My heart has also been heavy this past week under the feeling of spiritual warfare.   Last week, on Sunday, Pastor Darris spoke to our church family, answering a post it note question that was placed on his door.  Is it ever the right thing to do the wrong thing to achieve the right results.  Interesting little topic, especially since the poster put down several references where people in the bible did just that thing and the Lord still stood by them and achieved His results.  My thoughts are that yes, people have done wrong while in service to him, and Christ has achieved his goals.  However, in my meanderings through these accounts, is to see where Man knew what the awesome goal was, but had no idea how God’s plan could come through with the timing /way He laid out.  They took it into their own hands to do what they thought would work, and yet, through their disbelief and disobedience, God was still faithful to his Promise and Result.

At the end of this great discussion Pastor Darris read from the wee small book of Habakkuk.   Habakkuk is a minor prophet in the Old Testament placed just a few books away from the end.   Habakkuk was burdened by how long his cry’s would go out against the violence, grievances, spoilings strife and contentions of his People would go unheard, unpunished, un judged.  His cry that the wicked compasses about the righteous, therefore wrong judgment proceeds sort of caught my attention.   God tells Habakkuk what He does see, and what will happen, and Habakkuk praises Him for being Holy.  However, he still doesn’t understand why the righteous are not vindicated now, their acts made known now to the scoffers and the evil finger pointers.   The ones who deal treacherously are joyful and glad while they gather the righteous into their nets. The responses back and forth, and Habakkuk’s renewed strength and trust in Lord are too great to discuss here, I would urge those reading this to take a cup of tea to a quiet place and chew on this book, receive the strength and resolve that I have received from it.  

From the last 3 verses I will quote: Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no her in the stalls, Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.  The Lord God is my feet like hind’s feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.

I sat under the shade of a tree in the back yard this morning, reading this passage with a cup of hot java and a hot cookie right out of the oven.  I had  flock of morning doves whose wings sounded so beautiful as they flew from one fence line to the other, the sparrows, a flock of maybe a hundred or more were singing jubilantly as they took turns at the feeder.  The air on this late July morning was crisp at 55 degrees, a welcome refreshment after going to bed while it was still 87. My chickens were walking around getting the small droplets of moisture that still clung to the weeds and leaves. I wondered if they too marveled at the voices and strengths of their other bird counterparts.  Sure, I’ve seen the chickens fly up and down tall trees, jumping with wings may be more accurate than flying, and I enjoy their morning and afternoon sounds that they have laid another perfect egg, but it would seem, if they knew to stop and compare, that they would feel slighted by the almighty that their lives are not as those of the hummingbird that comes to my kitchen window to stop mid air and drink the refreshing sweet broth that only they can pull from my bell flowers.

You may be thinking wow Angie, you sure are a rambler this morning – but that couldn’t be further from the truth. 🙂

My Point is, (i heard one of you say whew), Satan has been attacking a lot of the homeschoolers hard and heavy this past few weeks.  He has put doubt in being a good teacher into the minds of marvelously talented moms. He has put in the doubts of finances into families who have been blessed beyond measure.  He has put in the doubts of the ability to separate truth to others.  I have heard the doubts of his sovereign plan while dealing with sudden death and disease.  I stopped to pray this morning again, standing on the wall, looking for cracks in the foundation, and was reminded, that this time of year, it seems that Satan comes on full throttle.  Wear the families down with sickness, death, and worst yet, doubt.  Wear them down with family and financial strife so that it feels like the only choice you have is to work to gain monies to survive, or to send your children out so that you will have the time to take care of family matters, or personal health. Put in thoughts of depression, anxiety and fear.

I challenge you, if you are in this boat of friends who are looking for a life vest to strap on, not to call the pharmacy or the closest private school. 🙂  I pray that you come to the Father, and sort out what is true. What is Honest.  What is the truth of the things that keeps you up nights and wakes you up in the morning. What is true of the anxiety of your heart that you stuff way down deep, while ignoring it you are only placing a huge billboard sign on your forehead that everyone else gets to read. 🙂  Take the truth to the Father, he has the way to solve it, and Jesus has promised to carry the burden.  Weed out what is a Lie, and give it back to the Father of all Lies.  To carry, ponder, share, and question lies is to give the Father of Lies such a strength and strong hold in your life.  Toss it.  Proclaim it as a lie. Proclaim what is true, and the strength will crumble.

In specific ramblings, I have been attacked this year by a person posing as a friend telling me that my biblical thinking is wrong, and that I am a deceiver. I have been told that I am decisive.  This person has gone to my other friends and told them to stay away from me and warned them of the evil that is in my heart.  I prayed for months, on my knees, to the Father to reveal a shred of truth, and I can say with great conviction that he did reveal truth. I now, thanks to this incident, have greater confidence in the gifts of discernment, gifts of teaching, gifts of exhortation, and gifts of evangelism.  He has brought me to a place that has shown me how much He has planned for my life, and my responsibility to share my love for Him and my love of the Word. He has shown me my responsibility to teach the word to women, to teach the word to children, and to share my gifts with others. 

I have a friend that has been attacked of her self worth. Satan knows where to push the buttons and make his attacks feel like a depression.  He knows how to force us to compare our homes with others, our laundry and dish piles. Our half done school books.  Our books that have only been read aloud for the first 3 chapters.  He knows how to help us compare academic benchmarks with others in the family and in public/private schools.  He knows.  He also knows God’s purpose for your life, and wants to thwart it.  I say – thwart him!  Declare truth.  I know that for this friend an many others that are vigilantly attacked this way in the months preceding the academic start of another school year, that their strength will be resolved. That they will see the virtues and character of their family and children. That they will see the academic growth. That they will hear the words of a hymn or Sunday school song come off the sweet sweet lips of the children. That they will see meals that they have prepared and clean clothes that are readily available and a home that shows that it is a working breathing learning center that is always in an area of upheaval in one spot or another due to all that the family is involved in while pursuing Christ and His Character.

Are you my friend, are you being attacked?  Are you comparing your children’s abilities and talents?  Are you comparing your ability to train up a child to face employment in this time? Are you questioning your ability to stay afloat financially while your husband struggles to provide the only income?  Sort out what is true.  Sort out what are lies. 

I urge you to join with me in prayer for those who are being attacked.   Come along side, hold up their arms for them in the battle that the Lord will come victorious. Let them know how precious they really are in God’s sight that Satan would even deem them necessary to attack.   Keep our minds pure and sweep out the unholy thoughts that allow evil to lurk.  Fill it with the Word.  Fill it with Truth.  Fill it with Christ. 🙂

I thank you for allowing my ramblings of this morning to float on and on, but I really needed to journal my thoughts, and typing is so much easier than writing. 🙂 I pray for all of you my friends, and trust that you will also be lifting me up.