Problems.
We all got ’em. Yet we tend to believe that our problems are bigger than someone else’s problems. We tend to focus on them so intensely, that we lose sight of reality. Of our strength. Of our blessings. And even worse….Jesus.
We allow them to flood our minds and bodies, causing stress and anxiety. Our bodies tense and emotions run high. We feel desperate to reach for any sort of hope. Reaching for any sort of light that will shine on them. We feel so desperate to get rid of our problems, we feel like we’d do anything, ANYTHING, just to make them go away. We put so much pressure on ourselves to solve these problems. And unless we get complete victory over them, we feel defeated.
What we forget, and sometimes need that constant reminder, is that it’s not about us. We are not alone in this battle. It belongs to Jesus.
For the last year (or was it 7), I have felt this battle. I allowed everything to overtake me, and my body. The pressures of my job, and the stresses that came with it. I was diagnosed out of the blue last year with Type 2 Diabetes. Anyone looking at me, knowing what I eat, my exercise routine, and comparing them with the signs and symptoms and factors of this disease would know that these didn’t add up. I had just had blood tests done, TWICE, a month and a half before being diagnosed that came back BETTER than normal. Yet, sitting in that doctors office as he’s telling me what’s going on and what I’m going to have to do for who knows how long, I felt peace, knowing that I was going to be OK. And so began the battle…
Through the course of the year, I have learned so much out of this. I learned how to lean and trust in God more, to look to Him first and not at the world or what they have to say, to recognize when and how the enemy likes to attack and prepare myself for them, but I also learned the root of what I believe was causing my dis-ease. Perfectionism and fear of man. 2 things I have dealt with almost my entire life. 2 things that are now being attacked with a mighty sword.
We must prepare ourselves for battle. Not once or twice a month, or year. Daily. Read Ephesians 6:10-20 and put on your whole armor of God, so that you can be prepared in this battle and stand against evil. Picking up your sword of the Spirit and speaking only the truth. God’s truth. His word. Over your life, over your worries, over your family, over your circumstances, over your finances, over your boss, over your job, over your problems.
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.” Heb. 4:12
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