On the Side without a Shield

 

https://youtu.be/tgw1hIcW34k

Surviving the Game ~ Skillet 

The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand [the side not carrying a shield]. ~ Psalm 121:5 AMPC

If the right hand is your working side, why did the verse also specify that the Lord’s on the side not carrying a shield. As a warrior, your shield gives you protection. When you feel protected, you won’t run from the enemy. Instead, you’ll either stand your ground, or advance in battle. 

I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. ~ Psalm 16:8 AMPC

If the left side carries the shield for protection and confidence, then the Lord provides that for you on your right side. He stands at your side and gives you a weapon to wield.

Last week, I had the opportunity to walk one of the 3rd grade classes through the temptations of Jesus. We discussed the importance of knowing scripture as a way to overcome temptation. Just as we weren’t given a sword to hang it on a belt, we weren’t given a Bible to keep it closed on a table. There’s nothing scary about either scenario. But swinging a sword and studying scripture...that makes us a dangerous threat to the enemy.

 For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword … ~ Hebrews 4:12 AMPC

But we were created to do more than just fight. We are God’s workmanship, called to do the good works He planned in advance for us, (Ephesians 2:10). That reminds me of Nehemiah and the Jews who worked to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. As they worked, the enemy came against them. Because the opposition was so fierce, “[those] who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked,” (Nehemiah 4:17-18 NIV). That sounds like a rather clunky way to work. But if you are expected to be a warrior--defending yourself and your home--as well as a worker, you’d need to do both. Though the expectation is still there for us, it’s not as literal as this picture.

Most of us will not have to fight and work that way, but we’re still expected to do both. I think, at some point, we have all fallen into the trap of believing that spiritual warfare is for one season, and doing God’s work is for another. But the truth is, we are called to do them simultaneously. God gave us weapons for spiritual warfare so that we could fight and remain standing, while doing the work that God prepared for us.

Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that … you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ~ Ephesians 6:13 NIVUK

The Lord is your keeper: your guard, preserver, and Shepherd. 

The Lord is your shade: as near as your shadow for your protection and

refreshment. 

He’s on your right side: on your working side - providing skills, wisdom,

guidance, perseverance, strength, courage, determination, and

encouragement. 

He’s on the side not carrying a shield: on your warfare side -

providing spiritual weapons, like the sword of the Spirit.

The Lord has positioned Himself to be near to you, providing everything you need, in every circumstance. Whatever you need today, receive it from Him and get moving!

©Heather Potts 2021

In the Trenches

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9moCqVAF2ak

Ghost ~ Crowder

Have you ever been in the valleys of life? 

What about in the trenches?

Life seemed to be going along like normal, maybe you sensed things were slightly off, but before you had a chance to react, the earth started to tremble and down you went from the hillside and into the valley. But your quick shot down didn’t end there. Before you could even get your bearings, the valley floor opened and you fell through a crack. When you carefully, cautiously stood, you looked around and found yourself in the trenches in the middle of a war zone. You weren’t sure who was flinging bombs at you, but you knew enough to duck. In your crouched position, fear began to waft into the trench with you, like the smell of death. It was death to the life you thought you knew, felt that you’d had, giving way to this new reality in an ugly, scary battle scene where hope has faded to gray and you feel all alone.

Sadly, this is reality for some of the people I care about deeply. Without much warning, life shattered and they awoke to this new, hurtful reality. First it only breaks the heart. But then, it messes with the mind. Hurt and fear set in when the mind asks if the life and relationships you thought you had were all just a lie. Hurt and fear give way to anger when you believe the question as truth: it was all a lie!

Though the trenches look bleak and gray, hope begins to grow when Light is spotted. It may look like it’s coming from an encouraging post on social media, or a card from a friend. And though He’ll use resources like your therapist, your pastor, and even prayer warrior friends, there’s only one Light Source. His Name is Jesus.

If you are on the outside, watching a loved one struggle through trench warfare, commit to standing with them in prayer. This is likely to not be a short season, but God allowed you this unique position in their life to partner with them in prayer and, at times, to cover over them in a blanket of prayer-protection. This may not be trench warfare like your great-grandfather faced, but it’s spiritual warfare, which means the stakes are higher and the injuries more costly.

If you’re in the trenches, then suit up! This is likely to be the greatest battle you’ve ever fought. The devil fights to the death and he’s out for blood! But you are not without protection and you’re not without hope. Get your spiritual armor on; hold up your shield and swing your sword. Pull God’s Word close to you and dig into His promises like your life depends on it. His Word will become your greatest weapon and resource till this battle is won, and then will be the launch pad from which your new season will begin.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ~ Ephesians 6:11-13 NIV

©Heather Potts 2021

It's Not About Meatballs

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAIdo707Sac&list=RDHAIdo707Sac&start_radio=1&t=0

Freedom Reigns ~ Jesus Culture

 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ~ 2 Corinthians 3:17 NLT

 Have you ever fought about something as ridiculous as meatballs? If you’ve been married for any length of time (or have a sibling), there’s a good chance you’ve fought over something rather ridiculous. Last night, it was about meatballs. Long story short, there was the possibility (though it was slight) that glass got in the meatballs. I decided the risk outweighed the benefit of keeping them and threw them in the garbage.

 Let’s be real: the fight was never about meatballs. Our fight was about working through our fears. Because of a very old lie from the enemy, I believed that I had to hold everything together. The weight of the household—budget, meal planning, everything—fell on me. No human ever said this to me. In fact, both my mom and my husband have said quite the contrary, but the lie was embedded early and was hard to “unbelieve.” Praise God Jesus has given me freedom from these lies, and I am now able to (more quickly) identify them and command that they be burned back to their sources in Jesus’ Name! Sadly, my husband came with his own set of lies he’d believed. Praise God he, too, has received freedom in Christ and is also (more quickly) able to identify and command these lies be burned in Jesus’ Name!

 After being married almost 16 years, one might think we’d no longer fight about meatballs. But the truth is, we are all in a war and the devil aims to win. Thankfully, he’s not very creative and will keep using what’s worked in the past. But we have been given weapons to defeat our enemy! As we continue to walk in freedom, daily applying our spiritual armor and weapons of warfare, we’ll be enabled to walk in the victory and freedom Christ died and rose to give us.

 It’s time to break free from the bondage of old lies. Jesus came that all would know Him, walk with Him, and have freedom in His Name. Pray today that Holy Spirit would reveal the lies under which you’ve been operating and help you use your armor and weapons of warfare to defeat them, so that you can walk daily in the freedom and victory you’ve been given in Christ Jesus.

©Heather Potts 2021

Thinner

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened ~ Ephesians 1:17-18 NIV

What’s the difference between obsessed and passionate? Recently, we’ve been battling a lot of spiritual warfare—somethings better disguised though battled before and others new to us. The difference between obsessed and passionate is the driving force behind it.

“Thinner” is what I need to make my waffle batter in order to make cones instead of just waffles. Because the answer came to me in a pre-6am moment, I had to check myself: was Holy Spirit helping me or was it something else? A few weeks ago, I became obsessed—and I mean literally—with our budget. The numbers, details, and nuances consumed my thoughts all afternoon, overnight, and into the next morning. But Holy Spirit finally opened my eyes to see that a spirit of fear and anxiety was driving a need for control, resulting in obsession. I rebuked both the fear and anxiety and reminded them and myself that God had already given me His Spirits of Power, Love, and a Sound and Disciplined Mind. Finally, the anxiety was replaced with peace.

If something has been consuming your thoughts, check the driving force behind it. Has God opened your eyes to something that He wants you to know better and uncover the truth behind? Or is the enemy trying to put his spirits upon you, keeping you spinning in circles? Ask God for a Spirit of wisdom and revelation and to open the eyes of your heart and the answer will be revealed.

©Heather Potts 2016

He is Not a Man

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ~ Ephesians 6:10-11 NIV

Recently, our family has endured many attacks. They’re like little dogs nipping at your ankles, causing your ankles to bleed overtime. The physical pain creates a wound in your mind and heart, leading you to want to avoid those dogs at all costs. Yesterday, when the enemy was reminding me of recent “dog bites,” Holy Spirit whispered, “He is not a man.” In other words, the Attacker is not a person or group of people, but Satan himself.  Daniel 10:1-14 explains that we’re in spiritual warfare.

How do you win spiritual warfare while enduring a physical affront? Sing it • Silence it • See it • Say it.

Sing it: Worship. Throughout the Bible, the trumpeters or worship leaders were out front, rallying the troops, headed for war. Keeping God’s praise on your lips opens your heart to knowing His.

Silence it: Hold your tongue. Proverbs 18:21 says the tongue has the power of life and death. Pray that your words would be always with grace, seasoned with salt, and spoken only as God directs.

See it: Pray for enlightened eyes. We don’t often see the truth or know the best way to deal with our physical needs in a spiritual battle. But Holy Spirit can give us a Spirit of wisdom and discernment (enlightened eyes), helping us know what we need to do physically—like setting up healthy boundaries or changing a habit—while also directing us through this spiritual battlefield.

Say it: Speak God’s Word. Ephesians 6:10-20 tells us to dress in the full armor of God, taking up the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, enabling us to defeat the enemy and advance God’s Kingdom.

Whatever you’re facing today, remember that people are not your enemy—Satan is—but Jesus has given us the victory! That is a reason to celebrate, even in the midst of battle.

©Heather Potts 2016