Happy Friday, Friends!
I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama! 😊
For the last few weeks, during my prayer time, I would feel this conviction; I need to write down the scriptures about the Armor of God and the Fruits of the Spirit. I meant to do it. I would be working out, praying, remember, shake my head, swear I was going to get it done this weekend and then, it would happen all over again. This went on for like three weeks….
Do you ever struggle? Let me make this simple, I struggle. There are doubts, fears, worries, cares, and concerns. If I am not vigilant with my thoughts, if I am not prayerful, if I am not intentional in my actions, I can go down a dark path. Monday night was one of those nights….
Having had a few days to reflect, I know it was the trifecta of fear, doubt, and pride. What did it look like? I couldn’t sleep. My heart hurt and I had an aching feeling in my stomach. I get up pretty early so I try to go to bed no later than 9:00 p.m. Monday night I was still watching a baseball game, hoping I would get so tired I would finally collapse, at 12:15 a.m. I prayed and I prayed and I prayed. The feelings would not subside. Finally, I went and laid in bed. I can’t tell you what time I fell asleep. I did leave the alarm set for 3:50 a.m. and when it went off, I wisely decided that 2 more hours of sleep would do me much more good than any workout I might do that morning.
I got up and a little before 6:00 a.m. and went and read my Bible. I read a one-year Bible. It is broken up so I read something from the Old Testament, something from the New Testament, a Psalm, and a Proverb. Here is a part of my reading for September 28th:
Ephesians 6:13-17 (NIV)
13 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. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
I kid you not!!! Isn’t that amazing?!?! 😊 I smiled and, as my beautiful Mom would have told me to do, I put a smile on my face, a bounce in my step, and I made it a great day!
Later that day I got to go to lunch with my Beautiful Bride…how blessed am I?! As we were coming back from lunch we talked about the night I had, why I had it, etc. I had not told her about the conviction in my Spirit to write down the scriptures nor did I tell her about my Bible reading that morning.
Yesterday morning I got up, grabbed my Bible, leadership book, notebook, and I sat in my chair. I opened my notebook and there was a note from this great blessing of mine. She had written:
(Across the top of the page) Pray for these things…
The Belt of Truth – this is the Word of God.
The Breastplate of Righteousness – the breastplate protects our heart.
The Shoes of Peace – we are to walk in peace and remain in peace, no matter what kind of battle is raging.
The Shield of Faith – we should release our faith in every challenging situation.
The Helmet of Salvation – we are beloved children of God, we are forgiven and God has a good plan for our lives.
The Sword of the Spirit – the Word of God.
I don’t blame you; I don’t know what to say either!!! Let’s start with “Praise the Lord” and go from there! 😊 The second thing I would say, I would beg you, when you have a conviction in your spirit to do something for someone, please do it. Kath had no clue when she wrote this for me and slipped it into my notebook before she went to bed that God was using her to deliver a message, one, that I assure you, was received loud and clear! Still overwhelmed just thinking about it… And yes, the first thing I did when I saw her yesterday morning was tell her about all the times I felt the conviction to write out these scriptures, about my Bible reading the day before and then her note. We both stood there, awe-struck.
I just had to share all that because I truly don’t
believe in coincidences. I believe in God, that He is alive, and that He does
show up. I also want to share a couple of other key points:
I really have a burden in my heart for this point
to be understood this morning – let’s keep it real! As a young leader I thought
that all leaders had it all together – no fears, no doubts, no worries…they are
leaders! I have read so many books and articles that share great leaders,
across all vocations, have battled doubt, anxiety, fear, etc., just like you
and me! There was a great article written by Rose Leadem on November 9, 2017,
that you can find at entrepreneur.com. It says in part, “Some of the most
famous, successful artists, authors and leaders in history battled self-doubt
and esteem issues before making history. In fact, some held these feelings
throughout their entire lives, even as their work had been held up in high
regards by the public. However, sometimes it’s our doubts, worries and
anxieties that push us to achieve great things.” And there is a list of
folks who battled these issues – it was documented based on things they said and/or
wrote. And the people that are on that list?
John Steinbeck
Michelangelo
George Washington
John F. Kennedy
George Eliot
Abraham Lincoln
Edith Wharton
Leonardo Da Vinci
Vincent Van Gogh
You want more? Jesse Carey wrote an article on June
9, 2021 titled, “Seven Prominent Christian Thinkers Who Wrestled With Doubt.”
You can read the article at relevantmagazine.com. Here who is on that list:
C.S. Lewis
Mother Teresa
Martin Luther
Charles Spurgeon
John Calvin
Pope Francis
Anne Lamott
The point, my whole point here, YOU! ARE! NOT!
ALONE! I pray that whoever you are, wherever you are, you will hear these
words loud and clear, that they will speak to the deepest recesses of your
heart. The fact that you have doubts, fears, worries, cares, concerns, etc.,
does not disqualify you! It simply proves you are a human being…a valuable one
at that!
The second key point is, “what do you and I do when we are in those moments?” When the doubts, fears, worries, and cares are building, what do we do? Some drink or use drugs, desperately trying to numb these feelings. Some fight and belittle, desperately trying to make themselves feel better by putting others down. Some just withdraw, refusing to live life, not willing to risk failure, and in the process, never pursuing success. We all make a choice, and the consequences are profound.
I can’t tell you how to live your life, nor do I want to. Heck, just read the first part of this post and you will find I have a hard enough time living mine!!! 😊 I do however want to testify to what I have found in my life when I struggle. As I have gotten older and more mature, I am able to realize when these moments are coming. Sometimes I can simply wield the Sword, speak truth, and the feelings subside, and I am immediately reset. Other times, like the other night, I pray for hours…literally. And sometimes, I simply have to walk by faith – not seeing it, not feeling it, simply believing that He is who He says He is and that His promises are true. No, I didn’t say some sweet little prayer on Monday night and immediately fall asleep…not doing hocus pocus stuff here! The battles are real, we all fight them, however I did eventually fall asleep, I woke up refreshed, I dove into the Word, and I had a phenomenal day. Please, I simply ask that you choose wisely. If the things you are doing when these moments come are not helping you, if they are hurting you or others in your life, perhaps you want to try another way.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.
Have a great day, a wonderful weekend, please cherish your precious families, and please stay well!
Kev
No comments:
Post a Comment