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One morning a dear friend invited me to pray with her. I shared my frustrations, and she said, “You’re called to be a warrior.”
Tears came to my eyes. “I know. But right now I’m just tired. I don’t feel like fighting anymore.”
My friend gently placed her hands on my shoulders and began to pray for me. As she did, I sensed the Lord whispering to my heart. “I am for you. When you come against yourself, you side with the enemy.”
I knew instantly what those words meant. When I don’t feel good or I get discouraged, I begin an inner barrage against myself. I launch lies — “You’re not good enough. You’re letting everyone down. You’re a disappointment to God.” Each word wounds my heart further until I feel utterly defeated.
At the end of the eighth chapter in Romans, Paul asks four important questions:
“If God is for us, who can be against us?”
“Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?”
“Who is he that condemns?”
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”
All these rhetorical questions have one correct answer: No one. But I often offer a different answer: Me.
God has defeated our enemies, given us victory, and made us more than conquerors. But because of free will, we can still choose to be against ourselves. When we do so, we fight on the enemy’s side — whether we realize it or not.
God is for us and that means we can be too.
Put down your sword, sister. Embrace grace. Be gentle with your heart today.
XOXO
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Welcome to the Coffee for Your Heart weekly link-up! You’re an encourager so I’m asking you to pour out a little love with your words every Wednesday {link-up goes live at 5:30am CST}. Simply write an encouraging blog post and then share it here. Don’t have a blog? You can still write an encouraging comment. If you’re reading this by email, go to holleygerth.com to see all the fun and join in too.
Pretty please use this button in your blog post so others can easily join in with us {html code in right sidebar}. And when you link up your post, take a moment to leave an encouraging comment on the one that’s linked up just before yours. Thanks, friends!
I’m having Coffee For Your Heart with my friend Holley Gerth
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