Resist the toothless lion!

This is a little note of encouragement I wrote to some friends in a prayer group on Fertility Friends earlier today!  It was something that summed up how I was feeling today so I decided to write it here as well.  Before I began to read the word today and before I wrote this I was having a hard day.  Worrying about miscarriage and concerned about the baby's health.  Instead of dwelling on the negative I decided it was time to take some action and be positive!

Today I was in the need of some spiritual encouragement to so I went to God's word to find some verses to post around the house and to place on my heart.  One of the verses I found was this:

7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.  10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.  1 Peter 5:7-11

In context this verse is actually talking to young men in leadership and the elders of the church but I think it fits our situation well too.  You know when we stand in faith for our little miracles then satan gets angry and he looks to find ways to make us stubble and fall.  So what does he do?  He reminds us of loss and scares us into to thinking that this is happening again.  Especially when it is not.  He does not want us to rejoice in our precious little ones and for those who are still waiting for their precious miracles to start he does not want there to be faith to hold on to God's promises for miracles.   He wants to keep us bound by our fears.  Fears of loss, fears of not conceiving, and fear of everyday things.

Fear is one of the biggest tools of the enemy.  A few years ago I taught a sermon series on how fear is the opposite of Love.  We all know that God is Love.... and we all know that the author of fear is satan.  We need to be so wrapped in God's love by faith through His grace that the fears of the enemy can not consume us any more.

I am a big one to talk... I have been having trouble with fear ever since I thought the baby was gone in Florida.  The enemy whispered lies to me and tried to keep me bound.  But I am so fired up right now that I have the boldness and strength to say "NO MORE!!!"  No more fear, no more lies of the enemy no more being bound by confusion.  It is time that I stepped out in faith declaring the word of the Lord rather then repeating the lies of the enemy!  Woooo!  I am so excited.... I just don't know what else to do but Praise God for breaking those chains!!!!

I feel like just by writing these things down that there is new hope and fresh fire in my life!  For so long I kept repeating that God had not given me a spirit of fear.  That was good because I was declaring the word of God over my life.... but it wasn't enough to break free.

I needed to see the lies of the enemy for what they were.  I needed to be reminded that even though the enemy can roar... he is a toothless lion that can not devour me if I do not let him.  Thank you Jesus!  For being the true Lion... that we can lean on.  Thank you Jesus for being the Lion of the Tribe of Judah!  Thank you Jesus for taking those keys away from that toothless lion and helping us to overcome death and fear!

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  James 4:7

This too is such an important verse to hold on to when the enemy comes at us with lies.  It says if we resist him he must flee.  Praise God!  Now this verse in context is talking about us all being sinners and needing to be purified by God in our hearts an minds.  So when we seek forgiveness and are living in repentance we have the power to resist the enemy and make him flee from us!  That is so good!  God is so good!  It is by God's grace that we are able to stand against the plans of the enemy!

Lord God, I come to you right now in the name of Jesus Christ your son.  Lord God, pray that you will bind the enemy and his lies from all the lives of the women on this board.  What ever satan is trying to roar in to the lives of these women cut it off right now!  Lord bind satan and keep him far from these women.  Lord I ask right now that you send your Holy Spirit to minister to each one.  Where ever they are in this process Lord God, be with them!  Hold them in your hands and keep them safe from the plans of the enemy!  Lord I know that you have good plans for each and every one and that you Oh Lord long to grant the desires of their hearts.  Lord we that you that if we resist the enemy that he must flee.  Lord I pray that each one has your strength and your faith and your hope to resist the enemy today and to stand strong and bold in their faith.  Lord let each one be filled with your river of life that will flow through them unto others in their lives as well.  Lord I thank you that your mercies are new every morning.  Help me to remember what you have showed me today, tomorrow as I wake.  Do not let the fear come back into my life, but help me to stand strong in faith each day!  Lord I thank you for each miracle you have brought into this group.  Lord I pray that you protect each one and help them grow up happy and healthy.  Lord for those who have not yet received the news of their precious miracles I pray that you will work swiftly in their lives to grant the desires of their hearts.  Lord for those who are not trying right now I pray that you be with them and lead and guide them in what ever they are doing to glorify you in their lives.  In thy name I pray, Amen!

I hope that this will be a good reminder for all of us on how we can defeat the enemy's plans in our lives and how we can live in victory in Jesus!

With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies. Psalm 60:12

Psalm 118

1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

2 Let Israel say:  "His love endures forever."

3 Let the house of Aaron say:  "His love endures forever."

4 Let those who fear the LORD say: "His love endures forever."

5 In my anguish I cried to the LORD,  and he answered by setting me free.

6 The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

7 The LORD is with me; he is my helper.  I will look in triumph on my enemies.

8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.

9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.

10 All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.

11 They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.

12 They swarmed around me like bees, but they died out as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off.

13 I was pushed back and about to fall,  but the LORD helped me.

14 The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.

15 Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: "The LORD's right hand has done mighty things!

16 The LORD's right hand is lifted high;  the LORD's right hand has done mighty things!"

17 I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done.

18 The LORD has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death.

19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.

20 This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter.

21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.

22 The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;

23 the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.

24 This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

25 O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success.

26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you.

27 The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.

28 You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you.

29 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

1 Corinthians 15:56-58

56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Philippians 3:14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus!

Keep standing strong!  Keep fighting!  Keep pressing on in Jesus!

:)

Kristin