I had the honor of ushering the group into the presence of the Almighty God through worship. The Holy Spirit ministered to women and girls from many walks of life. Some had been walking intimately by His side for years; others had yet to take a step with Him.
Tying into the theme of Beauty and the Beast, I remembered a verse that sums up a woman's desire to have a hero rescue her, the story of every fairytale and every good plot. See Colossians 1:13-
God has rescued You from the dominion of darkness and into the Kingdom of His Son Jesus whom He loves and through Whom we have redemption and forgiveness of sins. Said another way, God has rescued You, like the princess in the high tower, like every good plot of a valiant hero and an evil antagonist. God has rescued You from this pit of literal hell, this dungeon, and He has placed You in a glorious kingdom, castle, a perfect oasis, a slice of heaven, which is the kingdom where His Son reigns over All Darkness.
Do you know what the difference is between power and authority? Power is what a mac truck has. Authority is what a police officer has. A seemingly small person, when vested with authority, can make a mac truck stop in the road. Now that truck could do a lot of damage to the man if it didn't stop. It certainly has power to harm. But the man has something greater, authority. And this is what we have as coheirs with Christ.
We are supposed to be the Head and not the Tail, stopping the mac truck dead in its tracks and exercising the authority of Heaven over the dungeon of hell. Jesus says ALL authority has been given to Him and He gives it also to us.
It is written in Isaiah 54:17 "No weapon that has ever been or ever will be forged/formed by the enemy will prevail/prosper/succeed against me, and I will refute/rebuke/overthrow every tongue/word/curse/appointment against me/attempt to foil brought against me. This is the heritage of the servants of God, and this is their vindication from Me, says The Lord." This means nothing can stand up to the power and authority of God, the same authority He's given us. It says in the previous verse, did not God make the blacksmith? Is not all control and dominion in the hands of God? God made the blacksmith who tries to fashion weapons against us, *but no weapon will prosper*.
I hope you find encouragement in this reminder. The weekend was refreshing to my soul, and I was able to reflect again on resting in God and allowing Him to pour into me again. As an encourager I appreciate when other people say or do something to encourage me; this weekend I was overwhelmed with the kindness of women pouring such encouraging words and prayers over me. We all need this. It can sometimes feel lonely doing battle all by yourself. Take a moment to reach out to a friend, a pastor, a missionary. We are all on this journey through life, and I want to encourage each of you with this song, an old hymn, that reminds us how capable God is to steer us through life's storms.
Jesus, Savior, pilot me
Over life's tempestuous seas
Unknown waves before me roar
Hiding rock and treacherous shore
Chart and compass come from Thee,
Wondrous sovereign of the sea,
May I hear You say to me,
"Fear not, I will pilot thee."
As a mother stills her child
You can hush the oceans wild
Boisterous waves obey Thy will
When You say to them, "Be still."
Chart and compass come from Thee
Wondrous sovereign of the sea
May I hear You say to me,
"Fear not, I will pilot thee."
Father I pray that each person reading this will find refreshment in You and know that You are bigger than whatever they face. You hold the universe and everything in it in one hand, and You fill each of us whom You call Your own with unmeasurable fullness of Your Spirit. Father, this knowledge is unfathomable and magnificent! I also want to thank you for giving us rest and lavishing us with Your Authority to arrest the powers of darkness. It's for Your Glory, Jesus.
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