Unleash Your Inner Warrior
This morning, as I spent time in prayer on my way to work, I was suddenly struck by the most glorious realization: What an honor it is to enter spiritual warfare for such a great and glorious King! There is no greater honor in my life than to serve Him in intercessory warfare. What an honor it is to live a life of battle in service to the Lord. I have never been in the military, and I have never seen battle in natural. But I do know what spiritual warfare is like, and the more I enter battle, the more glorious it becomes. The more you realize you aren't doing something as small as battling for your own life, but rather, you are serving a great and mighty King, and your work is pleasing to Him. So many people find prayer difficult, boring, tedious and simply dull. The minutes seem like hours and they could think of a million ways they'd rather be spending their time. This is not so for me. See, when you split your life into parts, as if some parts belonged to God, and other pieces belonged to you, you are not giving God your whole life. Then, in selfishness, those moments that should be wholly God's feel like precious time being wasted. You are not giving Him your all, and you selfishly (and foolishly) trick yourself into believing that your life is your own. Our lives are not our own. God gave us our lives, and the least we can do is give our lives in service back to Him. It is the least we can give to Him, because He is worthy of so much more! Think of it: if you gave Him every minute of every day of your life, and you praised Him and rejoiced in Him and declared how glorious His name was with all your heart and all your strength and you gave it all, it would still not be enough. You could never possibly give Him praise that lives up to, or could possibly describe or fully declare His worth, His beauty, His glory, His grace, His mercy and all that He is. And yet, He loves our weak and feeble praise. So how selfish must we be, how self-absorbed must we be to think that giving a few minutes to Him in prayer is a hassle? How selfish must we be to decide to separate our lives into parts we reluctantly give to Him, and parts we greedily keep for ourselves to live in sin and disobedience? Our lives should be in ongoing conversation with Him, lived fully for Him at every moment, in constant union, partnership, communication and relationship with Him. Today, as you begin your day, I challenge you to see yourself on a great and glorious battlefield, with angels alongside you. See the Lord as the great and glorious King He really is, and let your heart be overcome in fear, wonder, love, praise and awe. Let His beauty and grace and brilliance overtake you! Let praise and thanksgiving pour forth from your heart, and give Him the glory He deserves.
0 Comments
Hello, and welcome to my website, and my brand new blog. This blog is something that has been on my heart for quite some time now, but this week God prompted to me start writing. He told me that time is precious. Time is currency. We can always get more money, or even get money back--but we cannot get time back. Once we have spent it, it is gone. This week, that reality hit home harder than it ever has before.
We never know how much time we have left on this earth, or how much time we have left with our loved ones. They could be taken from us very suddenly, or we could lose them slowly to a dread sickness, never knowing when death will finally take them. I have a real sense of urgency about this reality now. If you love someone dearly, but are constantly engaged in battle with them, how much are you really loving them? How much are reflecting Christ to them? If either of you were to leave the house angry, and something were to happen to you, would you have gotten to say goodbye, knowing that you loved one another? Or would it be a bitter loss than ended with a fight, and no chance to forgive, to tell that precious someone that you loved them, and how much they truly meant to you? I was speaking to someone not so long ago about her father, who has alzheimer's. She told me that he could not even remember her. Because the disease has so claimed his mind and memory, there is no resolve for all the things that happened in the past. There is no chance at reconciliation, no chance for forgiveness in their family in a way that is impactful, because he cannot even remember who they are. I cannot help but realize that I would want issues to be resolved, for their to be true repentance and true forgiveness between my loved ones and I, should a disease like that claim their minds. Our time in earth is getting shorter and narrower. Ask yourself today who you have been engaging needlessly in battle with. Who have you been fighting, that you should be loving? How can you resolve those issues, and make sure that love is known? Find a way to work through those issues quickly, with God's help (not out of your own strength), and make sure that your loved ones know they are loved. Fight for love, so that you know if you were to lose your loved one in an instant, through the pain, there would be peace and love--not bitter loss. Our time is precious. We never know how much time we have left with other people. So make sure you live like every moment could be your last. Love like every moment with someone could be your last. Love like Jesus loved: Relentlessly. Peace be with you, Michele |
Check out Michele's new book, now available for purchase on Amazon!
Mere Humanity: Becoming a Mature Christian in an Immature World
|