Staying Spiritual in a War Zone
Racial injustices. A pandemic. Child trafficking. Hate crimes, school shootings, people spewing their vitriol at one another at every turn. It seems like no matter what day it is anymore, these are the headlines I wake up to. I have to take social media time outs relatively often so as to not be exposed to the negativity day after day.
Let's face it. Times are hard right now. Like, really hard. The world can be an awful, soulless place. My head can't fully wrap around how evil people can be. Humans are capable of seemingly anything.
The Bible puts it like this: "We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one." (1 John 5:19) & "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8)
Spiritual warfare is totally real, all around us, all the time.
So how do you stay spiritual during a time like this? How do you stay connected to God when you feel so hopeless?
You go on walks. And pray.
You take care of yourself physically so you can fill up others' cups.
You talk about how everything in this crazy world makes you feel, with a trusted person.
You talk to God about how it makes you feel.
You scream, cry, weep for the blanket of pain that seems to be suffocating our world right now.
You have a cup of coffee, watch the sunrise and talk to God. You ask him why. You ask him what you can do to help those around you, show them love and acceptance.. You ask him to mend the brokenness all around.
You take a break from the news, from social media. Just be with your loved ones - or by yourself.
Listen to worship music while you're cleaning. While you're working. While you're driving.
You make a concentrated effort to do your daily devotional (I need to do this!!) even on days that all you feel like doing is lying in bed all day and watching Netflix.
Watch church, even if you don't feel like it. But you don't beat yourself up if you fall behind.
And you don't believe all the lies. The world can be very cruel, yes. But there is so much good in it. So many good people helping people. So many amazing people who are simply going through it, just like you are. The media shows us what it wants to show us.
Some days, it's all we can do to get through the day. You are not alone. Everyone feels this way sometimes.. It's just when we don't get back up, when we say, "I'll pray later," or "I'm not in the mood to worship today," or "I can't forgive this person right now..." that's when the king of this world wins. The good news is that he will lose this war, but every day we are in the trenches, surrounded by this spiritual warfare, raging like a storm around us.
It gets easier and easier for the enemy to win the small battles of this war we are facing when we give up, don't communicate with God, even if it's just to tell him that we're angry. It gets harder and harder to keep the habits up. If it feels like you're going through the motions - go through them. Just go through them. It's not going to feel that way forever. Something will give, and you'll be all in with God again. Go through them and keep in mind that he will never forsake you. Get angry that the enemy is laughing at you - forsake him in Jesus name from your home, your relationships, your life. You have that power through God.
Romantic relationships are not all fun and games. I've said this so many times, that love is NOT a feeling, but a commitment. It takes raw, real, hard work every single day. It's not something that is just going to "happen" and be perfect rainbows and unicorns all the time. Your relationship with God is the same. It takes work. Often it takes reaching rock bottom to shine that relationship in a totally new light. Prayer, worship, talking with God, it works. I've seen it, felt it so many times. God knows your heart. If all you can do is cry to him, that's enough. He knows what each and every tear means, what each one is mourning.
Remember that staying broken down and feeling like you can't get up is a lie straight from the enemy. Now more than ever, people need one another. We need each other's support, we need to feel we aren't alone during such an isolated time. We need to put love out into the world, every single chance we get. Especially when everywhere we turn, we see something else negative or hateful or devastating.
It's our job to combat the evil in the world, with God as our shield and our sword. You may feel like nothing you do will help, but even a small gesture of kindness can make someone's day. Maybe a kind word will give someone the energy they need to pray again, or to smile or to laugh again when it's been days since they have. Maybe praying blessings onto someone's life will help them more than you'll ever be able to witness.
Let's face it. Times are hard right now. Like, really hard. The world can be an awful, soulless place. My head can't fully wrap around how evil people can be. Humans are capable of seemingly anything.
The Bible puts it like this: "We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one." (1 John 5:19) & "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8)
Spiritual warfare is totally real, all around us, all the time.
So how do you stay spiritual during a time like this? How do you stay connected to God when you feel so hopeless?
You go on walks. And pray.
You take care of yourself physically so you can fill up others' cups.
You talk about how everything in this crazy world makes you feel, with a trusted person.
You talk to God about how it makes you feel.
You scream, cry, weep for the blanket of pain that seems to be suffocating our world right now.
You have a cup of coffee, watch the sunrise and talk to God. You ask him why. You ask him what you can do to help those around you, show them love and acceptance.. You ask him to mend the brokenness all around.
You take a break from the news, from social media. Just be with your loved ones - or by yourself.
Listen to worship music while you're cleaning. While you're working. While you're driving.
You make a concentrated effort to do your daily devotional (I need to do this!!) even on days that all you feel like doing is lying in bed all day and watching Netflix.
Watch church, even if you don't feel like it. But you don't beat yourself up if you fall behind.
And you don't believe all the lies. The world can be very cruel, yes. But there is so much good in it. So many good people helping people. So many amazing people who are simply going through it, just like you are. The media shows us what it wants to show us.
Some days, it's all we can do to get through the day. You are not alone. Everyone feels this way sometimes.. It's just when we don't get back up, when we say, "I'll pray later," or "I'm not in the mood to worship today," or "I can't forgive this person right now..." that's when the king of this world wins. The good news is that he will lose this war, but every day we are in the trenches, surrounded by this spiritual warfare, raging like a storm around us.
It gets easier and easier for the enemy to win the small battles of this war we are facing when we give up, don't communicate with God, even if it's just to tell him that we're angry. It gets harder and harder to keep the habits up. If it feels like you're going through the motions - go through them. Just go through them. It's not going to feel that way forever. Something will give, and you'll be all in with God again. Go through them and keep in mind that he will never forsake you. Get angry that the enemy is laughing at you - forsake him in Jesus name from your home, your relationships, your life. You have that power through God.
Romantic relationships are not all fun and games. I've said this so many times, that love is NOT a feeling, but a commitment. It takes raw, real, hard work every single day. It's not something that is just going to "happen" and be perfect rainbows and unicorns all the time. Your relationship with God is the same. It takes work. Often it takes reaching rock bottom to shine that relationship in a totally new light. Prayer, worship, talking with God, it works. I've seen it, felt it so many times. God knows your heart. If all you can do is cry to him, that's enough. He knows what each and every tear means, what each one is mourning.
Remember that staying broken down and feeling like you can't get up is a lie straight from the enemy. Now more than ever, people need one another. We need each other's support, we need to feel we aren't alone during such an isolated time. We need to put love out into the world, every single chance we get. Especially when everywhere we turn, we see something else negative or hateful or devastating.
It's our job to combat the evil in the world, with God as our shield and our sword. You may feel like nothing you do will help, but even a small gesture of kindness can make someone's day. Maybe a kind word will give someone the energy they need to pray again, or to smile or to laugh again when it's been days since they have. Maybe praying blessings onto someone's life will help them more than you'll ever be able to witness.
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