Swimming against the current

Yesterday wasn't an ordinary Sunday. I was tired. I was grumpy. I was exhausted. I woke up with no expectations. I woke up empty minded and can I be honest? I felt like just going through the motions. You see lately, I've been fighting a pretty big battle. It's not like any of us aren't on the daily, because we are; however, this fight has been different for many reasons....

I was standing in the Church during worship when something very interesting happened. I was singing along to the lyrics on the screen, and as I let the words resignate in my being I closed my eyes, and this is what I saw.

 



I saw myself swimming. But not the usual splashing around in the summer time swimming, really swimming. And it wasn't any fun. I saw myself swimming upstream. I was kicking as hard as I could, the water was splashing all around me because of the impact, my arms were pressing toward parting the water and I saw just how exhausted I truly was. I saw that I was fighting against this current on my own, with my own swimming abilities, and end result... I was losing. All the hard swimming and pressing was just causing me to slowly drown because no believer is strong enough to fight alone, there was one key element missing.

 Jesus.

 You see, this uphill current or tide if you will represented the things I am fighting against daily. The things I want to shove, push and move out of my way that try to drown me and at that moment it's almost like I really felt the the water coming up my throat...I ran to the altar

"Lord, I am nothing without you, not a thing, all I need is YOU. You are my safe place, You are my strength, You are my everything." And just like that I felt a peace overwhelm me. God, is too incredible... I give all glory and honor and Praise to Him because He is so faithful to remind us just how much we are in need of a savior.

As we were walking out of Church heading to the car I had not given anymore thought about anything, my heart and mind was rested..I looked down as I was carrying my son and noticed how he peacefully slept in my arms. I immediately thought wow-this is how I feel; safely placed the arms of my Father, content and peaceful knowing I no longer have to swim (fight against the current) and I knew at that moment that I was where I always needed to be.

In His Arms.

...."For the battle is not yours, but God’s"

2 Chronicles 20:15 

With Love & Prayer,

Est

5 helpful ways to resist temptation

Temptation is something we all face as Christians, no matter how long we have been following Christ. Recently, I’ve been reminded of the practical things that we can do to grow stronger and smarter in our struggle against sin. Here are some helpful suggestions.



Recognize our tendency toward sin.

James 1:14 explains that we are tempted when we become enticed by our own natural desires. The first step toward avoiding temptation, is recognizing our human tendency to be tempted by our own fleshly desires. What are some ungodly tendencies we have that lure us away easily? Writing them down and making a point to avoid those things/ situations is a good start.

Run away from the temptation.

I love the New Living Translation of 1 Corinthians 10:13. It says, "But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it."

When we are face to face with temptation, look to God and run towards Him as fast as you can. Do not entertain the thoughts.

Resist with the Word of truth.

Hebrews 4:12 says God's Word is living and active, but did you know we carry a weapon that will make our thoughts obey Jesus Christ? 2 corinthians 10:4-5 “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Though it can be helpful to read God's Word when we are being tempted, sometimes that's not practical. Even better is to practice reading the Word daily, so that eventually we have so much of it inside, we are ready whenever temptation comes. If we are reading through the Bible regularly, we will have the full counsel of God at our disposal.

Refocus with praise.

How often are we tempted to sin when our heart and mind are fully concentrated on worship to the Lord? Praising God takes our focus off of ourself and puts it on God. We may not always be strong enough to resist temptation on our own, but as we focus on God, He will give us the strength to resist and walk away from the temptation.

Repent quickly when we fail.

In several places the Bible tells us the best way to resist temptation is to flee from it (1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Corinthians 10:14; 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22). Yet still we all fail from time to time. We fail to flee. Knowing that at times we will fail—let’s be quick to repent as James 1:15 puts it best that sin "when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."

With love & prayer,

Est