The Faith Place

I know that I haven’t posted a blog in a while and it is because I have been going through some things in my personal life.

It has felt like closed door after closed door which has led to lack of motivation and basically just going through the motions to get by.

Recently, I woke up to this phrase bouncing around in my head, and I had to share.

The pain you’ve been enduring is not from the enemy, it’s from the positioning.

It was like a lightbulb went off. I mean I have prayed for God’s will to be done and for Him to close doors that aren’t for me and to open doors that are for me. It’s just when I went through a time of so many closed doors I assumed it was the enemy attacking me. Now, don’t get me wrong there are times of enemy attack, but I’m not talking about those times today. We can discuss those another time.

Anointed seasons of no.

I’m talking about anointed seasons of “no’s” from God. It’s not that the doors we stepped in front of were inherently bad. Many of the doors we prayed to be opened were very good things for us. However, God is looking at a bigger picture and sees that even a door that’s pretty good may not position us right where He wants us for the blessings and the promises He has for us.

God is not haphazardly bringing your purpose and destiny into fruition. We are not meant to just walk through any door and expect it all to work out. Does God factor in our faults, failures, and mess ups? He sure does. I know He has a way of bringing about His will in spite of us, but we have to remember He uses closed doors to do His work as well.

The enemy is an opportunist.

Now, let’s talk about the enemy for a second. He is what I like to call an opportunist. It makes his little job so much easier when He sees us facing these difficult seasons of no, because He takes the opportunity to come in and spread lies, doubt, and fear.

You know what I’m talking about. When nothing seems to be going right all of a sudden this thought of: “God has abandoned me” pops up. A thought of fear and anxiety might sound like: “What if it never works out, what if this is all there is for me in life?” Thoughts of doubt: “What if the word or the promise I thought God had for me wasn’t right, maybe I got it wrong, maybe that’s not what He meant, maybe it was for somebody else.”

He hasn’t even done anything to you, but he works in your mind. I have been right there. I’m writing this today, because many days I’ve felt like giving up and giving in to the pressure. But then the Holy Spirit rises up in me and says not today. I will put my faith in Jesus and while everything may seem like a cloud of chaos right now I will not give in to the lies of the enemy.

You know as I write this I’ve had about 3 confirmations in the past few weeks from different messages and just things happening in my life about this topic of positioning. Positioning is uncomfortable. Positioning feels like pressure. Positioning goes against our core instincts to self sooth and to try and make everything better. Our instinct is to run away from pain, but positioning can feel like pain is front and center. I’m not talking necessarily about physical pain, but I’m talking about the pain of depression, anxiety, disappointments, etc. We are all capable of feeling that pain when it seems like nothing is working out the way you thought it would.

But remember God won’t bring you to something He doesn’t fully intend to bring you through.

I’m going to try and end this blog now, but I want to encourage you. First, I want to challenge you to pray into your situation that you are facing. Ask for discernment on where you are. Is it the enemy giving you a fit, or is God trying to position you for your greatest blessings? God will reveal these things to you. Understanding the difference will help you begin to pray affectively over your situation. Because if you’ve been rebuking the devil this whole time while God has just been closing some doors to get you into position, then a more affective prayer would be that God would give you the grace to accept His purpose and plan for your life. You can save the devil stomping for another time!

Next, find scripture and songs to help you through. Music is such a therapeutic tool. But not only that we have got to worship through what we are going through. My poor church probably got sick of hearing “Trust in God” by elevation worship because I was singing that song about every other service. That song was getting me through some tough times though. So, that’s what you have to do, saturate (or marinate if that’s what you want to call it) in the word of God and in good worship.

You can start with Psalm 34! I’m just going to share verse 1, but you have got to go read that in your spare time. It says, I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Now I could go off on a tangent about blessing the Lord at all times, but I said I was going to try to end this blog. So, I won’t, but maybe we can talk about that another day too!

Let’s pray!

Dear heavenly father, we thank you and praise you for all that you have done and are going to do. It’s not always easy to go through seasons of no, but we know that you are doing that to work things out for our good and for your glory. Please give us grace and peace as we go through difficult times of positioning to be able to fully trust in you and in your process. Help us to quickly recognize and cast down the lies of the enemy when he tries to make us doubt you. Give us discernment to know how to pray each and everyday, not only for ourselves but for everyone attached to us. Remind us to take time out of each day to stay in your word and to worship you through every situation. We love you. We trust you. We pray all these thing in Jesus name, Amen.

Be Blessed!