It is Won + My Favorite Ways to Study God's Word

    

"Stop fighting a fight that has already been won. " 

      I was listening to a song on the radio in the car and that was a line in it and it stopped me in my tracks (not literally because I was driving, but you know what I mean). I kept replaying it and then replaying it again and again. We are so often bombarded by fears, anxieties, temptations, struggles, pain, regrets, and so on; and did I mention that we try to get through all of that on our own because we are so invincible (not). 

I don’t know about you, but I like to pretend I am stronger than I really am. I don’t like to feel weak. I don’t like to feel limited. I am a very competitive person— therefore, if people think I am not capable, my goal is to always prove them (even when it's myself) wrong. I never realized how much that translates in my walk with God. When I get bombarded with trials or get attacked by my own thoughts and by the enemy, I try to prove that I am strong enough to overcome it. I try so, so, so hard but I just can’t. I am not capable of doing so, ON MY OWN. 

I’ve finally realized that my strength, my might, my determination, my will power; it must come from Jesus. Jesus defeated death, He defeated insecurity, He defeated anxiety, He defeated fear, He defeated SIN on the cross, so why do I keep exhausting myself trying to win a battle that has already been won?

So far, I have learned two major things. 

One: I am usually fighting the wrong person. 

Two: I do not go into battle with the proper tools. 

What do I mean??

     Well, when I face trials of any kind, I am quick to become angry at myself or at someone else. The devil is the real enemy here. Don’t get me wrong- I am not a believer in the saying “the devil made me do this or that”.. No he didn’t, I just gave in. However, the devil is the enemy. He is constantly looking for ways to kill, steal, and destroy. He wants to corrupt this world, our thoughts, and our lives and he will stop at nothing to do so. He knows our weaknesses & he knows our past, but gosh he has no clue what our future holds. Let’s rise up, stop fighting the wrong person, fight the real enemy, and know that God holds your future and He has SO MUCH in store for it. 

     Now, what do I mean by “the proper tools”. Well, for example, trying to deal with our trials on our own is equivalent to an army with nerf guns as their weapon of choice going up against rifles— pretty pointless. I mean, yeah nerf guns might sting a little, but you are not going to win the war. We have the best weapon on the market right at our finger tips, the Word of God— it is literally mentioned as “the Sword of the Spirit”. Digging into the Word daily really equips us for the craziness that we will face that day. It is time for us to get the proper armor on, grab the right weapon and fight off the real enemy. 

     God is our strength in weakness, our weapon in battle, our comforter in trials, our peace in anxiety— He is our only hope. We are nothing without Him and we cannot win the many battles that we will inevitably face, without Him. Rest in the fullness of His love for us and trust in Him to protect you and provide for you. 

"Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, 

which is the word of God."

Ephesians 6:17

 1. My favorite way to spend time with Jesus is early in the morning. I love to wake up before anyone else and do my Bible study and drink my coffee. It is so peaceful to me and I just love the stillness of the morning. 

 2. I love to journal and doodle. I have a journaling Bible with big sidebars for note taking. Mine is filled with drawings and journaling and even some watercolor. I just love using creativity as a part of my Bible study. It takes my mind off of everything and is really my way of understanding the word. Find what makes sense to you and something you love to do and use that gift to grow closer to Jesus. 

 3. Sometimes, its hard to just open the Bible and know what to read and it is sometimes even harder to understand what you are reading. Something I love to do is to listen to sermons in the morning. My all time favorite speaker is Lisa Bevere. I usually look up some of her sermons on youtube and watch them. She is amazing, funny, and keeps you digging into the Word-- I have seen her live a couple of times and she's such an awesome woman of God. 

The main thing I've realized is that getting that 5 extra minutes of sleep is SO not worth it. When I spend time with Jesus I am a happier person and I actually feel more rested. It equips me for whatever I will encounter in that day. It truly changes my outlook and attitude COMPLETELY! 


Bible, Candle, Pens, Top

My top is on sale right now! It is so cute!