Me? A P-P-P-Princess Warrior? (Part 2)

**This is part 2 of the testimony I posted yesterday, 1/23/13**

One Sunday morning in September of 2008, God began to change my perspective about spiritual warfare in a mighty way.

In Genesis 1:26 (NLT) God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” We are made in the image of God, to be like God, to have His characteristics. In Exodus 15:3 we find “The Lord is a warrior, the Lord is His name.” Since the Lord is a warrior, this means that we have been made with a warrior’s heart.

Ok, so I have to admit the first time I heard that I was created with a “warrior’s heart” the negative tape began to play “Yeah right! You couldn’t fight your way out of a wet paper bag!”

The negativity didn’t have time to linger when the next point was made. “Godly warriors have a righteous cause.” A righteous cause is something that is worth fighting for; i.e. our marriages, our children, our finances, our walk with Christ. Our pastor really challenged us that morning… “write down your righteous cause, identify it, and then fight for that cause every day.”

I knew mine immediately, my marriage. Was I really willing to admit it honestly? NO. So I wrote down my child instead. Chicken! I am such a liar. I tried to “rational – lies” the fact that my son was a good righteous cause after all. But I knew good and well God wanted me to focus on my marriage first. Still I wasn’t budging. Has anyone ever been in this boat?

What was I thinking? God was about to show me the very next Sunday as the pastor preached the second sermon in the series he title “The Hesitant Warrior”. All I had to do was read the title and I said “God, you have a GREAT sense of humor!” God was speaking through the pastor that morning. I am convinced there was no one else in the room but me, my pastor, and God.

You’ve felt that way before, right?

I knew I had hesitated to name my marriage as my righteous cause because of the circumstances I had already faced. I took the easy way out and named my son. Fear trumped my faith and so I wallow in a pit of self-doubt.

There is something so cool about God, He doesn’t call us based on who we are or where we are, He calls us based on who He knows we can become. God realizes the battle will be tough, but that’s where our character is developed, in the heat of the struggle.

I walked out of the church after hearing the second sermon with my head full of things I wanted to do. I didn’t want to be hesitant. I wanted my marriage to be the righteous cause. But what could I do? I had been trying in my own strength to help my marriage and, needless to say, everything was still so difficult. This time, I had to “unwrap” my white knuckled hands from around the buggy (my marriage) and lay it all down at the foot of the cross. God never intended us to carry such heavy loads by ourselves. Only He can make things new… and that’s what I needed, a new perspective.  

During the week I diligently prayed, researched scripture, and put into action what I learned in Sunday’s service. “I sought the Lord, he heard my cry and He answered me (Psalm 34:4).”  During the last Sunday of the series our pastor talked about “The Passionate Warrior.” Over the previous few weeks God began to “peel back the layers” on my heart as I dedicated my focus to my righteous cause. He was shaping me into a Princess Warrior with a righteous cause. I was going to fight for my marriage to be all it could be and, for my husband to come to know Jesus in a very real and personal way.

I wish I could tell you that, like Paul, I fought the good fight, finished the race and kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7 NIV) but I’d be lying. I made the mistake of losing sight of the enemy. Satan was having a field day destroying my marriage from the inside, out. By the end of 2009 and through almost all of 2010 my marriage was barely recognizable. My husband and I rarely spoke a word to each other. There were no niceties, we slept in separate rooms, there were harsh words, there were hurt feelings, and then came the deafening silence.

Heartbreak, anger and bitterness ran rampant inside me. 

What was happening to me and my marriage?

**Please come back for part 3 of this testimony.**

Completely known, loved, and accepted

When I am being swallowed up by one of the “storms of life”, Psalm 139 is where I turn for comfort and peace. For me, this Psalm provides assurance that God has been with me from the very beginning of my life and knows me better than…anyone.

The New Living Translation (NLT) verses 1 – 13 reads “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night— but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you. You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.”

God knows, loves, and accepts me completely. When this world gets the best of me, all I have to do is read this Psalm. There I find comfort knowing that God formed me, He understands me, He protects me through the treacherous waves of life, He rejoices with me on every mountain, He knows my pain, and He loves me unconditionally. He is my strength, my rock, my peace. There is no situation I will ever face that is too tough for Him to get me through. Knowing this simple truth is the best feeling in the world.

Growing in our Faith

1 Corinthians 3: 1 – 4 (MSG) But for right now, friends, I'm completely frustrated by your unspiritual dealings with each other and with God. You're acting like infants in relation to Christ, capable of nothing much more than nursing at the breast. Well, then, I'll nurse you since you don't seem capable of anything more. As long as you grab for what makes you feel good or makes you look important, are you really much different than a babe at the breast, content only when everything's going your way?

Paul urges believers in Corinth to grow up in their faith in the third chapter of 1 Corinthians. Before I go more into that point, I want to give you a glimpse of the city. Paul planted this church in 51 AD. The first members of the church were representative of the diversity of the city itself. A major multi-ethnic city, Corinth was the connecting link between Rome and the East. People flocked there to participate in the gambling, legalized temple prostitution, business adventures and all the “fun” that came from being a seaport town.

When we come to Christ, we are new creations in Him (2 Cor. 5:17). He washes away the sins of our “old self” and makes us white as snow… clean. We are no longer muddied by the sin He pulled us out of; in fact, we are citizens in Heaven. Our journey with Christ begins. We begin learning more about Christ through His Word we begin to see the world differently; our perspective begins to change. We no longer live as we once did, where we often gave into the desires of our flesh. Now it’s His desires that matter… not ours.

As we “grow up” in our faith, we learn His ways and we submit to His authority in our lives. The Bible, not the world, becomes the standard by which we live our lives. As we continue to follow, we grow from being an “infant” in Christ to being a mature believer – depending more on Christ in every circumstance and less on ourselves and the world around us.

As Paul writes this letter to the Corinthian church, he is asking them to stop focusing on the “world” around them. Even though they lived in a very “worldly” city, once they became followers of Jesus Christ they were called to be different. Different in the way they lived their lives, conducted business, and raised their families. The same is true for us today.

As Christians we are not suppose to “blend-in” to the world around us. We can be a light in the darkness that surrounds us no matter where that may be; in our jobs, with our extended families and friends, or even in our own homes. As we grow up in Christ, our “worldly” view changes so that we see the things of this world through the lens of the Bible.

As maturing Christians, we should strive to be different in every area of our life… at home, at work, and especially in how we handle difficult situations. When we have our faith and trust grounded in Christ, we depend on Him to navigate us through the churning storms. Christ will change our lives BUT we have to do our part too. We have to take steps in faith knowing that Christ is out in front leading the way.

Remember Peter’s walk on water? He didn’t see the waves crashing all around him, He saw Jesus. When his focus was on Christ nothing else mattered. He didn’t see the world around him. (Matthew 14:28 - 29)

Are you growing in Christ or are you just “blending in” to the world around you? Growth in Christ is up to us. One of the best places to start is by having a daily quiet time. Get away with just you, your Bible and Christ. You will be glad you did.

Related scripture: Titus 3: 4-6, Romans 8: 1 – 14, Phil 2:12 – 13, 1 John 3: 4 - 10