Battlefield

“…This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” - 2 Chronicles‬ ‭20‬:‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Every day we are fighting battles. We are fighting negative thoughts in our minds. We are fighting through negative moments in our lives. We are fighting negative emotions that pop up. It can get exhausting if you think about it constantly. Here are some ideas that will help get you through them without avoiding them and will help strengthen your faith at the end of the day. 

When we wake up Negative Thoughts pop into our minds. Maybe we start dreading the tasks for the day, the people we will have to meet, the places we have to go to. Sometimes we just wake up beating ourselves up. It’s a tough way to start the day. But the enemy has a goal to take us down quickly before we can accomplish the amazing things set before us. To fight this we must fight our thoughts. Scripture says to keep our minds on the things of God. We must think like Him to stay close to Him. Reading his Word first thing in the morning reminds us of who is on our side. Affirmations fight the attack on our persons. No one including you should be putting you in a corner. When you start to feel the attack begin don’t give up and accept what you’re thinking. It does not belong to you.

Prayer fights those circumstances that pit anxiety in your heart. 

Why go through the day hoping and hemming and hawing when you can give it to God. Claim your victory. Remind yourself of past battles that God won for you. Surround yourself with positive people who will give you that positive energy that you need. Get yourself a prayer closet. A space you can go to in solitude with God. You’ll come out strengthened and knowing you are not fighting alone. Don’t look at how big and scary your situation is. Your God will always be bigger. No matter how ridiculously bad it looks to you. It is about to become your “But God” moment. Constantly remind yourself of this. The enemy will constantly try to tell you that you will lose, that you’re stuck here, that you have nothing. But these are all lies. God is the one writing your story and He is not done yet. 

Emotions can lead you down the wrong path if we don’t control them. We can’t let fear of situations have us running away every time they come around. We can’t let anger take over and hurt those around us. We can’t let sadness completely envelope us and separate us from our loved ones. It’s easy to want to give up and accept this as our fate. It’s not an easy battle at all. It sometimes takes all you have inside of you plus more to fight it. But you are worth it. Your purpose is worth it. When I was suffering from depression I remember feeling like I was in a dark hole I couldn’t get out of. I felt helpless and weak against it. I couldn’t even understand what was happening at first. I just knew I wanted to be alone away from everyone because I felt my mood was toxic and I just cried. I would pray to God for help. I would cry out to him to rescue me because I didn’t know what I was fighting or how to fight it. I didn’t realize that calling him was a great first step. It led to me getting the help I needed and in time as years passed I got better. 

The battlefield can be anywhere and sometimes everywhere but you are not in this alone. Let out your war cry. Let your angels come to your defense. Let that problem know you’re not going down today or ever. You are on the winning side. Hold on to your faith, His word and the power that He will give you when you need it. Just like he never left Joshua on the battlefield, that's his promise to you also. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)