How We Fight Our Battles

---

Posted by Pat Elsberry, September 18, 2024

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go" Joshua 1:9

Are there days when you feel like you're in the midst of combat? Perhaps you’re dealing with a situation at work that may have you feeling stressed. Then, when you come home, the kids aren't listening, and even your spouse can't seem to do anything right, so it gets on your last nerve. Do they understand you're under a lot of pressure? The list goes on and on. Why does it feel as if the heaviness and weight of this world are taking over every good thing? Friend, it's okay to feel overwhelmed, but no matter the battle you're fighting, you don't have to fight it on your own accord. So, what do we do?

Looking at the Contender before us, we realize he is nothing compared to the giant inside us! We may be knocked down, but we are not knocked out! This is the power of our faith; it empowers us to rise above our struggles. 

How is that possible? The ‘giant inside of you' is the Holy Spirit, a powerful force within you. It's the strength and resilience that you possess, the unwavering faith that you can overcome any challenge. He will carry you through by His might and the power of God's word. We are powerless by ourselves, but we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Alone, I'm just a mom missing her daughter. Alone, I'm just another person whose loved one has gone ahead to heaven. But with God by my side, I'm a woman who places her faith and trust in Him. We can turn to His word and remind ourselves of His promises. His support is unwavering, and we can find reassurance and comfort in that.

He will fight my battles for me (Exodus 14:14) and carry me through the valley of the shadow of death. (Psalm 23:4)

He is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (Psalm 18:2)

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is my strength and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:26)

Each of these scriptures is a promise for you and me. Whatever battle you're facing, hold tightly to these promises and speak them out loud. Remind yourself of who you are – a child of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Together, we can make it through any battle by holding tight to our faith. We may be knocked down, but we will never be knocked out. This determination and hope in our faith is what will see us through.

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil for you are with me.” Psalm 23:4

Pat Elsberry is an author, speaker, blogger, and a passionate advocate for parents dealing with grief after the loss of a child. Pat created multiple social media groups focused on providing hope to others who are walking the same path, including her blog, Hope During Loss. Pat facilitates an in-person grief share for women who have experienced child loss, and is also a moderator for Team Sharing, a nationwide peer-led support group for parents who have lost children to substance use disorder. Pat is the author of Beautifully Broken: Finding Hope During Loss, and will soon release her first devotional, Comforted by God. Pat and her husband, Fred live outside Atlanta and have a blended family of 7 children and 5 grandchildren. Her favorite things include traveling, cooking, gardening, dark chocolate, and worship music. You can find Pat on her blog, www.hopeduringloss.com, and on Facebook and Instagram @HopeDuringLoss.

Wake Up And Smell The Coffee

---

Posted by Martha Wilson, September 12, 2024

Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Ephesians 5:14

I remember my mom and sister coming to town for a mother-daughter day filled with chatter, laughter, shopping, and food. After lunch, my mom hinted that she would love to visit my son, the assistant manager at a local Starbucks coffee shop. She clarified that she did not want coffee but a hug from her grandson. We all agreed we were filled with delicious food and didn’t want coffee but would stop by for a quick visit. As we opened the door, the strong, delicious smell of coffee emerged, and suddenly, we all said in unison, “I do want coffee.” We laughed and headed to the counter to order 3 cups of coffee.

Mom received her heart's desire from her grandson, and our hearts were filled to the brim.

The aroma of coffee drew us in. It overpowered us at the door and turned our desire around. Sometimes, our love and passion for spiritual things grow cold, and we need to be awakened to the goodness and joy of the Lord. 

You may be familiar with the old Nescafe advertising campaign phrase, “Wake up and smell the coffee.” According to Merriam-Webster, it is an idiom: “Wake up and realize the truth about one's situation; become aware of what is happening.”

As Christians, we have been made alive in Christ Jesus, yet we often seem to be sleepwalking. In these days of great deception, we must wake up, get up, and live fully alive. The answer is not a cup of coffee, as the old Folgers ad campaign suggests. No, the best part of waking up is realizing that we are alive in Christ with a purpose and a mission to live fully and abundantly. 

The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” Lamentations 3:22-24

We truly need the Holy Spirit's fresh wind to awaken, fill, and set us in motion. In many ways, we have fallen asleep, and it’s time to wake up and live full of Jesus's love. The world around us needs a fresh aroma of Jesus to overtake them and turn their desire to the Lord. 

When we open the door to God, we have no idea how His presence and aroma will consume us. He fills our empty hearts, allowing us to overflow with His love for everyone we encounter. Perhaps the aroma of Jesus will cause them to desire Him also. 

Invite Him to awaken you to His presence and power so you may be His aroma to a world in desperate need of Jesus. 

Martha Wilson is a writer, speaker, blogger and co-host of A Burst of Hope weekly podcast. She is the founder and director of Touching Hearts Ministries for women. She has led women to pursue an intimate relationship with Jesus for most of her adult life. She is bold, tender, and transparent as she teaches women to embrace powerful Biblical truths. Martha and her husband, Ed, live in Fayetteville, Georgia, and enjoy their blended family of five children, eight grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter. You can connect with Martha at: Facebook and Instagram @TouchingHeartsMinistries or listen to the A Burst of Hope Podcast.

Much More

---

Posted by Kim Stanley, September 4, 2024

In the Off-Broadway musical The Fantasticks, the young ingenue, Louisa, pines for a life of love and adventure and begs God at the end of her soliloquy, “Please, God, please, don’t let me be normal!” 

Then she breaks into song, of course, which ends with the lyric plea: “But I want much more than keeping house! Much more! Much more! Much more!”

Raise your hand if you’ve ever asked God for more. (See my hand first). 

I’ve surely been guilty of saying, not necessarily singing, “I want much more than….what I have now. “

It might be a desire for new furniture, new opportunities, more time with children and grandchildren, or a vacation. Nothing evil, of course, just a craving for something more, something that seems just out of reach. 

It may be something deeper, though.

That longing was put there by the God who created us. 

And He wants to be the fulfillment of that longing. 

He has made Himself the answer to our deepest desires for more. 

There is a “much more” God for all of us. 

Paul uses that phrase four times in Romans 5 alone. It’s one of my absolute favorite phrases in the Bible. 

We may readily accept that we have been saved “by grace through faith and that not of ourselves” and that we are justified and made righteous by Christ’s atoning death on the cross. 

Hallelujah!

But do we fully grasp what Paul writes in Romans 5:10: “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life?” (ESV) (italics mine)

Now that we are reconciled (received in favor to God), much more (so abundantly, to a greater degree), are we saved (made whole, restored, made well, delivered) by the life of Christ. (parentheses from Strong’s Concordance)

The resurrected life of Christ makes us whole and complete and enables us to live victoriously.  

He is ever interceding for us now in his Life as a priest forever. 

And He is living inside each believer by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

That means we can have a “much more” life than merely one of “just getting by” until we get to heaven, which will be the ultimate “much more.”

Think of it. 

Much more of Jesus, much more of His resurrected life now; 

more joy, more victory, more hope, more, more, more.

His resurrected life accomplishes that for us. 

And by faith, we believe and appropriate it.

Why do we see so many of our brothers and sisters beaten down and living in defeat? 

Why are we still in bondage to the strongholds that held us while we were yet still sinners?

Perhaps we haven’t thrown ourselves upon the “much more” grace of God. 

His Grace accomplishes everything for us – our salvation and our sanctification, which I like to think of as growing in grace. 

Paul writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: (italics mine)

“For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 5:17 ESV)

Adam’s trespass brought sin and death to all of humanity. We were born into it. We see it all around us. Death.

But God.

Through Jesus, we have been given the free gift of righteousness (right standing before God), AND as we continue to receive his abundant grace, his much more grace, we will reign in life through him.

We are meant to reign in this life;

Over the power of sin, which we are now dead to.

We must constantly receive God’s much more grace.

His grace is power to live as He calls us to.

Only by his grace can we do anything good for the Kingdom.

That grace also draws people to us; 

people who need to know His Grace;

who need to know Him.

Praise God for His Grace! 

I want much more than _______.

I have it already in Christ. 

Kim Stanley is a worship leader, speaker, writer, and is the worship leader for Touching Hearts Ministries. She and her husband Joe have been in itinerant worship ministry for over 30 years. She is the founder and director of One Thing Worship, a retreat ministry for women that provides sacred time and space to be still and hear the voice of God. She also co-hosts a podcast called “A Burst Of Hope” with Martha Wilson. She and Joe have been married for 40 years; they have 4 grown children, one in heaven, and 6 grandchildren. They live in the south metro Atlanta area. You can connect with Kim on her website, www.joeandkimstanley.com, and on Facebook and Instagram @onethingworship.