Strongholds

At church the whole church, sermons and small groups, has been going through the study “Rooted” together. Rooted is all about connecting with God, the church, and your purpose. It is a 10 week study and we just finished week 5. So far we have covered topics such as “what is Rooted”, “Who is God?”, “How does God speak to us?”, “Where is God in the midst of suffering?”, and “There is an enemy”. Those are just titles. We have really discussed how our relationship with Jesus (and God) has changed our lives. We have shared and continue to share our stories.

So why title this “Strongholds” and start out by describing “Rooted”? Simply because it all leads up to how God spoke to me yesterday. And boy oh boy did He!

These last two weeks in Rooted have been discussions around suffering, the enemy (Satan), and strongholds. Hard topics and painful ones as we have to look inward and examine ourselves as well as relive some experiences that might have been very difficult. The Blessing is that, in doing so, we can breakthrough to a better, more fulfilling life.

I digress back to yesterday and how God spoke to me about my strongholds. I had a feeling going into this week of what mine were and even a bit of where they came from. Quite simply put, I have battled (and continue to battle) insecurity and fear of rejection. I have long walked a line of being a “people pleaser”, not wanting anyone to be upset or unhappy. If I messed up, would people leave me was often in my mind. For a long time I struggled with not feeling smart enough, good enough, pretty enough. ENOUGH! I second guessed so much for so long.

It wasn’t until this last year and my surrendering to Christ that things started to change. I started to see myself as God sees me. I started living for Him letting go of putting so much care of how the world viewed me. Letting go of who I was made me more of who I am (in Him). There was (and is) so much joy in that.

Goodness I still haven’t made it to how God spoke to me. So here goes (finally). Yesterday (Oct 24th) I woke from a wacky, unrelated dream and clearly heard “go to January 10th in your journal” [I journal my daily devotionals]. My first response was “what if there isn’t a January 10th?” NOTE: Don’t question God. As Nike says “Just do it!”

When I picked up my journal to start the entry for yesterday I flipped back to January 10th. My jaw dropped. My writings on that day perfectly summed up my stronghold and being released from it. Even more it was the 1st time I had written “In joy” which is how I tag my emails now.

So here it is, my journal entry from January 10th, 2019

It can be easy to feel defeated by this world; to feel let down and not good enough. But that is the world’s eye. As Christians, as children of God, we are of Him and what matters is what He thinks of us and who He says we are!

Never be afraid to be His child; To grow in His love; To be courageous when the world says otherwise. With Christ you never alone; never defeated. Always In joy.

“In joy” not enjoy❤️

As if reading this wasn’t powerful enough, I went to my bookshelf to pick up the devotional that I was reading on January 10th and found it situated next to a book titled “I’m not good enough….and other lies women tell themselves”

For me it was all a powerful message of reminder from God that I am who He says I am. Worthy. Loved. Accepted. Forgiven. Free. Never alone. Never foresaken.

I pray that you come to know your worth and value in Christ❤️ You are a beloved Child of God.