How To Change Your Life For The Better

Ready for a change? Here’s how to make it happen.

There’s an old joke where a man says, “I really want to go to medical school, but it takes at least seven years- and I’ll be 50 in seven years. A wise friend replies, “And how old will you be in seven years if you don’t go?”

If you’re not where you want to be in your career or for that matter, in your life never let you believe change is impossible. Don’t allow your future to be limited by your age or your situations; stop being afraid of what might go wrong and start get excited about what could go right.

Here are some ways you can begin right now to steer yourself towards a more fulfilled and happy life.

  • Address the choices you’ve made in the past and change the choices you’ll make in the future.

Life is made up of choices, some we regret, some we’re proud of, some that will hurt us. Everything in your career and your life is a reflection of a choice you have made. If you want different results, start making different choices.

  • Speak up with honesty and stop holding back what you think.

People may believe that honesty won’t win you many friends but even if that were true, the friends you make with honesty will be the right ones. Honesty is the cornerstone of all success, without which confidence and the ability to perform cannot exist.

  • Forgo being a perfectionist. Perfect doesn’t exist.

Once you realize perfect doesn’t exist, you can ease up on yourself. There’s no harm in being wrong or making mistakes, as long as you’re willing to make corrections. Just be yourself, flaws and all, and let people see the real you. Each of us in an imperfect human being, aware that we can’t push away our failures and our flaws.

  • Acknowledge your losses and move on to your success.

Remember. Winners aren’t people who never fail but people who never quit. It’s important to never let success get to your head or failure go to your heart. The secret to getting ahead is to acknowledge your failures and have the wisdom to apply them to new opportunities.

  • Remember that it’s not how many mistakes you’ve made but what you learn from them that defines you.

Accept that you won’t always make the right decisions. You’ll mess up, sometimes badly. But your mistakes don’t mean you’ve failed, only that you’re trying and learning in life. If you are not making mistakes it means you are not trying hard enough. When you learn from them, mistakes have the power to turn you into something better that you were before.

  • Forgive those who have hurt you but change who you surround yourself with.

You can improve you life just by changing the people you surround yourself with. If there are some who brought negativity or hurt into your life , accept those actions cannot be changed or undone or forgotten – only forgiven. Take it as a lesson learned and surround yourself with people who support you, guide you and make you better than you already are.

  • Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go higher that you think.

What you think is what you become. And the sad truth is that most of us are our one worst enemy, allowing our negative thoughts to hold us back. If you load up on positivity and great thoughts you can create positive and great things for yourself. If you want to change and change fast, start by changing your perspective.

  • Find success at the end of your comfort zone.

Regardless of our hesitation or fear, humans need change to be happy. Try to do something you’ve never done every single day. Don’t be afraid to try new things and stand in your discomfort zone. If you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.

  • Don’t compare your own life with anyone’s else’s.

A big source of unhappiness is the idea people’s lives are better or easier than yours. But when you compare your situation to that of others, you’re comparing your complete reality to their surface. No matter how fantastic, how happy, how brilliant everything may seem on the outside, you never know what’s goin on inside. If you find yourself being jealous of someone, remember that person has struggled with hardships and insecurities just as you have.

  • Eliminate the unnecessary and cultivate the essentials.

Think of ask the things in your life that are important to you – the essentials – them eliminate everything else. This system helps simplify your life and see what you should focus on. It can work on everything you have in your life, professional or personal. And just the act of letting things go will help you simplify, to focus on what’s important, and to build the life you want.

What Is An Infirmity?

Bible Definition and meaning of Infirmity.

Infirmity is mentioned throughout the Bible as a spiritual or physical weakness or ailment. How to glorify God through them.

Infirmity Definition:

  • A physical weakness or ailment. the infirmities of age.
  • Quality or state of being infirm; lack of strength.
  • A moral weakness or failing.

1. As sickness or bodily disease. In the last instance, the affections seem to have dyspeptic, the discomfort of which might be relieved by alcohol, although the disease would not be cured thereby. It is probable that this condition of body produced a certain slackness in Timothy’s work against which Apostle Paul several times cautions him.

2. Imperfections or weaknesses of the body. (Romans 6:19; 2 Corinthians 11:30; Galatians 4:14).

3. Moral or spiritual weaknesses and defects. In this sense it is often used by the classic English writer as in Milton’s “the last infirmity of noble minds.” The infirmity which a man of resolution can keep under his will (Proverbs 18:14) may be either moral or physical. In Luke 13:11 the woman’s physical infirmity is ascribed to the influence of an evil spirit.

What We Can Learn From Paul’s Infirmity

You know that because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at the first. And my trial which in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

Galatians 4: 13-14

Galatians were just one of the churches that Paul started on his missionary journeys. They were Gentiles who converted to Christianity, all because of Paul’s passion to preach and teach the the gospel of Jesus Christ. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Paul was able to preach the gospel despite his own physical infirmities Speculation as to Paul’s true afflictions (his thorn in the flesh) has been debated and discussed by many theologians, but Paul does not give specific or details that draw attention to his weaknesses. He, instead, uses them as a means to give glory to God. In our weakness, God is strong.

Remember today that God is in everything that happens in our lives. No matter what ails you, God is with you. He will use your afflictions to bring Him glory and to bless you and others. Sometimes God does the greatest work through our weakness as pain, but that only haopens when we take our eyes off of ourselves and put them on Jesus.

We must try to put our focus on the Lord instead of your pain, and let His Holy Spirit by our strength in weakness.

“Love may forgive all infirmities and love still in spite of them; but Love cannot cease to Will their removal.” – C.S. Lewis

Hope Against Hope

Our natural expectation is to die and stay dead. Death proves that there is something wrong in the world, that God is not pleased, and that humanity is guilty and sentenced to death. Yet, Christians believe that by trusting in Jesus Christ, God forgives our sins, declare us not guilty, will raise us from the dead, and give us eternal life. We hope against hope.

And Romans 4 Apostle Paul retells Abraham’s account told in Genesis 12-25. In retailing this account parties to prove a simple important point about Christianity; God promised eternal life, and we receive eternal life by believing in Jesus. Our best efforts render a guilty verdict. The punishment is eternal death. Our only hope is that God will declare us righteous and give us what we don’t deserve, eternal life. Here Paul shows Abraham as an example of how to live, trusting that God will keep his promises, and the strange little phrase, “In hope he believed against hope.”

God had promised to make Abraham the father of many nations. Abraham would have descendants beyond number, but there was a problem. Could be the father of many nations, Abraham, who was about 75 years old, need heir. His wife Sarah was old and baron (Genesis 12). The Likely hood and Sarah Berry tile for Abraham seemed like nothing more than a wishful dream for both of them.

11 years went by, and at 86 years old, Abraham grew toted of waiting Abraham and his wife took matters into their own hands. Sarah had a much younger maidservant named Hagar. Sarah’s idea what simple: Hagar what act as a substitute in her place. Hey girl what where Adam and heir (Genesis 16). Hagar bore Ishmael. But, Abraham was 99 years old, God again appeared to him and hold him that the child by Hagar didn’t count. God promise Abraham a child by his wife Sarah.

The natural explanation was that having a child that age was impossible. Yet, Abraham believed the God who created the world out of nothing could certainly give life to a barren womb. God kept his promise. Within a year Abraham was the father Of a child Isaac by Sarah.

Abraham is an example of what the Christian life is like. Though Abraham saw the beginning of God’s promises kept, Abraham did not live to see the nation of Israel,mor the christians who would become his children through faith in Jesus (Galatians 4).

God promises eternal life to anyone willing to believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead for the forgiveness of sins. Sin has blinded us. Our holiness is hidden from sight. We often feel guilty and ashamed. Sometimes we feel as if God is against us. But because we trust in Jesus God has forgiven our sins. God has justified us. God calls us wholly. Like Abraham, the Christian life is one that helps against hope.

A Friend Indeed

Have you ever heard the saying “A friend in need is a friend indeed.”

Friendship is one of the greatest blessings if this life. Today I want to talk about the great friend anyone could ever have. He is a “friend in deed’ not because He is in need but because we are. Solomon,one of the wisest men to ever live penned these words, “ A man who has friends must himself be friendly. But there is friend who sticks closer that a brother” (Proverbs 18:24). Of course Solomon was speaking of God. He is the greatest friend. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life of his friends” (John 15;13). Jesus said to His disciples, “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends” (John 15;15). The Bible says of Moses, “So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend “ (Exodus 33:11). We must conclude that not only is God the greatest friend anyone could have but that He want to be our friend too.

If there was ever a time we needed God’s friendship, it is now. We live in a catastrophic time. When evil replaces good, and the world is divided, we never know what’s going to happen next. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring. When will our America be peaceful and proud again. When will our economy rebound or will it plunge even lower. I recent poll shows more than 70% of Americans feel safe only at home,

Aside from our national crisis, many are working through personal crisis. Some are in the midst of marital difficulties, some are facing financial problems or facing severe problems with their children. All of us have dilemmas we must face. And things just keep getting harder and harder.

Interestingly, Psalm 46 was written at a time of national crisis in Israel. Martin Luther King wrote a hymn and it sums up what is going on in the world today:

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us we will not fear, for God has willEd His truth to triumph through us.

Martin Luther King.

There is so much evil in the world, the devil isn’t hiding any more, yet so many refuse to see him or his tactics.

As you look at your Bible, you may notice that Psalm 46 is divided into 3 parts. Verses 1-3 are about God’s presence as our refuge and strength at the end of the verse is the Hebrew word “Selah” which means to pause, mediate, consider, reflect. Verses 4-7 tell us about God’s power, that we can trust Him to bring us through anything.

God’s presence is our refuge.

God is our refuge and our strength. A very present help in trouble. (Verse 1)

The Hebrew word for “trouble’ refers to a tight place. We speak of being in trouble as being “between a rock and a hard place.

That is exactly the idea represented in the word. It means when the world is pressing in on you, when circumstances are strangling you, when you feel helpless and alone.

When we are in trouble we are to remember the two truths about God.

1. God is our refuge and strength.

Refuge carries the idea of shelter. Have you ever been caught outside in a storm! What do you want? Shelter! In a much greater sense, when the storms of life descend, God is our refuge. He shelters us from trouble.

Psalm 61 says, “I will abide in Your tabernacle forever, I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.’ It doesn’t mean God has big wings. It does mean that God is our shelter our refuge to strengthen us when trouble comes.

2. second God is a very present help, when we are in the midst of troubling times.

Present helps literally means ‘speedy aide.” God is always present and quick to come to our aide when things get rough.

God is not only our refuge and very present help. The Bible also says that He is our shield.

Psalm 3:3 says “ But You O’ Lord are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.’ God sometimes shields His people from trouble and sometimes He delivers His people from trouble.

Sometimes He sends our troubles away before we even know them. He refuses to let troubles enter our lives.

Have you ever thought back on your past, and thought “I shouldn’t have lived through that?” It would stagger us to know how much trouble God has shielded and protected us from! On the other hand sometimes God will allow us to face struggles, trials and tight places so He can teach us to rely on Him for deliverance, so we can learn that He indeed is our refuge.

Sometimes God calms the storm for His people, other times He calm His people in the storm.

In verses 2-3 we see that because God’s continual presence is our refuge, “Therefore we will not fear. Even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though it’s waters roar and be troubled. Though the mountains shake with its swelling

The earth and the mountains are symbols of stability. What is more stable the earth below our feet?

We always take it for granted. What is more solid than mountains! We don’t ever expect the earth to move. It is solid and permanent.

We can’t I. Our wildest imagination dream of the Great Rocky Mountains crumbling to dust and rolling to the Pacific Ocean! Yet we’ve seen many things in our lives that seemed so stable become suddenly unstable.

We saw the twin towers of the World Trade Center, symbols of our economic prosperity crash before our eyes in real time, we saw the symbol of our military defaced In Afghanistan. Our American standards and values being taken away. Our every day freedoms that so many take for granted be taken away from our own Government.

We have seen our personal stability shattered too, sickness, finances, homes.

What do we when our stability is shattered completely? The common response is panic, red crimson fear. The biblical response is found at the beginning of verse 2. Because God is our refuge, because He is our ever present help, therefore we will not fear,

In Mark 6:54-52 we find the account of Jesus sending Him disciples out in the midst of the storm on the Sea of Galilee while He goes to the mountain to be alone with His Father. Of course, in a small boat in the middle of a great storm, the disciples are panicking. Jesus comes to them, walking on water on the waves. At first they fear even more because they thing He is a ghost. He comforts them by saying, “Be of good cheer, it is I do not be afraid.’ He goes into the boat with them and calms the storm. Verse 51 concludes by saying, “They were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure and marveled.

How is Jesus our friend in times of trouble? Let me show you three ways from this account.

First He intercedes for us. In verse46, while the disciples were in the storm, Jesus was on the mountain praying. 1 Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” Hebrews 7:25 says, “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to

Second, He sees us. Verse48 says, “He saw them straining at rowing.” The Lord is not blind to our struggles. If He keeps up with the number of hairs on our heads. He is aware of the burdens of our hearts. He knows what we are going through.

Third, He comes to us. Verse 48 says, “He came to then…” Verse 51 says Ge went “to them.” When we struggle. He comes right along beside us. Hebrews 13:5 says, “For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you not forsake you.”

God is our refuge He alone is stable, immutable, unchanging and unmoving. God will be with His people. He is our refuge. He is the friend that sticks closer than a brother.

How To Pray Through Spiritual Warfare

“Spiritual Warfare” is a phrase you might hear some Christmas use, but the truth is many people do not fully know what it Issa, or what to do about it.

One way to explain spiritual warfare is by comparing it to physical war. Historical battles were often about controlling territory for political or economic power. Spiritual warfare is the battle for control over people’s souls.

Whether you believe in or follow Him or not, God created you for a reason. He created you to know Him and experience His love. He created toy for you to love others as you love yourself and to use your skills and talents for the good of the world.- to point people to Him.

However m God has an enemy, who is known as Satan or the devil. Because he is an enemy to God and God’s people, He is something referred to as “the enemy” or “the prince of the power of the air(Ephesians 2:2).

Satan is committed to preventing people from knowing God and trusting Him with their lives. The enemy’s tactics may differ depending on whether someone is already a Christian or not, but his ultimate purpose is always to keep people from experiencing the lov of God.

“The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

2 Corinthians 4:4

Whether you feel under spiritual attack right now, you know someone else who might be or you just want to understand spiritual warfare better,

How Are You Involved In Spiritual Warfare?

Spiritual warfare sounds like a battle between God and His enemies. So what does that have to do with the rest of us?

If you have chosen to begin a personal relationship with God, then you know you have asked Him to be in control of your life. But part of you wants to take back control and continue to put up an internal fight.

You might even feel like there’s a battle going on inside your mind some of the time. Do you have days when you struggle to believe what the Bible are says about God, or about you? That’s completely natural. But lies – especially subtle ones – are the enemy’s favorite tactics.

Know Your Enemies

The Bible teaches that three forces are battling with God for ownership of your heart: the world, the flesh and the the devil. Thankfully, God is stronger than the world or your flesh.

The World And Spiritual Warfare

Societies and cultures in the world encourage people to think and act in certain ways. Some elements of every society or culture can point you toward Jesus, some are neither good or bad, and some directly conflict with our ability to follow Jesus and maintain a strong connection with God.

The things a culture values- what’s if focuses it attention on- are usually a clear indicator of the position God’s commandments are given in it. In Western culture, physical appearance, personal success and freedom from responsible to the wider community. are just three example of things the world encourages you put before God.

Scripture reminds us that to walk closely with God we need to be alert to the ways we are influenced by the people around us,

For everything in the world – luster of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world.

1 John 2:16

The Flesh And Spiritual Warfare

Although the influence of the world around you is very real, you also need to be aware that the struggle to turn away from God can come from within you – from your own sin and your own desires

The apostle Paul,who helped spread the early church as a missionary and wrote much of the New Testament, struggled with his flesh. He gave us a great picture of what this struggle feels like:

It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decided to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.

Romans 7:21-23

The Devil And Spiritual Warfare

Ultimately, the devil has already been defeated by what Jesus did on the cross. Jesus’s resurrection from the dead demonstrates that He won the victory over death. But the devil wants to blind people to the truth of what Jesus has done.

The devils attempts to send us off course in our relationship with God go right back to the beginning of human history. He was the author of the first temptation people faced.

The temptation of Adam abs Eve, which we read about in Genesis 3, it provides a clear picture of what we can expect from the devil:

  • He is more crafty that any wild animal.
  • He comes along side us pretending to be an ally.
  • He deceives us by trying to bend the truth God speaks to us.
  • He tries to plant doubts in our minds and the things God said.
  • He wants you to think God is restricting us when in reality He is protecting you.
  • He encourages us to rebel against God by telling us that we deserve to be the ultimate authority in our lives.
  • He uses your pride and your sense of shame to turn us against others.

Be mindful that you enemy, the devil, is real. He is single-minded and dangerous, so be wise in how you conduct your warfare with him. If you follow Jesus, God has given you incredible resources by placing the Holy Spirit within you, but you need to resist letting your pride tent you to try to fight your enemy on your own.

Fighting Spiritual Battles The Jesus Way

Throughout His life on earth, Jesus faced spiritual warfare in many forms. He was tested by the devil during His 40 days in the Wilde (Luke 4:1-13; He was provoked, falsely accused, and verbally abused by people who did not like what He was saying And it’s important to remember that Jesus was a man – fully human so He faced all the temptations any other man would face.

But He never lost any of His spiritual battles. Even His wrongful conviction the execution on the cross, which looked like bitter defeat, was ultimately His greatest victory. So what examples does Jesus give us about using prayer in spiritual warfare?

Jesus Created Space To Be Alone With God

Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed

Like 5:16

Many times in the Gospels, Jesus withdrew from situations we can interpret as scenes of spiritual warfare. One example is when Jesus heard the new that His cousin, John the Baptist, had been beheaded by Herod. It never says that He retreated for His enemy. Instead He withdrew from a particular place.

There is nothing wrong with praying in a coffee shop or while walking in public places. But it’s important to take regular time alone with God, preferably as free from distractions as possible.

Jesus wanted to give God His full attention and spend time with God – and Jesus is God – how much more do His followers need to do the same.

Taking time alone with Gid reminds us that He is ready and waiting to spend time alone with us, healing our wounds and renewing our strength.

Jesus Combined Prayer With Fasting

Fasting can help raise your awareness of your need to depend on God. The Bible teaches that fasting can enhance your ability to hear from God as you prioritize Him about physical needs.

It’s worth noting that Jesus during His 40 days in the wilderness. This was immediately before Jesus began His public ministry. The devil must have felt threatened by what Jesus was doing given the efforts he went to trying to distract Jesus from His mission. Jesus saw fasting as a weapon of spiritual warfare.

Fasting is something that needs to be undertaken wisely given the physical implications. It is important to not that if you have certain physical ailments it is not wise to partake in a full fast, stopping all food for a long period. There is a fast called the “Daniel Fast” that is used by pastors and preachers. It lets you eat some foods but you have to sacrifice things in your regular diet.

The Holy Spirit’s Role In Spiritual Warfare

God is three persons in one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the most often misunderstood member of this Trinity. But to experience consistent victory in spiritual warfare, it’s crucial to know and understand His role in your life.

After Jesus was raised from death, He appeared to His closest friends and followers. They were scared and confused. They did not know what was going to happen to them because they felt surrounded by enemies, including the Jewish authorities. But Jesus knew this, and He knew the Spiritual battles that lay ahead of them.

As He met with them, He commissioned them for the work of making Him known throughout the world- the same work Christians today are invited to join and one of the reasons Daysb is so determined to wage war on Christians. (We see it in the world today).

Jesus wanted His friends to have peace and clarity for their spiritual battles. So He told them that their greatest source of strength, His Holy Spirit, would now live within them. “Peace be with you!” as the Father has sent me, I am sending you, And with that Hr breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. (John 20; 21-22).

We might think of God as someone completely separate and different from humanity. But Jesus entered our humanity and experienced the same struggles we do. When He was leaving to return to His Father in heaven. He left us with the greatest gift He could. He offered each of us the chance to experience His own presence living within us. His Holy Spirit.

So as you experience Spiritual warfare, you are not just looking for strength from outside yourself or from the tools God gives you, such as prayer and the Bible. God is working within you, giving you everything you need to love the way you are designed to as His child.

Praying With Other Believers

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise them up. And if he has committed sins he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

James 5:13-16

Not only is it pleasant and encouraging to prsy with other followers, but it’s crucial to your success in Spiritual warfare,. When you admit to others the things you struggle with, the sin that you’re wrestling with – this is the decisions you make that go against God’s best for you – and even sickness you experience, and you pray for each other, not is so you can be healed,

I feel that is why I was healed from Bladder Cancer. It is the reason I go to church every week and drive to prayer meetings twice a week. You cannot expect to be healed, if you don’t have a relationship with God and have other followers praying for you.

The fact that God designed for you to experience freedom from your sin, struggles and even sickness through praying with others clearly shows He doesn’t intend for you to go through spiritual battles or any part of life alone,

Engaging a community of fellow believers is vital to preserving and overcoming spiritual warfare.

What Does Victory Look Like In Spiritual Warfare

God encourages you to be bold in the things you pray for.

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Mark 11:24

If you feel like only God could win the spiritual battle you are fighting, you’re right. Bring it to Him in prayer and let Him do what He does best: fight your battles.

Spiritual warfare will often look like major challenges in your life. But you will also face battles that are more internal than external. The enemy wants to put as much distance between you and you’re heavenly Father as he can. His tactics often involve exploiting out very human nature, such as shame, disappointment, insecurity and loneliness.

Victory might look like overcoming a clear obstacle to your faith, such as the persecution of some kind relating to what you believe. But on a day to day level, victory will often be demonstrated by your perseverance through any circumstance that might cause you to question whether you can trust God.

It’s very important to hold God responsible for thing in your life that don’t go the way you want (and also easy to forget to thank Him when they do). But the Bible reminds us that “thr message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishinh, but to us we are being saved it is the power of God, (1 Corinthians 1:18).

When it comes to using prayer as a weapon of spiritual warfare, victory is fundamentally about trust. Do you believe that your battles are His battles? Do you trust that when you bring a heartfelt need to God, He hears you and will respond.

So your victory may look like your willingness to continue believing is a Salvation that the world tells you is ridiculous.

When it comes to using prayer as a weapon of spiritual warfare, victory is fundamentally about trust. Do you believe that your battles are His battles? Do you trust that when you bring a heartfelt need to God? He hears you and will respond.

Quite a few years back, my neighborhood was being infested by drug dealers and people who were doing drugs. We could not leave anything outside of it would be stolen, music and screaming happened every night, all night. There was was a insurmountable amount of traffic on the street. Yes, the homeowners would call the police but to no avail. This went on for months.

Finally a few of us took matters into our own hands a few nights a week we would get together at the same time. And walk our neighborhood praying for God to take the Riffraff out of our neighborhood. After a few weeks, people were getting arrested, a few went to jail (or prison). Some had drug overdoses, and some went to rehabilitation centers. We had fought for our nice wholesome neighborhood and won.

We are still enjoying a quiet, peaceful neighborhood. Because of our sacrifice a few night a week and using prayer as a powerful weapon against the devil.

Try using the following verses from the Bible as prayer when you are battling the world, the flesh, or the devil. You can even insert your name or the name of someone you are praying for to personalize the verse.

Here are the verses:

  • 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
  • Isaiah 54:17
  • John 8:32
  • 1 Peter 5:7
  • John 15:7

Stronger Than Ever

Have you ever had a fragile, cherished item slip from your hand and break into a million pieces? You have likely had your own heart break in a similar way after some deep disappointment, loss, or betrayal. How can you repair something that’s now scattered in a million pieces?

The world tries super glue, the devil suggests the trash, but God alone has a way of fixing things so something greater happens.

God’s healing power is mirrored in the beautiful art form called ‘kintsugi,” where broken vessels are repaired with gold in a way that goes beyond repair and a more beautiful piece if formed. The word “kintsugi” actually means “golden Joinery” and is a perfect picture of what the Spirit of God does when He touches the very area in which the devil seeks to break us. Kintsugiiis an ancient Japanese art of repair, the artist doesn’t try to hide the history. But the history is highlighted with veins of gold, or sometimes silver and adding a new dimension to the vessels value and beauty.

This concept is ex-emplified in the human body as well. When a bone is broken it comes out stronger in the place where the original break was.

Let’s look at Jeremiah 18 where in the midst of Jeremiah’s frustration with his nation, God reminded the prophet that He alone is the Master Potter and has power to create and recreate when a vessel is marred.

Charles Spurgeon, a celebrated 19th century preacher once said this impromptu prayer:

“Lord, you have done more with us that you did with Thomas, for he was told to place his finger into the open would in your hands and side, but You, O Lord God, have done something greater with us, for You placed Your finger into our open wounds and healed them.”

Charles Spurgeon

Indeed, God puts His fingers into the wounds in our life and seals them with gold.

In the final hours of Jesus’s life, He warned Peter that the enemy sought to sift the young apostle and rob him of his calling. Why did Jesus pray for Peter to come through the ordeal successfully? Why not pray that Peter be able to side-step the sifting in the first place?

In some ways, the warfare intended to be used by the end to break us actually make us stronger and of greater value.

Joseph was made stronger by the ordeal of betrayal, David was fashioned into a commander in the cave of Adulum. The frail Obi Wan engaged in a lightsaber duel with Faith Vader in order to buy time for the next generation to escape. Obi Wan said “Strike me down, as he warned Vader and I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.”

Given a choice between sparing your temporary discomfort or letting you have a moments light affliction in exchange for an eternal increase in reward, which would you choose? Is it better to deliver you from the process or deliver you through the process?

Many times we are deliver fro. The fire, but when we walk through the fire, God declares “I will be with you!” You will come out a winner on the other side, and like Peter, Joseph, and David, the new vessel will be able to contain, and reveal a whole new level of glory. God is the ultimate “kintsugi artist.

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience by which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, “I lived through this horrible. I can take the next thing that comes alone. And God will be with you through it all.