From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me, but they have never defeated me. My back is covered with cuts, as a if a farmer had plowed long furrows. But the Lord is good; he has cut me free from the ropes of the ungodly.
Psalm 129:2-4
This passage of scripture came alive to encourage me through difficulties I am experiencing. Today, I share with hopes that these scriptures will do the same for you, the reader. Persecution will come, however, we must not get weary because we will reap if we faint not (Gal 6:9). We must remember that no weapon formed against us will prosper (Is 54:17). We have to continue to press on through the difficulties we encounter knowing that we are never defeated.
I have been in a few fights in my life but one in particular happened in elementary school. This little girl begin to bully me. As she would bully me and say all kind of mean things to me, I would ignore her. Some of my classmates saw what was happening but did nothing and I must admit, I was hurt and shamed. This went on for what seemed like forever because I was too afraid to do anything. My solace became the end of the day. I so looked forward to going home and being with my family and friends at home. That was my safe place where I did not have to think about or see this little girl. However, one day, as I was leaving to go home, she walked up in front of me and said that I could not pass her and that she was going to fight me. She was literally blocking the pathway, keeping me from going home, from getting to my safe space. I knew in my heart that it was time to deal with this situation head on. So I gathered myself, grabbed her and slung her to the ground so quickly, she did not know fully what had happened to her. That day, I walked away with a bit more confidence because I was able to remove fear, confront my enemy, and defeat what was in front of me trying to hinder me from reaching my destination.
Too often, we do what little Katrina did and assume that if we ignore the situation that it will just go away. Most often, we have to push pass fear and address the situation head on. For those of us who believe, we know that we have an advantage because the Lord is on our side. He will not allow the ungodly to trample over his children. How many parents will stand and watch their child get jumped and not intervene to save them? Not any that I know. So, yes we will experience persecution and we may have to fight in a battle or two or many, but we will never be defeated because we have a whole invisible army fighting with us in spirit. However, I would caution you to remember, that the victory is not always instantaneous. Some battles may appear as if we lost but keep fighting because the war will not end until we have been victorious.
So, stand firm on the word of God and keep pressing on in faith, without fear. For God has not given us the spirit of fear (2 Tim 1:7), that in itself comes from the enemy. God has given us power, the ability to love, and a sound mind. These are the tools that we use to defeat those things that come against us. Move toward the goals that you have established, knowing that the closer you get to achieving the goal, the tougher the battle becomes. But you got this, for the battle is not given to the swift or the strong but time and chance happens to us all (Eccl 9:11). Pull out those tools and Keep Pressing!!!
Empowered to WIN 