Well, it looks like Spring is officially here! The weather man is predicting temps close to 80 today the wind is blowing, (like it does on every good spring day in Kansas). Yesterday, I woke to at thunderstorm which is a sure tail sign of spring in Kansas. The Tulips, Iris and Daffodils are in bloom everywhere the grass has turned a beautiful shade of green, all marking the beginning of the new season. Just to think, 2 weeks ago we had 8 inches of snow on the ground and we thought we would never see daylight again. 2009/2010 winter has been one of the hardest yet. We have been stuck in our houses, receiving twice as much snow as we’ve had in 30yrs. There were days that were so dark, it seemed like we had not seen the sun in weeks. Anytime there was the slightest bit of sun that shine through the clouds. Talk on facebook, was comments like ” What is that strange bright light in the sky”. People were longing to see a break in what seemed to be a eternity of drab depressing weather. Some of us were beginning to think we had been mysteriously moved to Alaska. We longed to see the light of day and warm weather come. Instead of being locked in the house bundled up feeling cold and alone.

All this got me thinking about our Spiritual lives, there are some days even weeks and months, where you go through a time when you feel like it is winter and you will never see the light of day again. You may even feel like the “Son” has left you and all you have to hold onto is the faith in the calendar that says “Spring is coming” I am so thankful for the scripture that says ” He who is faithful to start a new work in you will complete it” God promises “He will never leave us or forsake us” and sometimes in our lives that is all we have to hold onto. We can look outside our spiritual windows of life and see the sun isn’t shining, but we can hold fast to the truth that God is there and He is faithful. Then, just like on that 1st beautiful spring day we wake up to see our prayers have been answered and the sun has come out and the flowers are blooming again.

So if your Spirit is still in winter, not to worry… Spring is coming!

The other day a close friend of mine, told me ” You never worry about anything” This totally took me off guard because this is not at all the way I see myself. I see myself as a person who battles everyday the thoughts that come through my mind. I remember back in the late 80’s when I refused to leave my house or answer the phone for weeks on end. It was during that time that the following scriptures became real to me. It was at that time,after a period of self pity and anxiety, I had to pick myself up for the sake of my family and hold on to all that I knew was true, and that was God’s word. You see man will fail you, your family will fail you, your finances will fail you, your friends will fail you, but God will NEVER fail you. It was then God became real to me and showed Himself to me in His word that I found these scriptures (along with others) that helped me pull myself up from the pit I was laying in and move forward in life. I hope you enjoy!

2Cor 10:3-5 NKJV For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

So many times we forget that it takes an intentional effort to take captive the negative thoughts that come through our minds and then intentionally replacing those thoughts with positive scripture. 2Cor 10:3 says ” For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.” I believe the mind is where the devil likes to play his games with us. Dropping negative thoughts in our minds, that unless we take captive we begin to feed on. Thus, allowing to grow into something that God never intended us to think.Then we act out what we think, which usually turns out to be a negative experience. So when we fight this battle of the mind- we must fight it spiritually with the word of God.

In vs 4 where it says “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,” The Word of God is a sword of the spirit in our spiritual armor. But how many times have we went to battle without our sword. Would the famous Spartans ever do that NO! No warrior ever leaves his sword behind when he goes to battle, but yet there is days that we as Christ Followers will go all day or even weeks, without picking up His word. That is why, you will find all around my house little strips of paper with scriptures printed on them, So everywhere I look I see a promise of God’s. So when those negative thoughts pass through my mind they can be replaced with ” the truth”.

Verse 5 says “casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” when I hear that verse I see in my minds eye, someone literally taking their hand and pulling the negative thought out of their mind. Then throwing it as far away as they can throw it! We see in that verse, Casting down arguments, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. That phrase that says “exalts itself against the knowledge of God”. So to know what exalts itself against the knowledge of God we need to know what the knowledge of God is right? Well, I know that God says “Every good and perfect gift comes from above, I know that God says the steps of a righteous person are order of God.” So what I have to know, is when a thought comes through my head before I dwell on it, it must line up with what Gods word says or it must be cast out!

It is like my daddy use to tell me ” You can’t stop a bird from flying over your head, but you can stop it from making a nest in your hair”. So perhaps the outside persona that people see of me, is simple that, I choose what is nesting in my hair (i .e. head, thought life) and I choose LIFE! I choose to focus on the promises God has given me, instead of the faults and disappointments that this life has to offer. The question is, what is nesting in your hair??

I was reading something today that reminded me that God is God in the Valley and on the Mountain top. Our problem is sometimes we want God to do it our way in our time and when we believe it should be done. But if He did that then, He would not really be God now would He? He would be our servant and He did not come to follow us and our wishes but He came and asked us to “follow me”. That means He is the leader and it is about His timing not ours. When our children were younger they did not understand why we would sometimes say “No” or “Wait a little while” But we knew why our decisions were being made because we knew what was best for them at the time, because we could see how their choices might affect their future and yes sometimes we even had to let our children be so unhappy with our decisions that it sometimes caused them pain. But all the time we were there holding their hand with our arms around them even carrying them if we needed to. God is like that with us. He loves us so much and He will see you through these times. I can understand being so frustrated with the circumstances of life that you are looking anywhere you can to find an answer. But be assured Jesus is the only answer you need. He will carry you through if you only allow Him to. So just follow Him.