A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO MY ENEMIES

I’ve been trying to determine what works in my life to recreate success with my future goals.  When I completed this task, I thought I’d have a list that would include incidents where my supporters surrounded me or friends and family came to my rescue, with help or a life changing word.  To my surprise, if these scenarios happened, it was so rare it’s not worth mentioning.  What I found was a list of events where I was alone with feelings of being abandoned with my enemies raging around me. 

Now I want to make it clear that my enemies are real.  I don’t have the kind of enemies that are passive, nor are they inexperienced in the art of war.    My enemies tried to set me up on my job to humiliate me then get me fired.  If I didn’t quit the job, they would strategically place themselves around contend with my every effort.   My enemy would work discord in my neighborhood.   My enemy will talk about me behind my back with hideous lies to destroy my character.  My enemies take joy in hearing of my misfortunes and wait to hear of my destruction from them.  If my demise doesn’t come soon enough, they will see what they do to help speed the process up.  My enemies would attack my children and my marriage when the attacks against me didn’t work, knowing this would destroy me.  My enemies would turn my friends against me.   Then they would use them on the inside to stay close to me to further hurt me.

Even though I felt alone in these situations, I realized God was with me.  He would somehow stir something deep within me, an anger of sorts or a refusal to go down without a fight that would arise in my spirit and I would come out swinging against the opposition.  I had a take no prisoner approach.  I fought with the strength that I know only the Lord could have given me.  I gained the victory over my enemies and negative situations in my life.  I learned skillful ways from God to defeat my enemy and God would not allow a bitterness to build within me that would cause me to become like my enemies.   I learned a lot about myself from facing my enemies and their attacks.  I learned a lot about God, who was my only source of help.   I realized that these attacks made me stronger and closer to God.  Over time, the attacks let me know that a bigger blessing or level of promotion was on the way from the Lord.  I would have never gained this knowledge and strength if it had not been for the malicious attacks of my enemies.  Most important, I learned that if I’m ever to succeed at anything in life, especially against my enemies, I must depend upon the Lord to guide and help me.

So if you’re under attack, don’t give in and please don’t give up.  Take a deep breath and a step back and seek the help of God.  He promised never to leave us or forsake us.  He is a master at strategy and can lead you around any trap of your enemy.  He can give you the victory over those that come against you, if you would just consult Him how to proceed.  Don’t be discouraged or dismayed we are more than conquers though Him that loved us (Romans 8:37).  Thank your enemy for letting you know that your help from God and blessings are on their way.

ON BENDED KNEE

In remembering last year, I don’t know about you, but all I can do is breathe a sigh of relief, whew, I made it. I survived. There were times when my life felt like a new episode of Nightmare on Elm Street or my name should have been added in the book of Job in the bible. It seemed that when I hung up from one calamity another was at my door.

I made an effort to relax by turning on the television.  I got a glimpse of the daily news.   There was no relief there, only horror to see the tragedies happening all around me, near and far. It seems that after a year like this, resetting my tolerance meter and reevaluating my strategy for the upcoming year is crucial. It would be very beneficial activity for anyone. It would allow us to reconnect with ourselves, family and friends, and most importantly, our Creator. We don’t know what we’ll face this year but it’s better to face the unknown with an inexhaustible source of help and strength.

The process I suggest is very simple. It is most effective when done on bended knees. Let me explain that this is more than a physical position. There are times when physically I am unable to get on my knees but I am always able to bend or surrender my heart. You will be able to accomplish this too with a little practice if you’re not already an expert.

Why on bended knee you ask. Just look at it this way, it’s hard to be hit with a flying dart of life or any such attack if you’re on your knees. They seem to fly right over your head. Even if you’re hit, you won’t have far to fall. You also notice more of the simple and small things when you’re in this position.

Here we go, we’re on bended knee. Ask yourself these series of questions followed by the response “thank you”. Do I have a place to lay my head at night, “thank you”. Do I have something to eat, “thank you”. Did I get out of bed on my own this morning, “thank you”. The questions will start to flow if you keep going and the response will become automatic. After you’ve mastered this, sit still and quiet. Take pad and paper, you’d be surprised at what you’d write.

Many times, people get tangled in whom you should say “thank you” to. If you don’t believe in the Creator, it’s ok. It’s just as important to say “thank you” to those who feed positively into our lives. Just be grateful being able to do all these things. There is a deep cleansing and healing in this kind of exercise. It resets one’s perspective. No matter how independent we may feel, we all, at some point, need assistance from someone else.

Whatever comes this year; believe that we can handle it. Things will happen this year the will sadden and hurt us and come in a moment’s notice. There will be things that will over joy us and fill our hearts with glee. But whatever comes, stay encouraged and focused to live a victorious year. Remember, we are more than conquerors if we stay on bended knee.

NEW YEAR PRESS

As I look back, I realize the weight of facing some of the worst hardships and life altering challenges during the past two years.  I survived emotionally numbing blows in recent years, and because of the holidays, only to relive some incidents afresh.  I lost loved ones and friends dear to my heart.  I saw the true colors of many, left abandoned and like my grandma use to say, up the creek without a paddle, on several occasions. 

It seemed that at every turn, another door was either closed in my face or at my back.  I felt boxed in and forced in a state of bondage.  There were times I called out asking God if He saw me.  I felt as if He was watching me suffer these things as He watched the guards beat Jesus beyond recognition.  I felt my old nature rise and a bit of old Chris resurfaced; the one that jumps into action to take care of Chris and handle people and situations.  I want to keep that old girl under control because she’s dangerous.  The last time I let her have free reign for just 1 hour, it took years and several attorneys to get things resolved.  The reborn Chris just kept saying be still, do nothing, God is not blind nor has He turned His back on you.  It’s God that has brought you to this place and time in life.  Wait on God, my spirit would say.

I started to imagine my situation.  My spirit was feeling as if I’m standing in a paneled room boxed in with no visible way of escape.  Each wall of this room is touching me on the front, the back, and the sides.   I wait with my hands folded behind my back.  I kept hearing a familiar clicking sound.  Familiar in that I know I’ve heard is somewhere before, long ago.  Then I remembered our old camper.  The cabinets and closets in it didn’t have handles and the surface look streamlined and you had to know where to press them to get them to open.  I had trouble with a few of them, just couldn’t seem to get the press right to make it open until several tries. 

Then I heard God say to press with my hands behind me, and a door opened.  I stepped back and God began to give me insight into why things happened this year.  No great mystery, it was His will and it was what was best for all involved.  He showed me how the past two years were a proving year for me.  He showed me how much He loved me and had invested in me.  It was a year during which I was being branded for His purpose for my life, to write of His glory, as John was banished to the Isle of Patmos to write the book of Revelations.    One mistake was to believe in the word of people and depend on them for help and not look to God first then He would send the help I needed.    

 I found myself back in that paneled room and I was instructed to press again on a place in front of me.  As I did, a door opened.  As I stepped out the way wasn’t clearly marked and a bit foggy and unstable in places.  God whispered, if I trust Him, He’ll lead me and show me the way.  To be successful, I’d have to get rid of the useless baggage from the past year that would hold me down or cause me to fall.

Beyond the love and investment God has placed in me, I take away from this image that even when people and situations seem to have us boxed in, all we have to do is look and wait on Jesus; then press, and He’ll open a way of escape.  If we trust Him, He will lead and guide us through our day to day life.  To be successful, I must press the door closed on the past and focus on today with Christ. 

For 2017 join with me in my resolve, like that of the Apostle Paul described in Philippians 3:1-15, to forget those things which are behind, and reaching for those things ahead, then press the mark, for the prize, which is the high calling of God, in Christ Jesus.  Let’s do a New Year Press.