Stand Fast part 2
What does it mean to stand FAST? It means stand no matter what, right? Stand in the midst of whatever is going on. Stand strong. Look at Ephesians 6:10-11--and a little bit of context here, if you read the whole passage it's about putting on the whole armor of God. It's about clothing ourselves with Him in order to be able to, well, stand-- "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." And let's be clear here: The devil is the accuser, right? That voice in your head that tells you you're not good enough. That lie that the serpent whispers in your ear that tells you to do in order to be. That's what we need to stand against. And the way we do that is by fighting the good fight of faith. Laying hold of eternal life; The gift of God that we've already been given. If you know the truth you can ignore the lie. You don't have to disprove it, or fight it, or do anything with it. You can just ignore it and go along your merry way. Life is so much more peaceful when you're not fighting all the time. Sounds like common sense, right? But not actually so common, unfortunately. Being a "Spiritual warrior" isn't about fighting every battle you come across. It's about standing on what you know is true and not messing with anything that isn't. Let me say it again: If you know the truth you can ignore the lie. It won't even get your dander up, because what you've got is so good, and so real, and so satisfying that anything else pales in comparision. There's no reason to get upset about nonsense when you know what's really... real. And, listen, here's the situation: The world will yell and kick and scream at the top of it's lungs. That's it's usual tactic. The "wiles of the devil" aren't always super wiley. See, God speaks in a still, small voice. So the world thinks it needs volume to "win." The key is having an ear to hear what the SPIRIT is speaking. The key is knowing that volume doesn't equal power. Think about it. If you're yelling at someone they're probably going to cringe away. Try to get some space and some distance. But if you're speaking quietly, they probably need to lean in to hear what you're saying. Really concentrate on it. To me, that's much more powerful. I've never been impressed with yelling. Point being--if you can ignore the noise, you can hear what's being said deep down inside. You can be still and know that HE is God, and you can hear what that still, small voice is saying deep inside your heart. And I'm here to tell you that still, small voice only has one thing to say: "I love you, I love you, I love you" with every beat of God's heart in your chest. Letting you know what's inside so that it can come out. Naturally. You don't have to force it out. Knowing it and believing it is how you receive it and release it. So it doesn't matter what's going on around you... when you know what's going on inside you. It doesn't matter if there are wind and waves beating against the side of the boat. You can be asleep, in a posture of rest, IN the boat. And then, if someone else is freaking out, you can calm the storm with a still, small word. Peace. Be still. You don't have to fight. You can simply exercise your power. The power of HIS might. That's how we're strong. We let HIS strength be perfect in our weakness. We put on the whole armor of God, and then we don't have to worry about anything. We let Him protect us, and then we're good to go. We can stand fast... because He (because LOVE) is holding us up. Keeping us from falling. And empowering us to hold others up. To keep others from falling. To help people. To love people!