all over us again, we just have to stand up, ask God for directions, and then begin walking again.    
Now who's turn is it to do the Happy Dance??

One thing I've noticed is whenever the enemy begins to encircle my atmosphere with negativity, I think of the minus sign:    -   That represents negativity to me.   But if I'm at "rock bottom" and cast my eyes upward, gazing towards my Heavenly Father, I can see the line then going through that negativity and making it a positive sign:   +     Do you see what just happened?     I see a picture of a cross!!    
When our world is spinning out of control,
we must look to the cross! Jesus IS the answer.

If only everyone who is unsaved around the world would realize that they are spinning out of control and would just STAND UP, and ASK, and then someone who IS on the right track would just TELL THEM--POINT THEM TO JESUS, then our world may just begin to spin in another direction...one that would be glorifying to our Lord. 
Looking unto Jesus, the Light of the world,
is our only hope for a new beginning!

Lord Jesus, I'm tired of the enemy's ugly de-feet stomping Your children into the ground!  Whenever we're feeling defeated it is no doubt because his ugly feet are stomping on us.  Please give us strength to STAND UP, LOOK UP, and MOVE UP to higher ground with You, for Your glory...but also for our good too.  For we know and we claim this very promise that You made:  You began this work, and You will be, WILL BE, faithful...FAITHFUL, to complete it.  Thank You for every circumstance that touches our lives, for we know it's all being worked out for our good and Your glory.  Thank You that You're not bound by time, like we are. . and that You understand we have this treasure of salvation in leaky vessels.  Please make us sincere---without any patches, and fill us back up to the brim and spilling over with Your power, through Your Holy Spirit.  In Your name we pray, Amen.

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. 
Romans 16:20