Warriors Arise: April 7th, 2020
Ephesians 6:14 "Stand therefore, having girded your waist with the truth." Once we gird our waist with truth we need something to hold it in place. When we lived in Texas I saw the biggest belt buckles I had EVER seen. If the human body was the United States then the belt buckle they wore was as big as Texas! Later I found out that if someone had a buckle that big they had earned it! At the rodeos in Texas, the belt buckle is the trophy. Those who wore their belt buckle not only survived but won their division.
If God was giving out belt buckles for His champion warriors who defeated their enemy, how many would you have accumulated? Each buckle would represent a time in your life where you persisted in prayer for God to intervene in the concerns of your heart, the adversities you overcame. The buckle is a reminder of all your accomplishments through training to achieve the greatest possible outcome in a particular battle against the enemy. If we had been given a buckle for each time then we would have testimony of the truth. The further we are from defeating our enemy the less attached we are to the outcome. Sometimes we even forget the preparation, the experience, or all we had to do to defeat the enemy. It is important to remember the past victories as ammunition for the battle we are in now. Each bullet representing a past victory to attack the enemy with the truth. When I pray, God will see me through. Sometimes I have battle scars and other times I come through without the spell of smoke like Shadrach, Meshack, and Abed-Nego. Don't be afraid to remember what God has done in the past. Remembering what God brought you through gives strength for what you face now. What God has done through you, your prayers in the past, He will do again today!
When we gird ourselves with the truth we know Who God is, we remember what God has done, and we apply God's purpose to our present to make a way for our future.
Truth: God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love, power and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Fear is from the devil. He would enjoy nothing more than seeing us paralyzed by anxiety, discouragement, and division. Fear divides and causes us to be inactive. Therefore, as Believers, we walk in God's love that never fails (I Corinthians 13:8). God's power positions us to operate in the same authority as Jesus because He said it and sent His Holy Spirit (Matthew 10:7-8, 28:18-20, Acts 1:8). We have a sound mind when we "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5).
Truth: God has plans for you and I, they are of peace and not evil, His desire is to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). Our future is NOT what we are living now. This is not our "it". This will pass. How you walk through this positions you in the future God has for you. He hopes you will trust, persists and overcome in Jesus' name!
Truth: God loves us with an everlasting love; therefore He draws us with lovingkindness. (Jeremiah 31:3). Receive the love God has for you and recognize He has exactly what everyone needs. The love of God will not run out when He gets to you.
Truth: God's desire is that NONE should perish, for ALL to come to repentance, the saving knowledge and acceptance of Jesus Christ (II Peter 3:9). The people who are fighting for their life physically, we should be sharing with them the love of God and their need to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Truth: The enemy comes to steal, to kill and to destroy, Jesus came so we would have life and life more abundantly. (John 10:10). "Would have" meaning everyone has the opportunity to choose life, and life more abundantly, the supernatural life Jesus offers.
Truth: God makes a way when there is no way (Isaiah 43:16). According to the reports there still is no cure for the coronavirus; therefore, we need the intervention of God to provide the formula for the cure. Or we have the opportunity for God to touch lives all around the world with His healing power. What a suddenly that would be! I like reading the words "suddenly" or "immediately" in the Bible in reference to Jesus healing, delivering, raising the dead, and casting out demons. For that person, it was a suddenly. They had been bound and now are free! Amen!
Truth: God has redeemed you and called you by name. You are His (Isaiah 43:1). Thank you Jesus I am redeemed by Your sacrifice! Thank you that my name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life!
Truth: God says He will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). You and I have a calling on our life, it is to lead people into their promised land. We do not want them to die in the desert. We do not want them to curse themselves to dying by way of the coronavirus because they do not believe God will get them out or because they think God gave them the coronavirus to kill them. This is a lie from the pit of hell. God did not free the Children of Israel from slavery only to bring them to the desert to be killed. God freed His people because He had something better for them. God has something better for you and I. For those who can't fight, we stand together and fight against the enemy in prayer for them.
Truth: God puts a shield around those who trust Him (Proverbs 30:5). Trust God and know you are protected.
Truth: God says when we call upon Him in the day of trouble, He will deliver us! (Psalm 50:15) Hallelujah! Be strengthened by the truth of God.
Truth: God says that the redeemed of the Lord are to say so, who He has redeemed from the hand fo the enemy (Psalm 107:2). Again this establishes why we pray, petitioning God for the souls of the lost. Because we have been redeemed, we have the authority to declare the will of God. God's will is that none should perish without knowing Jesus Christ as their Savior; physically, spiritually, and in their soul.
Get your Texas-size buckle to secure your Belt of Truth! Let's pray:
Father God, we do not know what is true in all the media is reporting but one thing I do know is that Your love never fails! We know the coronavirus is spreading quickly. We pray in mighty name of Jesus for every germ from the coronavirus to die! We cancel out the life span of each germ. We bless our bodies to rise up and defend itself against the cornoravirus. We bless our body to be strong and healthy. We know the coronavirus is lethal. But You determine our days. Even then, we see in the Bible where Hezekiah was told to get his affairs in order, he turned his face to You for an extension. God, we ask in the name of Jesus fo lives to be spared from this disease. We ask for You to extend the lives of those who have been infected with the disease. We seek Your face to shine upon each one who is facing the enemy head-on, threatening their very life. I ask for Jesus to be the Rock upon which they stand. I ask for a miracle. Heal their bodies and set their feet upon the sure foundation of salvation through Jesus Christ. Thank you for the protection that you provide for me and my household. I ask for the lost to know the same saving grace that I know. I ask for the name of Jesus to be on the lips of all mankind. Jesus, You are the source of our deliverance. Send Your Holy Spirit to minister to those who are paralyzed by fear. God, just as you breathed into Adam and brought life, I ask for You to breathe into each one who is struggling with their next breath. Let Your healing power be evident and abound over those battling for their next breath. I thank you, Father, for hearing my prayer and I rejoice in You. You will bring an end to the plans of the enemy. You will set our feet upon the Rock of our Salvation. You are bringing an end to the reign of terror the enemy has unleashed upon Your people. You will intervene because of Your love for Your people, those who are called by Your name. You are King of kings and Lord of lords. I am thankful I serve You. You are my God, who made heaven and earth; God who makes a way out; God who loves me without question; God who knows my name; God who speaks life; God who rescues me from all harm; God who is with me through the storm; God who who calms the storm; God who gives authority to Your children to declare the way out for Your people! In Jesus' name amen!