Monday, October 1, 2012

Knocked Down, But Not Out


"Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy. Human beings have the awesome ability to take any experience of their lives and create a meaning that disempowers them or one that can literally save their lives." ~Tony Robbins

Welcome back friends! I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I'm still here. I have been really struggling with some things for the last month or so now. I've been trying to work through some difficult emotions and thoughts because of past situations, as well as present situations, that have caused a great deal of pain and hurt. I kinda feel like I've been in this emotional prison for the last month or so. The good news is that I know where I got off track. It was when I started allowing my emotions to control me instead of keeping my eyes and thoughts focused on the Lord. I allowed the enemy to beat me down with his lies, and allowed fear of man to keep me locked in a prison of worry and doubt. I am finding out that if I want to walk in victory then I am going to have to learn to recognize, right away, the attacks of the enemy on my mind. He shows no mercy, therefore I have to always be on the look-out for those red flags that alert me to his attacks. There needs to be a counterattack initiated immediately when he tries to worm his way into my thoughts. God's Word is sharper than a two-edged sword, so that is the weapon of choice when it comes to defeating his lies. Speaking God's Word, the Truth, out loud when I first recognize those lies is the key to overcoming the attacks. The enemy is not going to give up because he knows my weaknesses. He will continue to try to defeat me and render me useless for the kingdom if I allow him to. My part is to be on the defense when he tries to sneak in the back door of my mind. He is a liar! I am choosing to focus on what God says about me and speaking those things out, not only for myself to hear, but also for the enemy to hear.

Do you struggle with your thoughts as well? If you have negative thoughts that seem to come to destroy you and make you think you don't matter, or that you are just not good enough, then those are all lies from the enemy. I would like to urge you to speak God's Word out loud my friends. God's Word has power in it. Speak it out with boldness! God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind! You are more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ!

Until next time my friends, be blessed! 
 
Prayer:
Lord, help me to focus on living a life that is pleasing to You, instead of worrying about trying to please everyone else. When I allow the expectations of others to control me and cause me stress, it means I have taken my eyes off of You and forgotten where my value comes from. Help me to quickly recognize the lies of the enemy when he is trying to beat me down and whispers that I am not good enough. Help me to rest in Your love and to stop striving to "be" good enough. Help me to stop worrying what others think of me and be content with just being Your daughter. Take the brokenness I've been through and make something beautiful out of it, as only You can do.

Scripture:
"What God has said isn’t only alive and active! It is sharper than any double-edged sword. His word can cut through our spirits and souls and through our joints and marrow, until it discovers the desires and thoughts of our hearts."~Hebrews 4:12 (CEV)

"So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. 
We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us." ~Romans 8:31-39 (MSG)

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control." ~2 Tim. 1:7 (AMP)