For Victory!

When you go out to fight your enemies and you face horses and chariots and an army greater than your own, do not be afraid. The Lord your God…is with you! … Do not be afraid as you go out to fight your enemies today! Do not lose heart or panic or tremble before them.  For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory! ~ Deuteronomy 20:1-4 NLT

There is certainly a battle raging against us and we are DEFINITELY in the thick of it. Praise God for His Spirit and His faithful servants He sends to remind us that He is faithful—He was faithful with us and others in the past and He will be faithful now and in the future.

32. Brad has had 32 interviews since God changed our “plans.” And 14 of them have been since we came, in obedience, to Wisconsin. Unfortunately, as of this devotional, all but 2 have been “no.” But our hope doesn’t lie in the numbers—not the number of days since we’ve arrived in Wisconsin, or the number of dollars we have left in our bank account, or even the number of applications filled out. Our hope lies in the Lord and in His promises.

The details and days have weighed upon us. And the enemy has tried to keep us under his thumb. But in my prayer time, when I felt “heavy,” God reminded me that I am the Victor and not the victim. And in His presence, I cried out, “I will remember!”

It’s not just our family. The enemy is hard at work to destroy all who are called forth in and for God’s great purpose. If, like us, you are in the thick of it, just remember, you are the Victor (not the victim). He calls us forth—not for vacation, but for battle, for war, for victory!

“…Train even your weaklings to be warriors…And now, O Lord, call out your warriors!” ~ Joel 3:10-11 NIV

©Heather Potts 2017

Transition

They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” ~ Luke 18:37 NIV

Our family has been in a state of transition longer than I can guess. Transition is movement or change. Change is causing something’s form, nature, or future course to be different from what it is or would be if left alone. Keeping our eyes completely fixed on Jesus, this idea that our paths will be completely different has amazing and endless possibilities! But having left her friends and everything she’s ever known, Savannah is really struggling with this transition. While she understands that God called us here, she doesn’t understand is why we can’t “go home.” Home. That settled, comfortable place where we can relax and breathe, knowing all the rules, boundaries, and expectations. Home. A place to call “mine.” And it’s not just Savannah who’s struggling with this; we all are on different days.

But is it as bad as we feel? Luke 18:35-43 tells the story of a blind beggar who also found himself in a state of transition. Upon hearing the crowd grow excited, the blind beggar asked who was coming. “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” “Passing by” is part of transition. Though Jesus was the One causing the movement, it was the blind beggar whose life was about to change forever! Verses 38-43 reveal that the man cried out to Jesus louder and louder until Jesus called him over and said his faith had healed him.

There are 3 ways to look at the blind man’s transition. 1) Long. Blind from birth, he wasn’t healed for many years. 2) Short. He heard Jesus was near, cried out to Him, and immediately received healing. 3) In Christ. God’s desire is that we’d change into the likeness of His image and keep moving toward His plan for our lives—both the blind beggar and our family.

While the transition for our family feels long, and sometimes emotional, I pray that Holy Spirit will help us to look at it as neither long or short, but in Christ. Because in Christ, the possibilities are amazing and endless!

©Heather Potts 2017