In this season of threshold contending that requires positioned and immovable focus, the enemy is seeking to bait you to listen to voices that carry what 2 Corinthians 4:5 speaks of as “arguments of the mind” that are rooted in elevated, lofty, high mindedness. For those who are standing in front of their Goliath or those who know they have been positioned before their Jordan or possibly Jericho or Hebron, it is key to remember that we “don’t fight against flesh and blood” (Ephesians 6:12), and “the weapons with which we fight are not CARNAL, but are MIGHTY THROUGH God “ (2 Corinthians 10:4).
The bait the enemy would want to throw at us is to tempt us to fight in the natural. With natural emotions, and solutions and carnal wisdom and ways. It all begins with our focus. The Lord encourages us to not give these problems that the enemy is stirring up against us, which act as distractions, our focus or our “worry”.
Worry is NOT a weapon that is MIGHTY THROUGH God. Worry is not found in God! And the bible says will not solve a thing. I tell ya in the past I’ve been the “worry” expert. Worry has stolen probably years of sleep off my life. Sometimes I even believed that all the hours I spent worrying I was praying, until I heard a still small voice one day that said “ahh I haven’t heard much praying Anita, I’ve just heard a truck load of worry”.
Worry will choke off your faith seed and seek to abort your harvest. Worry will cause you to use CARNAL weapons to deal with spiritual problems.
Luke 10:38-42 depicts the famous story of Mary and Martha. Martha was “accusing” Mary and holding “judgement” towards her sisters position at Jesus’ feet. Jesus nails the root of the bad fruit she was bearing in her life in verse 41.
“But the Lord replied to her by saying, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things;”
Anxiety and worry was the root to her judgements and accusations. Jesus defended Mary however and said She has chosen the “better” portion.
Anxiety and fear, walking in the flesh and looking at life through a carnal lens will cause you to bare fruit in your life that will, if not checked, invoke the rebuke of Jesus. Why? Because you will be a stumbling block to those who seek to do things “Gods way” or a stumbling block to yourself!
Martha had high and lofty imaginations that exalted themselves above the “will” of God and “argued” against Mary’s choice. She thought she knew better!
Now we can apply this story many ways in our own lives. We could have Martha’s in our world who have an opinion on every move we make and bring accusation and judgement against our position at His feet. We need to be reminded not to respond with carnal weapons. We mustn’t take the bait. The enemy seeks to steal our focus by the “concerns and troubledness of heart” of others and the accusations they bring against us. However it is imperative we stay in position with our ears completely attentive to Jesus’ conversation. What is He saying? Because You need His instruction to take your Hebron, you need it to take your Jericho, you need it to defeat your Goliath!
On the other hand this situation could be playing out inside of us. We may have a Mary heart but because of unresolved trauma, offences, bitter roots and areas that need “deliverance”, yes that’s right I said “deliverance”, we have arguments of the mind that speak from those unrenewed areas and war against the “better” position we need to take which is, “surrendered” at Jesus feet. This position at Jesus’ “feet” shows a deference, a posture of humility to what “he says” about a situation. He is the solution giver and if you are filled with worry, anxiety and a heart that is troubled you will totally “miss” His solution. Because of this troubledness of heart we use weapons of the flesh to find peace and this can manifest in finding fault with everything and everyone. Someone who is “troubled of heart”, is critical, judgemental and fault finding. Beloved at Jesus’ feet you will discover the solution to your troubled heart. At His feet you will find the healing you need to deliver your heart and mind from the torment and war that wages within you.
His solutions and His ways are ALWAYS found in the place of surrender and humility. Not in the place of accusation and judgement.
Those roots of anxiety, worry and a troubled heart only promotes the “works of the flesh”. When you are in your own strength (like Martha), and seek to be everyone’s problem solver and corrector, you are indeed, let me spell it out, a control freak. Accusation and judgement seem to be the weapons that are chosen in this heart space rather than the ones found in God.
Martha thought she could solve the situation by giving Mary and earful. And also bringing that charge against her in the presence of Jesus. What she did not expect was Jesus’ rebuke. Jesus will defend those who choose to surrender to His ways and do it “by His Spirit”. How? The bible says that the Lord resists the proud but gives more Grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5-6).
So beloved in this hour as you choose the better portion and sit at his feet, surrendered to HIS VOICE, do not be distracted by the voice of Martha. Whether it be an internal voice or external voice coming from those in your world. DON’T TAKE THE BAIT.
Your victory not only requires your complete focus but also your complete surrender. In these moments of warfare that engage us, as Ephesians 6 says will happen, choose weapons that are MIGHTY THROUGH God, not through the flesh. Let Jesus vindicate you, let him resist the proud that are bringing accusation against you, let him heal your troubled soul as you surrender all your cares to him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). These are the weapons of our warfare that is MIGHTY THROUGH God. It is called HUMILITY AND SURRENDER
It takes humility to walk by faith. Because faith requires complete surrender and trust to believe God.
A hard heart of unbelief (as the bible calls it), does not require surrender but is fueled by pride and arrogance.
Believe me HUMILITY has been the understated and for the most part unmentioned power word amongst believers. Faith has seemed to be the focus point behind many a pulpit and Christian conversation, but I can tell you that faith operates by grace. Grace operates by humility. So beloved brethren without all the ingredients to a victorious outcome we always end up frustrated and disappointed. Choose the “better” way, choose humility and surrender and you will be able to remain focused and positioned in the sound of His voice, and all other voices will be silenced by Jesus’ rebuke.
Much love
Anita Alexander
