faith – A Woman Standing

If You Give The Devil An Inch

There is a children’s book called “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”. In it, it says, “if you give a mouse a cookie, he’s going to want a glass of milk”. The story goes on and on with the mouse wanting more and more until finally he has taken over the entire house. My whole life my mom has compared that little mouse to the devil, and it wasn’t until recently that I fully see what she means.

If you give the devil an inch in your life, he’s going to ask for two. If you give him two, he’s going to come after four. If you give him four, he’s going to demand a foot. On and on he will go until the devil finally has what he wants; your entire life.

This does not only apply to our personal lives, but also to our families, communities, societies and countries. We, as a society, have given the mouse a cookie, a glass of milk, a blanket, a room, a floor and now he is coming after the entire house.

Symbol Of Submission

To preface this post, I would like to say that anyone who does not believe the Word is a living document and just as powerful today as it was when Jesus and the apostles walked the earth, will not agree, or understand, what I have to say.

Last week, while putting a mask on for the first time since the coronavirus fiasco began, I felt my stomach drop. To fly you now must wear a face covering, but that didn’t change my feelings of defeat when I positioned the mask over my mouth before boarding the plane.

When I placed the mask upon my face, I felt small, belittled, obedient to something other than my King.

God created me, us, to speak, to sing, to pray, so to mute and muddle that ability seems wrong, almost sinful.

My Heart Is Broken

I am very particular of the people I listen to, the books I read and where I send my tithe. I believe this stems from growing up and being very involved in a church as a child, a church my parents (through discernment) fortunately made the decision to leave prior to learning the pastor was living a lie. This lie ultimately hurt thousands and caused many to turn from the Lord.

That experience as a young girl taught me to be very discerning when it comes to those who preach the gospel. The majority of pastors I listen to, or read books they author, have long since gone home to Heaven and I wouldn’t even need a full hand to count the number of today’s pastors I would say I “follow”.

Yesterday, my sister forwarded me an email from the church I have called home for over a decade. This church has pushed my faith deeper, has forced me into the Word to find answers and to rely on the Lord for everything. The Pastor’s wisdom and insight has, over the many years of listening to him, inspired me to know the Lord more intimately and to stand on the Word regardless of what I see or feel. Although I no longer live in the state where this church resides, I still tithe there and listen to the services as often as I can. Whenever I travel back to the state, I make sure to book a returning ticket late enough to assure my attendance on Sunday morning service.

So, when I opened my messages and saw the below email, to say I was shocked, disheartened, confused or troubled, would be an understatement…I was, and still am, totally and completely heartbroken.

Freedom Over Fear And Faith Over Doubt

Before I step onto my soapbox, I want to start this post with a couple statistics and thoughts before I begin my “rant”.

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The original U.S. coronavirus death toll prediction was 2.2 million, that number later changed to 240,000 and is now around 70,000. During the 2017-2018 flu season, according to the CDC, an estimated 80,000 people died.

I am not making light of death in any way. It is terrible so many died from the flu and it is terrible so many have died from the coronavirus, BUT, where was the mass hysteria during the 2017/2018 flu season? Why did politicians and medical experts not blanket the airways with panic, stating the CDC declared the 2017/2018 season as the, “first season to be classified as a high severity across all age groups”?

Why did we react so differently to that health threat then we have to COVID-19?

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I’m now stepping onto my soapbox.

What we are witnessing in today’s society are the masses believing in and acting upon a lie.

God’s Got Us

Over the past several days I’ve been battling the things the devil is so clearly trying to attack humanity with.

Every time I coughed, he’d whisper, “uh oh, are you getting sick?”

If I sneezed, he’d say, “this is the beginning of the symptoms.”

If I was cold, he’d laugh, “maybe you should stay away from everyone.”

Although I am not fearful of this virus, I’ve been continually declaring healing verses over myself and constantly rebuking the enemy. Frankly, it’s been pretty exhausting.

Yesterday afternoon, I read Psalm 91. Although the entire Psalm is powerful, 9-10 heavily hit my spirit;

“because though hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall you, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.”

Do We Know Who Our God Is?

Throughout the past two weeks, I have found myself becoming ever-increasingly frustrated with the way humanity is handling the coronavirus. My frustration, for days, has been so intense there are times I have to excuse myself from conversations focused on the virus due to my concern of sounding angry towards whoever is obsessing about it.

So, as sat down with the Lord this morning, I asked Him for one thing, “DIRECTION”. I thought He would give me some sort of clarity on what the next step is or how to go about handling this new era of panic and dread, but instead, the Lord showed me where my frustration stemmed from.

We, the body, the believers, the church, do not know who our God is.

You Are Still God

Although the world seems to be filled with the unknown and the necessity to continually pray for one person or another then for myself, I know that regardless of the situation, you are still God.

You are still the God who spoke the world into existence, who breathed life into man then allowed man to reign.

You are still the God who parted the Red Sea, who made the wet ground dry and led the way through the waters.

You are still the God who tamed the lions, who sat with Daniel through the night.

You are still the God who softened the heart of a king, who walked with Esther into the throne room.

There Will Come A Day

I rid myself of all but you.

You are the only thing that can sustain me in this time of desperation and deep need.

I need you to flow through me, consume every bit of me and continually be with me.

I need to be filled from the bottom to the brim with you and you alone.

As the world turns from you I want to continually turn towards you, wherever you may be leading me.

I don’t care how unpopular it may be, I will always choose you. I don’t care how much the world belittles me, I will always choose you.

He Is Moving

The Lord is moving.

We may not always be able to see it, feel it, touch it, but He is on the move. God is often doing things behind the scenes that sometimes takes weeks, months, years to come to fruition, but all along, He is moving. Continue reading “He Is Moving”

In The Darkness

There are times in my life when I push against the Lord, when I become so frustrated with what is going on around me that I forget the power that is within me. I allow the world to quiet God’s voice and cloud my vision from seeing the Truth.

He has never failed me, yet sometimes I find myself still wondering if whatever current battle I’m in is the one I will lose, the time when my God just doesn’t step in.

This thought process does nothing but harm me and hinder me from doing what I am called to do. If He has never failed me, why would He start now? Continue reading “In The Darkness”

Resistance

Over the past several days it’s been on my heart to pray against the spirit of resistance. I’m not only talking about the political resistance we see marching on Washington, although that is part of it, I’m primarily feeling a need to pray against the spiritual resistance that’s been infiltrating our daily lives. Continue reading “Resistance”

Why Are We Worrying?

What is our initial reaction to bad news? Is it terror? Is it anxiety, worry, stress? If we call ourselves Christians and we say we fully trust in the Lord, then when the world bangs on our door, should we, for even a second, worry about what is on the other side? Continue reading “Why Are We Worrying?”

With All Thine Heart

Several days ago, the Lord convicted me that the problem He and I were having (there was something like a wedge in our relationship) was that I wasn’t trusting Him, fully and completely.

Every time I complained, I wasn’t trusting Him.

Every time I asked Him “why”, I wasn’t trusting Him.

Every time I came to Him and begged; I wasn’t trusting Him.

I have felt like Thomas, needing to see the hands and the feet to believe, but little did I know that to continually need to see the proof in my timeframe was competing with my faith, the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not yet seen (Hebrews 11:1). The Lord told me that to constantly question the promises He has already told us in His Word, which we so often do as humans, is a form of disbelief.

I believe God’s people have been plagued by distrust, me being one of them. Continue reading “With All Thine Heart”

Within The Waiting

Positivity is something I’ve recently been battling to capture. It has eluded me like a fish I’m trying to catch with my hands in a large pond; right when I think I have hold of it, something comes along to scare it away.

I know I’m not alone with this particular fight. So many Christians are battling and waiting on the Lord for their victory, breakthrough, miracle, overflow, answer…so much waiting, which leads to discouragement.

I became curious and began researching scripture on waiting. As I read through the many, many verses regarding waiting upon the Lord, the Spirit said to me, “WAITING IS A FORM OF FAITH”. Continue reading “Within The Waiting”

God Is Here

There have been several moments in my life where I’ve wondered where God was. I’m not proud of these moments but I won’t lie and say I’m the perfect Christian or that I never doubt the Lord. The past several months have been difficult for me, spiritually and mentally. I work in Washington D.C., where I truly believe the battle is raging more-so than nearly anywhere in the world.

There is a spiritual heaviness residing over the city, something that is nearly palpable. It makes me sad to admit, but my Nation’s Capitol, although physically beautiful, has become dirty with the darkness we have allowed into the country. I say “we” because the church has allowed this to happen. We didn’t stand against evil when it knocked on our door because we feared what the masses would think, now we are dealing with the repercussions of opening the door rather than locking it and telling the enemy to leave.

Continue reading “God Is Here”