He Fights our Battles

This morning before I even got out of bed, which I didn't feel like doing, a thought went through my mind, "this is bigger than me." 

You can fill the "this" with your own words. What is it today that feels too big for you? What is out of your realm of control? 

There was something freeing about realizing I had to surrender to God. There was something comforting about knowing that I could and that God welcomed my battle. 

He is a protector. He does command His angels concerning us. He does deal with those people, places and things that are "too big." 

Just because you may not see victory with your human eyes, doesn't mean that the Lord isn't on the move on your behalf, in a myriad of ways! "For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory." (Deuteronomy 20:4) "... if God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31) Paul goes on to say that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, not trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger of the sword! Basically, there is NOTHING - not angels or demons, the present or the future, or any powers, neither height or depth, or anything else in all creation that can take us away from the precious and powerful love of God!

In a practical sense, letting God fight your battle for you looks like going about your day doing the next right thing. Keep moving. Keep trusting. Be kind. Take deep breaths. Experience God. This can all be done while still spiritually resting on the great big shoulders of Jesus Christ. 

Thank you, God Almighty, for fighting our battles for us today. There is no Warrior we trust more! Thank you for having our backs. Thank you that your love has no boundaries or conditions. We marvel at the fact that we can be still and know that you are our mighty and powerful God. Thank you that we can be assured that there is another side. There is your side and we get to be on it with you. Thank you for the victory that is found in this life and definitely in our next life with you!

In Jesus's name, Amen.

Written by,

Dee M. Kostelyk 

Stay the Course

Some things about following Jesus feel effortless but I have come to experience that more often than not, following Him is not easy. 

It is hard when you are in the office and someone is repeatedly taking God's name in vain, to speak up and say something. It is hard to turn the other cheek when someone has brutally wounded you. It feels like being stretched, extending forgiveness to someone who isn't sorry. It is hard to leave a party by yourself because you don't like the atmosphere. It doesn't always feel good to do the right thing. Sometimes, it's lonely.

It is exhausting to be in the wilderness and have to climb the tree one limb at a time in order to even get a glimpse of the horizon. Sometimes, when you get to the top, it's just fog. It is hard to believe in what you cannot see. It is hard to pray for the 789th time for the same situation or person to heal and change. 

It can be a lonely road even among other people who follow Jesus. Speaking up in a church a meeting can bring on heart palpitations and sweating. Knowing your faith is silently ridiculed simply because it doesn't look the same as someone else's can grow a pit in your stomach.

Choosing to trust when everything is falling apart yet again, is tiring. Stepping out of the boat to walk on water, when you feel like you have everything to lose, takes guts. Some days, our guts are gone. 

Believing a vision the Lord has laid on our heart when no one else sees it, is scary. Knowing full well that you are going to offend people is tough. Being shamed, judged, and criticized for what you hold dear to your heart, hurts. Being misunderstood, and even worse, not wanting to be understood, can pull on every insecurity we have. 

Not following along with rules, policies, mandates, and guidelines that tear at the core of our faith can be exhausting, especially when you're one of only a few voices. 

Being harshly judged (hated, even) by those who know nothing about you can feel awful. Shaming. Unfair.

As one of my close friends put it, the Christian walk is grueling. It is about perseverance and resiliency, often in the face of hardship. We keep walking because of Who our focus is on. We keep walking because of God's grace lifting up the soles of our feet. 

He is where it is at. His loved started it. 

The more you know Him, the more in love you become, and the more in love you become, the more sure you are that there is no one else in all the universe you want to belong to. 

His love has lifted us. It has brought us out of despair. It has empowered us to be more loving.

We believe Who He is and we believe all of what He says, not just bits and pieces.

Grueling, it is. But, it is also a mighty gift; it is a relationship with our Christ who takes us on the ride of a life time. 

We don't even deserve it. He gave up His life for us so that we could be with Him. We cannot express our gratitude enough.

Stay the course, my friends. We must continue gathering together and praying for one another. We must continue to share about God's goodness and express His love. 

Be who God created you to be. 

You are dearly loved and the best is yet to come.

Galatians 6:9 "So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up."

Hebrews 12:1 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us."

Romans 5:3-5 "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love."

Written by,

Dee M. Kostelyk