Oh Soldier, you are not alone and this is not your Battle!

     II Chronicles 20:15 says: 
          "He said, “Listen carefully, all you people of Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. The Lord says this to you: ‘Be not afraid or dismayed at this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s."                                                                        
                      (Amplified Bible)

     How hard is this?  It takes an affirmative standing before the Lord and giving it to Him and if possible, aloud.  With words that are chosen according to His promises.

     The flesh so resists this.  

     There is relief and freedom, but not when we have to hang on to control.  This is so critical.

     You must tell Him and aloud.
     Today.  Then move on.

     If you had it to do over, you would never react that way.  

     But you don't have it to do over, and you reacted badly.  You want so much to make this change, but how?

     We are told that The Soldier of The Cross is not to be easily offended.   Galatians 5: 22, 23 says:

     "But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law."
                                                                                               (Amplified Bible)

     It is absolutely possible to be a committed Christian and still struggle with this.  The first step of course is prayer that agrees with God and that welcomes whatever He wants to do to heal the infected area.  Then, find some verses about being reactionary and write one down each week.  Memorize it.  If you have trouble memorizing it, write it in longhand 10 times.  You will remember at least part of it.

     Then, when the next potential situation arises, the Indwelling Holy Spirit will bring one of those verses to mind and you will have a choice.   Choosing obedience is hard at first but gets easier and easier.

     All the counseling in the world can't compare with the Indwelling Counselor who knows you better than you know yourself.

     Take it to Him.  Aloud
     Don't put it off.

     There is no way to avoid unfairness and sometimes betrayal.

     For those who have really crossed the line into devoted discipleship, others may be getting undeserved recognition while the Soldier of The Cross is passed over, maybe even having done better than the one recognized.

     When I was in my early 40's, Elisabeth Elliot sent me a sheet of paper on which was printed an old and short essay called "Others May, You Cannot."

     It came in an envelope by itself, so I knew I was to absorb it carefully.  It was a life-changer.

     Now that there is internet, this little piece of invaluable writing is available instantly.

     I suggest you look it up.

     Then take the matter to the Lord.   Aloud.

     We must come to understand the He must be allowed room to display His Life in us.

     Pray about it.  Then let it go and move on.

      Truth is the basis of faith, not fact.

     In God's economy, the whole is always greater than the sum of the parts. Answers to prayer come in ways we could not have imagined and sometimes we might have thought such a thing to be impossible.

     In fact, it seems that what God does is impossible to the human mind.

     It is tempting to pray about a situation by approaching the Lord with how the matter should be resolved.  We must be careful about this.  We have the tiniest little hairline view and understanding, whereas He spoke everything into being.

     Soldier of The cross, you have often heard me say that the walk of Faith is a frontier..

     There is no place freer.
     There is no safer place.
     There is no place more interesting.

     Fueled by the Word of God, we move on in the Faith Walk.

     Tell Him today.
     Aloud.

     Today someone told me she is angry at God for not healing her child.

     I have never understood being angry at God.  He can certainly take it, but it makes no sense.  The supposition is that the one who is angry sees God a having made a mistake.  Or sees Him as having failed to pay attention to the problem.  

     The Soldier of The Cross must predetermine that the Lord can do anything with that Soldier's life or anything that touches him or her.   If we believe the Word, we know for sure that He is interested in everything and deeply cares for His Own. 

     So, the issue is whether or not you actually believe what He has said.

     Grief has a myriad of expressions.  It is not possible to suffer deep loss and just move on without feeling something.  A famous missionary of yesteryear went into the woods by himself for two years when his wife died.

     One of the deepest pains is the loss of a child and there is little that can be said to assuage that seering grief.  Knowing others care is important, but getting all sorts of advice about "getting over it" is worse than hearing nothing.

     These things must be given to the Lord and that happens in prayer.  It is by faith.   Aloud.  Telling God that you release whatever it is to Him.  This has to be done because it is an act of affirmatively agreeing with Him.  It protects the Soldier against many of the enemy's flaming darts concerning the loss.

     And, it is critical to be aware of thoughts that  are swirling in the mind.

     If allowed, the Indwelling Holy Spirit comforts in remarkably creative ways. 

     Soldier, if this is about you, take it to Him, and if physically possible, it must be aloud.

     Then, go and do something for someone else who is hurting. 

        Oh Soldier, do you understand you are called to follow Him and you may not follow your feelings?

     The feelings we have are so strong and if we are not in agreement with God, we will move and behave according to how we feel.

     Feelings cannot dictate action or life.

     Truth is greater than fact, and God's Word is more real than the way that you feel.

     It is His call, not ours.

     Tell Him today and aloud.
     Then, look up and move on!

     " Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ All of us who are mature [pursuing spiritual perfection] should have this attitude. And if in any respect you have a different attitude, that too God will make clear to you."
      Phillipians 3:13-15

      What a tremendous statement from one who had persecuted Believers.

     The past is always a dangling haunt and few can resist rehashing injuries suffered or guilt from hurting others.   Many are still focused on mistakes made years and years ago.

     The enemy loves to flash scenes on the screen of your mind and get you carried away into the past.  

     It is crippling;
     It detours around Peace;
     It distracts from the present;
     It makes your feelings the focus of your thoughts.

     Soldier of The Cross, learn to leave the past behind.  Everyone has a past and the older we get, the more critical it is to live in the present and minister Love.

     You can learn to do this. You long to have your thoughts line up with the Word of God.

     Tell Him today.
     Aloud.
     

     There is a Place of Rest that results from the determination to agree with God no matter what.

     So the issue is, no matter what, will you agree with God?

     What do you think about that?  Does that seem impossible?  In speaking to groups around the world over the years, I have seen people get up and leave when I have begun to talk about the importance of telling the Lord He can do absolutely anything with you and your life.

     Is anything wrong with that?  Can He not be trusted?  Do you think if you give Him carte blanche, He will find a way to hurt you?  

     Who is He?  Who does He say He is?  And hasn’t He said He will withhold no good thing from you?

     "He who did not spare [even] His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?"
                         (Romans 8:32,  Amplified Bible)

     Ephesians 5:19 talks about a melody in the heart.  This happens when there is a revelation about the stunning Loving Hand of a Savior who left Glory and suffered so that we might be able to know trust, experience freedom and have relief now, in anticipation of being with Him later.

     Soldier, you were not designed to bear burdens. You were designed to go through the fire and the deep waters with supernatural empowerment.

     Sing.
     Now, sing.

     Give it to Him over and over.
     Today and aloud.

     All of the richest lessons are the fruit of experience.

     How easy it is to read or listen and be inspired.  The heart leaps at the depth of truth.  The impact is so deep that there is prayer about it, and hopefully there is prayer to be changed in that area.  Or prayer to see or to understand.

     Then, the test begins.  For many, the test is such that it has to be moaned and groaned about constantly.  There is huffing and snorting and pawing the ground because it has not been resolved yet.  Or perhaps there is withdrawal and a constant pity party.

     There is no such thing as spiritual riches being ours just be being inspired by hearing about them or seeing an example. 

     We must be changed. 
     And we must pray to be changed. 
     Change comes through testing and Obedience.
     We must learn to praise and trust Him in the midst of the thing that seems unfair or otherwise grievous.
     No test, no power.
     
     The pursuit of a walk by faith is a frontier.  You are not like anyone else, and you are being tested in ways that seem out of the boundaries.  

     He is still the same.  He is giving you what leads to Treasure when you tell Him you will trust Him and will move on.  It doesn't mean you have to like the situation or that you have to feel light-hearted. It does mean that you put your money where your mouth is.

     Either it is all true or none of it is true.

     Agree with God.

     Tell Him today. Aloud.
     Then, look up and move on!

     Soldier of The Cross, you can't figure it out.

     In the bye and bye, we will learn all about it, but not now.  Now, your job is to take up The Cross and follow hard after Him.  That means embracing the death of the flesh, (death of the old man) and leaving behind all that is not healthy.

     Are you aware of your thoughts?  Most of the time, when there is an unexpected or unpleasant circumstance, the mind goes into action and is like a runaway horse- no stopping it.  Thoughts tend to rotate round and round, reviewing and fantasizing.

     But you have decided to live according to God's Word. So that means the governing of your thoughts: 

      "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)

     Your thoughts determine your life.  

      Be aware.  Get into The Word.  Memorize and say it over and over aloud.  If it is not a full verse, get a phrase.  The Indwelling Holy Spirit will bring it up many times during the day.

     This is why I am so big on memorization.  Haven't done it in years?  Start now.

     Years ago I taught a bible study in the apartment of a lady who was 93 years old.  She loved God but had never been taught to get into the Bible.

     I made my pitch, and she decided to go with it.  The next week, she quoted (with some hesitation) Romans 8:6- not an easy verse:

     "Now the mind of the flesh is death [both now and forever—because it pursues sin]; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace [the spiritual well-being that comes from walking with God—both now and forever];"
                              (Amplified Bible)

     It is not so hard.  To start, write it in long hand 10 times.  Takes only about 10 minutes.  And it will come back to you over and over all day when things arise.  That is God initiating to you.  What a stunning privilege we have.

     Do you understand that the Word of God is Light and apart from the fresh taking in of it, there no sight or hearing?

     Take this to Him.
     Aloud.
     Today.