Recently I posted some of the things that God is doing in our lives, and how some of the situations at home are being impacted by those things. That post generated a good bit of discussion among some friends of mine, and a few comments, emails, and things of that nature. Undoubtedly, there were some raised eye-brows along the way. I wanted to take a moment to follow up on this and drop a bit of an update on how things are unfolding.
When I originally posted The Battle at Hand I had an outline to keep my thoughts as concise as possible. So much had happened, and so many things were affecting or being affected that it was like trying to unravel a bowl of spaghetti to get to the beginning. This led to my intention of posting 2 to 3 more parts of this story effectively creating a bit of a series on spiritual warfare. I have scrapped this idea. The main reason is that spiritual warfare is a deeply personal affair. I might be able to fill a book on how God is working and revealing and battling for our lives but to read it from the outside would not have the same impact. In fact, it probably would not make sense. So, I must leave the majority of what God is doing in our lives in His hands to reveal in your life in a personal way that counters, illuminates and protects against the attacks from the enemy that will show up in deeply personal ways.
Our day to day life has certainly been impacted by all of this. The small foxes that come to steal our intimacy and joy are around us all the time. It’s easy to let frustration, offense and a loose tongue get the best of us. We have seen a rise in those more subtle daily attacks that require constant capturing of thought and adjustment of the habitual responses we’ve relied on for years. The frontal barrage has been replaced by those side attacks at the perfect moment to just slip up a little. It’s funny that we think a little slip up means nothing. I imagine a guy walking up an icy hill that slips a little often enough will find himself further away from his objective than when he began. It is very unpleasant to unlearn the “standard response” to these daily life challenges.
Our recent message in Church had an element that really stuck out to me. Our pastor mentioned that it is so easy to see the areas in our lives that do not line up with scripture. That is so right. There are so many things in my own walk that I know need to change. There is so much left that Jesus is asking of me that I am not giving him. And the enemy uses this to discourage, accuse and steal the joy that we should experience in the areas that he is working on right now. I can see too that he will use this list of things that are not right to keep us focused on all of those other things when the Lord is saying “Forget about all of that for right now. I want to work on just these things right now.”
The temperature of our home is warmer because we have all taken a huge step forward, as a family toward to Lord. It has its cold moments when we lash out at each other. It is such a hard thing to put into words. Our lives have become calmer and more centered, even a bit more quiet though there are more “things” around us right now to distract us.
In the midst of this, I have been called to more areas of sharing in a more formal setting. There is a deep humility and transparency in these callings than I have ever felt before. It is so much easier to get out of the way. The words just come.
Lord, thank you for all that you do. Thank you that you are patient and careful in your dealings with us. Father, continue to refine each of us. Protect us from the old habits that we return to without thought. Continue to show us how careless we can be in dealing with each other. Father, continue to conform our hearts to yours. Continue to shape our lives and order our steps that we may walk closer to you. I pray father that we will very soon live our lives in obedience to your word and your desire as a natural expression of what is inside; that is my prayer today. Continue to break these jars of clay that your light may shine forth.
