I had physical therapy the other day. My PT is a dear, dear friend of mine. And a sister in Christ who acknowledges the Lord is our Healer and uses her as an instrument when necessary. I get on the table and she looks at my leg, looks at me and asks (she already knew the answer...she was just wanting me to come clean) "have you been doing your quad sets (leg exercises)" I said no, they hurt too much. She looked sternly at me and said, "well, if you ever want to walk again you better get to work." My right leg is withering down to the equivalent of a string bean. I'm not exercising my muscle. And it shows.
I acknowledge my tendency to make every situation and blog post look like a pretty present, wrapped in perfectly lined paper, with a beautiful bow sitting on top. As an eternal optimist, I do tend to see the bright side of most things. By nature. And I believe what you allow your mind to cater to will either feed your spiritual muscle or the fleshly desires and lies in this world we live in. So I choose to speak to and look at the spiritual muscle my Savior has Empowered me with in my writing for His Glory. We all have to choose what muscle we are going to "exercise." I do not want to create, however, this illusion that the life of this Believer is all pretty bows and one line scriptural punctuations of every daily event and mountain I face. Truth is, it's quite the opposite.
As Jesus has overturned my life and I commit more and more of myself to His will, opposition and resistance increases in every way. Spiritual warfare. Real as the oxygen molecules that float in the air we breathe in and out; we cannot see the molecule... but it sustains our life. Think about it.. Oxygen keeps us alive; without there is no life. It's invisible, and you trust it's there. Well, the spiritual world works the same way. I haven't met God, but I have experienced Him. And I do believe, with every fiber and cell in my body, every promise He makes in His Word. So it's not that I've got this superficial, pretty dance going with Jesus. I've got an intentional, speak only The Truth, don't glorify the fight...glorify victory in Christ, authentic trust, boldly approach The Throne relationship with Someone I have never met but trust implicitly. I will not give the enemy any glory by speaking about his attempts to get me off track, nope. Like Paul instructed the Church of Ephesus.. putting on the Armor of God. Standing firm in my Deliverer.
It's interesting to note that God chose the book of Isaiah, a book written like a dissertation on captivity, to introduce the Deliverer; Jesus Christ. Jesus began his ministry (after being tempted for 40 days in the desert) by reading from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 61; the most powerful job description ever written.
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come."
Jesus came to set captives free, to give sight to the blind, comfort the brokenhearted, make beauty from ashes, blessings in place of mourning. All for His glory. He stood in the synagogue in Galilee, read from the scroll (written centuries prior), sat back down, and waited. Until every eye was on Him. And not until then... he said; "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." Wow.... Can you just imagine what people were thinking at that moment? God wrapped in flesh. Right there in front of them!
I'm so glad that I have a Healer, a Redeemer, a Deliverer, a Savior. Every ounce of opposition that comes my way, I know I can handle with Jesus as My Rock. He never, ever allows opposition to come against you unless He is equipping you for the battle. Ever. Even when it appears to the contrary. He will always prevail, always.
That's Good News you can put a bow on! Now... I'm off to do quad sets. Happy M?
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