Is There a Snake in Your Garden? Who is Fighting YOUR battles?

I am very conscientious about each post I write… Because I am a scribe for the Lord I know I am accountable for everything I share, especially when it comes to the Lord.  The Bible says in Luke 12:48:

“To much is given, much is required.”

When you choose to seek the Lord for the purpose He created you, when you pray about what it is God has called you to do, when He reveals it to you it comes with great responsibility to use the gifts He has bestowed upon you for His glory.  Every time I sit down to worship the Lord with my writing, I pray earnestly about what words He would have me write.  Somewhere, some place there is someone God wants to receive these words.  Today that person may be you.  My prayer is ALWAYS that Holy Spirit will take these words and use them to encourage, grow and bless the ones that read it.  I am an “imperfect” vessel but I recognize that in my obedience to my calling – it is God that ministers, it is God that blesses and it is God that uses what He gives me to write to help others in the way He determines it should be used. My responsibility is not what occurs after I write the words – that’s when it is up to Holy Spirit to direct them wherever God sees fit – but I pray that God will be glorified in the lives of those He directs to my site, which is to glorify Him.  I live to glorify HIM and there is NO greater joy than walking in the center of God’s will.  The rest is up to God.

One of the things I am learning as I continue to grow in Christ, is to pray that God would give me ears to hear, eyes to see and a heart to understand all that Holy Spirit is speaking to me, I tend to be naïve. Sometimes the lessons that I learn in life come after the fact.  The realizations of spiritual battles that I have been in come not during the heat of the moment, but when the battle is over.  One of the things I have learned is that when I allow myself to be sensitive to what Holy Spirit is telling me and act in situations according to God’s Word (the Bible and not in the flesh), it allows God to fight my battles for me.  The Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:12:

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

The Bible also tells us in Matthew 10:16:

“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”

In all things we have to remember whatever situations present themselves, that we think before we speak  (or better yet PRAY before we speak…) and we need to check our flesh to make sure we conduct ourselves in a way that glorifies the God that we profess (as Christians to serve) and not the flesh.  It is then that we give Holy Spirit the ability to fight our battles for us. 

The interesting thing I find about being a Christian is that there are times when it is more effective to be quiet and not verbally loud professing adamantly to everyone “I AM A CHRISTIAN” but instead, to show by the fruit that I bear, WHO it is I belong to, by the way I conduct myself – by my actions.  Now there is nothing wrong with declaring you belong to Christ, you are a “Christ follower” so to speak, but it is MORE effective for people to see the DIFFERENCE IN YOU by your actions (which should speak and testify more strongly) about who you are in Christ than ANY verbal declaration can do. The Bible says in Matthew 7:15-20:

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

What fruits are you bearing? The fruit of who you you are and what you believe is more apparent to others by your conduct than any words you could utter.  If you are TRULY part of God’s Remnant, your actions will show who it is you follow (or where you are in the maturity or immaturity of your walk with Christ).  Do you sow discord?  Do you manipulate? Are you humble in how you speak? Quick to get angry or to stir up pots of contention? Or do you use God’s Word (and Jesus’ example) in the manner you conduct yourself? 

If you belong to the Lord, it shows.  It’s not that you have to be perfect (there is only One who is – and that is Jesus) but it is in the admitting that we are NOT perfect that we effectively draw others to Him.  And when you call yourself a Christian you can BET your actions are closely watched by all around you.  How you respond and act, how you live.  How you represent Christ. Oh yes!  YOU may be the ONLY example of Christ that someone gets to see.  So I ask, HOW do you treating others? Are you mimicking how Jesus treated others?  If He is to be our example we should be searching the Word of God to see how it is Jesus’ indicated the disciples should act. Jesus indicated in John 13:34:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

How are YOU loving? Are YOU loving??? As Jesus loves? Check your heart.  Remember NOTHING is hidden from Him. We all have room for improvement.  As long as we have breathe in our bodies and allow Holy Spirit to transform us, there is always room for change.  Anyone who doesn’t admit that is lying and the spirit of truth is not in them.

As you examine your own heart – how do YOU fight YOUR battles?  Do you fight as the world fights?  (Which would then be  fighting in your own strength, in the flesh) or do you bring the battle before the Lord and ask for discernment, ask for guidance, ask for clarity to help you sort out all the emotions that can get in the way of you having the clarity of mind that Holy Spirit needs you to have.  Sometimes it is difficult to see through ALL the noise of feelings, emotions that come with battles – but when we step back, breathe deep and bring the matter before the Lord the “fog battle” clears up as you bring the battle and allow Him to fight the battle through your obedience to handle it according to His Word. Your response is one that Holy Spirit can use to draw someone to Christ or push them away.  They will know WHO you belong to when you respond in love and not in anger.  This does require quite a bit of dying to self, although if Jesus’ had to endure it, so must we.

Holy Spirit brought to my remembrance that Judas was a snake that no one other than the Lord knew about.  His actions were unseen and unknown by the other disciples until Jesus revealed it.  God was never “caught of guard” or “surprise” by Judas’ actions, although the other 11 were shocked that one of Jesus’ own would betray Him.  God’s purpose never deviated, in fact Judas’ betrayal had to occur so that the will of God could go forward.  God used what was meant as evil for good.  Battles that we experience if we allow them – grow us into a deeper walk with Him.  The battles we experience may come as a shock to us, but they are no surprise to God.  We determine if we are going to walk according to His purpose and conduct ourselves as such OR if we are going to fight in the flesh as the world fights. Spiritual maturity comes with discipline and seeking God’s guidance through everything we go through in life.

Holy Spirit than brought to my remembrance  Exodus 7:10-12 (see below):

“So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.”

The Word of God is as relevant today as the day that it was written, this is what God showed me:

When snakes present themselves in our lives, we need to depend upon God to “devour” them.  Moses and Aaron did as the Lord instructed them, they did NOT act on their own accord.  They did NOT appear before Pharaoh in their own strength, they sought God’s direction and went (not within their own strength) but within HIS. This is the only way we can be successful in Him by “throwing down our staff” (our fleshly desire for vindication) and allowing God to fight the battle for us.  If we do that God Himself will victoriously “swallow” up whatever snake presents itself to us.  We simply have to know that we can do nothing in and of ourselves, by committing the battle to Him. The Bible is our instruction book in how we should conduct ourselves.  All of Heaven watches as we choose whether or not to allow God to fight our battles (and win) or if we are going to take matters into our own hands and handle situations as the world handles them.  We decide. We choose.  Luke 10:19 indicates the authority that God has given us.  Note the authority to do so comes from HIM.

“I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.”

Jesus could have called down legions of angels at any given moment during His time here on earth, but everything that happened with Jesus had HIS purpose written ALL over it.  When we determine to let God’s purpose unfold in our own lives, it is then that we can stand victorious. Our main focus should be keeping our eyes on HIM and wanting HIS purpose to be written ALL over our lives no matter what the situation so that WE can stand VICTORIOUS in Him no matter WHAT life throws our way.

Give permission to God for handling the snakes that appear in your life.  He has given you a higher calling and calls you to rise above it. We should pray as David prayed in Psalm 140: