picturesfromheaven

"90 - Pound Weakling"

I am preparing to leave the country, yes, again. This time I am taking 6 other women with me to do a women's conference, among other things, in the Philippines. The Philippines is an absolutely beautiful country and filipinos are the warmest, sweetest people on the planet. So I was really looking forward to this trip, bonding with the women going with me, seeing what God was going to do as a result of our obedience and remembering what sun looks like. (Already winter weather here in Chicagoland.) But then the attacks started. None of our group was exempt. It was like the enemy was calling an all out war on all of us. But even though the attacks were at times almost overwhelming, most of the women have prevailed, and God has been glorified. To be honest, I am looking forward to this trip more than any I have ever taken, because I KNOW...I KNOW that God is going to be victorious in all of this and glorified. This season of battle has impressed me to share this word picture with you. I pray that it will encourage your soul. I also ask that you remember all of us in your prayers as we leave tomorrow for the adventure of a lifetime. God bless you...

Picture…a 90-pound weakling. The man is so thin it looks like a strong breeze could blow him away. Yet he is in a circus ring taming lions. He picks up a whip and uses it with precision and power. To the side of the man is the box that the whip came in and on it’s lid is printed the words “God’s authority.” In small print it says:
How to operate:
1. Repent and walk in Christ Jesus righteousness
2. Walk in forgiveness
3. Just pick up and use

Hear…the Lord say, “You may feel like there is nothing you can do about the assault of the enemy that has been launched against you. You may feel like there is nothing you can do about your situation. You may think that you are too weak, too young, or too ordinary to use my authority, but you couldn’t be more wrong. It is not about how strong or good you are, it is about how strong and good that I am. Follow the directions of the whip and then the enemy will obey because of my authority that I have given to you. “

Consider: This word reminds me of a story of my childhood. We had a toy Yorkshire Terrier, and if you are not familiar with the breed, they are about 7 pounds of hair. That’s all. Our dog’s name was Fritzie and he was a very important part of our family. One day Fritzie was barking at the front door and thinking that the postman must have delivered the mail, my mom opened the door to retrieve it. Fritzie was out the door in a flash. What my mom had not know until that moment was that standing in our front yard on the sidewalk was a Great Dane, big enough to swallow Fritzie whole without much effort. Before my mother could stop him, Fritzie took off chasing the Great Dane down the street with his “ferocious” little bark. My mother yelled for my brother and I to help her, and we were all out the door, running down the street, screaming for Fritzie to stop. What a parade we made…the Great Dane, whose name we later discovered was Charlie, followed by Fritzie, my mother, brother and me. Fritzie barking up a frenzy and running as fast as his little legs could run, and the three of us were trailing behind yelling, and waving our arms in a futile effort to get him to stop. Then all of a sudden the Great Dane decides to stop to see what is chasing him. He put on the skids and turns his head back to get a good look. We all stumbled to a stop, paralyzed with fear, waiting for what would happen next. Fritzie did a 180 and ran back to jump into my mother’s waiting arms. With our hearts still pounding in our throats, we took Fritzie back home to safety, scolding him with relief each step of the way. Once Fritzie had made up his mind to chase the “BIG DOG” off his territory, there was nothing the three of us could do to stop him. But when Charlie stopped and stood his ground, Fritzie was sent in full retreat. I am reminded of the scripture.

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 1 John 4:4 (NIV)

When you are being assaulted by the enemy, you need to stop and resist the attack. Whining, complaining and pleading for it to all stop because you can’t take it anymore will only encourage him. As with any bully, the enemy of your soul wants to see you running for your life. Stop, and the enemy will be forced into a retreat. But remember that the scripture about resisting the devil is actually in two parts.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:7-8 (NIV)

The first part of the passage commands us to submit to God. Once you have done that, resist the devil and he will flee from you. You might be trying to walk in authority without first walking in God’s obedience and submitting yourself to Him. You are in a very dangerous place if you try to use God’s authority without first submitting yourself to God. You need to put first things first, learn to walk in obedience to Christ and walk in forgiveness and righteousness. Then the authority will be yours to use to resist the devil. But you may have already been using the whip of God’s authority, praying, fasting, reading the word, saying the right things, but the lions that cause you to fear are still roaring. Remember that 90-pound weakling in the circus ring using the whip. The lions continued to snarl, but they obeyed the whip. The enemy may growl and snarl at you, but that’s just because he doesn’t like you using Christ’s authority. Stop listening to the roaring of the enemy and the negativity of your circumstances and remember that you have the authority of Christ. You are victorious in Him. The enemy is throwing a fit because he doesn’t like what you are doing. That’s tough on the enemy and good for you.

Pray: “Lord, at times the enemy has looked so big and the problems so hopeless that I have allowed it to bring me into a defensive posture. I’m sorry about that. I know that you died and allowed evil men to torture you so that I wouldn’t have to endure the endless torture of the enemy. You paid a high price for my victory. I thank for that. I ask you to forgive me because I’ve momentarily forgotten that from time to time. I ask you to purge me of all my sins, and I take this opportunity to forgive any and all that have harmed me. Regardless of how small or great the offense, I choose to forgive them right now. I choose to follow after you. And I choose to make my stand. Thank you for the reminders…in Jesus Name, Amen.”

posted by pastorc @ 1:00 PM