“There’s a storm out on the ocean
and it’s moving this old way
if your soul’s not anchored in Jesus
it will surely drift away” – Michael Ross, “There’s a Storm Out”
I make it my heart’s content daily to thank God for his divine power, protection and direction that keeps me anchored in him so I do not get swayed by every wind of doctrine hurled in my direction. As he says in Corinthians, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (flesh and blood) but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10). Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. The real battle takes place in our minds.
So, as the Bible says, we must be ever so careful about what we take into our eye sockets and our ear gates because it immediately ends up in our minds and our hearts, which in turn can cause destruction and calamity in our daily lives. The people with whom we hang around, the places we go, as well as the conversations we entertain will eventually begin to shape and mold us into who and what we are becoming: the good, the bad and the ugly.
We cannot continue to be governed by negative, external stimuli that we will contend with during the course of a normal day. We will have to exercise good judgment daily about what things we absorb and allow to infiltrate our psyches.
The adversary is always on the prowl to download negative, ungodly foolishness into the hard drive of the mind, where the battle of good and evil is truly waged.
In Peter 5:7-9, God says the enemy is on the “prowl like a roaring lion seeking someone it may devour.” So let us not become a tragedy. We must keep our armor on at all costs if we expect to progress to whatever we aspire to accomplish in the life we have left. Hold on to the grace of God, for it is insurmountable and his power envelops you, which is part of your power to grow.
I remember it as if it were yesterday, the sounds and sights of things pleasing to the spirit, the melodious resounding of the birds singing ever so sweetly and watching the dancing and swaying of the butterflies’ smooth movements through the cool breeze.
It makes me think of the Barbra Streisand song where she sings, “Can it be that it was all so simple then, or has time rewritten every line? And if we had the chance to do it all again, just tell me, would we? Could we?”
Those memories! At the corners of my mind…of the way we were. “Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind.” Yes, I had some good days and I had some bad days. Yet still, I do not feel it necessary to complain. The sweet fragrance of crushed roses invigorates me, knowing that it is not until I have been hard-pressed on every side that the aroma of victory is brought to fruition.
So, I recommend to those of us who are God’s children that we keep fighting the good fight of faith, knowing ultimately the conclusion is…we win!
God is our fortress, protector and shield!
