Six days and counting until my due date for Zechariah James arrives. Time flies so fast. In reflection, it is amazing to see God's timing through all of it. For instance, I began seeking my Associates Degree in Biblical Studies in 2014. This came about because I prayed for God to give me more knowledge regrading His word. You can only imagine my shock when I realized He was pointing me back to school! Yet here I am in 2017 with that degree in hand! I managed to finish my last course for that degree on March 19th, just 3 weeks before I was due to give birth!
I certainly never expected to be pregnant at 48 years of age, but I have come to understand just how big of a blessing a child is. I have no idea what God has planned for me next but I certainly am grateful for these last couple of weeks prior to childbirth to get everything in order prior to delivery. I could have never planned things out so beautifully.
I certainly never expected to be pregnant at 48 years of age, but I have come to understand just how big of a blessing a child is. I have no idea what God has planned for me next but I certainly am grateful for these last couple of weeks prior to childbirth to get everything in order prior to delivery. I could have never planned things out so beautifully.
It is certainly something to be joyful over! Recently it seems my heart has been pulled by songs that speak to the truth that in life we hit bumps in the road that often leave us momentarily paralyzed in a way. This is why it is so vital for us to wear our spiritual armor every single day. When we fail to get properly dressed, we risk falling from a momentary state of not being able to move straight into full blown depression where one has trouble getting out of bed.
The reason this takes place I believe is that much of the world has been connived into believing that happiness is the same as joy, just as they have been manipulated into seeing lust as love. These are tactics that the evil one implemented long ago. While he was filtering that belief into society, he began working on humanities disbelief in an active and caring God.
Of those remaining in the world today, not many know God on a personal level. They do not see Him as their Father, which is interesting to say the least. I say this because in Scripture when Jesus was asked by his disciples how we should pray, He began by saying "Our Father who art in Heaven".
Think about that! OUR Father. OUR. To know that we have a Father in Heaven who loves us, who actively seeks us. Who has taken the time to write out in multiple genres who He is and all we need to know to live an abundant life while here on earth. When you take into consideration that the average human lives to be 80 years of age, it is something to know and understand that He even takes the time to consider us at our worst!
Yet He didn't stop there. When humanity fell, God did not give up on us, He made a way for us to get back home again. To be in fellowship with Him now and for all eternity. I think the saddest thing is so many are blind to this truth. It truly makes me want to kick the Father of lies right in the shin. I feel like everyone should be able to see the facts and make a choice on where they stand. I say they should be able to see because Satan has the power to blind us to the truths found in Scriptures. This is another reason we must wear our armor.
I have battled Satan in various ways ever since I accepted Christ as my LORD and Savior. He has attacked me straight on, he has attacked me in my dreams, he has attacked me through loved ones and even strangers. I know he can blind people from the truth because I have witnessed this first hand. I believe he can even make you see things that are not real.
This simple instruction found in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 is major.
1. Always be joyful: Joy is what you feel when you realize that your hope is in the LORD come what may. Your hope lies in Him because you have come to understand that He is faithful even if you don't always get your way in life. He has a plan for you and He is the source of Joy and Strength in times of trouble.
2. Never stop praying: just as there are multiple ways in which the evil one attacks, there are even more forms of prayer. If you never stop praying, in essence, you never stop talking to God. EVERY Morning before you even place your feet on the floor, open up a dialogue with your heavenly father. This is vital to your well being. It is why it is part of the instructions!
3. Be thankful in all circumstances: This may seem difficult but even in the worst of situations, you have something to be thankful for. That one thing is that you are a child of God. If you cling to nothing else in the midst of the storm, tell yourself this continuously by saying, "I am blessed to know that I am a child of God." It will change things.
Today if you find that you have trouble getting out of bed, then today is the day you need to begin a new routine. You need to get plugged into the word of God. While there are many ways to do this, I personally invite you to read my life story. God called me forth in 2012 to open my closet and share my life with the world. I have not had an easy or pretty life. I was held captive by the evil one for decades. While I am not proud of my past, I am thrilled to share how God saw things that I was blind to. I believe that this may prepare you for your own personal relationship with the LORD. If you are one who prefers to hold an actual book, you can purchase my story for only $9.99 by clicking here. If you prefer to read books on an electronic device, you can purchase my story for only $3.99 by clicking here. I will be praying for your eyes to be opened to the truths found in God as well as to the tactics employed by the evil one.
Father, I want to thank you for my abundant life. For so long as you know I was blind. I was bound in chains of guilt and remorse. I viewed you as my foe not my father. How shrewd the enemy is. I pray that more and more and more and more of your people begin to wake up and seek your truth. As we talked when I was younger, I pray that my story inspires hope in others and causes them to turn to you as I did. We live in such dark times. I am often shocked about all that is going on but I am not afraid. I am thankful that I know You. That I realize we live in the midst of a battle that most do not recognize. Today Father I petition you to touch those who are bound by depression. Fill their lives with a beam of light so bright they are stirred by curiosity to seek where that light comes from. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Wendy, walks with God, mom of many
© Wendy Glidden 2017
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