…spreading the fragrance of His knowledge…
And God said, “It is not good that man should be alone…”
…especially in battle.
One major reason Elijah buckled under the attack of fear and depression, and fled from Jezebel – after being used powerfully by God – was because he was alone.
And the major reason Elijah was alone was pride…
What’s the best thing to do when you are worn out?
Lie down and sleep, right?
Wrong.
You get up – and eat.
Ask Elijah.
Daniel revealed that, in the last days, a major activity of the enemy would be to wear out the saints of the Most High. (Daniel 7:25) ‘Wear out’ means to tire them, wear them down, or make them weary – and connotes intensity and consistency…
Not too long ago, I was talking with a small group of young people about spiritual warfare, and I told them this never-before-shared experience.
(Digressing a bit: Somewhere in the middle of one of our discussions, I asked them if they had heard of ‘Rhema.’
“Yes.” They all nodded. “He is a musician.”
It’s so easy to get caught up in anticipating or preparing for a New Year, that we don’t possess every single blessing of the year we are currently in.
You see, every single day and every single year has its blessings, and it would be unwise to stop expecting and receiving for the year – just because it is the 29th or 30th of December.
“Shhhh…You know you are not married.”
“You’d better not say anything – at least, until you’ve had even one child.”
“How can YOU teach on holiness? Everyone knows you fell into sin many years ago. Choose another topic.”
“All this public declaration of ‘I am blessed, blablabla’ – when you don’t even have a grain of rice in your one-room. Don’t embarrass yourself.”
And so we keep quiet – and the enemy of our souls laughs loudly, cackling in glee, rubbing his hands joyfully together:
Another Redeemed of the Lord has been silenced!
2020 has been a seemingly crazy year: one of extreme highs and seeming lows. I use the word ‘seeming’ because – for a child of God – everything actually works together for good.
It has also been one packed with highlighted and underlined lessons. The major ones I will take into 2021 and beyond are:
“Umm…Deborah. We are still in November. Isn’t it too early to start preparing for 2021?”
It’s never too early to start preparing for something important – and I believe the start of a new decade is very important.
At the beginning of the year, God gave me a word on ‘rest.’ My mind went in a hundred different directions, and I thought, “What am I resting from/for?” However, as the year played out, I began to understand.
A few years ago, I had an unexpected upheaval in my life. I didn’t see it coming, and it blindsided me. It especially hurt and grieved me because it came from someone close. The individual apologized, but I couldn’t just bring myself to forgive.
Some days later, I went for a program – and the minister talked on forgiveness. There, in that program, I finally forgave and let go of the hurt. However, that situation made me take a decision I had been contemplating before the incidence – and that decision was going to involve a lot of money which I didn’t have at that time.
Debby Osa 