I am writing this on June 4, 2020 (from America), and my goodness what a time to be alive. Every time I turn around there are people dying from coronavirus, there are people recovering from fires, there are people out of jobs and money due to lock downs, there are people getting hurt, protesting and riots everywhere. We are living in an absolutely wild time. My own final clinical rotations and semester for school have been postponed for safety. My husband had to move across country for work so we have to live apart for most of this year.
In times like these it may be hard to find joy! It is so easy to feel overwhelmed, stressed, and just emotionally exhausted.
It is hard to find peace and hard to stay focused on what we need to do. I have been turning to,
Psalms 118:14
"The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory."
And can I tell you, when you take joy in God and all He has done, your joy lifts you up and fills you with energy, and it gives you the emotional strength to carry on. The joy of the lord IS our strength, and this means spiritually and emotionally and psychologically. (Which can affect you physically but that's not what this is about today.)
If we don't have the Joy of the Lord, then we are weak, and without hope.
When we are weak Satan will take advantage of us and hurt us.
Satan isn't coming in with a red suit and pitchfork like cartoons. He's coming in the 2020 war on racism. And he comes in corrupt cops, he comes in people who can't stand in their brothers shoes for just a moment, and end up fighting one another instead of working together.
He comes as a thief to steal, kill and destroy,
("The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life."
John 10:10
"Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour."
1 Peter 5:8 )
He destroys by distracting us from the absolutely BEAUTIFUL design of all humans working together, irregardless of race. God made us all different and unique but Satan uses it as a divisive technique instead of something interesting and exciting. Flowerbeds with many colors, shapes and sizes are more fun than flowerbeds of just one type. And, that's better for flower growth with cross pollination! We NEED each other. We just can't see it right now.
You may have a majority of cops working day in and out, keeping traffic safely directed, stopping robberies, or just helping people on the side of the road change a tire. Yet you get a few bad cops once in awhile who ruins it for everyone. Completely overshadowing all the good and stealing joy, causing chaos.
We remember the Reverend, MLKJ peacefully protesting racism by peacefully marching, preaching, and with LOVE and the JOY of the Lord in his heart. Look what happened, segregation ended! No more "No coloreds allowed" signs. No more segregated schools! However he was shot and his peaceful protestors had fire hoses and attack dogs turned on them. Why? Satan got to the people in charge, stole their joy and destroyed a LOT. Satan got in and wreaked absolute havoc with fear. Fear = weakness = being open to attacks from the enemy.
Aren't today's events so similar to what happened just barely 60 years ago? God called us to love one another. To treat each other as equals. Let us find joy in all the beauty God has created with our wonderfully unique brothers and sisters! Let us all work together fighting our common enemy (Satan) instead of each other.
Find Joy in the Lord so that you may remain strong in this battle. Don't let Satan get into your heart through certain bad programs and news reports, don't let him get in and plant seeds of hatred, and division.
The joy of the Lord is my strength, and I will use that strength to remain steadfast in my love for all and I will remain steadfast against the enemies current tactics.
Stay safe out there guys, work together for peace and unity ❤️
Find your JOY, the joy of the Lord is your strength. And that calls us to all love one another.
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Everyone doin ok? Any prayer requests?
YOU ARE READING
Volume 2
Spirituale*completed* Here we go with round 2...me writing down my personal revelations and "aha!" moments to help encourage and hopefully help or uplift you. All comments, questions, prayer requests, topic suggestions, and constructive criticism are welcome!
