Tag relationships

Putting on the Armor of God

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.”

You know, that damn devil does prowl around. He prowls around looking for strong people, strong families and knows where you’re weak and he’ll do everything in his power to distract and immobilize you. He will get you to question your faith in God in order to steal your soul.

I love the phrase “sober mind” in this scripture because although it means self controlled mind, I believe there are times when we are tempted to turn toward “numbing mechanisms”, such as alcohol, to temporarily alleviate pain in a situation we’re trying to handle alone..

First, and foremost, DON’T go there. Don’t go down that road. Nothing good ever comes from being incoherent, or out of your rational mind. You need to be ALERT to be one jump ahead of that devil.

Consequently, generational alcoholism runs deep in my family and I’ve watched all too well how that avenue leads to more misery and pain. Just don’t. It’s NEVER an answer!!!

Secondly, and most importantly …YOU ARE NOT FIGHTING YOUR SITUATION ALONE! In fact you aren’t even the one fighting your battle…God is! Exodus 14:14 says ” The Lord fight for you, you need only to be still.”

If I’ve learned anything from studying the Bible, it’s to have my favorite verses to pull out when I need them. Satan is vying for your soul. I hate to be blunt but he is. He will distract you, feed you lies, try and destroy your relationships, and prey on those places you are weak. Right now, recognize your weak spots.

For me, he knows he can’t tempt me with typical addictions. I’m strong in my faith but I can be easily offended so my relationships are where he hits me the hardest.

Although, I KNOW THIS, I still forget it most of the time and fall for his lies and deceiving more times than I should.

We have weapons, tools, to battle him and ward off his fiery darts. If you have never opened a Bible I’m telling you that Ephesians 6:10-17 is a great place to get started. ❤

Happy Monday 🙂

Kelly

I found this today and it really hit me in a place I’ve been struggling with lately.

Sometimes we have difficult situations and difficult people in our lives that we just don’t know WHAT or HOW to handle. Repeated attempts at reconciliation just end up at “brick wall status” and you’re left with frustration, anger, and most of all resentment.

But what if those people and those situations are meant to GROW you and not FRUSTRATE you? I am a firm believer that there are no happenstances, coincidences. Every moment and every person you meet God put in your path, for something. 

For me, I have to constantly remind myself that I haven’t been buried anywhere. God PLANTED me where he wanted me to do good works. I remember almost 11 years ago, when I met Wes for the first time, how it all transpired and if there was ever a “GOD BREATHED” event it was the moment God placed him in my life. I had been praying for God to bless me with a good Godly man to share my life with and about two weeks before I laid eyes on HIM I laid eyes on his flaming Dodge. I was at the intersection of AB and 160 at the light and, as I was sitting there, this black, flaming Dodge dooley goes through right in front of me. Now normally I would just sit there and wait for the light but this time that flaming Dodge caught my attention, and I remember thinking “WHO on earth would make payments on a truck that looked like THAT?” It was about two weeks later Wes magically appeared in my life at the restaurant I was working at. Although I had worked nights there for about a year, and he had frequented it during that time, our paths had never crossed. I’ll always know that he was God sent, which leads me to my point.

We don’t get to pick who God sends into our lives. He knows ahead of time who He needs to send to us. He has a plan for each person, just like YOU are a plan for someone else as well. God needs for us to learn and grow so that He can use us for His grand scheme. We will NEVER grow in comfort. We have to be taken out of that place and pushed to our limits relationally if we desire real growth.

If you’re dealing with a difficult situation or person in your life, and they are family, just know that God is working on you both. He brought you together for a purpose and sometimes we just have to be obedient to His Word and press on. God will reveal what He wants us to know WHEN it’s time. Keep on praying about it. Keep on loving. Keep on keeping on. 

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” – 2 Timothy 4:7

Sometimes we deal with difficult situations and difficult people and sometimes…we ARE the difficult people.

Love and Peace to You All,

Kelly 🙂