When we learn that there’s an enemy that stalks around like a roaring lion we begin to see where Satan is working and invading our lives.
God has given us tools to demolish our enemy. There are divine weapons that are used to tear down arguments and anything else that opposes the knowledge of God. And ultimately bring everything into obedience to God.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 tells us, “for the weapons of our warfare are not of flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds. Throwing down imaginations and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Messiah.”
These weapons are powerful enough to demolish strongholds which can be interpreted in areas of sin, false beliefs, or anything that goes against God.
We were born to follow God I think this is why we thirst for something and try everything we can to fill that endless void we all feel in life. When we choose God that endness void will finally feel full.
When we align our thoughts and actions with God’s teaching and live in obedience to Him a balance is found.
Life is full of decisions. Every day we make choices some big and some small, that affect our lives and the lives of others.
Last week I had a friend who was in a bad motorcycle wreck. A relative of his asked me why bad things happen to good people. He had a good heart and would help anyone he could. I admit I had to ask myself what I say. It was something I had to pray about.
So, at times there is one decision that stands above all others, a decision that shapes our life or destroys it. That decision is whether or not you choose to listen to God’s warning or not. God will always warn us but we are too distracted to hear it, or not in a relationship with him to care. Sadly, I think this is what it boils down to.
God gives us warnings, not to harm us, but to help us. He earns us because He loves us and wants what’s best for us. Sometimes we think we can ignore God’s warnings, but the truth is, when we ignore His warnings, we put ourselves in dangerous positions.
His warnings are often accompanied by consequences if we don’t follow them warnings. God is a loving God, but we also have free will. God will not intervene in situations where He warned us and we don’t listen because of free will.
God is warning us for our protection. Imagine you’re walking down a path in the woods, and someone shouts at you to stop -there’s a cliff ahead. If you listen and stop, you are saved from falling. But if you ignore the warning and keep walking, you might fall off that cliff. God’s warnings are like that. They are given to protect us from danger.
God often warns people about the consequences of sin. But we have to ask ourselves are we too distracted to hear God’s warnings? Do we have a close relationship with God to know His voice?
The Bible has numerous examples where ignoring God’s warning led to negative consequences, including suffering, judgment, and destruction.
We all screw up in life. So, what do we do when we ignore or mistake God’s warnings?
How do we heed God’s warnings:
Actively listen to God’s voice through prayer, scripture, and spiritual guidance. Reflecting on our actions and motivations and seek to identify the areas where we may be straying from God’s path,
Then we need to recognize the pattern of our disobedience or need for correction, and turn away from those actions and seek forgiveness.
God’s warnings are ultimately for our good and following His guidance leads to blessings and a closer relationship with Him.
When we don’t heed God’s warnings it is usually a lack of trust, deception o sin, or pride and rebellion.
I think the church culture taught us that we are “covered by the blood.” and we can do what we want to because of it. But that is not what God teaches in His Word. We can’t follow a couple of rules and think we are “okay” with God.
This may not be the only reason bad things happen to good people but I think it’s one of them. We live in a broken fallen world, and if we are not connected to the Creator we will not hear His warnings.
I probably don’t have to tell you the world is becoming a scary place. Whether you live in a large city or a small town there are victims of crime every day.
I live in a small rural town, and just a few months ago there was a shooting. I man was shooting at his girlfriend from who was trying to leave a bad situation. He shot her multiple times and shot into a pharmacy. An acquaintance of mine was leaving work, and he saw the bullets flying he hit the floor, the bullet missed him by inches. If I hadn’t seen the bullet he would have been shot. That’s what I call situational awareness.
So many times we have tunnel vision. Our face is in our phone, or we just want to get to where we’re going. We end up focusing our efforts and energy somewhere else, rather than on what’s around us.
Without realizing it, we don’t pay attention to things around us. Just today, my daughter told me about a situation at the grocery store that broke my heart. In the parking lot at the grocery store, she saw an older woman walking her small dog on the grass. Just as she turned her head she saw a large dog, jump from a vehicle and run towards the women and attacking her dog, killing it. Thankfully the woman was not hurt.
My husband is ex-military and has always talked about situational awareness. It’s the ability to understand and react to your surroundings. It involves perceiving potential hazards, understanding their significance, and then making informed decisions to ensure safety. This skill is crucial for navigating everyday situations. And, it’s becoming more important in today’s world to respond effectively to threats and unexpected events.
Here’s a breakdown of key aspects, hopefully, it will help someone.
Perception:
Observe your surroundings:
Pay attention to your environment, including people, objects, and events.
Identify potential hazards:
Look for anything that could pose a risk, like unusual behavior, suspicious activity, or unsafe conditions.
Use all your senses:
Don’t rely on sight, be aware of sounds, and smells.
Limit distractions:
Minimize distractions, don’t have your face in your phone all the time, and stay away from devices that have excessive noise to stay focused.
2. Comprehension:
Understand the situation:
Analyze what you perceive and determine if there is a potential threat or hazard.
Consider the context:
Think about the environment, the people involved, and the potential consequences of the situation.
Recognize patterns:
Identify any unusual or out-of-place behaviors or situations
3. Action:
Make informed decisions:
Based on your perception and understanding, decide on the best course of action.
Choose appropriate responses:
Determine how to react to the situation, whether it’s avoiding a potential threat, seeking help, or taking other necessary steps.
Act quickly and decisively:
Don’t hesitate to take action when needed to ensure your safety or the safety of others.
4. Developing Situational awareness:
Practice mindfulness:
Be present in the moment and pay attention to your surroundings.
Trust your intuition:
Listen to your gut feeling when something doesn’t seem right.
Identity escape routes:
Know the exits and safe areas in your environment. Sit facing the door, sit on the end so you can be close to the exit.
Review your surroundings:
Periodically assess your environment and identify potential hazards.
Limit distractions:
Avoid distractions like phones or electronic devices as well as noises as much as possible.
By developing these skills, you can enhance your ability to perceive, understand, and respond effectively to your surroundings. This ultimately improves your safety and well-being. Its like drawing a mental map that helps us understand where we are.
I’m not saying it will always keep you safe, but in today’s world everything we can do will help.
A lack of situational awareness leads us to a state of situational stupidity, which consists of maintaining a thoughtless and/or ignorant position in which we do not take into account the environmental factors to make decisions. We run the risk of disconnecting from reality and acting on unrealizable desires and irrational expectations.
Write about a random act of kindness you’ve done for someone.
To many times we can be so focused on ourselves and lives we forget about others in our own chaos.
I make it a point of trying to bless someone every day.
Whether it’s giving a genuine compliments, holding the door for someone, or checking in on a friend.
Every week I try to buy someone’s coffee behind me. Granted it’s not a caffe latte cappuccino brown sugar Java almond breeze nonsense, it’s from a convenience store but I know I made a persons a little brighter.
With fear, the need for power and group mentality seemingly trying to be taking over the world. It’s important to spread a little light in each day.
Those random small acts of kindness go a long way in a dark world.
How do you think people live a blessed life? The humble truth is believe in Jesus and be generous.
Living a blessed life isn’t really about getting it’s about being. The Bible tells us what it means to be blessed over 200 times. Throughout the scriptures, it describes times when God bestows His favor in a variety of circumstances and purposes. It began in Genesis with Adam and Eve. Being blessed is something God intended for mankind from the beginning. But sin has distorted that blessing.
The Hebrew Word for blessing is berakah something that brings prosperity and life. Paul tells the Gentiles in Romans 4:7-8, “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered, blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count as sin.”
Paul quotes from Psalm 32:1 to argue that Gentiles (us) also received this blessing of forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus. He wants to make it clear that God’s blessing and the blessing of Abraham are for all people -that anyone can be blessed by God and can become His.
The ways Jesus describes bring blessed also show us how to live in a way that brings prosperity and life. Matthew 5:3-12 talks about the beatitudes, Jesus list the blessing by naming characteristics that represent His heavenly Kingdom in the Sermon on the Mount.
People whose life situations can seem far from a blessing, and don’t fit neatly in the trendy hashtag, and who mourn, are meek, persecuted, and poor in spirit can be blessed.
For Each blessed one Jesus names, He also announces a spiritual blessing, which far outweigh our earthly circumstances. These blessings include inheriting theearth, receiving mercy, and being called children of God. All these things are gifts from God.
What Jesus called blessed reveals the Father’s heart for us. A deep well of blessing to quench our thirsty souls.
Being blessed is not a spiritual substitute for being lucky. Meaning the good things in life don’t happen by chance. God who made heaven in the earth, still brings good things into our lives.
We become blessed when we are more like Him. It doesn’t come from material things. Being blessed is a perspective, a mindset of joy despite all our circumstances. It’s a pursuit of the knowledge and understanding of God‘s grace. A fierce resolved to seek His kingdom, His Word, Hid truth despite the temptations of blessing from the world.
Being blessed is more than a gift of material prosperity. It’s a state of being inextricably linked with a deep conviction to the One true God and all that He is.
We can live a blessed life by pursuing Christ -Ephesians 1-3
We can life a blessed life by being a does of the Word not just a hearer – James 1:22
We can live a blessed life by examining the lavishness of God’s grace -Romans 4:8
Sometimes it’s a struggle with disconnecting our blessings from physical circumstances because this is not what the world tells us. When we recognize that living a blessed life isn’t something we have to work for, buy, achieve, fulfill, and socially share to live up to that’s when we can truly feel and understand the blessing from God.
When we find we are sufficient in Jesus, we can see the depth of God’s blessing. But we have to fight for it and pursue it daily, or we can forget that we have it and get too comfortable in our worldly surroundings to experience the deep, joy of being blessed by God.
“No weapon that is formed against you will prevail, and you will condemn every tongue that rises against you in judgement. This is the heritage of the Lord’s servants, and their righteousness is of Me, says the Lord” -Isaiah 54:17
Today it seems we are under spiritual attack from every direction, but the good news is that not one of Satan’s weapons can harm you if you follow Jesus and live righteously.
Every morning Satan and his forces of darkness rise against you with every weapon and will do everything they can to take us down spiritually.
If satan can’t get to us with a direct attack, he will wage war in our thoughts, and by words. He whispers in our ears things like, “you’re not good enough,” “you don’t have what it takes, you’re a failure. He reminds us of our past sins and tries to fill us with shame and guilt. These words can cut deeper than the sharpest sword and can do just as much to damage us. Satan’s goal is to discourage us enough in our walk with God and our desire to be used by Him.
The promise that “No weapon formed against us,” declares that satan’s attacks are powerless against us. All his weapons are useless because Jesus protects us. He is standing in the way between us and the enemy.
When I was facilitating a support group years ago. I young lady would come quite often. I would go around the table and have everyone tell us how their week went. On multiple occasions, she would talk about how someone would talk about her, or get in a fight. It broke my heart because she would attempt suicide quite often. I tried to speak to her, about it. But she couldn’t get past people speaking badly about her, she would tell me, she had bad thoughts and would end up trying to take her life. That is satan and his minions (as I like to call them), attacking her.
No accusation can wound us because the blood of Jesus has removed our sin. Satan’s weapons fall useless before us. When you’re a child of God you are surrounded with God’s protection and love.
One thing I’ve learned over the years is that on days I struggle with ugly thoughts. I can stand on God’s promises:
He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world -1 John 4:4
God keeps me in perfect peace when my mind is stayed in Him, because I trust in Him -Isaiah 26:3 (Paraphrased).
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil -Ephesians 6:11
In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one -Ephesians 6:16
We live on a spiritual battlefield the Lord stands with us. When we stay focused on Him no attack or accusation can succeed. Jesus deflects every weapon satan uses against us.
Every thing we struggle with in life has a hidden root cause. We live in a hyper connected world. We live in a world where mental heath issues are on the rise. Anxiety, depression, personality disorders, and various other psychological ailments plague people across all age groups. I for one have noticed an up rise since the pandemic.
While there are multiple factors that contribute to mental illness, the underlying cause often goes unnoticed, shame is a deeply ingrained emotional response. I have a friend that works in the clinical psychology field and we were talking about the uprise the last few years. He said fear and shame shapes our self-perception and interactions with society. It has a profound impact but remains largely unaddressed.
Modern society imposes unrealistic expectations on people. Social media sets impossible standards of beauty, success, and happiness. Workplace environments can demand perfection, leaving little room for human error, so much so that they are creating AI robots to take our place. Family and cultural conditioning can enforce rigid beliefs about what is acceptable and what is not.
Every perceived failure whether missing a deadline or struggling in a relationship can fuel our inner critic that whispers “you are not good enough.” Chronic self-doubt leads to anxiety, and over time, depression. When everything people do is met with shame, self-worth diminishes, and an internal belief arises that we are inherently incapable. As time goes on this unresolved shame can manifest as avoidance, low self-esteem, withdrawal, and even gender confusion. We see it happening all around us.
Keep in mind that shame is different than guilt. While guilt arises from recognizing a wrongful act, shame makes a person feel that they themselves are fundamentally flawed. Shame is deeply rooted in the fear of rejection, and failure or being seen as unworthy.
My friend explained it this way to me. Neurologically, shame activates the same brain region that’s associated with physical pain. The body responds with stress hormones, which leads to anxiety, depression, and even physical symptoms like chronic fatigue, digestive issues, and immune dysfunction. If unresolved shame becomes a breeding ground for more severe psychological disorders, like obsessive compulsive disorder, eating disorders, and addiction.
When he talked about this it was like my whole life was re-playing in the background. Everything fell into place, my childhood, my fear of rejection, my alcohol and drug use, all my struggles were because of the shame and fear I experienced. It all finally began to make sense.
I have written time and times again that until we find the root cause of the problems we face, we are not going to be able to fix anything. But I had no idea that the root cause to many things come down to fear and shame.
I don’t get a chance to see or visit with my friend very often, because of his crazy busy life, but every time I do it’s a wide-eyed opening experience.
From Pity to Praise 