The Battle is The Lord's

We all face different battles in life.  One of my favorite quotes is "Be kinder than necessary for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle".  The truth is, we are.  All of us, at some level, are fighting something going on in our lives.  Our battles may be with fear or worry, relationships, jobs, money, faith, addiction, sickness or even potty training a toddler or dealing with a strong willed child.  We are all facing something in our lives that is beating us down or filling us with a sense of hopelessness.  Take this scripture:

As all the men of Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones, wives, and children, the Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men standing there... He said,  "Listen, King Jehoshaphat! Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don't be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours; but God's.  Tomorrow, march out against them.  You will find them coming up through the ascent of Ziz, at the end of the valley that opens into the wilderness of Jeruel.  But you will not even need to fight.  Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord's victory.  He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem.  Do not be afraid or discouraged.  Go out there tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!"

2 Chronicles 20:13-17 

 

Okay, so we don't have an army lined up to fight us, but its safe to assume we all have a battle were facing.  Its so easy to think we are in the battle alone and the outcome (aka victory) is up to us.  WRONG - "Do not be afraid! Don't be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God's."  Read that again - I sure know I needed to hear that this week.  Last week was rough - as a family we faced a really tough battle in fact, I'm still facing it and dealing with it in a different way today.  I needed to be reminded that I need to give this battle over to God and stop trying to fight it on my own.  Just like He told the army, I needed to be reminded to stand firm, be courageous and listen to the Lord and obey.  I can trust him to give me the strength I need. So can you.  The Israelites went out the next morning, took their stand, and faced the enemy. God brought the victory!         

 

As a mom, I want to teach Paxton to stand firm when faced with battles in life and rely on the fact that he has a God who loves him and is willing to help him face his battles, no matter how big or small.  If I don't practice that with him or model it for him, he wont do it.  We can't rely on others to teach our kids what we want/need/desire for them to know.  It is our job as their parents to equip them with the tools necessary to get through life - which includes showing compassion towards others in the wake of their battles too.  

 

This week was a nice reminder that in my battles, my family's battles, I need to stand firm on beliefs, pray and ask God for help.  When I do that I know that I have God helping me fight that battle.  I am also going to practice being kind to others, realizing we all have battles, ours are no more important than others in the eyes of God  - as moms, humans.... we need to also support one another and be there to help each other.   

 

Choices: 

•  This week I will choose to give my battles to the Lord. 
•  This week I will choose to stand firm in my faith.
•  This week I will choose to cast away fear knowing that the Lord is with me.
•  This week I will choose to show kindness to others as we all face battles.   

Prayer:   
" [God] I praise you for you are able to bring victory in my life.  You have all the power I need to defeat my enemies! Help me to have the faith and courage to believe and stand firm.  Lord, I give all my battles to you.  I know I cannot win in my own strength; I need you.  Help me to do my part.  Thank you for always being with me.  In Jesus's name I pray, amen."  

I walked away from this devo today feeling renewed being reminded that we do not have to fight our battles alone.  Even in silence God knows what we're facing, no matter how big or small and he is here to help us as long as we let him!  Comment a prayer request (anonymously if you need/want to) and I will, as I'm sure other readers as well, will pray for you as you face your battle.  If you could pray for me specifically on my health I would appreciate it :)  Have a great week!         

Who Gets the Glory?

Supermom - we've all called ourselves that before :)  Not very often but it has happened.  Too often more than not I aspire or try too hard to do it all (don't we all?).  I'm admittedly a little bit bossy and somewhat of a 'take control' type girl, but motherhood has softened me in that department.  One thing I am super guilty of though - is taking the glory for myself. Gasp.  Matthew gets home from work, errands ran, house is clean, dinner cooked, Pax happy - yeah, who's your wife now? :)  (Okay, I don't really say that in my head but if I did that's what I would say)  The scripture below paints a different picture though and this mornings devotional helped me to re-focus my thought process and the label 'supermom'. 

The Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many warriors with you.  If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength.  Therefore, tell the people.  'Whoever is timid or afraid may leave and go home.'" Twenty two thousand of them went home, leaving only ten thousand who were willing to fight.
       But the Lord told Gideon, "There are still too many!"

                                       Judges 7:2-4

 

Yikes, I was so confused when I first read that, I read it like 5 times.  Karol Ladd clears things up though...  I am going to quote her, "Gideon started out with a superarmy.  But God was not looking for an army that could 'do it all'.  He wanted a humble army that would look to him for its success and recognize that victory was found in him alone, not in self sufficiency.  God eventually whittled down Gideon's army to three hundred men.  He granted the victory, and the honor went to him." 

 

You know why its so hard to "do it all"?  Because we're not supposed to! Along with help from our husbands, God wants us to seek him, use him, rely on him and ultimately give Him the glory.  He doesn't want us to be "self-sufficient" he wants us to be "God-sufficient".  He is looking for moms who will look to him for guidance, wisdom, direction and strength.  When we try to do it all - we seek/get the glory - whether that's our intention or not.  But when we rely on God and get our strength from him then He gets the glory.  I don't want Paxton to grow up thinking that he has to derive all his own strength from himself -what a way to feel defeated.  I want him to know that he gets his strength from seeking God.  If I don't do that - how will I teach him to?  Bottom line - God doesn't expect us to be super moms.  We can bask in those days when we feel like one and give ourselves a pat on the back, we just can't forget to thank our God too.  And by all means - on the days we feel less than super - seek Him, rely on Him and praise Him for after all, motherhood is a war in and out of itself! :)

 

Choices:

• This week I will choose to see the God-possibilities instead of my own inabilities. 
• This week I will choose to be God-sufficient rather than self-sufficient.
• This week I will choose to give God the glory and not myself.

Prayer:
"All sufficient God, I praise you, for you are all power and all wisdom.  I recognize that I'm not a supermom.  I can't do it all.  I praise you that you can! Thank you for loving and caring for me and my family.  Teach me to be responsible, humble, wise and strong.  Help my children to grow up to be well-balanced adults who follow you, so that you may be glorified.  Thank you for being the protector of my family and the guardian of each of our souls.  In Jesus's name I pray, amen."

Going into this week - I am going to strive to depend on God's help and not just depend on myself or Matthew.  We are all awesome moms - there's no doubt about that- but we are awesome because God made us that way.  We do awesome things because God helps us - and we are going to raise awesome little ones only with God's help!

Have a happy Valentines week! :)

Courage and Commitment

As a mom I don't want to show unhealthy fear to Paxton.  I want to protect him from all fears and never ever have him worry.  Although, while I don't think kids need to deal with adult issues (thank you Dr. Phil) I do think that it is healthy and a necessity to teach him that fear brews courage and courage is powerful. It's inevitable and healthy for him to learn how to deal with fear.  Matthew and I are his example and the platform from which he will learn how to deal with fear and ultimately how to overcome it.  This is where the bible and the promises of God are so sweet.      

Be strong and very courageous.  Obey all the laws Moses gave you.  Do not turn away from them, and you will be successful in everything you do.  Study this Book of the Law continually.  Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it.  Only then will you succeed.  I command you - be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged.  For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. 

Joshua 1:7-9

 

Life is tough - there are seasons in life where all is bliss and then are seasons when all is h-e double hockey sticks.  On a smaller scale- there are days, hours or one specific situation that is particularly difficult and fear is the natural response.  Am I handing this ok? Did I respond the right way? Am I messing my kid up? Is he going to remember this? We have to stand up as moms in those situations, brush fear aside and use courage to help us through it.  Where do we get the courage? From God.  In the scripture above God is talking to Joshua, and is basically commanding him to be strong and courageous, why? Because God is with him.  He tells him to study his word, so that he can obey it.  The same rings true for me.  I need to study Gods word because it strengthens me and reminds me of His power and His ability to protect me.  If I don't know this and own it, it scares me to think Paxton won't know it either.  I want him to grow up feeling strong and courageous to take on the world, stand up for his beliefs and go after his dreams.  When it comes to my role as a mom I am reminded to be strong and courageous not only for my sake, but ultimately for Paxton's too.  God is with me!

Choices
-This week I will choose to let go of the familiar and hold on to God's hand.
-This week I will choose to study and meditate on God's word.
-This week I will choose to teach my children that God is always with them, so they will 
 have the courage to stand up for what it right.
-This week I will choose to:

 

Prayer

 "Great and mighty Lord, I praise you for always being with me.  You guard me and protect me like a Good Shepard.  Thank you for your presence! Keep me from being overcome with fear; fill me with your peace instead.  Help me to be strong and courageous in my role as a mother.  Thank you for your Word and the power it has to transform my life.  Help me to study it, meditate, on it, and obey it, so that I can be successful in everything you have called me to do.  In Jesus' name I pray, amen."

I feel like fear is where our faith comes in.  "Our faith does not lie in trusting God to stop the storm but in trusting Him to enable us to walk through the storm" (Jill Briscoe).  This leaves me wanting to cling to and read God's word to restore and replenish my Faith in knowing that God is always with me on this difficult journey we call Motherhood. :)