We face battles in our lives over various issues and problems: Its part of the fight of faith. For example: A weight issue or eating disorder, a habit or addiction, anxiety or fear, a negative or unwanted way of thinking, or a character flaw that needs correcting.
In such circumstances we can expect the battle to have two-phases: First, a battle to get free and second, a battle to stay free. The battle to get free is for break-though, the battle to stay free is for establishing a new pattern of behaviour. The first is usually a single event, the second is a process in which the new behaviour pattern is established as the norm.
Some years ago, I faced an extended period of depression and there seemed to be no way out of it. I had been let down quite badly by people I trusted and could not get over the hurt and anger I felt, all of which went inward. My attitude and behaviour were both badly affected.
Eventually I was shaken into action when I realised I had to decide whether I wanted God to remain in my life, or would I go my own way?
I couldn’t ditch God, so I asked Him what I should do. The reply was: “Do what is in your hand, but with a right attitude, and stop complaining.” This did not excite or inspire me, but I set myself to obey and trust Him to work things out. I was a group leader in our church at the time, and Susan (my wife) and I had a young family.
Over a period of a few months things began to change for the better. People near us got saved. The Home Group thrived and grew. My family were happier. I began to enjoy life again. The atmosphere around me changed for the better. We had breakthough!
Next, I had to sustain my newfound passion and enthusiasm for a period of months, in order to establish the new level of living.
So, in this case, the process occurred first, followed by breakthough, and a further period of process until the new life-style had been established. The depression and bad attitude then became a thing of the past.
It is this process which makes you rich. It requires persistence, but the outcome is guaranteed from the start, when God initiated the recovery project and I agreed to cooperate. We can make the process hard work by being too focused on the outcome. If we do this we can miss the value and enjoyment of the process of getting to know Father and Holy Spirit better, and learning by practice how to lean on Him. We learn how to hear Him and understand His ways, on a daily basis. It’s like building a new concrete path in the garden: You build the wooden shuttering to the shape of the path. The Holy Spirit pours in the concrete. When it has dried and solidified the shuttering can be removed and we have the substance – a permanent change.
Being powerful is like being a lady, if you have to tell people you are, then you aren't. | Margaret Thatcher |
The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but God will make us good because he loves us. | C S Lewis |
Fear is misplaced faith. | Kris Vallotton |
God has already seen every mistake, every failure and every weakness, and the good news is he's already forgiven you. He is not holding it against you. | Joel Osteen |
God is not nearly so interested in changing your circumstances as he is in changing you. | Joyce Meyer |
Pray, and let God worry | Martin Luther |
Those who never change their mind never change anything. | Winston Churchill |
What you do (for a living) is not who you are. | Celia Apeagyei-Collins |
People who write you off when you fail know nothing about history and even less about life. No person ever fully succeeds until they fully fail. | Lance Wallnau |
There is no uncreated being except God. God has no opposite. Satan, the leader or dictator of devils, is the opposite, not of God, but of Michael. | C S Lewis |
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. | Jim Elliot |
You never know how much you really believe anything until it's truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life or death to you. | C S Lewis |
If you know you are loved, faith is easy. It's easy to trust someone you know loves you. | David Forster |
Every moment that you spend upset, despaired, anguished, angry, afraid or hurt, because of the behaviour of someone else in your life, is a moment in which you have given up control of your life. | Unknown |
Remember, you do not have to live today by how you feel, nor by what you think about yourself, nor by what someone else thinks about you. The person who created you thinks you are wonderful, and he waits with open arms for you to agree with him. | David Forster |
Shift gears from doing something in God's presence to simply being in God's presence. | Lance Wallnau |
Your future doesn't depend on what is in front of you, it depends on who is in you. | Lance Wallnau |
Did you know that you are utterly and completely loved by God, without doing a single thing, good or bad. | David Forster |
no one knows how bad they are until they have tried very hard to be good.. | C S Lewis |
If we are living daily by faith, we will be constantly over our head; Beyond our ability to do this our that. We should all be in that place in some area of our life. If we are not, we will be like an old wineskin; too rigid and inflexible to receive the Lord's new wine. | Rick Joyner |
For a believer intimacy with God is not an option, it's a necessity. Guidance and direction depend on this intimacy and sensitivity to Holy Spirit. There is no substitute for the latter. | Graham Cooke |
Jesus reveals the Father to us. He gives us peace and rest. He is not a hard taskmaster. | David Forster |
The God who creates everything, pursues you. Don't let anyone tell you you're are worth less than that. | Louie Giglio |
In the kingdom, physical obedience brings spiritual release. | Bill Johnson |
Don't be surprised if you pray for nearness to God and he sends a trial. Nearness always requires dependence. | Desiringgod.org |
Our corporate worship doesn't meet a need in God, it meets a need in us. | Sam Storms |
How you feel is not who you are. Feelings are great servants and terrible masters. | Kris Vallotton |
There is a lot that is good in your life. Don't take it for granted. Don't get so focused on the struggle that you mis the gift of today. | Joel Osteen |
The enemy commits identity theft when you believe you must earn what God freely gives. | Alison Brown |
If you agree with your creator and receive what he freely gives, you will have serenity in your identity and confidence in your countenance. | David Forster |
If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got. | David Forster |
A satisfying and exciting life organises around an identity focused on Jesus, not the church.. | Graham Cooke |
Satan cannot impose his will on anyone, he has to have our agreement. | Graham Cooke |
Every day adjust yourself to where God is taking you, that is, toward the prophetic vision he has given you. | Lance Wallnau |
Real faith is not faith in an outcome (of a particular situation or circumstance), it's faith in a person. | David Forster |
Be in no doubt that God will redeem the losses and mistakes of your past life. | David Forster |
God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from himself, because there is simply no such thing. | C S Lewis |
Wealth, women and status; these are the major temptations that can draw a man away from God. Each is morally neutral; yet given the appropriate significance, each can control us. | David Forster |
The devil's finest trick is to persuade you that he doesn't exist. | Anon |
Fear is the enemy of love. The two cannot exist together. We have to choose daily: Fear or Love. | David Forster |
You are not saved because of the quality of your faith. You are saved because of the object of your faith; The Redeemer! | Tim Keller |
Revival goes from the bottom up; Reformation goes from the top down. Therefore reformation is institutional and revival is personal. | Lance Wallnau |
Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts. | Albert Einstein |
Inner peace is key to experiencing God's presence. Rest is a weapon against the enemy | Graham Cooke |
Fairy tales don't tell children that dragons exist. Children know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed. | G K Chesterton |
When you are at peace with God, you will be at peace with yourself and with other people. | David Forster |
You can believe in Christianity in the same way you believe that the sun has risen; Firstly, because you see it and secondly because by it you see everything else. | C S Lewis |
A little while ago I became old enough to start believing in fairy tales again. This means there are far better things ahead of me then what I have left behind. | C S Lewis |
Your unfinished destiny is your most potent argument with death. | Graham Cooke |
I am not focused on what I am not, I am focused on what he is for me. | David Forster |