The battle is strong; yet the battle is just that, a battle. The word of God promises us that our battles have already been won! We must however take the steps to overcome…
Sometimes it is so easy for me to allow the winds and the rains and the decline into the valley affect my relationship with the Lord. Does it mean that I love God any less, or that I am not a “good Christian?” ABSOLUTELY NOT! It means that I am human and have a flesh that will continually cause issues as long as I am on this earth. In these times of battles, the enemy uses my flesh, which is weakness, to instigate doubt, fear, worry, self-pity and an overall sense of failure. My flesh coupled with the lies of the devil tell me “I’m too tired to pray, I don’t feel like reading my bible, no one would understand so I will keep it all to myself” and sadly, when I am weak these lies cause impact. I start to believe them. Why? Because I stopped doing the things I need to do in order to maintain the strength of the Holy Spirit which are reading the word, praying, reaching out to others, etc.
It can be hard to see that the influence of the enemy is on us and to see that our faith is being tempted in the midst of the storm, but it is important to focus on what God says. God can also talk to us through other people. That was the case for me that got me over the hump. In addition to the couple verses that popped into my head, the sermon on Sunday spoke directly to my situation! HOW WONDERFUL IS OUR GOD!
Here are some verses (all in NLT) that helped me overcome this recent time of war:
John 16:33 – I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.
James 5:16 – Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
Psalms 30:5b – Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.
I am writing you this as an encouragement to say- the struggle is real. We will suffer, we will hit valleys, we will feel separated from God; but we are not in this alone. We have the word, we have a direct line to God through prayer, we have fellow brothers and sisters that we can (and should according to James 5:16) turn to for help. Don’t give in to the lies of the enemy; you are worth more than that. Learn from the valley then move on.
Miranda Embry
The Righteous Woman Ministries 