Yes, I can thank Him in the middle of the worst of it.

     I don't have to feel relief from the situation.  It is about agreeing with Him no matter what.  I can go to Him and thank Him because I trust Him and know He would not allow anything other than preparation for heaven.

     I will stand before Him and agree with Him that this world is not my home.
     I will agree that these people are His and not mine. 
     I will agree that He makes jewels out of ashes.
     I will agree that He has never made a mistake.
     I will agree that He may always do anything He wills with my life.

     Yes, I will submit to the surgical knife of the Lover of My Soul.

     Zeal is not always a feeling.

     We tend to think of zeal as an energy level, stimulated by a goal.  A zealot is simply someone who will not give up, and continues on.  A zealot is unstoppable because of a vision of what can be, or should be, or must be.

     A Soldier of The Cross is one who has made the decision to be a Living Sacrifice.  That means he or she has clearly seen this world is not our home.  We keep moving because we serve One who is building a Place for us, and because a supernatural transformation has taken place in us and is still taking place. 

     For The Soldier of The Cross, zeal is the result of a private prayer life that daily yields all to Him.  Zeal is the result of dying to Self, so there can be room for the Holy Spirit to motivate us and reveal Jesus.

     Zeal doesn't mean having to have thousands of people in church.  Zeal can be the unpaid servant who cleans up after each meeting, who always calls on the sick,  or who quietly prays about folks' troubles instead of talking about them.

     Zeal means often doing what you don't feel like doing.

     Ask Him to reveal this to you.

     Put one foot in front of the other and keep moving.   Don't look down.

     The famous "knock on the door of your heart" verse that is so often used in evangelistic campaigns,  is actually written to Believers.

     "Behold, I stand at the door [of the church] and continually knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him (restore him), and he with Me."
         Revelation 3:20  (Amplified)

     What a stunning promise.  How do you open the door?

     In prayer.

     How does He "eat" with me?  The King James says "sup" and it is a beautiful wording.    We chose to eat with those we favor, and it is a time of getting to know the other.

     Soldier, this is one of the greatestl promises in the Word.

     Tell Him you are opening the door and want to eat with Him.    You want to be with Him and want to hear all He has to say and want to receive all He has to give. 

     You were created for this.  He who created you and named you, has extended an offer of intimacy.

     Accept.  Do it in prayer and do it aloud. 
 

     What you are trying to do is, go back in your thoughts and relive the seconds or minutes or hours.

     Exactly what the enemy wants.  He will project that situation on the screen of your mind as often as you will let him.  Your mind whirls with fantasy reruns of all of the things you could have done or said.  Should have done or said.  And all the ways the other party or parties are thinking about it and what they will do.

     Most of us are not aware our worrisome or guilty thoughts of moments gone by, constitute spiritual quicksand.  In fact, often our thoughts have us to the extent we are captives of the negativity, completely unaware we can discipline the thought life.

           We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and        proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ . . .
                         II Corinthians 10:5 (Amplified Bible)

     You can't go back and change anything.  You can address it in prayer and ask the Lord to teach you what  you should learn, thank Him for being Sovereign over everything, and live in the Now.

     You can do this because it is commanded in His Word.  Often we must go to Him over and over, asking for release while standing before The Throne.  We must acknowledge He could have prevented it, had that been the Plan.

     He totally gets it.  He was there.

     Soldier of The Cross, look up and move on!

     You are not the first weary Soldier.   We must all be reminded that we are Pilgrims and Sojourners through this Weary Land.

     Please be reminded we are being prepared to be with him.

     Do you have any excuses for doubts?  What are they and where is there a verse to back you up?

     Do you have any excuses for anger?  What are they and where is there a verse to back you up?

     Do you have any excuses for unforgiveness?  What are they and where is there a verse to back you up?

     Do you have any excuses for resentment?  What are they and where is there a verse to back you up?

     Do you have any excuses for wound-licking?  What are they and where is there a verse to back you up?

     Soldier of The Cross,  because there is nothing else, and because there is
no one else, take a moment.  No one would deny your pain or sorrow.  But, you are not helpless.   You have been promised, and He has never messed it up.

     Come before Him.  See Him on his Throne with the Scepter.   He can do anything.  He will do anything.    Lay it all before Him and do it aloud if you possibly can.

     He shed His Blood for your freedom and release.
 

     The first issue is, are you or are you not a Soldier of The Cross?  In other words, may He do anything with your life, or are you going to hold in reserve the places you know better than He?

     You say there are no critical issues, but there is the small matter of the need for the other to change.

     First of all, it is not your business.  There is only one who supernaturally transforms, and it is certainly not you.  This is crippling your spiritual life.  One of the enemy's favorite things is to seduce us into fantasizing of ways to help the other to change.  We can think of all sorts of ways.  Then the mind spins and gyrates with a subconscious attempt to be God.

     Soldier of The Cross,  leave the other party in your dust.   Men in particular are influenced by example.  Continue in the pursuit of God, and give the Lord room to do what He needs to do with the other guy.   You have been hair spraying both of you by your imaginings of how to change the other person.

     The stopping has to happen in prayer, because it has become an automatic habit upon the regular assumption,  that you are able to see and process the faults of the other. 

     Apart from deliberate sin, could there be anything more paralyzing for both of you?

    Take it to Him, and do it aloud.

     Soldier, look up and move on!

     Power is not a feeling.

     Real power is a River of Living Water, gushing from the center of the Soldier of The Cross who is learning to be a Living Sacrifice.  Apart from this taking up of The Cross there can be no power.  It is His Life being revealed rather than our concept of feeling effective.

     Many confuse strong ability with power.  They are not the same.  The only strong ability that reveals power, is the ability to obey Him. We need His strength in our weakness- not our strength because of our weakness.

     Soldier,  the burden must be put down.  It happens when there is yielded prayer - prayer that pleads for transformation, regardless of the cost.  There must be  deliberate prayer concerning learning to recognize Him.  To be changed.  To be like Him.

     Have you ever been around someone who is willing to lay his life down for the Brethren?  To be misunderstood, to be passed up?  Someone who has learned not to pout or whine?  Not to be a respecter of persons?

     Soldier, you have permission  to seek the Lover of Your Soul, in Whom is all power.   You have complete access because of His Blood on the door post of your heart.

     That is Power.

      Victory seems so far away.

     You are tired, feel defeated, and unsupported.

      Remember the moment when you caught the vision?  Did you believe you were led of the Lord?

     If there is any possibility He is in it, keep on. One step at a time.  In ministry, there are times when it seems like nothing is working and no one is listening.

     You are a Soldier of The Cross. Not for wimps.

     Go go Him for encouragement and wisdom. It was not His intent for you to keep the momentum by yourself.  Drink of Him.

     Tell Him now.

     Look up and move on.

     Children learn best by example.

     It is critical to train little ones so they can be taught. .   Of course, love is  the bottom line.  And, real ove will sacrifice the child's approval for what is best for that child.

     The first time a child says "no", there should be pretty scary consequences.  With girls, it is usually around 1 year.  Boys, maybe a little later, but it is one of the first words they learn.  A tiny one can be held and face to face, told that may never happen again.  In the event  of a  second time,  there has to be a  more significant consequence.  Perhaps sitting in a chir in the corner.  The "No!"  coming from the child is one of the most serious offenses a little one can commit, and it is often met with chuckling or it is ignored.

     You are not responsible to see it never happens again.  You are only responsible to meet it with an appropriate consequence every single time - without fail.  Over the years,  that is the thing that protects you from the ultimate frustration. Your job is to meet rebellion with a consequence.  Different children yield at difference ages;  some as adults.   The issue is not the fix.  The issue is right and wrong and your loving and calm consistency.

     Teaching  has to do with the  Word of God.    Who He is.  What He requires.  Songs and verses learned when children are little stay with them forever.   

     Most importantly,  we raise our children on our knees. They are not ours.  They are His.    I know wonderful Saints who have given up their children to the Lord hundreds of times.    He never promised they would  be paragons of virtue growing up.  

     They must see our lives reflecting the One on whom we rely.  Saying all the right Christian things is a ministry of death if there is anger and rebellion in the soul of the speaker.

     We always pray that our children may know the New Birth and learn to be Living Sacrifices.  It isn't a factory procedure. It means they will go through some hard things.

     Soldier, seek out other parents you know are willing to yield their children to the Lord.  Establish a weekly time of prayer together.   He gets it.  You are not alone.

     Tell him today.  Aloud.

     Soldier,  you have no idea how others see you.

     We are all aware of our struggles, but we are not aware of our actual faults. Of course, nothing is hidden from Him.  In the thick of things, it is easy to feel defeated and often we think others can see the tire marks on our backs.

     You are His letter to all others.  He has written  on you and you must deliver, even thought you don 't feel like it.   We are not of this world.  Our home is not here.  No exceptions.

     Your ministry to all the world and to others close and far, is based on His Word.  Not on what you are going through, not on your feeling of failure, and not on what anyone is saying about you.

     You have absolutely no idea how you appear to others.   You have total control over your countenance, and your tongue must reflect Truth.

     Soldier of The Cross,  it is not about you.  It is about others.  Address what is before you according the to Word of God.  You are NOT limited by the thing you are going through.

     Give it to Him, today and aloud.