Called to be Warriors

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Egw65U99qjU

Revival Anthem ~ Rend Collective

 

Benaiah… went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. And he struck down a huge Egyptian… And David put him in charge of his bodyguard. ~ 2 Samuel 23:20-21, 23 NIV

 

Mark Batterson's In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day tells the story of a man who saw possibilities—not problems—when faced with challenges. Instead of running from (and likely being eaten by) a lion, Benaiah chased it into a pit and killed it! Rather than cowering when facing a huge Egyptian, Benaiah fought and killed the Egyptian with his own spear. Those are two instances where "normal" people would have run away or cowered. We weren't called to be normal. We're called to be Christ-like: MORE THAN CONQUERORS, OVERCOMERS, VICTORS, and HIS!

 

In this season of many unknowns, don't forget who you are and to Whom you belong. Bought, but not a slave. Chosen to be a child of inheritance. As a co-heir with Christ, we have access to His power and authority. With His power and authority, God calls things that are not as though they were and calls dry bones to live. Through Jesus, He enables us to share in His power, so that we will shine His light into the lives of many and bring Him glory.

 

But the devil doesn't want God getting glory, which is why he's working overtime to keep you defeated, full of fear, and down for the count! But like Benaiah, we're called for greater things. We've not been given a spirit of a coward, but of a warrior! We don't seek a fight, but we won’t back down when the lion roars or the giants threaten. As Priscilla Shirer says in Fervent,

Aren’t you in the least bit curious what the devil is trying to keep you from experiencing? In Exodus 14, when Moses and the Israelites were hemmed in by the Red Sea and the Egyptians, God said, “Do not fear!” In other words, don’t wallow in it. Don’t choose it. Don’t make friends with it. Don’t entertain it or engage it. If they did, they’d risk not sticking around long enough to experience God’s miracle.

 

Don't ever give up - but be encouraged. When the challenges arise, know that you've been strengthened to stand your ground, and to chase and kill the lions in your path. Remember, oh child of the Most High God, you are a warrior!

©Heather Potts 2020

Sand Sculptures

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gs3fg_WsEg&list=RD_Gs3fg_WsEg&start_radio=1&t=0

Dancing in the Minefields ~ Andrew Peterson

 

[Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ~ 1 Corinthians 13:7 NIV

 

If you’ve ever walked along the beach, perhaps you’ve enjoyed how the sand feels. The sand at Siesta Key Beach in Sarasota, Florida is soft and cool, smoothly pouring out of your hand like granules of sugar. It’s beautiful! Not too deep into the water, however, the wet sand no longer pours smoothly out of your hands. Instead, it drops down in wet glops. Marriage and life have seasons which feel like sugary and gloppy sand, and they can move from sunny skies to hurricanes in a heartbeat.

 

It’s during the stormy seasons that you must shift from cruise control to being purposefully and perseveringly engaged. It’s a season like when the bills are already piling up and your spouse’s hours get cut. Or when the world is already falling apart, your dear friend has cancer, your kids have drama at school, and your spouse tells you awful news. But life and marriage aren’t just about one extreme or the other. There is a Designer who wants to use all of it.

 

Every year, the beaches in southwest Florida are filled with beautiful sand sculptures. The sculptors spend hours creating a unique design. The designs are everything from ornate sandcastles to book characters and scenes to anything imaginable – and it’s all amazing! But like the sand, our lives and marriages will never become a work of art if we quit before the Designer is finished.

 

Sixteen years ago, today, Brad and I said, “I do.” The promise made has been the promise kept, even through the choppiest of storms. But we’ve learned over the years that in the roughest seasons, it’s important to put our lives—and our marriage—into the hands of the Designer and allow Him to create something beautiful.

 

If your life or marriage feels more like wet, gloppy sand that’s been tossed about by stormy seas, I want to encourage you to not quit. Instead, place your life and your marriage into the Designers hands and watch as He shapes it into something amazing!

©Heather Potts 2020