(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;). II Corinthians 10:4 (KJV)
I memorized the above scriptures when I was growing up, in the King James Version. At the time that was pretty much the only version of choice. And these particular passages are fairly cut and dried and easy to understand in the old English version. I honestly struggle reading scripture or anything for that matter, in old English. I struggle to fully comprehend what it's saying, let alone apply it to my life!
So here's what I get from the passages I shared. 1. That God gives us what we need to fight the enemy of our souls. The things needed are found in God and in His Word. 2. That when life seems like an uphill struggle and it feels like everything is against you, that in reality we are fighting in a spiritual battle against the devil and his demons. But God gives us the weapons and the power to fight against the dark side and it's not something we can drum up on our own. It comes from Him.
To apply that truth, here's what it means when the rubber meets the road:
One week ago today, early in the morning I recieved one of those phone calls that are forever etched in your memory. On the other end was my Mother in law, Helen. She was sobbing and she said that Scott ( Steve's brother) had died in the night! What do you even say when someone you love is so broken hearted they cannot be comforted with words? All I could think to do was to run to her side
and be with her. As soon as Michael boarded the bus, I was throwing things together and in my car on my way, to try and be a comfort to her.
It has been a turbulent week. Being there for Helen. Changing big plans Steve and I had for getting away, dealing with raw emotions, and in the grieving process, old wounds of my own grief revisited me. Not to mention trying to function as a single parent while Steve was out of town.
All of this weighed on me. Some days I was fine and other days, not so much! I know there is power in prayer and I have felt that power and that peace. But can I be really honest with you? It has been a struggle, the uphill kind, if you know what I mean. And yesterday I gave in to the feelings of wanting to escape the grief. I was so tired, all I wanted to do was sleep and sleep. I didn't want to see anyone, talk to anyone or deal with anything. I just wanted to sleep! And so I did! Finally, as I was coming to, I began to feel a tugging on my heart to rise up! Take one foot and put it in front of the other. To
at least function enough to be able to meet the most basic of needs for my family. I struggled for a bit
and prayed for God to give me the will and the strength to get up and face the day.
God did answer that prayer. Little by little, one foot in front of the other, throwing feelings aside, I got up and got things done. Kitchen cleaned, laundry washed, dried and hung in time for Steve to take with him on his business trip. It honestly wasn't a stellar day of completing a huge to do list! The victory was in getting out of the pit and finding a way to give to my family. I could not have done this had God not tugged at my heart and given me the grace to do this small thing.
After we had an early supper, I dropped Steve off at the airport and I ran to a couple of stores to pick up some grocery items we needed. As I was entering Wal-Mart (yes, I am unashamedly a regular Wal-Mart customer - don't judge me - you get more bang for your buck there). :). I saw a friend of mine from church, Karen Morrish. Interestingly enough, Karen and I have a lot in common with our families, our husbands travel, work schedules etc. Her son (an only- like my Michael) is in college, my son is in middle school, so she and her family have a few years on us. And Karen with her more
mature wisdom reached out to me. What can I say, I was a bag full of mixed emotions. She said she could see it in my eyes.
I basically told her about my brother in law passing away and she was totally sympathetic and caring, almost as if she were being Gods compassion, reaching out to me! We talked about our sons and I was able to ask her for guidance on things I'm dealing with as a mother of a teenage son whose spreading his wings. She reassured me that the teaching we are putting into him, will come back. That gave me hope! This dear sweet lady comforted me another time when I'd had a miscarriage, God seems to allow our paths to intersect, though unplanned from a human standpoint, but an appointment arranged none the less by an all knowing God, Who cares and showers His love through people with servant hearts, like Karen! She reassured me that she'd be praying for us as we attend the memorial service this Sat. and that she'd be praying especially for Michael! Simply and honestly God really does know what we need, and not just sometimes! He is so good. He showers His live in the prayers of people who care, he brings people across our path at just the right time and so much more!
The following passage of Scripture just kind of describes this past year of my life. Yet through it all, by Gods grace we can walk with our heads held high... Well you'll see what I mean.
I memorized the above scriptures when I was growing up, in the King James Version. At the time that was pretty much the only version of choice. And these particular passages are fairly cut and dried and easy to understand in the old English version. I honestly struggle reading scripture or anything for that matter, in old English. I struggle to fully comprehend what it's saying, let alone apply it to my life!
So here's what I get from the passages I shared. 1. That God gives us what we need to fight the enemy of our souls. The things needed are found in God and in His Word. 2. That when life seems like an uphill struggle and it feels like everything is against you, that in reality we are fighting in a spiritual battle against the devil and his demons. But God gives us the weapons and the power to fight against the dark side and it's not something we can drum up on our own. It comes from Him.
To apply that truth, here's what it means when the rubber meets the road:
One week ago today, early in the morning I recieved one of those phone calls that are forever etched in your memory. On the other end was my Mother in law, Helen. She was sobbing and she said that Scott ( Steve's brother) had died in the night! What do you even say when someone you love is so broken hearted they cannot be comforted with words? All I could think to do was to run to her side
and be with her. As soon as Michael boarded the bus, I was throwing things together and in my car on my way, to try and be a comfort to her.
It has been a turbulent week. Being there for Helen. Changing big plans Steve and I had for getting away, dealing with raw emotions, and in the grieving process, old wounds of my own grief revisited me. Not to mention trying to function as a single parent while Steve was out of town.
All of this weighed on me. Some days I was fine and other days, not so much! I know there is power in prayer and I have felt that power and that peace. But can I be really honest with you? It has been a struggle, the uphill kind, if you know what I mean. And yesterday I gave in to the feelings of wanting to escape the grief. I was so tired, all I wanted to do was sleep and sleep. I didn't want to see anyone, talk to anyone or deal with anything. I just wanted to sleep! And so I did! Finally, as I was coming to, I began to feel a tugging on my heart to rise up! Take one foot and put it in front of the other. To
at least function enough to be able to meet the most basic of needs for my family. I struggled for a bit
and prayed for God to give me the will and the strength to get up and face the day.
God did answer that prayer. Little by little, one foot in front of the other, throwing feelings aside, I got up and got things done. Kitchen cleaned, laundry washed, dried and hung in time for Steve to take with him on his business trip. It honestly wasn't a stellar day of completing a huge to do list! The victory was in getting out of the pit and finding a way to give to my family. I could not have done this had God not tugged at my heart and given me the grace to do this small thing.
After we had an early supper, I dropped Steve off at the airport and I ran to a couple of stores to pick up some grocery items we needed. As I was entering Wal-Mart (yes, I am unashamedly a regular Wal-Mart customer - don't judge me - you get more bang for your buck there). :). I saw a friend of mine from church, Karen Morrish. Interestingly enough, Karen and I have a lot in common with our families, our husbands travel, work schedules etc. Her son (an only- like my Michael) is in college, my son is in middle school, so she and her family have a few years on us. And Karen with her more
mature wisdom reached out to me. What can I say, I was a bag full of mixed emotions. She said she could see it in my eyes.
I basically told her about my brother in law passing away and she was totally sympathetic and caring, almost as if she were being Gods compassion, reaching out to me! We talked about our sons and I was able to ask her for guidance on things I'm dealing with as a mother of a teenage son whose spreading his wings. She reassured me that the teaching we are putting into him, will come back. That gave me hope! This dear sweet lady comforted me another time when I'd had a miscarriage, God seems to allow our paths to intersect, though unplanned from a human standpoint, but an appointment arranged none the less by an all knowing God, Who cares and showers His love through people with servant hearts, like Karen! She reassured me that she'd be praying for us as we attend the memorial service this Sat. and that she'd be praying especially for Michael! Simply and honestly God really does know what we need, and not just sometimes! He is so good. He showers His live in the prayers of people who care, he brings people across our path at just the right time and so much more!
The following passage of Scripture just kind of describes this past year of my life. Yet through it all, by Gods grace we can walk with our heads held high... Well you'll see what I mean.
"We don’t want you in the dark, friends, about how hard it was when all this came down on us in Asia province. It was so bad we didn’t think we were going to make it. We felt like we’d been sent to death row, that it was all over for us. As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally—not a bad idea since he’s the God who raises the dead! And he did it, rescued us from certain doom. And he’ll do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing. You and your prayers are part of the rescue operation—I don’t want you in the dark about that either. I can see your faces even now, lifted in praise for God’s deliverance of us, a rescue in which your prayers played such a crucial part.
Now that the worst is over, we’re pleased we can report that we’ve come out of this with conscience and faith intact, and can face the world—and even more importantly, face you with our heads held high. But it wasn’t by any fancy footwork on our part. It was God who kept us focused on him, uncompromised. Don’t try to read between the lines or look for hidden meanings in this letter. We’re writing plain, unembellished truth, hoping that you’ll now see the whole picture as well as you’ve seen some of the details. We want you to be as proud of us as we are of you when we stand together before our Master Jesus.
(2 Corinthians 1:8-14 MSG)
No comments:
Post a Comment