To the Saints

Fight the good fight of FAITH!

The other day I stood at a crossroads, not really sure what decision I needed to make on a matter that had cropped up out of the blue.  Something about the situation did not sit well with me spiritually, but I didn't want to make a decision on the matter without knowing for sure what the Lord would have me do. 

So within a few hours, I declared a fast.  I didn't declare it by announcing it to the world, but instead, I declared it quietly to myself.  No food. No drink.  I didn't want to hear from my flesh - JUST GOD. I longed to do God's Will.

These days are truly tribulating for born-again believers.  Jesus said they would be (John 16:33).  Everywhere you look, the world is deeming this and that as being perfectly acceptable, but what does God say?  Saints, you can't look to the right or to the left during such times of tribulation.  Seek the Lord.  And when the Shepherd speaks, the peace is profoundly beyond anything this old world could ever cook up.  His Voice will always point us to holiness and righteousness.  It won't likely be popular, but it will be Right.  What the world calls "no big deal" may very well be a BIG DEAL to Him.  Oh, beloved, let us always follow His leading.

After I began the fast, the spiritual war ramped up to a level I had not experienced in some time.  There is a spiritual world, and there is a war in the spiritual realm.  We do not battle against flesh and blood, but as we are told in Ephesians 6:12, we do battle against "spiritual wickedness in high places."  Another translation states we fight against "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." 

Satan showed up throughout that evening and the entire night.  I went to bed at my usual time, but the night was spent in intense prayer.  I literally slept about 1 hour and a half (and that 1 1/2 hours was interrupted repeatedly).  I am sharing this for one reason and one reason alone.  I want YOU to fight the good fight of Faith no matter how intense YOUR battle gets in these last days.  If you think you are hanging by a thread as you face Satan in the spiritual realm, then let that thread be the hem of Jesus' garment.  FAITH in Jesus.  FAITH in what Jesus will do.  FAITH in Jesus to deliver you.  FAITH in the Lord to give you the answer.  FAITH. FAITH. FAITH.  Jesus said in Luke 18:1, "Men ought always to pray, and never to faint."  Are we really absorbing what He is saying here?  Always Pray.  Some battles are overwhelming, but IN Christ, we can overcome every single one.  We have got to get that deep down in our very beings.  IN CHRIST, we are overcomers.  He made the way!

I cannot possibly fully explain all of the techniques Satan used throughout the night to get me to throw in the towel.  To give up.  To give in.  To say, "What's the use..."  He is diabolical, demonic, maniacal, satanic, a fear-monger, a bully, and an accuser.  The most intense encounters I have had with Satan and his minions have always involved him removing his mask for an all-out spiritual assault, but the Lord has taught me that when Satan gets to that point, it is because Satan knows he's losing. 

I prayed much of the night. I very literally held God's Word in my hands.  I repeated, "The gates of hell shall not prevail." 

I said over and over, "God, put Your Strength in me."  Over and over.  "Put Your Strength in me, Lord."

I said, "Lord, you promised me that no matter how dark the times get, I will have a song."
I asked humbly, "Lord, where is my song..." I asked this throughout the night.  "Lord, you promised.  Where is my song..."  It was a humble repeated prayer.

Eventually, the 5 o'clock hour arrived, and I went downstairs, but something different was happening within me. The tide was turning.  The Lord showed me that first and foremost, He was calling me to SUBMIT to Him in this matter.  When He showed me this, I can remember quietly embracing the word "submit" in my dark living room.  In literally seconds, my Shepherd's Voice then clearly instructed me as to what I was to do regarding the issue that I had been fasting over.  The answer did not come until after a night filled with spiritual war, not until after I embraced "submitting" to Jesus.  Then, Jesus clearly told me His stand on the matter.  It was the opposite of what the world called "harmless."  Satan fled.  I walked from my living room into my kitchen REJOICING because I now knew what God would have me to do in this matter.

I pulled a piece of paper from a tablet in the kitchen. With complete resolve and peace, I planned to write on it the details of what God had instructed me to do. The tablet had originally 365 different verses in it.  One per page, equalling one for every day of the year.  When I pulled the paper out so that I could write down what God had instructed me to do, I noticed the verse at the bottom of the page:

The Actual Page from the Tablet 

I had prayed for hours throughout the night, "Lord, put Your Strength in me."  "Lord, where is my song..."  Those were my exact prayers and exact words.  I tell you, who but God can beautifully orchestrate such events?  Evidently, this verse is found one time on one piece of paper in this tablet that once spanned 365 pages on my kitchen counter.  I don't know if this page was the 160th page or the 250th page, but God knew it would be the page on this day that He would let me know He HAD put His Strength in me.  The day that He HAD been my song-- just as He promised me many months ago. 

No matter how dark the days get, look to Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith!  Do not give up - do not surrender to Satan.

Beloved readers, Fight the good fight of FAITH.  Trust, that the Lord will answer.  He will direct our steps.  Let us pray through.  Let us seek His Face.  Let us submit to His will no matter what. 

No matter who you are reading this, I am praying for YOU.  If I have never met you, I am praying for you.  If you are my friend, I am praying for you.  If you dislike me, I am praying for you.  If you are struggling right now, I am praying for you.  I am praying for you because I have been awake in the midnight hour more times than I can count crying out to the Lord for His Guidance on various matters over the years.  I know what it is like to have Satan breathing in your ear - roaring his pathetic lies.  I am praying for YOU.  I am praying that you will continue in the faith.  I am praying that you will submit to God's will above all others' wills.  I am praying that you will pray through no matter how long it takes.  I am praying that you will fast when needed.  I am praying that even when it seems that you are hanging by a thread that you will remember joy truly does come in the morning - no matter how long the night - no matter how long the season.

There is a brief memory from my childhood that has always profoundly affected me. It's the memory of a piece of paper. Even when I saw it at just 7 or 8 years old, I can remember looking at it and knowing it was so true.  The paper was clipped to my fridge.  Lo and behold, I found the picture by Googling it.

 
Now, it may seem silly to post it, but there is great truth in this picture.  Satan battles hard against us, but no matter how bleak the situation appears, no matter how victorious that serpent appears to be, JESUS overcame every, single ounce of him.  

Rely on Christ to put His Strength in you.  Rely on Christ to be your song no matter the darkness that surrounds.

We are promised in God's Word the following regarding True Grace.  God has shown me time and again that we can absolutely count on these verses every time:

1 Peter 5:
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.11 To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
12 By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.