It's a Monday night, I just got my kids in bed, and all is quiet in our house. I'm exhausted from battling a cranky, napless 21 month old all afternoon, and I'm still a week away from seeing my husband again. As I sit here, I have a feeling a peace washing over me; God carried me through another day, and I am so thankful for that.
Every once in a while at church I will hear something that sticks with me throughout the week; it doesn't happen every week, but when it does it's like another little seed planted in my soul. This week was one of those weeks. Our pastor spoke on trust, and on how we are to "breathe spiritually"; we exhale all the impure air by confessing our sins as soon they happen, and we inhale God's spirit through faith. I love that picture of breathing God in; with each breath in we can be filled with Him, with each breath out we rid ourselves of unholiness. When we trust in God and walk with Him, getting through trials in this life can be as easy as breathing; it can be natural and automatic because there is a never-ending supply of His Spirit, and as Christians we need His Spirit in order to live.
I really enjoyed the sermon, and as the pastor continued on and began to talk about how we should be prepared for conflict, he uttered these words, "If there are no battles, there will be no victories." He said it so quickly in the course of his talk that it could have easily slipped through the cracks of my mind, but didn't, it stuck. I thought about those words for a long time, and suddenly I started to thank God for the battles in my life because of this truth: the victories I have today would not have looked like victories if not for the battles I've come through.
The biggest victory for me this year is that I still have a husband; I am still in love with the man I married 11 years ago, and not only that but I love him more today that ever before! Victory! We have three amazing, healthy boys after we struggled for so long just trying to get pregnant, and after losing our first baby...there's victory in that! We have a home, and my husband has a job when so many people at this point in time don't. There are victories all around me, and though the battles can tough, we need to fight through them knowing that in end, with God by our side, victory will be ours!
James 1:2-4 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
I fell in love with that verse this week. In light of my new view of battles, the fact that perseverance MUST finish it's work so that I can be mature and complete is simply amazing to me. We must walk through trials so that His work can be completed in us, and so that we will not "lack anything".
Psalm 30:11-12 says, "You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever."
My heart is singing tonight because of the victories I have through my walk with God; though battles have threatened to destroy me, I have found victory in Him and I will not be silent!
Are you clothed with joy because of the victories in your life? Even if you are in the midst of battle right now, look around and see His work in your life...give thanks and praise to Him who will never leave you!
Give thanks for the victories, and live by faith, trusting in Him to see you through.
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