Spiritual Warfare #35

Before we jump into the book, I just wanted to thank you for praying about our prayer walk yesterday. I think the coolest thing that happened for me was hearing about how God spoke to the couple we were with. We got back to their house and started with him. He picked up two rusty, bent nails he found at the beginning of his walk. He held them up and said, "I found this nail, then I found the more rusty bent one, and it made me think of why we're doing this. Because Christ was nailed to a cross for me."

Her impressions were of the neighborhood. She talked of how nobody stays, they have been forgotten, the yards and houses aren't taken care of, there isn't any friendliness or kindness in the community.

Steps to Moving Beyond Disappointment by Charles Stanley
Realize that God is aware of your circumstances.
Understand that disappointment is a part of life. He [God] may have allowed some things to turn out differently from the way that you planned or even desired. But every single time you faced a moment of discouragement, He was right beside you, longing for you to ask for His strength, wisdom, and insight.

Many times, people do not do this because they want to feel a little depressed so they will gain extra attention. In other words, they enjoy self-pity. There is a problem here that often goes unnoticed until it is almost too late. Satan is plotting and planning your discouragement.

God does not want us to suffer. However there are times when He allows disappointment to touch our lives for a greater purpose. He draws us closer to Himself. James wrote, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8) If you resist Him the burden of your heart will only grow larger and heavier.

God's joy is not based on anything this world has to offer. It is rooted in the eternal promise that you have been given through Jesus Christ. That is, if you will place your faith in Him, He will save you from your sins and an eternal death. He also will give you the grace to reside with hope regardless of your circumstances.

We'll continue with these steps tomorrow. While I was at Awaken 2008, Wayne Cordiero gave us all a Life Journal. Not only that, he gave us a great structure for a quiet time. I'm not the kind of person who just sits down with her Bible and has frequent rich quiet times. If I have some structure, like a reading plan, steps, check boxes, a plan, I do so much better. My times have been so much richer this last week since using this Life Journal. I'll be using these for life! Last night I started reading Wayne's Divine Mentor book. It's not what I expected, but it is like what he talked about at the conference and it's pretty good.

I better be off to church!