Battle Ready?

I made it out of few weeks of high tension with someone in a place of authority over me. If I told you that it was not stressful, bothersome, worrisome then I would be dishonest. I honestly wanted to quit for the simple fact that I felt so disappointed and hurt. But when God gives you a promotion, even if no one else believes in you, why wouldn’t you give Him the gratitude that He deserves? God calls each of us. We have been set apart for His Glory. Hence I cannot allow myself to focus on anything other than gratitude for all He has done in my life.The Holy Spirit made sure I understood this.

If we listen, we can receive messages that we need. We can learn how to filled with gratitude and thanks even during trials. It’s really a choice that we have to make. I decided to give thanks to God because I remembered that He has been too good to me. I remembered that when God is for us, no one can be against us. That week I finally started to understand what it meant to be battle ready.

“Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious].” Ephesians 6:13 AMP

We have to stand firm no matter what life throws at us. I say, do what you know to do. We all know life is hard, but we need to understand that we don’t have to do it alone. God wants to help us, but we need to surrender to Him. We need to find contentment in God, even in the trials. We have to be maintain this belief and confidence in our hearts and entire being that there’ll always be an outcome that works best in our favor. I never got this right in the past, but now I pray that my life can always reflect gratitude I feel to God for all His mercies.

Being battle ready will require that we have understanding of all the tools at our disposal. God has provided each of them. All we have to do is put them to use.

What are these tools? The tools we need can be found in Ephesians 6:14-18?

• Belt of truth – Being honest with ourselves and others no matter what situation we find ourselves. Living in the truth of God’s word and goodness. Being completely held together by the truth that God is for us. And that God is for us. And for that reason, nothing can be against us.
• Body armor of righteousness – Remaining completely embodied in maintaining a life of holiness to God even when we are challenged to do the opposite. Remaining grounded in having our life reflect God’s love.
• Shoes of peace from the Good News – Jesus is our Good News. People living outside of this understanding are troubled by their inability to grasp the Grace we have through Him. When we understand the freedom we have in Christ, why would we allow ourselves to be troubled by the lies and disappointments? Why would we allow ourselves to be rattled? Our emotions cannot be pulled on strings when we are grounded in Christ. He gives peace. We will understand that He is our peace.
• Shield of faith – I am learning that faith is such a valuable possession as a child of God. It is protects us from the lies. It protects us from the attempts to hurt our spirits. It protects us from worry. It protects us from allowing ourselves be troubled by things outside our control. It is everything we need. And we can build the best shield ever the more we ground ourselves in God’s Word. The more we are faithful to our King and Father even during difficulties, persecution, stress, trouble, sickness… the more our faith grows. Imagine being completely shielded on every side. That’s the kind of confidence I am working towards.
• Helmet of salvation – Protect your mind! There are these whispers of doubt that try to sneak in. Don’t let the words of lies and hate spoken against you to take root in your head. Don’t allow yourself to think those negative thoughts. Instead remember that God has provided us salvation through His Holy Son Jesus. He loves us so much that He sent His Only Son to die in our place. Christ has taken away all of our sins. Christ has washed us clean. He makes us holy. We get to live in this Grace. Let this be all that you think about. No matter what anyone thinks or says, Christ loves me. I am chosen. I am set apart to live a life that fulfills His commands. I am set apart to bring His love and light everywhere I go. I will not be deterred. I will not be stopped. Even when it is difficult, I will take my energy from the fact that my Father loves me. Every experience makes me better and brings me closer to becoming everything that I was born to be. I am heir to the kingdom of Heaven.
• Sword of the Spirit – The Lord is faithful. Praying to God, especially in the Spirit, is a way to let God know that you surrender to Him and you can let Him remind you of the things that He has already done. The Spirit is our weapon against oppression, pain, sickness, feelings of depression, failure, anxiety, worry, fear, {insert anything else you can think of}.

Even if He doesn’t give us exactly what we want. Even when it feels like He is “delayed”. I have learned that there’s no such thing as delay with God. Let us continue to praise Him for all that He has already done in our lives. Let us never tire to acknowledge how awesome of a Father He is. Let us never forget all that He has done.

Or are we only in it for the good times?

I have come to believe that growth happens best when things are not “good.” During such experiences, we can either choose to adjust and become even more grounded in God and learn to use all the tools He has provided. We become firmly rooted in Him. He becomes our firm foundation. We become stronger. We become more resilient. More compassionate. More loving. More kind.

Or we can choose to let life, people, things, time etc control us…

What do you choose? 

Also important, remember not to wear another’s amour. Be careful what you are weighing yourself against. We should each focus on continuing to establish our own unique individual relationship with our loving Father. Let God be all that your focus is on, not what others think or what others will say.

Lots of Love!

Uju