Belt of Truth

The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread? When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, my adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident.  One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:

   That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

   To behold the beauty of the Lord

   And to meditate in His temple.

For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; in the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock.  And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me, And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.  Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice, and be gracious to me and answer me.  When You said, "Seek My face," my heart said to You, "Your face, O Lord, I shall seek." 

Psalm 27.1-8

Several weeks ago I, under my breath, asked God for unwavering faith in Him.  The kind that will sustain through all the storms and fire.  

I forget what it takes to get these sorts of things though.  

Ask and you shall receive.

It really was one of the most painful things I've been through in my Christian walk so far.  The devil had gone for my heart a couple of weeks ago, but this time he twisted the knife around and laughed in my face.  If only he knew how I had been made aware of his sneaky ways and was not surprised by it.  I'm so thankful for seeing the situation as it really was and not what it could have been perceived as.  

This all happened because I was supposed to speak at church last Sunday about my trip.  After I said I would, I immediately was under attack.  I geared up this time by asking other to pray  for me instead of trying to duke it out by myself.  The battle grew more intense until it just broke all out on Saturday.  I can't think of many times in my life that I have truly sobbed.  This was one though.  I was just so angry and hurt at how the devil fights dirty.  Very dirty.  God's grace was plenty in drawing me closer to Him though.  I was pretty broken on Sunday morning and I took my cross with me up on that stage and from my heart I confessed that I will continue to serve Him.  No one knew what I was going through, but for me, I was up there for God saying, "Despite all this brokeness and hurt I am in I will claim Your name as Holy and All in All, I trust You with every ounce of my being and I will follow You.  I am Yours."

He blessed me with so much encouragement following that.  Sitting in the service I sat in awe of how God works.  He confirmed that I am on the right track and what was so dear to my heart, what I have been learning from God and burdened by was being spoken to hundreds of people.  As much discouragement as I have received from people, the service meant so much and was a gift from God Himself.  I also met some really wonderful people afterwards that were very encouraging to me.  I have had so many more blessings since that I don't know where to start.  God has such intricate detail in weaving things together for His glory that never ceases to amaze me.  Oh I wish I could tell you how good and faithful He is.  It's so much more than words can communicate.  He has brought such joy to my heart.

Give, and it will be given to you.  They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over.  For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return. 

Luke 6.38