Luke 10:19 NKJV
“Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
Have you ever had a bad day? What about two days, a week, or when things seem so bad that you are hanging off a ledge? Maybe you’re fortunate that you never have to face this, but most of us encounter different levels and types of stress every day. So what has caused you overwhelming stress in the past or even still today?
I’ve been there several times in my life and it’s a little different each time. Sometimes it’s about family, sometimes money, and others my career. It could even be a combination of a few. There are so many reasons, but most times it’s when I let my guard down to the evils and temptations all around me.
The little things I deal with everyday usually doesn’t raise my stress levels too high, but recently I encountered one of those strings of events that just push things to the edge. We were trying to fit two projects into the normal hectic activities and at first it wasn’t too overly burdensome.
Of course you can always count on the plan to cooperate, right? It started small like the snowball you begin rolling to make a snowman. A delay, an adjustment, a complication that leads to another delay. Then a discovery that leads to an added expense which keeps adding to the snowballs size. Another delay, you get a flat tire, bump your head, cut your finger, then run out of something you need or have no money to spare.
Now add a phone call that gets the snowball to the edge of the hill where gravity takes over. Now you are stuck in that snowball as it rolls down the hill spinning out of control waiting to crash into a tree or the side of a mountain.
Each person will deal with hardship and stress differently. A lot goes into it from your physical wellbeing, support systems, mental toughness, and even experience with each type of situation.
I was in the military, worked in emergency management, and I even instruct emergency management courses, so I have everything I need to handle every situation. Part of my mind may think so and in many cases it may be right. I have stood in the middle of situations being the calming influence and telling everyone to take a breath.
You can be the most prepared battle hardened person that ever lived, but this doesn’t mean the enemy stops. The shadows are everywhere waiting for their moment, that little crack or slightest flinch. I can’t tell you how it happened, just that my mind was spinning the wheel of misfortune waiting to see where it would stop. The more I let things affect me the sooner I stepped up to take another spin.
So, what would you do? How do you handle these situations? I began to pray more as I turned to God for comfort and answers. But immediate comfort didn’t come and I only received glimpses of the answers I sought. I read Ephesians 6:10-19 about the armor of God out loud a few times a day. At the beginning of the week I was lead to the scripture at the top of the page reminding me that God gives me power over my enemies.
The good news was that through prayer and reading the scriptures I was able to get the snowball to stop rolling, the bad news was I was still stuck inside of it. Well the situation did improve a bit, but I still felt walled in and I could not see any relief. I was invited to a worship service at the end of the week, so if I could just make it till then.
I kept praying, reading, and listening to Christian music. Anything to pick me up and keep me going. It was like putting a Band-Aid and duct tape on a wound that needs stitches, it works till you get to the emergency room. Even when you know what you need to do, did you ever have someone or something try to talk you out of it?
That’s what was happening to me. The whispers that kept telling me you don’t have time, you won’t make it there, and you won’t find what you need were just some of what I was hearing. But God sent his own messengers to encourage me to go where I needed to be and I did.
Did you ever feel God’s presence? See or hear the messages He is revealing to you. I have. It wasn’t that long ago that I began feel His Spirit giving me the words to a poem, book, or even a commentary like this. It could be anywhere from a dull whisper, a loud shout, or where I can’t keep up with the message and this is what I found.
I forgot the power of His Spirit when you are surrounded by a group gathered to worship and praise God. I was brought to tears as my soul was filled and the answers that I needed came flooding in. I was being healed and renewed by His awesome energy.
I was reminded that God’s path is not the easy one and there will be trials along the way. But He will not give me more than I can handle, it’s to prepare me for what I may be called upon to do in the future. I could not express my gratitude well enough to those who led the service, but I left there walking on air with a renewed strength ready to face the evils that had been taunting me.
That night and the next morning I could hear and see the words of a new message coming together. The clouds and the darkness were gone and I raised my hands to thank the Lord as I could feel His Spirit shining down on me. Now enjoy the words that were given to me in “Watching Over From Above” under the poem tab.
Simple Faith Christian 