Ding! Round One!

Ephesians 6:10-18 (The Message)

" 10-12 And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.

13-18 Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long."

At the beginning of this week I felt God lay this passage heavily on my heart. And I realized something (light bulb!). My family was in a battle season and had been for quite some time. I was just only now realizing it. Sometimes I can be a little dull-headed!

Since the beginning of the current semester (mid July) we have been facing oppostion after opposition in some capacity or another, either inwardly or outwardly. I started this semester so worn out from the past year that I could feel the enemy breathing down my neck and I had zero energy to do anything about it. A part of me really didn't even want to acknowledge that there was spiritual attack happening because then I would become accountable for it and frankly, I just didn't have it in me to care. So everyday I just took it and took it and took it.

Till one day, faced with what felt like a completely overwhelming task, I just said very simply, with very little drama and emotion, " God, I can't do this. I need You to fight for me. Release your angels to fight on my behalf or whatever it is that You do, I am asking You to do it." And I prayed the scripture, Psalm 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations."

Now, what I LOVE about this scripture is the pure authority in it. I know that many times people use this in the context of being still before the Lord, which is good and fine and perfectly applicable, but the true original intent is a war cry from the very mouth of God to the warring nations of the earth, demanding that they stop and submit to His authority. It is saying, "Cease and desist (stop, come to a stand); it is I, God, who will be exalted (placed in rank, honor, and power) in victory; you do not have a chance against me. " (Spirit-filled life Bible footnotes). I love that! It gives me chills inside!

And I love that as co-heirs in Christ and God as our Father, we can stand in that same place of authority in Him and tell the devil and the "warring nations" in our life, " You (relational strife, financial difficulties, temptations, negative thoughts, fear, anxiety, stress, or whatever the enemy is throwing your way), you better cease and desist, acknowledge and submit to the power, authority, and soveriegnity of my God." And so that is what I did. And the very atmosphere of my house changed that day.

So there I was in a place in myself where I felt nothing, had nothing, and wanted to do nothing. I just didn't have it in me to fight anything, much less the adversary of the whole human race! I could barely fight my own five year old to do his chores! But the second I just came simply as a daughter to my Dad, He answered and came in like a flood over our life. A beautiful, sweet, cascading flood over my soul.

And I got this revelation (one of those that you know but now you really know) that our authority in Christ is not in anything other than just simply standing on Truth. It is not in eloquent words, fervent emotion, or some massive spiritual experience. All it took was a moment in my bathroom as I was getting ready for my day. Ordinary. Everyday. Mundane.

I love that we, as ordinary and mundane people, can walk and declare the authority, victory, and soveriegnity of God in the ordinary and mundane places of our life. Washing the clothes, bathing the kids, cooking dinner, going to work or school, meeting with people, paying bills, etc. Wherever we meet opposition to the kingdom of God and us as His children (and Lord knows that is pretty much anywhere), we can declare the authority of God over that situation. We do not have to conjure up a feeling or emotion. We just walk in it. It just is. He is. It is finished.

He is a good God, a loving Daddy to His kids, and He wants to move on our behalf. He wants to rescue us, but He also wants us to learn to stand on our own two feet and grow in our authority in Him. And so, yes, it was a breakthrough. A much needed breakthrough. A give-me-air-to-breathe breakthough. And I thought the end of our story and battle season, but alas, only the beginning. Sigh. At least this time I had gotten some of my fight back. But I will save that for another day.

Be Blessed with the revelation that you are the son or daughter of the most high God of whom all creation stands in attention to, walking boldly in your authority through Christ!

xx

The Griffins

And I will end this post with one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite movies...

10,000 points to whoever can guess what movie it's from :)

"This is war, Peacock! You can't cook an omelette without breaking eggs. Every cook will tell you that!" " But look what happened to the cook!"

And so it begins....

So this week has been a week from hell, I am thinking quite literally and yes, figuratively as well. Starting even earlier with a little thing here and a little thing there (i.e. computer crashing, car window breaking, etc.). Just annoyances at first but then culminating into just more than I thought could happen in one week.

Paying three hundred dollars in what I personally deem "unnecessary" fines. Having a tyre (aka tire) blow. Repair. Next day, another tyre blows resulting in stranded car. Even more repair and lots of hassle. Losing $100 bucks at work "mysteriously" on one of the highest tip nights I've had in a long night. Receiving a "surprise" bill that we are expected to pay without warning. All this just adds up, as it happens literally within minutes and hours of each other at a constant pace. May not sound like much to some, but it really began to wear on us.

But even in the midst of it all, I can honestly say that inside ourselves we remained constant and at peace. Don't know that has ever happened quite like this. Usually, I think at least one of us would have some sort of meltdown (one of us being a little more extroverted in our meltdown abilities than the other, but hey, no need to incriminate anyone here :). After said meltdown, we would then, hopefully, push into some sort of peace with God, etc., haphazardly bumbling our way through it all. Maybe not as gracefully as possible, but we would always make it on the other side.

But I can honestly say this time was different. Night and Day different. Change My World different. Determine Course of Destiny different. And I cherished every minute of it because on a constant basis we found God at every turn and corner. At the end of it all we are both physically exhausted, to say the least, but soulishly refreshed all the same.

With confidence I can say that both of us have learned invaluable kingdom lessons, gained greater revelation and insight, underwent some intense internal change and growth, and most importantly have fallen deeper in love with Jesus and our heavenly Father as He proved over and over again the standard of who He is.

So what are all these lessons, revelations and insights? How are we different within ourselves, which hopefully translates to outside of ourselves? And just what is that standard of the God of the universe that we experienced moment to moment, day after day?

Well, I'll tell you. But not now. Mostly because it's almost 11 at night and I have to get up early tomorrow with a big morning ahead. But also because how can one encapsulate encountering God in just a few paragrahps? I know I can't at least. And so I will lay it out piece by piece, with each turn to be cherished, and every corner to be savored. Starting tomorrow. I promise.

Until Then...

XX