Father has had something on my heart for a few days, now. I’d
like to share it, in case this is talking about you.
Some folks are in a formidable war, and they know it, but
they’re misunderstanding the war.
Some of the battles are about overcoming a sin that’s been
besetting you. You’re fighting back, and mostly you’re succeeding, but you
surely wish the temptation wouldn’t be so strong and so in-your-face.
Some of the battles come in the words of our neighbors, our
leaders, even our brothers and sisters, but they are surely not God’s words.
Instead they’re words of accusation, words of manipulation and control, words
of rejection and abandonment. You keep shaking them off, but it’s hard to
dismiss them entirely.
A small number of the battles are when we’re pressing
forward to walk in the fulfillment of God’s promise (and maybe you’ve heard God
well, or maybe you’ve missed some of it, it doesn’t matter here), and you
encounter opposition and discouragement and ridicule and slander. But still you
still fix your eyes, if not on the promise itself, then even better: on the
giver of the promise, and you are trying to press forward into your calling.
Some of the battles
that we’re fighting aren’t even our own battles. We’re fighting for sons and
daughters who, despite our prayers, are still making foolish choices, partners
who have chosen to no longer partner with us. Some of us are fighting on behalf
of those who have hurt us, and may still be hurting us. They seem to be trying
to fight off our prayers and reject our best intentions for them, and how
discouraging that is.
Some time ago, Father spoke to me as I woke, and he’s been
bringing it back to my attention recently.
“Tell them that they need to clean off their boots,” He
said.
“Wha? Hunh?” I mumbled reflectively. I hadn’t had any coffee
yet.
“Tell them to clean off their boots. They’ve been kicking the
devil’s ass for so long that their boots carry his stink.”
So I tell you: you need to clean your boots. The devil has
told you that you’ve been losing the fight, that you have no hope of winning
this particular fight. The devil has been lying to you. (Imagine that!)
The devil has been hiding from you the fact that you’ve been
making hamburger of his hindquarters, and he can no longer walk straight
because of the beating you’re giving him. He wants you to think you’re losing,
when in fact, he’s already lost, and you are, in fact, successfully enforcing
our victory over him.
I tell you that you have been more successful in your battle
against the evil one than you can know. Keep fighting, he cannot maintain the
illusion forever.
His promise is certain: “I will do whatever you ask in my
name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
He’s talking about you. http://nwp.link/1SjebvW
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