Hey y’all! Today I’m headed to Indianapolis today!! I am so ready for the Influence Conference! I sort of ran out of time to write a Desire to Inspire post. I asked the oh-so-inspiring Leslie to write for me today. I have full confidence that you will be inspired by her words of wisdom and grace.
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Hi everyone!
I’m Leslie and I write over at top of the page.
I’m so grateful for the chance to share my heart with you. I think the theme of my life most days could be entitled “Desire to Inspire,” so it is an honor that Amanda asked me to guest post today in her absence.
Lately, I’ve been reflecting on how I face challenges. Do I resist them, duck and cover, or step into them with courage and faith? And what about the BIG challenges? All of us have experienced some, whether it be conflict in marriage, parenting, sickness, broken relationships, infertility, loss.
In this life, we will face giants. Maybe you’re facing one right now.
The fact is that there is a battle going on for everything worthwhile in your life and mine. Family, relationships, ministry…all of it.
Anything worth having must be fought for.
But much of the time, I can’t really see it. And other times, I don’t realize that my struggles are just part of a grander battle. A spiritual battle that seeks to take me out. I can get comfortable and thankful and forget to be watchful.
“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”
I Peter 5:8
And I don’t know if this has ever happened to you, but all of a sudden, today, I felt myself standing in the middle of a war. A relationship was going sideways. I hardly had any warning. Suddenly, I was dodging bullets and furrowing my brow and scrambling to remember what to do. My heart cried, What do I do, Lord? Tell me or arm me or shield me!
I had a visual of myself standing in an open field in the midst of a movie-like battle scene. The vicious foe had broken through to my side. I got isolated, separated. I felt vulnerable and defenseless. In my spinning head, I cried out again, What is going on here! I’m standing in the middle of this war and I feel like I have nothing but…nothing but…(I was searching for the weakest weapon possible)…..a tiny rock!
And then my throat clutched up.
Because as soon as I landed on the most pathetic weapon I could think of, I saw that tiny rock in my mind. It was in my hand, next to a sling. I was a child on a battlefield, armed with only a rock and a sling.
And a Mighty God by my side.
David asked the soldiers standing nearby, “Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”
David exclaimed to Goliath, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied…And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle.”
“As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him.”
You know how it ends. A fearless child conquers a giant with a tiny rock, and a big God. (You can read the full story in I Samuel chapter 17.)
Nothing about it makes sense. Nothing. It’s really important to discern exactly when what makes sense needs to take a backseat to believing what God can do.
But go back, because the Bible records that David ran out to meet him. I can’t believe it, and my eyes read the words again. When the enemy charged, David didn’t stop and hold up a big shield to cower behind. He rushed towards his enemy and took him down with crazy-courageous faith. Make no mistake; his weapon was faith.
“How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight.”
Hebrews 11:32-34
It takes faith in God to run out to meet our challenges. Faith in His plans. Faith in His goodness, His character. Faith in what He has promised to His children.
Beth Moore said today in my Bible Study, “Pick the right battles. Don’t waste your strength fighting the wrong enemy.” She must have said this because fighting the real enemy, the Deceiver himself, takes all the best I have to bring. And in the midst of battle, I cannot afford to forget this, even for one day:
“Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.”
Ephesians 6:11-13
Don’t you want that? To be standing firm after battling our biggest giants? I do. I really do.
I may be bruised emotionally, exhausted, and in need of healing. But I want to stay standing, in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
Friend, when you look at that tiny rock in your hand and feel powerless, don’t forget the God who has your back. He goes before you. He follows after you.
And just a little faith makes our weakness turn to strength.
May we all run out to meet our giants with a tiny rock and a big faith.
Are you ready to be an inspiration?
- #1 rule: Please visit the others who link up and leave kind, encouraging words for them. Don’t have a lot of time to read them all? Visit the person who linked up before you.
- Link up your own quality, read-worthy posts.
- Focus on how you can be an inspiration, not what inspires you.
- You do not have to follow RDD, but of course I’d love it if you would.
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Setting Business Goals
Q & A with my sponsors
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| Meet Skye on facebook |
RDD: When did you first set goals for your business? How do you hold yourself accountable to accomplish those goals?
I sat down and did as much research as I could about being a virtual assistant. I knew that I could never be successful if I didn’t have specific goals (because that is how my brain works!) so I immediately set the goal of being a full time VA by 2013. I set other small term goals to help me get there like being sure to share about my services once a day through social media.
I sat down and did as much research as I could about being a virtual assistant. I knew that I could never be successful if I didn’t have specific goals (because that is how my brain works!) so I immediately set the goal of being a full time VA by 2013. I set other small term goals to help me get there like being sure to share about my services once a day through social media.
- Skye, Virtual Assistant
Latest posts by Amanda (see all)
- Weekend Recap + Steals & Deals - May 25, 2013
- Desire to Inspire #35: Community - May 23, 2013
- In the Midst of the Storm - May 22, 2013
What a beautiful and encouraging post. I had never paid attention to that part either, when David ran to meet Goliath. What an amazing step of faith!! Thank you for posting. The Lord really used you to speak to my heart today.
I love this – David facing down Goliath. Such a wonderful image in a busy and sometimes frustrating world.
Sarah
http://acatlikecuriosity.blogspot.co.uk