Walking through the last few years has been a training ground for me. Walking through the mental illness of my daughter and the addictions of my husband has opened my eyes to the battle around us each and every day....and how I can fight it. Being a warrior is something I now embrace....but only after learning how to use my weapons and how to use the authority that God has given me as His daughter....so here are a few things I have learned that may help you embrace the warrior in you;
1. Most important of all the lessons I have learned is this one: KNOW WHO YOU ARE. So vital. Know that you are a daughter of the King of Kings and that NO ONE or NOTHING can ever take that name away from you. Knowing your identity in Christ and being confident of that identity is something the enemy wants to take away from you as quickly as possible....so learn who God says you are now and STAND FIRM on that identity.
2. Know what your weapons are....You have been given one of the most powerful weapons ever....God's Word. It can break chains that have been there for years, it can soften the hardest of hearts, it can change how you and others see things around you....it can change the whole direction of the battle. Become so familiar with God's Word that it is hidden deep in your heart. Study it. Memorize it. Speak it. Realize it is valuable enough for you to spend time in it each day. You can listen to it in the car, on an mp3 player or phone or you can open it and read it. How you do it is not important...DOING IT is.
3. Surround yourself with other women warriors. There are many of us warriors out there....seek other women who are fighting for their children and their marriages and their families and become friends with them. This is actually super hard for me because I am an introvert and opening myself up to people is hard and doesn't come naturally to me. It is hard because many times I just feel to busy with life to actually take time to spend with other women. But changing my mindset to realize how important this is and to see it as a weapon as well is helping me with this. Having arms linked with other sisters who are right there on the battle ground with you is HUGE and I believe a powerful weapon against the enemy....we are stronger together.
4. Be on Guard. Do not let the enemy come into your home through gossip, slandering of your children or husband, or even watching shows or listening to music that weakens you and begins a slow fade.We need to be vigilant. We need to be on guard. We need to understand how sneaky the enemy is. He rarely comes in with guns blazing....but instead slowly sneaks in through subtle things that are just "slightly" different than God's Truth. We need to recognize these things and stand firm against them. Here is just a small example....if I am listening to music that constantly talks about cheating on my spouse or how horrible my life is....pretty soon, I may start believing this and my viewpoint changes from God's Truth to a worldview....all because of the sneaky enemy that I allowed in. Plus, our children gain a ton of their lifevviews from music, movies ect....and we need to teach them how to guard against the enemy as well by our example to them!
5. Be grateful. Praise God for all that He is doing. Even when things look so dark and lonely....even when you can feel the waters of despair cover you at times making you choke and sputter as you come up for hope one.last.time....even in this dark moments....praise. This can be one of the hardest things because let's face it, when life is overwhelming you and everywhere you look you see despair....praises are hard. But this is why the four things above this are so important. It is in these dark lonely moments that you remember who you are, dig your heels into God's Word, call your friends and be honest with them that life is super hard right now and know that the enemy is just trying to deceive you into thinking all is lost....
But we are warriors.
And warriors know that even when the battle is long and hard....we don't give up. That is what makes us warriors. You play such an important part in this battle and the enemy knows that. I pray you will join me in becoming a warrior wife....a warrior mom....a warrior who is strong and is not afraid to look the enemy straight in the eyes and have no fear....because we KNOW our King.
