Strong

Eph. 6:10 'And that about wraps it up, God is strong and He wants You strong.'(msg)


This is where He had me camp out this morning. Another simple, yet very powerful statement from our Father. He is strong and wants us strong. He doesn't want us weak, guilty, judging, condemned. Just strong in HIM!

I began thinking and praying through this. God, if your desire for me is strength, You are going to take me through situations in life to strengthen me. You don't get strong by 'coasting' through life. You get strong by eating good food, fighting, praying, maybe being in unknown situations that cause us to rely on no one but our Father. This idea I used to have that when something was hard must mean that I was doing something wrong, does not ad up.

Granted, there will be times when we know we are disobeying, like Jonah, and He will allow things to pan out accordingly.

I want to be very careful and clear. I am not in any way saying that God causes 'bad things to happen to us'. That is not His character. I believe He ultimately wants best for us and wants us to grow. He can, however, and does, take things the devil was hoping to destroy us with and redeem them for His glory. He's just that awesome :)

I am thinking about times when a situation has come around to me where I had the choice to say 'yes' or 'no'. Do I say yes even though its an unknown and very uncomfortable? Or do I say 'no' because I am comfortable and I am 'good' where I'm at.

Conflict is a big spiritual muscle I had to learn. I used to run, never looking back, from conflict. I would do everything in my power to avoid it at all costs. That was not right. I had not allowed God to 'grow' that in me. Over time, I began to realize that there was a lot of conflict starting to happen in my life right about the time I was ready to deal with some things from my past. Instead of running, some friends kindly pointed out that this was a good thing to learn how to do with grace and God's help. It was not comfortable, but it was so necessary. I have come to be 'o.k.' with God's permission, to stand up for what is right and true, establish boundaries if needed, and not run in the other direction. Conflict is going to happen! That is one element of this life we can count on, whether in marriage, family, or friends. Growing that muscle to handle it with God's integrity is a massive life lesson you and I will use time and again.

So, God is strong, and He wants you strong. He is in your corner! He is fighting for your strength in this crazy battle called life. Eph. 6: 12-'This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the devil and all his angels'.(msg)

It does God no good to sit there day after day and 'raz' us for what we have done wrong or haven't done. Not saying He will not convict us of sin in our lives, but once you have asked forgiveness, its over! He already took care of it years ago! You are glorifying no one by beating yourself up and feeling guilty for something He already took to the cross. He wants you strong, not guilty and wallowing in self pity over how bad of a person you are. Get up! Make it right with your Father and move on. This life is too short to spend a day on something He already took care of for you. Eat your spiritual food, be intimate with your Father, and get back in there and fight! Remember, He wins.