Sometimes we focus on the blessing, instead of Our God from Whom ALL blessings flow…
Sometimes we sit in a chair of life, snuggle deeper and get comfortable to the point where “don’t wanna” move from that big ol’ comfortable chair – and we stop hearing what it is God wants us to do, what He is saying to us, where He wants to take us until He loves us enough to allow life to yank the chair out from under us so we can “wake up” and listen to what it is God is saying to us…
Sometimes we get so overwhelmed and frantic with the spiritual battles that we encounter that we forget that we are a spirit, that has a soul that lives within the shell of a body and anxiety, stress and yes – focusing on the storms that surround us in life instead of the One Who can silence EVERY storm – takes its toll on “our shell” and we have to refocus on our Creator, the One Who has called us by name… Listen, He is calling you – He wants your undivided attention. Remember that Galatians 2:20 tells us:
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
I don’t know what you are going through in life, but if you are part of God’s Called Remnant (a Born-Again Believer, Who God has created for a time such as this), I have no doubt that you have encountered spiritual battles because of your faith. Because of your commitment to Christ. I want to encourage you and remind that in Galatians 6:9 it says:
“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
You could be THIS close (pinching my pointing finger and thumb together with JUST a little gap) to your blessing for standing steadfast with your eyes on the Lord through whatever trial you may be going through – too close to doubt Him now! Your blessing may be right around the corner! Don’t give up now! When you feel this way, think back to ALL the ways God has been there for you, brought you through, blessed you in ways that have become part of your testimony! Hebrews 13:8 tells us:
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
God NEVER changes – He remains the same! We can depend upon Him! He IS reliable and Psalm 46:1 tells us:
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
Believe me, I know that sometimes it doesn’t FEEL that way – but remember we are NOT to be led by our feelings, we are to be led by our faith. I want to pass on something to you that I have learned this year – something very personal because I think someone else may be going through something similar, and I truly believe that God allows us to go through things so that we can extend the right hand of fellowship behind us to help someone else. This is my reaching out my hand to help you…
Many of you know that I am a 13-years breast cancer survivor. At the age of 43, I was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Stage II. No one in my family had ever had breast cancer, the truth of the matter is 80% of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer come from families with no history of it. Such was the case with me. I cannot say it enough – if you notice something odd with your body, a lump, a rash, a tingling or itchy sensation, or something unfamiliar – make sure you go see the doctor – early detection IS key. Early detection is what God used to save my life. I am a walking, living testimony that God STILL heals. He healed me. I underwent a lumpectomy, chemotherapy, radiation and became a Survivor, was drafted into a “pink army” of women who also were drafted into a war they didn’t know they would have to fight… My first blog (prior to this one) deals with many posts that are about my cancer experience. If you are going through ANY form of cancer, I hope it ministers to you. It can be found by clicking on the link below:
Flash forward to this year – After supporting a loved one through prayer, fighting warfare and standing by faith for this person’s healing – God heard the cries of the saints (brothers and sisters in Christ standing with me in intercessory prayer, and he heard the prayers of the person going before Him) along with my prayers and healed this person. The battle had been long and frantic, not only for this individual, but for all the loved ones that stood beside them and warred and prayed heaven down on their behalf. God IS faithful and prayer is powerful, one of the MOST powerful weapons He has given us in our arsenal. Holy Spirit fought with us and guided us in what and how to pray, and God gave us the victory! 1 John 4:4 tells us:
“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
As Believers, as God’s Called Remnant it is important to tune into Holy Spirit. To familiarize ourselves with the voice of the Lord. I cannot express enough how important it is when a storm comes your way (and believe me, in this life you will encounter MANY Storms) Jesus said in John 16:33:
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
YOU GET TO CHOOSE WHETHER YOU WILL WALK IN FAITH – BELIEVING THE BIBLE, BELIEVING YOUR PROMISES, TRUSTING AND BELIEVING GOD OR WHETHER YOU WILL CHOOSE TO WALK IN FEAR – WHICH IS NOT OF GOD.
Which will you choose??? Luke 8:22-24 tells us a story one which we can all learn from and should ask OURSELVES, Where IS our faith?
“One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So, they got into a boat and set out/ As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.”
The disciples focused on the storm and not on the One who was (is) GREATER than the storm. This story is no different than what we experience in the world now… We too get to choose What our focus will be on, the problem or the One Who is GREATER than the problem. His name is JESUS and He is GREATER than ANYTHING that come your way. He has OVERCOME the world. He REIGNS. And One day, the Bible says in Philippians 2:10-11:
“At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Flash forward to the beginning of this year, after going through so much spiritual warfare, I had been stressed, I had been harried, I had been “burnt out” fighting spiritually through prayer, but also allowing it to affect my flesh, not eating enough, not sleeping enough, waring against what I thought were “people”, but the Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:12-20:
“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.”
And as I said in the beginning of this post, we ARE a spirit, who has a soul that lives within the confide of a body (our shell). Our bodies (the Bible tells us are temples unto Holy Spirit who takes up residence within us when we accept Jesus as our Savior, make Him Lord OVER our life. It says this in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20:
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own’ You were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.”
Sometimes we allow stress and worry and anxiety and focusing on the battle instead of the Lord to affect our bodies, and that recently was the case with me… I went for my annual mammogram, as I have annually for the last 13 years and lo and behold, my body was under a new attack – all over again… Now I do NOT believe in remission. In fact, I find that term offensive. The dictionary defines remission as this (one of the definitions):
“A diminution of the seriousness or intensity of disease or pain; a temporary recovery.”
I’m sorry (not really) but THAT is NOT how MY God works. He doesn’t DO anything “temporary” – if you are saying you are in “remission” you are simply saying your recovery is “temporary” and YOU are basically speaking words of a soon to come return of the disease. I on the other hand WAS HEALED of cancer. I was NOT in remission I was HEALED. Now you may be reading these words and raising an eyebrow at me, and thinking:
“Well Kelly, you SAY that – but you have just written that your cancer has come back….”
If that is what you heard through my words, then you heard incorrectly… You see, the cancer did NOT come back… A new war with a new primary site had presented itself. When your country wins a war – it wins! If it fights another war with another country – that is NOT the same war as was fought before. Such is the case with me. And once again, I pick up my weapons of prayer, my weapons of faith and my promises with God and I fight AGAIN. And I fight in the knowledge of Who it is I belong to. And I fight KNOWING that the life I live I live in CHRIST. And I focus on the One Who is GREATER than cancer – MY GOD in Whom I trust. And I also fight in the knowledge of many of my Pink Sisters who are also fighting, some who are Christians and fight as I fight – some that are not. And not everyone’s story is the same. God DID NOT give us cancer, or sickness or illness. All of that came when Eve and Adam decided to go against God’s Word in the Garden of Eden. If you read Genesis 2:8 it says:
“The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
And later in Genesis 2:15-17 God told Adam:
“Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
God created Adam and Eve with free will to choose (just as He created us with the same). They freely chose to disobey God and eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and just as God said, they surely (eventually died). Their decision brought sickness, illness, disease and death and sin into the world. You can read more about what happened when they chose to sin and the results of their sin in Genesis Chapter 3.
So, God “did not give me” cancer. If you are battling an illness, please know that He did not “make” you sick. This is NOT God’s will for your life! He LOVES you so much! We live in a sinful, dying, decaying world that is full of sickness and disease. One thing we all share in common is that one day, we will die. If you have willing decided of your own free-will to live a life without accepting the gift God has given us in His Son, Jesus. You will live an eternal life (as you lived a physical life) without God. John 3:16 tells us:
“God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that Whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have ever lasting life.”
If you choose to live a life without Christ, you will live an eternal life at the end of your physical life without Christ. YOUR CHOICE.
If you choose to ask Jesus to come into your heart and be your Lord and Savior, forgive you for your sins – you will live an eternal life with God, because You willingly chose to do so. Again – FREELY your choice. God’s will is for you to do so. But your choice will be YOUR choice.
I know that not everyone survives cancer – even Christians… I have held the hand and prayed over Pink Sisters who have been believers who have not won the war with cancer – not their fault, just the fault of a sinful, dying world that God NEVER intended for us to live in. However, I CAN tell you that God IS Sovereign. The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 1:21-26:
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.”
Should we not think as Paul did? To live IS Christ, to die IS to gain Heaven. The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:8 it says:
“To be absent from the body is to be present before the Lord.”
So, it is a win-win situation! To live IS Christ, to die IS to gain! So, we should live as such! Holy Spirit is with us, and God IS guiding us, and the Bible also says in Job chapter 14:5:
“A man’s days are numbered. You know the number of his months. He cannot live longer than the time You have set.”
I know God is healing me, but the reason why I share this testimony with you, is to tell you that everything we go through – God is teaching us something and we need to have eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart to receive what it is He is teaching us through whatever we encounter in life. As I go through this new battle with breast cancer, I feel the presence of Holy Spirit with me. And what God told me before I underwent a double mastectomy in May, is this – His Words to me:
“Kelly, I want you to dial it down.”
I raised a confused eyebrow at this and questioned what He meant. This is what God showed me… We are a spirit that has a soul that lives within the shell of a body, when we choose to fight battles that come against us on our OWN strength – even praying, even waring, even battling as we have learned as Christians to do – we MUST remember NOT to fight on our OWN strength but on God’s. We MUST remember that the battle IS His – not ours! We MUST remember that IF we don’t the stress and worry and anxiety, we feel CAN present itself in our bodies! IF we don’t eat right! IF we don’t rest – the results of that battle WILL come out in our body. Beloved, LEAN ON GOD. LEAN ON YOUR FAITH. WHEN YOU HAVE DONE ALL YOU CAN – STAND!
I have come to realize that rest is not only about sleeping – but it is resting in YOUR faith. It is TRUSTING and BELIEVING GOD CAN! We were NOT meant to fight these battles on our own accord – but to lay things at the foot of the cross and BRING them to the Father!
Also, in going through a double mastectomy – I have REALLY come to realize that WHO WE ARE is NOT our bodies! We TRULY are a SPIRIT that HAS A SOUL that LIVES within the shell OF a body. My breasts were removed, the cancer was removed, when I came out from that surgery, I realized, I AM STILL Kelly! I am WHOLE in CHRIST – because my body is NOT WHO I am. It is my shell! I don’t know why this surprised me, but it did. Then I thought of Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:28:
“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
If you are going through something where you have had to surgically have removed a limb or a part of your anatomy – YOU are STILL WHOLE. YOU are a spirit that has a soul that resides in a body. God loves you so much. He wants you to know that. I am finding that He is teaching me SO much and as long as we have breath IN our bodies, He will continue showing us new things. Bring us to higher levels – IF we allow Him to do so. Jesus didn’t say life would be easy, but He DID say He will NEVER leave nor forsake us! We CAN TRUST Him! Maybe you need to do what God told ME to do – “Dial it down.” Take a GOOD hard look at your life and allow Holy Spirit to reveal to you the ways that you have fought battles on your OWN strength instead of God’s. Ask Holy Spirit what “to rest” REALLY means. For me it means to really tune into what God is saying to me – put Him as priority in my day, no matter how busy life gets – He HAS to come first. We have to REALLY emerse ourselves in the Word of God, be it by reading our Bibles – really studying them or listening to sermons, preachers or evangelist that God has put in our lives – be it radio or TV or books. Surround ourselves with the Word of God, it is WHY He has given us what I call “His love letter to us” The Bible IS the living Word of God and if you read it, Holy Spirit will have scriptures and sentences that pertain to what YOU are going through or what YOU need to hear jump off the pages of the Bible! Truly! It amazes me how I can read and re-read a chapter of the Bible and SEE things I didn’t see before! That is how our God works! He wants to speak with you! He wants You to know Him and His plans for your life! We HAVE to bathe ourselves in the Word of God so that it will get into our hearts and then Holy Spirit will bring them to mind when we need them. I have learned that the term “rest” is not just allowing ourselves to “physically get a good night’s sleep.” It is learning to rest in the arms of our Father so that we can be strong in Him through whatever life throws our way. God is healing not only my body (the cancer is gone, I caught it early), but He is healing my spirit, my soul AND my body – because He is GREATER than WHATEVER life can throw my way. If you allow Him to, He will do the SAME for You. 😉
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