The Bigger the Battle, the Greater the Victory!

It's been awhile since I have written down my thoughts. The last month has been filled with moving boxes, u-hauls, and rent leasing contracts. A getaway weekend to have an encounter with God, and nights watching old VHS tapes on my 36' TV (yea...haven't up-graded to that flat screen yet. My TV is soooo heavy).  I have experienced the high and lows in life; striving so very hard many days to keep my head above water. I have also dealt with some major blows and disappointments in my personal life and in some relationships and thought I would not make it through. AND to top it off (drum roll please), I spilled vitamin water on my laptop causing it to die a very slow, agonizing, painful death. The only way to resurrect it is to pay over $800 to get it fixed. OUCH....why not just get a new one? So, I am working on it. 

There were many days I seriously thought I would not make it through. This past month has been one of the hardest months in my life. Funny thing is that not many people even knew. It's not that I was trying to hide it, I just knew that I needed to work it out with God. The devil has been throwing one blow after the other. It felt like I was in a boxing match and I was getting slugged left and right. I am filled with sweat and can barely see past the tears that are running down my face. My hair is a mess and my face swollen from hit after hit. With every blow I become even more tired barely being able to stand. I am on my knees, my vision is becoming blurry and I know that I am about to loose. But just at the place of my breaking point I remember a word I was once told. "Melissa, the bigger the battle the greater the victory!" That one sentence was enough strength to get me standing again. It gave me ammunition to fight.

I can across this poem (if  you want to call it that) recently and it reminded me of my college days in cold Minnesota when I told God that I really would give Him my all. When you decide to do that you better believe the enemy will do everything in his power to knock you down. But greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world (1 John 4:4) Remember, "The bigger the battle, the greater the victory."

Just a thought...

“I’m a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of His and I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed. My present makes sense. My future is secure. I’m done and finished with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, or first, or tops, or recognized, or praised, or rewarded. I live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by Holy Spirit power.

My face is set. My gait is fast. My goal is heaven. My road may be narrow, my way rough, my companions few, but my guide is reliable and my mission is clear.

I will not be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice or hesitate in the presence of the adversary. I will not negotiate at the table of the enemy, pander at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won’t give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus. I must give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He does come for His own, He’ll have no problems recognizing me. My colors will be clear!”