My Battlefield
Back to school and back to my battlefield! God has been preparing me - fitting me with His armor and now I have nothing left to do but fight. Lord strengthen me and give me boldness!
Ephesians 6:10-18 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 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. 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 comes 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."
I was pretty nervous about coming back to school, but I know that I am supposed to be here. God definitely has a plan for me here at school, even though it is a tough environment. One thing God really pointed out to me on my drive back was that He has already prepared me. He has armed me and equipped me with what I need to win the war. I am ready for battle. BUT, I have to fight! I'm the one that has to choose to take what He's given me and use it for His kingdom. On one hand, I know that I am so ready to handle this semester. God has exciting things for
me here. But on the other hand, this is so hard. I wish that I could run back and be surrounded by my Christian family and Christian friends all the time, but I can't. I love being surrounded by people that encourage me in Christ. But, I have a purpose here. Today has been especially tough. I have felt incredibly lonely and overwhelmed. This morning I woke up and cried. I couldn't even begin to think about fighting...I was having enough trouble just walking on to my battlefield, but I've been reminded by my awesome friend Jen about God's promises.
"You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry" Psalm 10:17
"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you...Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." James 4:7-10
I need to take hold of what God is telling me and remember who I am in Christ. I need to dig in and push through. Praise God for His unending love and presence and for the incredible people like Jen that He has given me that feed me Scripture, encourage me, and are there for me when things are tough. I'm off to battle!
Ephesians 6:10-18 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 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. 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 comes 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."
I was pretty nervous about coming back to school, but I know that I am supposed to be here. God definitely has a plan for me here at school, even though it is a tough environment. One thing God really pointed out to me on my drive back was that He has already prepared me. He has armed me and equipped me with what I need to win the war. I am ready for battle. BUT, I have to fight! I'm the one that has to choose to take what He's given me and use it for His kingdom. On one hand, I know that I am so ready to handle this semester. God has exciting things for
me here. But on the other hand, this is so hard. I wish that I could run back and be surrounded by my Christian family and Christian friends all the time, but I can't. I love being surrounded by people that encourage me in Christ. But, I have a purpose here. Today has been especially tough. I have felt incredibly lonely and overwhelmed. This morning I woke up and cried. I couldn't even begin to think about fighting...I was having enough trouble just walking on to my battlefield, but I've been reminded by my awesome friend Jen about God's promises. "You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry" Psalm 10:17
"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you...Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." James 4:7-10
I need to take hold of what God is telling me and remember who I am in Christ. I need to dig in and push through. Praise God for His unending love and presence and for the incredible people like Jen that He has given me that feed me Scripture, encourage me, and are there for me when things are tough. I'm off to battle!
posted by Elise @ 9:22 PM
7 Comments:
At 9:50 PM, January 10, 2006,
Anonymous said…
Remember that God's strength is shown through your own weaknesses. When you do not think you're ready for the battlefield, he will carry you there in his perfect timing. You are such an encouragement to me in your perserverance. "...but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5:3-5
At 8:55 AM, January 11, 2006,
Steve said…
Praying for you. I know the Lord will Bless you and give you strength. Find His strength and will from reading His Word and never stop praying!!
God Bless You!!
At 10:09 AM, January 13, 2006,
cs said…
Elise,
I know what you mean by lonely. Honestly I'm lonely in my own home. But how can I be lonely in the presence of an omnipresent God? How did Paul find so much joy in a Roman prison? Paul WAS encouraged by the body of Christ no matter how far away they were. You have friends and family all over the place that ARE believers... know that they are praying for you and that they love you. But first and formost, as I said, how can we be lonely in the presence of an omnipresent God? I kick myself now for ever feeling lonely. Think about prayer, I think more than anything else, it is direct fellowship with God. We speak directly with God... and He speaks directly back! When your lonely slow down and pray. You are weak on your own... Strong in Christ and Christ alone, dawn His armor everyday, remember, "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Hebrews 4:12. It's awesome to think about how powerful the Word of God is. It can change the hardest of hearts that once murdered and persecuted Christians for fun (Paul) and replace them with a heart that would say, "to live is Christ, to die is GAIN"!!! That's what you carry around everyday. May it ever be your comfort and protection... WE are praying for you!
At 2:59 PM, January 27, 2006,
Anonymous said…
Remember Elise that one part of Christian battle is resting in the shadow of the Almighty and hence in the finished work of Christ. Sometimes we become our own adversary in that we try to do instead of trust(those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength). Snuggeling up to the blue blanket like warmth of His presence and your Spiritual family is a powerful aspect of your battle plan. Not to mention we would be minus our right arm and a couple of knee caps if you didn't. :)
At 2:41 PM, February 08, 2006,
Jen said…
Elise, are you gonna wear that shirt tonight? I will call Lindsay if she needs to bring it to church with her tonight?! I would do that for you, if you wanted!
At 2:42 PM, February 08, 2006,
Jen said…
Elise, that was one of those comments that we talked about last night about the super-spiritual vs. the super-dork! Ha!
At 4:53 PM, February 21, 2006,
Anonymous said…
LONG LIVE FRANK AND HIS MIGHTY TANKS!
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