One Beautiful Life

It is NOTHING less than an all out WAR.

I took this photo the other day as this amazing storm was rolling in. I LOVE storms and am so captivated by their power, their energy, and their resolve. To me, they symbolize a part of God's personality.

So tonight's post will be deep, but necessary and my prayer is that it will open the eyes... awaken an awareness... in at least just one of my readers, my prayer warriors! And God is faithful and so I am confident He will speak to one... at least just one.

Paul tells us to put on the "full armor of God". "Put on the full armor 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." Ephesians 6: 12, 13~

Now ponder that. Armor. Think of armor and think of how and when it was used and why. Now think of what we are taking a stand against... powers and authorities of darkness... dark forces of evil in the spiritual realm. It sounds like sci-fi movie but the reality is... it is our DAILY LIFE!

As I went through Beth Moore's Bible study, "Daniel" a couple years ago... one chapter spoke to me in the depths of my soul as never before. I LOVE it when the Holy Spirit opens your mind to understanding the word in HIS timing and gives you something to grow upon!

Chapter 10 is my chapter in Daniel. Daniel has prayed a prayer of petition to the Lord and is waiting and waiting and waiting for God's guidance, answer, affirmation... something! The angel, Gabriel, has come to him in the previous chapter to "give you insight and understanding". "As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given..." he says to Daniel. (Oh how I wish it was like that today!)

In the beginning of chapter 10, Daniel mourns for three weeks. He is troubled about what is going on. (I'll spare you details but please do go read!) During this time he eats no choice meats, has no wine and used no lotion (kinda like us not bathing for three weeks I'd think). He is fasting certain things.

An angel appears to Daniel again and this is what he says: "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia." 10:12,13~ He goes on to say that he has to return to fight the prince of Persia and then the prince of Greece... and that Michael is the only one who supports him against them! vs. 20, 21~

Read that again. Do you see what God has shown us... just on a side note in the book of Daniel!
Daniel set his mind to understanding God and was in prayer... on the first day... God had an answer and sent an angel to deliver the message and the ANGEL WAS TIED UP FIGHTING A PRINCE OF DARKNESS FOR THREE WEEKS! Meanwhile, Daniel is fasting and mourning during that three weeks. THEN... THEN... THEN MICHAEL (another angel... a high ranking angel... a powerful angel) comes to the scene to TAG TEAM AND FIGHTS THE DARK FORCE WHILE ANGEL #1 FINALLY GOES TO GIVE DANIEL THE MESSAGE! AND THEN THE ANGEL BASICALLY SAYS: Got to go back and fight some more now... bye.

I don't know about you but the scales from my eyes were removed and the reality of spiritual warfare FOR OUR HEARTS... FOR OUR JOY... FOR OUR TESTIMONY... FOR OUR FAMILIES AND MARRIAGES... FOR OUR PHYSICAL LIVES became as clear to me as the dark clouds rolling in on me in the above photo. And the battle is fierce for believers because he can't have our souls... the prince of darkness can not have our soul for GOD has already won that battle... so he wants EVERYTHING ELSE.

Now... put on the full armor of God. Ephesians goes on to tell us, piece by piece, what that armor is. Read it, meditate on it.

In addition, the best book I have read on this subject is, Waking the Dead, by John Eldridge. Here are some quotes from his book.
"Satan and his emissaries bank an awful lot of their work on the fact that Christians don't know the power and authority we now have in Christ. When we begin to exercise that fierce mastery; everything begins to change." pg. 178
"We are commanded to resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7). We are told, "Your enemy prowls around like a roaring lion looking for whom he can devour. Resist him" (1 Peter 5: 8,9). pg. 168
"That means that right now, on this earth, there are hundreds of thousands , if not millions, of fallen angles,foul spirits, bent on our destruction." pg. 151

I could go on and on... but I won't. Simply put, we are in the middle of a fierce battle right now with Abby. My marriage is better than it has ever been and I give God the glory for what HE has done in my marriage. We have been given a precious son in God's time, in His way, and continue to seek him in aspects of it... and we give God the glory. We give him the glory and praise for how well Marc is doing... for how he seemed to be waiting for us and has not skipped a beat. We are feeling a stirring in our hearts to do more for the kingdom of God and make our lives a little bit less about ourselves... we are seeking God in this stirring and waiting. We have joined other fellow believers in starting another church we feel is focused on what God wants the church to be focused on and we are being blessed in huge amounts... we have grown from 40 to 200 in less than 5 months... and we give God the glory... and we continue to seek Him. AND THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS IS LIVID!!!!!!!!! And so he hits me where he knows it hurts... where he knows he can take my breath away, where he can damage my heart and steal my joy in just one moment as I watch my precious gift from God lie there and have a seizure. Oh he knows... and he is attacking us, me, her with everything he has.

And so I stand, I call upon my precious sisters and brothers in Christ to stand with me in prayer to denounce his attack and claim the power and authority of Christ who lives in us! And this week I will fast and set my mind to understanding... confessing my sins... searching my heart... and submitting to my Saviour. And I will continue to praise my Lord.

Please be bold in your prayers today... call upon God's power and claim Abby's healing and restoration. THANK YOU. Oh how I love you and am so thankful for you.

*Abby has mitochondrial disease. You can google it for more information.