Warriors

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the tactics of the devil.  Ephesians 6:10-11

That verse from Pauls letter to the Ephesians are our WOW words this week.  We’ve talked all week about being strong, remarkable and warriors for the Lord.  I’m wondering how long it’s been since you’ve thought of yourself as a remarkable warrior?  The middle lovelies weren’t quite sure it was possible until we unpacked what it really looks like to the Lord.

Our Monday Message video was about a young doctor named Brianne Feldpausch who started a program that took medical care out into the streets and shelters to care for the homeless.  The program is impressive and the kids all agreed that the work of the young doctor featured in the video reminded them of a modern day Mother Teresa.  After we talked about how brave and compassionate and remarkable she was, I shared that she was from Fowler, which is  the little neighboring town just up the road.  Being a remarkable warrior for the Lord doesn’t mean you have to come from a big important place.  Lesson number 1.

Our Tuesday tune was about being a warrior that could rise above defeat and disappointment to get things done.  When we inserted God into the song and thought about the message he might be sharing through the song, we realized that not every battle is the same and we aren’t called to fight them all, only the ones he chooses and equips us for. We realized that even the greatest warriors don’t win every battle because it’s about persistence more than perfection.  Lesson number 2.

On WOW word Wednesday before the verse was written in beautiful cursive in a prayer journal, we talked about armor.  We talked about  David and  King Saul’s armor and what God’s armor really looked like.  I saw an image on FaceBook that I completely snitched and used in class.  I had two oranges and two glasses of water.  The orange with the peel represented God’s armor.  We decided that when we arm ourselves with prayer and we seek to do God’s will and follow his plan and ask him to show us the battles he’s asking us to fight for him we are  protected.  As you plunk that orange with the peel into the water, it floats.  Then we talked about fighting battles he hasn’t invited us to fight or that he hasn’t equipped us to fight we’re like the  unpeeled orange and we sink right to the bottom.  Lesson number 3.

Sometimes our battles are with things like  living with honesty, spreading peace in chaos or choosing words that are kind instead of gossip.  Sometimes our battle is to spread Gods mercy instead of judgement or to stand up for a cause and speak the truth.  As we weave it all together, these words from St. Mother Teresa are a good place to start as we pray for God’s armor and directions. Lesson number 4.

I used to pray that God would feed the hungry, or do this or that, but now I pray that he will guide me to do whatever I’m supposed to do, what I can do.  I used to pray for answers, but now I’m praying for strength.  I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us and we change things. St. Mother Teresa

A Seed To Plant:  Spend some time reading the scripture and the quote in todays post and ask God to point you to the places he’s calling you to be a remarkable warrior.​
Blessings on your day!