Strength in The Storms

With the recent scare from Hurricane Irene and the damage it inflicted – including deaths of people in various eastern states – it’s easy to become anxious and frightened in today’s world. Natural disasters are increasing in the earth, as Jesus warned His disciples they would in Mark 13:8. When we see “storms” like these, though, we need to simply keep our eyes on Jesus and rejoice because our redemption is coming near!

Just as there are physical storms and disasters, we as Christians also experience spiritual storms: marriage and parenting struggles, financial crises, career and ministry challenges, medical problems with us or loved ones, depression and anxiety, tragedies, and more. As Christians we are not immune to problems; in fact, when we become believers in Christ, we become even greater targets for our enemy, Satan. His job is to steal, kill, and destroy. (John 10:10) He relentlessly attacks believers to cause them to become distracted, discouraged, or to get them off-course in their faith in Christ.

After awhile, you feel weary. Your strength is depleted. How do you overcome these intense spiritual battles?

Here are 3 practical tips to give you strength through the battle:

1) Stay prayed up! The Church at large doesn’t seem to realize that her strength truly comes from Jesus Christ. Jesus told us that apart from Him, we can do nothing. (John 15:4-5) That includes fighting our enemy. Soldiers in an army must obey their commanding officer’s command. As soldiers of Christ, we need to hear and obey our commanding officer, Jesus. As we humbly come to God in prayer, acknowledging that Satan is too strong for us and that we need God’s intervention in our lives, He will help us and do battle on our behalf. The battle belongs to the Lord! (2 Chronicles 20:15) Take time each day to spend time with God and to be refilled and recharged with strength with His Holy Presence.

2) Study His Word daily. When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, the powerful weapon Jesus used was the Word of God. It is living, active, and sharper than any two-edged sword. (Hebrews 4:12) Satan can not defeat God’s word! With it you will overcome any attacks of his, whether it is financial devastation, attacks against your marriage, parenting problems, depression or discouragement, fears or worries, challenges in your business, or whatever fiery darts he may try to throw at you today. The only way you will be able to wield this sword effectively is by knowing what the Bible says – through disciplined, daily reading and study.

3) Worship and praise God. This is an area that I believe many Christians don’t realize is one of their greatest weapons of spiritual warfare. We see throughout the Bible how worship and praise of God defeats the enemy, such as when Jehoshaphat and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem bowed down before God in worship, the Levite priests began to praise Him, and the enemies of God’s people were destroyed in the battle. (2 Chronicles 20:15) King David wrote many psalms on the power of worship and praise, such as in Psalm 95 (shouting out praise to God for protection). If you are struggling in an area of your life, such as depression, anger, or fear, put on some worship and praise music and begin to praise God – and see the enemy defeated through the power of worship and praise! God is worthy of all our praise!

Above all things, it is faith that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6) and faith that will conquer Satan. In my new ebook, The Hands Of A Woman: Everyday Women In Everyday Battles (http://womensbattles.com/), eight women share their stories of their most intense spiritual battles, and how faith in Christ helped them to overcome these battles in victory.

In my new fall coaching group/book study, we will be covering each of the 10 chapters of this ebook for 5 weeks, and your payment includes a free copy of the ebook, handouts, worksheets, a Q & A time after each class, and mp3 recordings of each session. You will learn to get past your pain and become a strong, victorious, fulfilled woman who is fulfilling her unique purpose and great destiny in Christ.

To learn more, just click here: http://www.bethjones.net/articles/groupcoaching/.

I am also having a free preview call to answer any questions about this class on September 7 at 12 noon CDT. http://www.bethjones.net/preview-call-10-tips-for-how-to-have-a-fulfilled-life/

Beth Jones is a Christian speaker, author, wife and homeschooling mom. Beth loves encouraging women to fulfill their great purpose through daily intimacy with Jesus and pursuing their passion. You can find out more about Beth at http://www.bethjones.net/.