Fierce

FIERCE

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13 New King James Version).

You therefore must endurehardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.  No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier (2 Timothy 2: 3-4).

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

“Strong like bull, mighty warrior, master swordsman” – years ago, I came up with this little phrase to remind myself of who I am in Christ. When the enemy comes at us hard, who we are and where our strength comes from can often be forgotten. We all need reminders now and then and God is always happy to give them!

“Strong like bull”:  Our strength comes from Christ. No matter what we face, where we go, or who we are around, the strength to endure, to push through, to pray, to do what needs to be done, and even strength to wait patiently comes from Jesus and our reliance on Him. In John 15:5, Jesus tells us we can do nothing without Him, so we must abide in Him. When we fully abide, we truly are strong like a bull!

“Mighty warrior”:  Every one of us has been enlisted into the army of the Lord, whether we realize it or not. We fight our battles in the spiritual realm. Ephesians 6:12 says we do not wrestle with flesh and blood, but against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. What we see and deal with in the natural is a battle being fought in the spirit. As warriors, God has provided us with armor (Ephesians 6:10-18) and given us brothers and sisters to stand and fight with.

“Master swordsman”:  We have an offensive weapon in our arsenal; it’s the Word of God. How well we wield our sword indicates our level of faith and trust in it. The bible is known as the sword of the Spirit, and it is living and powerful. The Word cuts, it wounds, it soothes, and it heals all at once. Just as warriors practice their sword skills in the natural, we must also practice and strengthen our skills through prayer, bible study and standing firm in our faith. Our trials, tests, and circumstances are methods of teaching and areas we can use to practice our sword fighting skills.

Let’s Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for blessing us with a new day! There is nothing more wonderful than knowing You and the life You give. We thank You for making us strong, for enlisting us into Your army and for giving us a mighty weapon, we truly are strong like bull, mighty warriors and master swordsmen! Father, lay ourselves down to be used by You, send us out and we will go. We give You all glory and honor, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Today’s Attitude of Worship: Always remember who you are, especially in the middle of your battle when you are weary and worn.

Additional Scriptures: see passage above

Shalom,

Prudence