Intense humility and vulnerability report. My feelings have been under great attack this morning, but it's such an intensely great reminder. I was feeling defeated, destroyed, helpless, hopeless, and like a victim for an entire 30 minutes. I felt no peace. I allowed the lies of the enemy to veil me from my Daddy's presence for an entire half an hour! It was the most miserable half hour of the past 2 1\4 years of my born again life! The reason I'm sharing this is to strengthen the Church and stomp the enemy! The Truth.... I haven't been defeated! I am more than a conqueror! I'm not helpless.... My Help never leaves me or forsakes me! I'm not destroyed... I'm empowered! I'm definitely not hopeless.... The Hope of the world lives inside of me! When I took my eyes off of God's face and focused on myself (fear, pain, uncertainty), I began to sink... quickly! There is no room in this life for that nonsense! I must always keep my eyes on Him and His promises! I must always live by faith and not by sight! I can't afford, for even a moment to let what I see become a greater reality than Him! His promises for Marvin and I are so much bigger than what I can see with my earthly eyes right now! I've seen ridiculous evidence of that already in the very short time we've had together so far! How could I possibly believe the lies of this world over the greater Truth that I have stored up for me? We have to keep our focus, Church! We can't afford to allow our minds to be set on the things of this world at the cost of Truth! We must always keep our minds set on things above, where we're seated with Christ Jesus! We can't afford to turn our thoughts inward at the cost of relationship with the One who holds us together in the palm of His hand! Be strengthened, Church! Be encouraged! Every plan He has for us is better than we could ever possibly think, dream, or imagine! We must actively pursue the Giver! Never give in to the illusion that you are destined for anything but greatness! Never allow yourself to be victimized by deceit! The wisdom of this world is sensual and destructive! Keeping busy in times of trial may seem like a good idea... keeping your mind too busy to think about what's happening, but that's the furthest thing from the Truth! The way that seems right to man leads to death! Spiritual, mental, emotional, and even physical death! In the midst of trial we need to stop everything and get alone with Him! We need to allow Him to be our focus, so that we're able to stay focused! I'm not saying forsake all responsibility when disaster strikes! That's the furthest thing from what I'm saying! If it's a work day, don't busy yourself with mindless distractive work, but rather keep your thoughts on Him and stay in communion while you complete your tasks! If you're a stay at home parent and the kids are around, don't lock yourself in your room leaving them to tend to themselves, but rather take every opportunity to care for them! In doing so, you will be behaving exactly like our Savior, while keeping your mind focused on Him! When you do have moments of downtime, get alone with Him! Get all of your focus solely on Him, and be renewed! We're in a war, Church! Take every opportunity to get the training and preparation you need! Soldiers in the armed forces don't distract themselves with busyness or leisure in the short down times between battles...they train! We need to do the same! Strap on your armor! Receive your instruction! Be strengthened! Be prepared! Be overwhelmed by confidence and peace! And... Run with me Church! Www.purusamor.com