Living in the promises of God means keeping watch for the vultures.
I want to encourage you...
After a big step of faith, boldness, and trust in God; be it asking for impossible or fighting to hold the line of righteousness in your life; often comes a struggle. A fear, worry, or area of weakness is revealed. If this happens, identify that it is occurring & invite God into it. Straight up, a "help me" will suffice.
God promises things. Like help, hope, strong marriages, healthy children, impossible miracles, and SO much more. It requires trust, obedience & waiting.
Abraham (also known as Abram) was told in Gen 12, God was going to make a covenant/promise then Gen 15, God makes it official.
“So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.”
Genesis 15:9-11 NIV
Did you catch that last verse...there were vultures trying to steal Abraham's offering. And Abraham HAD to do something. He had to chase them away.
When God makes us promises, we lay out the sacrifices of our heart, time, energy, obedience, even boldness & faith. But we MUST shoo away the vultures that come. The enemy comes to steal, kill, destroy. He wants to make us scared, defeated, so we back down. We must shoo the lies, shoo the desire to self-medicate, shoo the thoughts we let run wild. We must take captive our feelings & make them submit to what we are choosing to believe.
I want you to know that I felt this attack very keenly this morning & it persists still. Why? Because last night God made new promises to me! It's amazing yet today, I have fallen face down 3 times in tears. I've admitted my inability, weakness, & prayed for God's help, encouragement. He is trustworthy, even when my past scars hurt. Even when hoping hurts.
Yet when we shoo the vultures away from our offering, God comes. He makes covenants with us & HE will never back out.
We must wait & hope. Psalm 27:13-14. We WILL see the promises of the Lord come to pass in our lives.
---additional thoughts---
If all I had to do was trust myself...I would struggle less. I would struggle but it would all just get tossed out when I chose whatever self-medication.
Trusting God...that is....wow it is just different. Being Heaven-minded & eternity-focused means constantly allowing Him to move me into territory where only He can come through.
But, 7000+ Bible promises. 7000 plus! Means there wherever my feet go, is mine in Jesus name. All I must do is step forward to displace the enemy. Because the enemy is already His footstool. And I am seated in victory beside the God of Angel Armies.
I'm proud of us. Proud of us for protecting our sacrifices. Proud of us for trusting God to do the heavy lifting.
