"Welcome to "Fan the Flame" Friday.
This is a weekly post that will be "short and sweet" (kinda like me...)
Just a word and a question (or few)…just a little something to
"fan the flame" of your creativity!
And, to further fan those faith-filled flames (try saying that 10 times in a row!) – I'm adding my favorite devotional from the week!
Today's word: struggle
What does the word struggle mean to you?
In what area(s) of your life do you struggle the most? (Personal and/or faith)
What things have you learned in the middle of your struggle? What have you learned after your struggle?
Do you think God honors us when we struggle? If yes, how?
Let me know what you think!!
"Exert all your strength in the honourable struggle for the faith; lay hold of the Life of the Ages, to which you were called..."
(1 Timothy 6:12, Weymouth NT)
"...this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. That's why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ's mighty power that works within me."
(Colossians 1:27-29, NLT)
"For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it." (Philippians 1:29-30, NLT)
"Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:30, NLT)
DEVOTIONAL OF THE WEEK:
(It's a long one - but oh so good!):
There are times when we are left alone to wrestle with God...At such times, God's Presence is painful but purposeful...It can be an intense, exhausting struggle, but eventually...we receive a blessing for having contended with God - and ourselves - face-to-face. For your relationship with God to arrive at any depth, it has to include some of these wrestling matches...and it's sometimes a messy process...But it's a necessary one, and it leads to blessing...
Some see surrender as the purpose of Jacob's wrestling match with God - that Jacob had to come to the end of himself and submit to God's lordship...No, this wasn't about surrender; this was about contending with God and knowing His heart even in the intensity of a battle. God honors spiritual intensity...Only the tenacious hold on to God in the midst of a wrestling match with Him and the relentless issues of life. Hold on. Go ahead and wrestle...[but] keep holding on anyway. Stay in close contact with God, no matter how intense, and see into His heart.
*I won't let go until You bless me - I'll cling to You forever.
"...as a man he [Jacob] struggled with God. He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there - the Lord God Almighty, the Lord is his name!"
(Hosea 12:3-5, NIV)
(Devotional from: "The One Year Experiencing God's Presence Devotional" by Chris Tiegreen, c. 2011, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.)
"This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you…For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." (2 Timothy 1:6-7)
BLOG = "Blessedly Leaning On God!"
struggle.....this reminds me if we stop struggling......and let ourselves breath and trust...it's easier. Hard to do.....but a strategy I think that works. Hugs Sharon and wishes for a great Friday.
ReplyDeleteThe things that I struggle with the most are internal thinking wars between this carnal mind and clinging to God's truth. The battle wages on.
ReplyDeleteHI Sharon, I want to wish you a blessed weekend. I think we probably struggle with similiar things, at the moment I am trying not to struggle. God Bless
ReplyDeleteI think the biggest thing I struggle with is trust, even though I'm getting a bit better with it. I truly want to trust God and release things to him, yet I often taken things back. I think he's showing me through the wrestling matches that it really is okay to trust him.
ReplyDelete(okay, that would have freaked me out to have a chipmunk in the house!)
betty
I am learning that a prayer released is a journey - and that journey could be 2 min, 2 years - or 15 years - and I am learning that a lot of important stuff happens between when the prayer is released and when it comes returns.
ReplyDeleteyes, struggle. That was my true to life story I shared just now. My entry in Spiritual Sundays : "Home again" from Joysnotepad.blogspot.com.
ReplyDeleteThat was a very long struggle before God healed me and restored me. I am thankful
I think at times Sharon everything is a struggle. Then on other days I feel things are easy. Do you think a lot of it has to do with mood? I do find I seem to be in prayer more when I struggle then when I don't. Maybe he allows it to teach us to depend on him more....
ReplyDeleteI think Wanda hit the nail on the head for me. Sometimes I wonder how I can call myself a Christian when my mind allows me to think some of the thoughts I do. Oh, I don't think about murdering anyone or anything like that...lol...but what I'm saying is I'm so glad my thoughts are not audible because they are not always pretty. Jesus, help me....and He is :)
ReplyDeleteMy biggest struggle is physical...which impacts other areas. I've found that sitting at the feet of Jesus his my biggest weapon. The pain doesn't always go away, but it gives me strength to bear it. I just wish I always remembered to focus on God first.
ReplyDeleteI think of struggle in two different ways. For one, it's like a wrestling partner. It's the thing that just keeps throwing me down and rolling me around. For the other, it's a heavy, heavy, weight that I'm trying to push up a hill.
ReplyDeleteAnd that, I'm ashamed to say, is exactly the way I've been feeling lately. It's the heavy weight kind of struggle that has worn me out this time. No matter what form it takes, I think the thing I struggle with most is the feeling that I have absolutely no value.