All Things.

 (This little study was written just a few months ago… I didn't realize then how much I'd need to read it today.  By the grace and mercy of God may I live to serve Him, may I understand fully that the life I live now is by His will, trusting in Him for ALL things.  

Rom 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 

Rom 8:27  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. )

We delude ourselves every day we wake up without realizing we wake up warriors. We do! You are a warrior! You don't have to believe it, many don't, but you are and so am I. Not a single day of our lives will we wake up a non-warrior. If we are deceived into thinking that we can wake up in this world to a life without upsets, we may never find a warrior's peace. Even the best day of our lives can only be considered a respite in our battle, not the end of the battle. The war is not over and will never be over until our Lord returns. Anyone that kids themselves into believing they have the right to a peaceful day- a day without controversy, without conflict, without struggles, isn't facing the truth of life. This life is a war. You will face many battles with faceless enemies. You will battle foes within your very self. You won't want to be angry, selfish, sinful in any way, but you will encounter constant battles with these enemies. Those you're fighting aren't decked out in battle fatigues with labels written across their helmets for you to recognize. The attackers will be your reactions to every situation you face in your entire life. The good and the bad situations and your responses to them, these are the enemies we war against. They are demons within, not the demons without. Those physically warring against us, causing us to have many difficult situations that produce an enemy response from us, aren't responsible for our reactions, we are. We like to blame others, we lie to ourselves and say if only they didn't do that I wouldn't have done this. We like to bemoan the horrors of our situations- government, all bureaucratic nonsense, our bosses, managers, customers, co-workers, family members… the list goes on and on. And while the tragedy of circumstances has landed us in our devastating positions with the truth that we have come face to face with life's horrors without any provocation on our parts, we still must answer to our own reactions. Any blame we lay upon another, is like admitting we don't realize we are in a horrible life war. This life war we live is ruled by a vicious evilness intent on making us live in despair, depression, sadness, anxiousness, complacency, delusion, defiance, and more often than not spiritual blindness that keeps us from ever realizing we are engaged in a life war at all. Every friend, every foe, and all those that fall in-between those two are in the same position we are in! They are warriors and answerable for their own responses, their own behaviors, just like us! Because we are individually accountable for ourselves- if another treats us wrongfully they must answer for that -if not now, eventually. We aren't their judge, we are our only responsible for OUR response to all others.  We wake up warriors and today I may face a broken water heater enemy, a rainy day ninja warrior, the death of a loved one archenemy, a nasty remark henchman, a rotten tomato rival , a burrowing squash worm nemesis, a broken stem on a favored flower challenger, a leaky faucet adversary, an empty mailbox opponent, an unanswered text monster, a non-returned phone call demon, a long wait in a long line antagonist, a shelf empty of the reason for my trip to the store nightmare, a sour look from a son brute, a curt tone from a husband beast, a foul word from a daughter ogre, a scratch from a cat fiend, a hairball underfoot devil…. Every single instance of upset no matter what the cause is an enemy that wants to produce a response from us that causes us to sin. You are a warrior of response to all that would cause sin. We don the armor of our Lord not just when we go into known battles. We don the armor of our Lord every single day of our lives and we never remove it, never. We keep this armor on because our entire life is a war… of response to all that befalls us!  If we truly believe we deserve to have a peaceful day without incident, we are setting ourselves up for the enemy to knock us down. The peaceful day isn't dependent upon ANY outward thing! The peaceful day we can have must be in the peace of God that passes our understanding. The peaceful day must be found in Christ risen first and foremost, because all else means NOTHING. 

The tragedies of life cause us grief as they must, even our Savior wept, but as our Savior wept He continued to endure through God the Father. We can weep and endure through Christ our risen Savior! We can weep bitterly then we must cling to the only sure hope we are ever given in this life- Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior now and forever!  Know you are a born a warrior. Know the war you are fighting. Choose the side that has won. Fight the skirmishes you face every day in whatever size, or form they take knowing you fight on the side of winner of the crown. Battle knowing one day the war will be over and we will be with the Captain of our Faith, our King, our Lord Jesus Christ!  Don't dismiss even the smallest annoyance as anything other than an attack by the enemy, and know that enemy has lost the war and only lives to try and take as many people as he can with him. Know that every single upset has its origins in the enemy you war against- and you can choose to trust in your King with your responses to the enemies attacks. Recognize the source of your difficulties, despise the demons as they torture you- mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually! There is a reason we are told this…

Php 4:6  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 

Php 4:7  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 

Php 4:8  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 

Php 4:9  Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.