Grace for the Fighters

By Haley Waters

YOU, who are fighting.
YOU, who are weary.
YOU, who are being tested...there is grace for you.

YOU, who are carrying the burdens of another.
YOU, who are making important life decisions.
YOU, who are straining to hear God's voice...there is grace for you.

Often we think of grace as something that follows mistakes, something that comes alongside failure to dig us out and dust us off. God's grace is a mystery that none of us can fathom, but it is a free gift to all who believe and accept it. His grace comes in many forms, and today I want to tell you: there is grace for the fighters.

Jeremiah 31:2 "This is what the Lord says: The people who survive the sword will find favor in the wilderness; I will come to give rest to Israel."

In grace, you find rest. 

YOU, who are fighting.
YOU, who are weary.
YOU, who are tested...there is rest for you.

YOU, who carry others' burdens.
YOU, who have counted the cost.
YOU, who are following Christ...there is rest for you.

Although you may feel like you're in the wilderness, there is grace and rest for you there. Although you may feel like the uphill climb is long, there is grace and rest for you there.

For whatever you're facing, whatever season of life you are walking in, you need to know two things:

1. You are NOT alone.

We have the ultimate Help in times of trouble. God promises to walk with us through EVERYTHING. Even when you feel the furthest from Him, know that He is there, longing to comfort you and strengthen you. And know that a tough season does not mean God is far from you or that He has forgotten you. 

Psalm 18:33 says "He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; He enables me to stand on the heights." 

Even in times of trouble, of suffering, of great responsibility, God allows us to make progress and gives us the power to continue through all of it. 

2. You are NOT called to an easy life.

I know that's a tough blow; it was for me too. I thought Christianity was supposed to be like Candy-Land: getting stuck in a pit of cotton candy and living in a house made of gum-drops. (Ok, maybe not that extreme but you get the mental picture) And while accepting Christ and choosing to follow Him does release you from the bondage of sin and allows you to live a life far greater than one without Christ, it does not guarantee a life without problems or trials.

And we know this because the Word tells us we don't fight against flesh and blood! Our fight is against "the rulers, the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12)

It's more like the game of Sorry: your goal is the finish line, but sometimes you get knocked out of your current position and it's your job to get back on the right path toward the finish line.

What Sorry is missing, however, is Someone who is in charge of the whole game and who knows the outcome. Lucky for us, God does. He sees you and He knows you. 

Genesis 16:13

He sees you fighting and He offers you grace.

He sees you weary and He offers you rest.

So take Him up on His offer. If you're in a season of fighting, He is there. If you're in a season of resting, He is there. And know that as long as you are keeping your game piece on the track toward the finish line (eternal life), and are being obedient to his rules (found in His Manual--The Bible, duh), you are exactly where you need to be.

Fight on Fighters. *insert fist bump/karate kick here*

Give Me a Minute

By Vanessa Shepherd 

My youth pastor would always say that "delayed obedience is still disobedience" and while I agreed that it was true, I never truly grasped just how much procrastinating could harm us until now.

We have come to the age of bargaining with our youngest son. Honestly we have been here awhile now, but in the past few weeks it has escalated quite a bit. Let me just start off by saying… I am not a fan.

His comeback of choice of course is… “just one minute”. (Said of course in the cutest voice and his hand bobbing up and down as it motions the number one.)

“Just one minute”

It’s adorable.

(Objects in mirror may be exactly as white as they appear to be.)

Unless it’s nap time, bed time, put-your-clothes-on-now time, lets-go time, or any other time that doesn’t allow for said “one” minute. Because it’s not. It’s not ONE minute. It’s ONE hour (give or take thirty minutes) and after that time is done it’s another “just one minute” from the small white one.

It’s exhausting. Child you need sleep NOW, not later. You need clothes NOW, not later. You need to eat NOW, not later. So please, for the love, stop putting up that little finger and giving me that cute face because it’s just prolonging the necessary.

Sometimes I want to tie the person who taught him that phrase up by their shoelaces just to teach them a lesson, but you see I can’t. Because it would be a feet of strength to get myself to a tall enough place to tie my OWN shoes there. Because it’s me. I taught him that. Only I didn’t know I was teaching him.

“Mom, come look at my drawing”

“In a minute, Jake”

“Mom, let’s play this game”

“In a minute”

“Mom, I want a sandwich”

“I’m working right now; GIVE ME A MINUTE!”

It was me all along who taught him what “one minute” looked like when I kept putting off things that I only thought were optional when to him they were necessary. It was me. And I am not alone.

If you are familiar with Moses and the captivity of the Israelites then you will remember how Moses petitioned for their release from Pharaoh and when he wouldn’t let them go God released plagues on their land. The first plague God turned their water into blood. You might think God was serious after this one, but Pharaoh was unmoved. But then came the second plague, the plague of frogs, and after he saw them pour out of the river like swimmers after a shark warning,  Pharaoh called to Moses saying he would let them go if he would tell the Lord to stop. But when Moses inquired to when this would happen, Pharaoh said “tomorrow” (Exodus 7:10).

Tomorrow.

How many times do we say in ourselves that we will do something… tomorrow. Why was Pharaoh so willing to sleep with the frogs one more night if he had intended to release them the next day? Wouldn’t he want to have them gone right away? Wouldn’t he want to sleep in a bed that wasn’t swarming with croaking disgusting frogs? Why one more night?

What it boils down to is that Pharaoh had no intention to let the Israelites go... he merely wanted some relief so he asked Moses to tell God that he would. In fact, eight more plagues had to sweep the land, the last one ending his son’s life, before Pharaoh would relent and “Let [His] people go”.

Maybe, just maybe, Pharaoh thought their release was only optional, when God said that it was necessary.

And it may sound crazy and you think how ridiculous Pharaoh is for waiting but are we not doing the same thing with our own lives? Are we not asking God for “one more minute” with our unforgiveness, “one more night” with our offenses? Are we not asking Him the same thing Pharaoh had asked for? Relief from the plague of feeling depressed and dirty without relenting any of our sinful ways or bitterness to Him?

Because it isn’t optional, sweet girls. It’s necessary.

Not for others who may or may not benefit from our letting go, but for ourselves. For our own happiness and our own purpose. So if you can't do it for anyone else, do it for yourself.

The time to let go of our anger is now, not in one minute.

The time to stop gossiping and tearing each other down is now, not in one minute.

The time to replace faith for our doubts is now, not in one minute.

The time to live according to the Word is now, not in one minute.

The longer we wait, the more we procrastinate, the more our stories become ones of destruction and of pain. Pharaoh lost his son and his army because he couldn’t let go. He wouldn't let go. He still wanted a minute, no matter what torment that minute would bring.

That isn’t the story God wants to write for you. I can assure you with every fiber of my being that it isn’t God’s will for you to be lonely, or depressed, or angry, or afraid and yet these feelings can feel like our constant companions. All day long they whisper “tomorrow”. “You can be rid of us tomorrow.” They are liars and thieves. They cannot be trusted. 

The time is now, girls, you don’t know what lurks in the darkness of that “one” minute.

Ephesians 4:25-32 (MSG)

"What this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretense. Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself. Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life. Did you use to make ends meet by stealing? Well, no more! Get an honest job so that you can help others who can’t work. Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted. Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you."

Rest in Him

By Alison Vidal

For a great majority of my life I have struggled with anxiety. If you've ever experienced it or struggled with it yourself, you know how crippling it can be. Panic attacks grip you physically and emotionally and are all consuming. 

Anxiety looks different for everyone but for me, I picture it as this tsunami like force that is rushing around inside of me. When I'm  riding the wave of anxiety it becomes hard to breathe, to stand, and its almost impossible to form words sometimes. For years my anxiety made me feel weak, and I was ashamed of it. I hated the fact that I had no control over it and that nothing I did could make it better. I didn't talk about it to anyone, and I tried to ignore panic attacks to make them go away. 

Picture me on the bathroom floor in the midst of a panic attack, struggling to breathe, and in my head denying the fact that I was suffering at all. My avoidance never helped my anxiety at all, in fact most times it made it worse. Trying to fix it myself never helped either, it only manifested itself into long fought struggles with depression, self harm, experimenting with drinking and drugs. If you're following along you can see the very clear theme here. 

On my own I cannot win a fight against the things that are attacking me. 

When I try to win these fights by myself it's like those dreams where you are trying so desperately to move your arms and you think you are but they just stay there, hanging at your side. 

There's a common saying I hear a lot that I really don't agree with. When you're going through a hard time people say "Well, God won't give you more than you can take!" That sounds good in theory, but what about when you're trying to fight off everything life is throwing at you by yourself? You keep falling down, and losing and failing and then you start to think God made a mistake and you question Him or lose faith. The reality is, life will ALWAYS give you more than you can take... on your own. 

Life is throwing hard punches at you, and you won't be able to take them UNLESS God is the one fighting for you. For years I wrestled with my anxiety, my depression, with everything that came along with it, and time after time I failed. I got so mad at life and with God and I questioned Him. "Why are you making me fight this battle God?" "I can't take this anymore." It took me YEARS to realize that I'm not supposed to. 

Exodus 14:14 says "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." 

Matthew 11:28-30 says "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me , for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." 

God is telling you, let Me fight for you! Let Me carry this for you. Come to Me and REST. I will take care of you, you're My child and I love you. 

When I stop trying to fight my own battles, when I just sit and let the waves of chaos run their course and I trust that God will take care of me and I praise Him and thank Him for the love and grace He shows me, when I rejoice in the never ending gift I find in Jesus, that's when I can triumph over what tries to hurt me. When I realize that yes, I am struggling right now, but God is so much stronger, I will never lose. 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 says "We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies." I love that. 

Yes the world is going to put us through it, and we can expect that, but Jesus will GET us through it. God is never going to abandon us, and because of that we get to be a living testimony of HIS power. Our lives can show that through weakness and hardship and pain, God still makes a way for healing and He brings people joy. So the next time that the tsunami of hardships, anxiety, pain, or whatever it may be, starts rushing towards you let God fight and rest in Him. Even when its hard, and you don't know how you'll make it through take heart in the fact that GOD DOES. And in the midst of your greatest weakness, give thanks, and praise Him still.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Psalms 34:1 

"I will praise the Lord at all time, I will constantly speak his praises." 

Deuteronomy 31:6 

"So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”