More Spiritual Battles

 

This week has been filled with spiritual battles. Certain prayers of faith brought both deep assurance and attacks from the enemy who does not want me to pray with such confidence. Add to that, hubby and I have considered a move to something away from where we are, leading us to a near offer and an actual offer on two places, but our hearts were unsettled and distracted from almost everything else. My biggest struggle was not knowing what was an I-want vs. what God wants. I was filled with positive and negatives from both sides, or so it seemed. We did agree that we wanted the will of God, but went to bed last night very uncertain what His will might be.

This morning, my hubby told of his wrestling during the night and that God gave him the clear answer to withdraw the offer, to not buy that house. It has some hidden and dangerous flaws, and we noticed three of them when doing a walk-through to figure out what needed to go where. God made His will clear. Besides, His will is not that we be distressed like we had been. (Matthew 11:30)

Today’s reading says this: “God is love, and His will can be nothing but love. He is full of wisdom, and His will must always be wise. He is omnipotent, and His will is baffled by nothing that can oppose…. The idea that our Father who loves us can want anything but our truest happiness is inconceivable. His will for us must be all that is best and most satisfying. Surely we can trust ourselves to it without a single shrinking or fearing thought….”

The reading adds that when we submit to His will we find “… this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3)

While that house had some features that were extremely attractive, knowing His answer to our struggle was NO brought instant relief and rest, not burdensome at all, and for both of us. Our deposit is still on our desk and while our realtor may wonder about our sanity, we are at peace with not pursuing this change in our lives at this time.

All we do know for certain, besides not buying that house, is that we are supposed to keep purging this one, getting rid of all that we do not need or use, and keep simplifying our lives. These next verses are not about our home, yet the principle applies to simplicity and focus:

But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:3)

Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7:1)

Therefore, if someone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. (2 Timothy 2:21)

This house search had become a huge distraction from what we do know is God’s will: to know and love Jesus, to walk with Him, and to share Him with others.

PRAY: Lord, the burden to pray for others almost got swept away by the burden to find ‘just the right place’ to live. But leaving that up to You erased our concerns and refocused us on the matters at hand, the things we know that You want from us. Praying in Your will is so powerful that our enemy stacked us with such huge distractions that praying became difficult. Thank You for Your saving power that has brought us to see what has been happening and be able to say YES to You with clarity.

God is pure . . .

 

In our world, purity is rare. Pure entertainment is mixed with obvious and hidden messages. Pure peanut butter has salt in it. Pure beauty has flaws. Pure lives don’t happen. But then there is God.

In the OT, the noun translated PURE refers to holiness, belonging to the sphere of the sacred and distinct from the common or profane. This word describes the nature of God and while it usually refers to ritual and worship and to that which is set apart or consecrated to God, it is also about God who is pure and holy . . .  

Exodus 15:11. “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?”

1 Chronicles 16:10. “Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!”

Psalm 89:35. “Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David.”

From these few verses, I can see that purity is not only distinctive but worthy of worship. A pure heart also loves people and speaks the truth.

In the NT, this word is usually about humans and often refers to sexual purity. However it is also used for keeping myself fully devoted to Jesus Christ in every area of my life. I am warned about deception just as Paul warned the Christians at Corinth. They were not walking in the Spirit and had gotten themselves in all sorts of trouble because of it. He said to them:

2 Corinthians 11:3. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

Again, purity is about sincerity and unmixed devotion. It is never mixed with selfishness or ulterior motives or deception. This is what God is like and He wants the same for me:

1 Peter 1:15–16. As he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

I’ve noted this godly purity is asked of me as an older woman and part of what I’m to demonstrate and teach younger women. Titus 2:4–5 tells me to, “train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” This is far-reaching in that the reputation of God’s Word is undamaged when His female followers demonstrate holy lives!

Another passage also focuses on purity as an important witness to a spouse who is disobedient to God. 1 Peter 3:1–2 says to wives, “be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct.”

How is this god-like purity possible? It certainly must begin and be rooted in the way I think. Philippians 4:8–9 tells me, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” The clear message is that pure thoughts are vital in the practice of living a pure life.

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. Would I ever think of God as impure, that His motives were mixed or corrupt, or selfish? No way! When I focus on His purity, holiness and promises, He says this will help me become more like Him. 2 Corinthians 7:1 says, “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” Also, 1 John 3:3, after reminding me that when I eventually see Him as He is in glory and that I will be like Him, He also says, “everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” My destiny is to be like Jesus, pure and holy. I need to keep gazing at Him!