The choice of life and death
It was a difficult time in my life when God spoke to me out of my darkness.
I couldn’t shake it on my own so I went to be prayed over and with by a couple of Godly, prayerful women.
That was a big first step. Being willing to ask for help, step out, and receive prayer. What a powerful night that was. Devoting time to completely focus on God and allow Him the space to move. To pray out loud and speak out some things that were eating me alive and to listen through these women what God wanted to relay to me.
When I got home, I opened my Bible and continued to call out to God for relief and comfort. I felt Him speak through His Word as well.
I’ve not been one to struggle with forgiveness. I don’t hold grudges and I, thankfully, can see past offenses and understand where a person is coming from. Mercy is my strongest gifting and I believe has been something God has blessed me with over the years.
BUT….. Forgiving myself is something I very much struggled with.
Understanding and breaking the stronghold that Satan had found on me through picking at my heart and my mind was so freeing. He had convinced me that I was no good and deserved little.
You see, Satan kept me feeling insignificant, small, and undeserving of happiness. My insides were screaming at me even when my outsides looked normal. It wasn’t until I spoke out loud of the inner voices I was hearing that I broke through the darkness.
Once I had worked through forgiving myself for something that happened completely out of my control and yet I blamed myself for, God was like-
“Well, it’s up to you now. You have my permission to let go and receive what I have for you. You had it all along but Nothing is holding you back anymore. It’s as easy as turning on a light switch. But you have to choose to.”
In Deuteronomy 30:11-14 it says “…it’s not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us?….neither is it beyond the sea…but the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.”
It’s not that hard. Sure at the time, it can seem IMPOSSIBLE. But we hold so much power within us. In fact, the same power that lived in Christ Jesus is in us! Our mouths can speak a kind of truth that sends the Evil One cowering.
We hold the power to choose. So much of our relationship with Him, our attitude, and our day to day lives are our choice. Our feelings, our reactions, our emotions. The decision is ours to make. Will we choose life or walk toward death?
I had to work at flipping that switch.
To decide to no longer live in sorrow, regret, and fear.
And when I made that decision, when I told Satan to go straight back to the pit of Hell where he belonged and took claim of myself again, when I chose life- it was instant. I felt the burden and heaviness I carried fall off and with a deep sigh of relief, I could breathe again.
It was the same as turning on a light switch when you enter a dark room. It only takes a split second to flip it from off to on and light floods the room and instantly the darkness is gone.
But you don’t have to flip it. You can continue walking around the room in the dark. The light switch will just stay on the wall…..waiting…..
However, I urge you- if you’re carrying a burden that you’ve decided is yours alone to carry or if you’re living a life full of sorrow and regret and fear, give it to God. Allow His strong, capable arms to lift it off your shoulders.
Flip the switch! Decide right now that you’re done being bullied by the one who deserves and has no real power over you. Send Satan back to the darkness where he came from and flood your whole soul with the Light that casts out all shadows!
Be willing to ask for prayer, seek God through His Word, break the strongholds Satan has on your life through forgiveness and acceptance of a Savior, and
Choose life.
“Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days”
Deuteronomy 30:19-20
Bible Journaling Details
For this page, I used a Faber-Castell Pitt Pen size S(mall) and Neocolor ii water-soluble crayons. For more info. on my favorite supplies and link to grab your own, check out My Top Ten Favorite Bible Journaling Supplies.
Leave a Reply