As most of you know, on Saturday, September 11th, the doors of The Truth for Women Center will be opening. This is a momentous occasion for the ministry and for each of us who have watched this dream become a reality.
What is on my heart to share with you is the battle that we have all gone through that enabled us to get to this point in time.
Ephesians 6:12 “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.”
I must admit, that until the past two years of my life, I truly did not understand the gravity of this scripture. I knew this scripture. I studied it and I quoted it. I taught on it. But it did not sink deep within my soul and in my heart until just recently.
I have watched my sisters, my team; my partners in this ministry go through great trials, problems, family issues, physical pain, great hurt and losses over the past few years. We have held each other and cried as we share each other’s burdens.
But what happens when people come against you or talk behind your back? What do you do when you work side by side with someone and you find out that they said some pretty nasty things about you? How do you handle it when a family member gets hurt or sick? Where do you go when obstacles come from the left and the right? Where do you run when you lost your job and you can’t pay the bills? How do you stay focused when distractions come to stop the work and divert your attention to something else?
You remember that none of this is a battle against flesh and blood. None of this is a battle against another human being. As scripture states, it is against the rulers, the authorities, the powers of the dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil. Now I know this is hard to comprehend at times but the Word of God is truth for our lives. It is the same yesterday, today and forever more. It is for us to apply to our lives TODAY. The Bible is to give us insight and direction on how we should walk and live.
We have been diligently working at the renovations in our new suite and we have been getting ready for our Grand Opening. During this time, I became very exhausted and depressed. Now if you know me, I am a woman who hits the ground running and doesn’t stop until I hit the bed at night. Exhaustion is not in my vocabulary. I have never experienced depression in my life and to be honest, I really didn’t know what it was. For weeks I pushed myself and told myself to keep going. I pushed my mind and my body to produce what I wanted it to produce. I cried to my husband and told him something was seriously wrong with me and I didn’t know what to do.
It wasn’t until I was sitting in my home church listening to my Pastor preach on Moses and the call that he had on his life that I realized this battle was not against flesh and blood. For me, this battle was something spiritual. This was a tactic from the enemy to stop the work in order that the doors of the Truth for Women Center would not open. WOW! I was shocked and I really didn’t know what to do. I had never been through something like this and I didn’t know how to handle it. How do I combat this? How do I get through it?
Well, the battle wasn’t mine to fight. I needed to go back to the text and follow the rest of the Scripture in Ephesians 6. “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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place and with your feet fitted with the readiness that come from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
This is so powerful and it is meant for you and me. This is not just a Sunday School lesson for children but it is a message of warfare for you and me! We are soldiers in God’s army and we have a very real enemy. We have an enemy who wants to seek, kill and destroy. The life we live is no game, it is a war.
Because of who we are in Christ, we are able to stand firm and not be moved. We are able to know truth because we have the belt of truth around our waist. We are able to carry peace with us at all times. This is a MUST in the body of Christ. It breaks my heart to see Christians tearing down other Christians because they have different opinions. It grieves me to see Christians talk about each other and say it is ok because they are just sharing their heart and it is a safe place. It hurts to see churches working against each other rather than rallying together to bring souls into the Kingdom.
Does God take us to points in our lives where our faith is stretched? Absolutely. But He does this so our faith in Him can be tested and we can grow further in our relationship with Him.
Pray and always be alert. You see, this is where I was lacking. I was so consumed with getting the “work” finished that I let my guard down and the enemy came in a way I had never experienced before. I was not on alert and I didn’t see the enemy for who he was. He went after my mind, my heart, my body and attacked who I was in Christ.
Ladies, this life is no game. Our life is a battle field and everyday is war. Be alert and watch with a careful eye. Pray for your sisters. Lean on others when you are weak. Find yourself that inner core of accountability partners to be your rear guard.
But more than all of that, stay in the Word and continue to Pray. Pray for wisdom and knowledge just like Solomon so you can lead people in the things of God.
