defeat.

not the kind of defeat you might think i'm talking about considering my post this morning. not the defeat of me. oh no. the defeat of the devil. my day was much like the ocean, calm at points and stormy at others. in waves. kinesiology made me happy. freetime after lunch plunged me back down. flower sewing, back to content. chilling with others and lost expectations, down i went. dinner, on the way back up. a hard workout coupled with godly advice and music, defeat of the devil. this time anyway. the day that started in sadness, is ending in endless gladness. and it's not me. it's God. even if no one in this world cared a stitch about me, God loves me. He loves me so much that He sent His only son to die for me. even if i had only a portion of His love, it would still be far greater than anything i could ever get from this world. but i have all of His love. He cares deeply and intimately about me. and He shows me His love through people in this world. through their words and actions and love. sometimes i am so wrapped up in myself to even notice it. to notice that though people may not outright say i'm worthy, they eat with me. they talk with me. they spend time with me. even simple things of just smiling or saying hi. we're amnesic. we forget His love. we forget His power. we forget that it's not us. it's all about Him and His glory. and God, i pray that He would put me through crap. that He would not meet my expectations, but surpass them, even if i dont see it at the time. that He would not go according to my plans, but only His. and that He would remind me of these things. of His love. of His glory. even if it takes crap to remind me. i am loved not only by people in this world, but most of all, by the One who matters more than anything, more than life itself. death does not even have power over us. Jesus defeated that by rising again. we are in a constant battle. don't pretend we're not. a constant, uphill battle. good against evil. our human nature makes us revert to evil. but that is not how it's supposed to be. God, restore us to what You made us to be! He has given us the armor to fight the battle. we have to put it on. what we're striving for, we already have. it's laying in front of us. so we can lay defeated on the ground, ignoring the power we have in Him. or we can defeat the devil and his evil schemes. he uses the same ones over and over. playing with our emotions, making us think and believe that we are worthless and unloved. but no. God has defeated him and his lies. and we must choose to use Him and His glory through us. let it overflow out of us and defeat darkness. so what can we do? we can do nothing but offer our hearts completely to Him. give up everything we are for Him and His glory. we are not of this world. so it has no hold on us. we have defeated the enemy. now lets keep fighting, because this, right here right now, is just one small quarrel, a miniscule part of the huge battle, war we are fighting. lets keep on defeating the devil and giving God all the glory. He deserves it all, and more. lets be the warriors we were meant to be.

oh the warrior will conquer all. the world will fall before His feet.

so what can i say? what can i do? but offer this heart O God, completely to You. so i'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned in awe of the One who gave it all. so i'll stand my soul Lord to You surrendered all i am is Yours.

be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. for we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against the mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. -eph 6:10-12

stay alert! watch out for your great enemy, the devil. he prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. stand firm against him and be strong in your faith. remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are. in his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. so after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. -1 peter 5:8-10