Bring the Opposite

I'm in an interesting season where my heart feels like a sponge soaking up so many good things God is speaking.  It feels like I am hearing from Him more clearly lately, and He has a lot to say, and I love that!!!  In the effort to hold onto it, here are three key things I've heard lately:

1.  "Bring the Opposite" -- (from John Eldredge) -- We walk in the authority and strength of Christ, far above all rule, authority, power, and dominion of our enemy.  When we are struggling with any sin or assaulted by any warfare, we pray the opposite against it.  So if the world feels especially dark, pray for the light of Christ to shine in you and through you.  If you're struggling with rejection, pray for a deeper sense of belonging to Jesus and with the people you love.  If you feel fear, bring God's protective strength against that and pray for God-given courage.  We bring God's River of Life against death, the purity of Jesus against lust, holy passion against spiritual apathy, God's hope against despair, the joy of the Lord against depression!  When we face confusion and chaos, we bring God's creation order against that.  When we are assaulted by a spirit of hatred either toward us or in us, we pray the unfailing love of God against that. When we're angry, we ask the Holy Spirit to govern our minds with peace.  When we feel helpless, we bring God's power and strength into that.  A pretty simple yet powerful concept:  Think about what you're dealing with lately (which reflects what is coming against you spiritually), and bring the opposite against it in the name of Jesus!!

2.  "My Time is Not Short; Yours Is" -- (from Allen Arnold) -- Revelation tells us that Satan is "enraged because he knows his time is short."  He attacks us with the same subtle message, a frantic, pressure-filled idea that we are already verrry behind, that we're running out of time, that there isn't enough time left for ___.  Allen talked about feeling the enemy attack him with that and responding with a simple, "No, my time is not short; yours is" and moving on with his day.  That was such a gift for me in this season -- with 40 approaching, the pressure of that timeline message has been crushing for me lately, but I wasn't recognizing it as spiritual warfare until yesterday.  Gracious, that is not coming from God - even if I died tomorrow, my life has meaning, and the timing of its ending would be ordained by a trustworthy God, and I would have all of eternity in heaven to learn new things, cultivate great relationships, and live a free, beautiful, full, abundant life walking with and reigning with Jesus - our souls are immortal, and eternal life belongs to us in Christ -- we have all the energy and grace we need to obey Him today, and our time is not short, friends.  So be encouraged -- God is sovereign and His timing is good and right and gentle; walk in step with Him and stay in peace as you move forward and keep growing -- bring God's order and peace against the enemy's chaos and pressure -- your life is not off course, and you are not running out of time - he is!!

3.  "Root Days and Fruit Days" -- (from Steven Furtick) -- Holly mentioned that the lengthening width of the tree branches mirrors the tree's roots expanding underground - Steven rephrased that as "your roots determine your reach."  We will all have hard days of challenging growth where our roots go down deeper in Christ... and that leads into victorious days of a productive and fruitful life that draws others to Jesus.  Throughout our lives, there will be root days and fruit days -- days of pain and internal growth and days of joy and external fruitfulness.  Both have great purpose and keep our lives balanced -- the depth of our roots will determine the reach of our fruit -- (I'm aware that it's a cliche metaphor, but God is using it in a fresh way for me right now!) ❤

"Plant your roots in Christ and let Him be the foundation for your life." ~Colossians 2:7

Hope at least one of these ideas sticks and encourages you today. ❤