Counselor's Corner: Get Back Up Again!

Do you feel you have been knocked down by repeated blows of the enemy? I want to encourage you today to get back up! You may have been knocked down but not knocked out!

If you have watched a boxing match and noticed when one of the opponents throws a punch that takes their opponent down to the ground the referee begins to count to see if the fighter will get back in the fight. There are times the bruised and wounded fighter stays down and the fight is finished, and then there are times a fighter who can’t even see out of their eyes because of the blood and swollenness gets up and back in the fight.

Perhaps you feel like the fighter who has been in a really long match and has gone down at of sear exhaustion. You may have thought about staying down because you do not know how you will possibly get back up and fight again with little strength.

→If you have been in a spiritual fight for any length of time you understand battle fatigue can happen. Battle fatigue is fighting the same “war” over and over again but not gaining any ground, and that becomes exhausting. This is exactly where the enemy wants the saints-worn-out from the same fights.

→The enemy will continue to use the same “fight” over and over hoping that you will get so fatigued from the fight you will stop fighting.

Reflect: Are you fighting a ‘fight” you are not supposed to fight and that is why you are worn-out? Have you been knocked down by the repeated blows that you just might stop fighting? What do you or who do you need to let go of and let God take over the fight?

God did not intend for us to engage in battles that we could never overcome. If you have been fighting the same battles for years, and you are tired from how you get defeated each time-step back and ask God, “Is this my battle or your battle?” God does not give you battles to lose over and over again.

If you are “down for the count,” pull away from your battles and seek the Lord. If you don’t know what to pray anymore, just sit still before God and allow Him to speak to you. Let God refresh and restore you in your quiet time. Allow God to bandage your wounds before you get back up and get back in the fight. It is possible that when you seek God, He may show you the fight that you keep fighting is not your fight and to get up and go another way. It is also possible that you have been trained as a warrior for the Kingdom of Christ and through the repeated trials you are not strengthened for battle. Seek God and His stillness what He is trying to say about the repeated battles you face.  

Counselor's Corner: Get Back Up After You Have Been Knocked Down

If you have watched a boxing match and noticed when one of the opponents throws a punch that takes their opponent down to the ground the referee begins to count to see if the fighter will get back in the fight. There are times the bruised and wounded fighter stays down and the fight is finished, and then there are times a fighter who can’t even see out of their eyes because of the blood and swollenness gets up and back in the fight.

Perhaps you feel like the fighter who has been in a really long match and has gone down at of sear exhaustion. You may have thought about staying down because you do not know how you will possibly get back up and fight again with little strength. If you have been in a spiritual fight for any length of time you understand battle fatigue can happen. Battle fatigue is fighting the same “war” over and over again but not gaining any ground, that is exhausting. This is exactly where the enemy wants the saints-worn-out from the same fights.

The enemy will continue to use the same “fight” over and over hoping that you will get so fatigued from the fight you will stop fighting.

Reflect: Are you fighting a ‘fight” you are not supposed to fight and that is why you are worn-out? Have you been knocked down by the repeated blows that you just might stop fighting? What do you or who do you need to let go of and let God take over the fight?

God did not intend for us to engage in battles that we could never overcome. If you have been fighting the same battles for years, and you are tired from how you get defeated each time-step back and ask God, “Is this my battle or your battle?” God does not give you battles to lose over and over again.

If you are “down for the count,” pull away from your battles and seek the Lord. If you don’t know what to pray anymore, just sit still before God and allow Him to speak to you. Let God refresh and restore you in your quiet time. Allow God to bandage your wounds before you get back up and get back in the fight. It is possible that when you seek God, He may show you the fight that you keep fighting is not your fight and to get up and go another way.

Counselor’s Corner: Secure Your Borders When Your Defenses Are Down

Wounded soldiers that are engaged in battle know that when they are hit repeatedly by the enemy’s arsenal of weapons they cannot fight as strong. Other stronger soldiers take wounded soldiers off the front line of battle and apply any first aid and allow the solider to heal before going back out into the war zone. Christians, we are in a war zone! There are times that we are hit repeatedly by the enemy’s arrows with the hope that continual assaults will cause us to go down. When your defenses have been weakened through the spiritual battles you face; it is time to secure your borders.

Reflect and ponder: Do you feel like arrows have been thrown at you so many times by the enemy, you are not sure you can stand from the blows? 

Counselor’s Corner:

How do you know if your borders need to be secured?

1.      Repeated attacks or threat of attacks. You do not feel as safe and secure when you don’t know where the next attack will come from.

2.      Fear of when the next strike will come. Feeling on guard and on high alert.

3.      Battle fatigue. The constant assaults have caused weariness.

The enemy knows that the wounded are the easiest to keep down. If you have been repeatedly struck by the ammunition of your adversary, your defenses may be down. Inspect where your borders have been breached and reinforce your artillery.

How to secure your borders and strengthen your defenses?

1.      Get alone with the Father as much as possible. Take off your schedule what is not necessary to be able to hear the Holy Spirit. During this time ask the Father for a Divine strategy.

2.      Walk and pray the perimeters of your home and property. Ask the Lord to bless your home and property and to remove anything that is unclean or unholy in the name of Jesus. If you have any anointing oil, anoint your property and every room in your home and as you do so say, “Cover this room/property in the blood of Jesus Christ.”

3.      Praise and worship God as much as possible. Praise even when you don’t feel like it.

4.      Read scriptures over yourself, your home and your circumstances. The Word of God is a defense against the enemy’s lies.

5.      Be careful who you are hanging out. The people who you hang around can have a huge influence in your life, and if your defenses are down the enemy can use people to further weaken your borders. Being around people who encourage a godless lifestyle will not help to strengthen your borders. Surround yourself with strong Christians who can encourage and pray for you.

MEDIATE ON THESE SCRIPTURES:

And I will set your border from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates, for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.

Exodus 23:31

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you or forsake you.

Deuteronomy 31:6