Unshakable

I have felt the arrows of attack this week. Satan tempts me..I can hear his call to internalize and be self focused. I can taste the bitterness planted in my heart, I can hear the song of self pity playing loud and clear. He tempts me, and I fall to my knees and I pray, because it's a scary world, without God. It's a fearful thought to ever stray from my heavenly father.

Yesterday, I stood at the counter, chopping vegetables, listening to Ephesians, and ignoring the cries of babes who would not take a nap. It was another one of THOSE battles...you know, when you think you've aligned everything just perfectly so that the kids will nap. And then they don't. In my experience, this has triggered one of two responses. The first (and most common) has been to throw a tantrum in my mind, which consists of something like "My kids hate me, I don't deserve this, I'm so sick of this, etc." The second response, and the one I'm working to implement always, is to take it to God in prayer.

When I take my cares to Him and allow Him to overflow my heart with truth, life, and hope, the missed nap and uncooked dinner seems much less significant. He gives me endurance when I feel depleted, He gives me time when I thought I had none, and he gives me patience when, by nature, I'm prone to snap. He gives me humility on days when I just couldn't clean or cook, and my poor husband walks into a train wreak.

He reassures me, always. He tells me "Annette, it's ok. I am bigger than your messy house, and your tired eyes, and your fighting kids." He says "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28). He says "Cast your anxiety on me, because I care for you." (1 Peter 5:7). He says "Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10). He Says "Draw near to the throne of grace, receive my mercy and find grace in your time of need." (Hebrews 4:16).

When I feel like my worldly troubles will overtake me, and my past will bring me down, He reminds me that "I have not received a spirit of slavery which leads to fear, but a spirit of adoption as His daughter which I may cry out, Abba! Father!" (Romans 8:15). He reminds me "This is the only race worth running." (Timothy 4:7). He reminds me that I should "Be in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the ages began." (Titus 1:2). And finally, He reminds me that "He is so rich in love and mercy that even when I was dead in my sinfulness, he made me alive with Christ" (Ephesians 2:4-5).

I am safe, I am saved, and I am satisfied, through Him. Life is not stable, the days can be long and difficult or sometimes short and gleeful, but through His truth and love, you can remain unshakable. 

The armor of God in motherhood

If you know me even a little, you know that I love my podcasts, John Piper sermons, and worship music. Basically anything I can put on as encouragement during the kids' naptime while I do the dishes, clean, or whatever needs done. During my worst bout of depression I played "Oceans" over an over during the day and it helped ground me to the truth, even in my desperate state. I was listening to a podcast last night and a quote really jumped out at me which basically said that Satan attacks right before or after God has a mighty plan for us. We can see this in Peter 5:8 which says "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour". It makes so much sense that the enemy would mess with the minds of believers, especially when we're about to do great, God glorifying, deeds.

With that being said, yesterday was "one of those days". I woke up feeling unprepared, I didn't feel like serving joyfully, didn't feel like stepping into the work God has trusted me with, I felt snappy and irritable and wanting to go back to bed. Yesterday, I wanted to be a "victim" in a life that God has blessed me with. I wanted to snub my nose at His glorious plans and do it my own way. I could feel my heart diverging from the truth and immersing into self-pity and self doubt. Do you notice a trend here? I was entirely focused on me! I had my head down, instead of looking up to our glorious Father, and he reminds me (ever so patiently) that if I would take my eyes off me, things would be SO much easier!

Ephesians 6: 10-18 says:

^" Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."

We can stand firm in truth   

-Philippians 1:6 "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

-1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."

-Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

With the breastplate of righteousness in place

-2 Corinthians 5:21 "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." in other words, we can stand clean before God, even as sinners. 

The Gospel of peace 

-Romans 8:28 "Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else?"

The shield of faith 

Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

The helmet of salvation

-Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

The Sword of the Spirit

-The Bible! Pray through scripture, meditate on it, fill your minds with God's mighty words of truth and promises!

Pray in the Spirit

-Romans 8:5-7 "Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will."

  

Ephesians 6 is such a beautiful piece of scripture, especially for us mamas! I am training myself to pray through this during the difficult moments and remember the truth of these words.We, as Christians, have been gifted with the armor of God...what then can touch us! Take up your armor, in faith, and in confidence, and be ready for attack, but also rejoice in the beauty of our almighty and his deep love for us. Hold your screaming child and remove yourself from the situation, and replace God. Serve while knowing that he is with you. answer those 1000 questions your toddler is asking while praying for patience and endurance. Put on the armor, and fight whatever lies the enemy is attacking you with and, as always, walk confidently in the perfect peace that God knows and understands you and your situation.