Is the Devil Messin’ with you?

I have had trouble sleeping.
I have had trouble getting up.
I have had trouble with “I can’t do this” in mental, emotional, and physical arenas.

Is this God?

Psalm 4:8 I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, Lord, make me live in safety.

Pr 3:24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid; you will lie down, and your sleep will be pleasant.

Psalm 91:5 You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,

Is 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.

And then, there’s this:

Romans 8:6 The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace, Ok, that’s the sleep part.

Where’s the wake up part? There’s not much but God made sure it was there:

Proverbs 3:5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the LORD sustains me.

What’s the answer to this?

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. / Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. / For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

This is RED LETTER!!! This is JESUS talking!

Phillipians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. / And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

This is PAUL – the greatest Jewish teacher – and one that visited the third heavens.

1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

This is PETER – he walked with Jesus!

Psalm 37:3-6 3 Trust in the Lord and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely.[b] 4 Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act, 6 making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday.

This is by David. KING DAVID – “A MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART”.

These are from huge leaders of the Christian/Judaic movement. These are men that knew what they were talking about.

These are men that went through horrible things –

David being sought after by Saul because of his calling,

Paul was beaten multiple times because of his calling,

Peter was jailed and eventually martyrs horribly because of his calling,

and Jesus, beaten, and crucified because of the whole purpose for which he came to earth.

These guys have serious Christian Cred.

This lets me know that I am in a battle. And honestly, I have not taken my spiritual warfare on behalf of this calling to write and publish books, and possibly share my story with others. I have settled on I can’t. I have allowed the I can’ts to guide me and direct me. That’s really lame.

Paul was given a thorn in the flesh to keep him humble. He was a real hotshot in the priesthood/Pharisees. He was taken up to the third heavens where theologians believe was the throne room of God – and where Paul may have talked with Jesus.

I have been given some thorns in the flesh – but not so much to keep me humble. Some are just consequences for my choices. One is not healing as eveyone thinks it should. And why have I not asked for them to be removed? I have – and I hear Paul’s message from Jesus – “My grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made strong in your weakness.”

I know all about speaking life over myself.

Proverbs 18:21 Life and death are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruit.

I haven’t always. I don’t always. I know many of the promises of God – if Deuteronomy 28 isn’t enough promises, there are more!

Do I confess them, believe them, claim them over my life? yes, and no – not always.

I know the verse that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13 ¹³ I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.

The truth is, I have doubted myself. I have doubted my abilties.  I have doubted my potential for success. < I had trouble even saying “I have doubted my success” because in my mind it needed to be qualified with potential.

I use IF often.

I allow sleep to take over my time – because you know I have immune deficiencies that mean I may need extra rest. I have pain that may mean that I need to stop and heal. IS THAT TRUSTING GOD?

NOW, I’m going to qualify this for anyone that is reading this. IF you have an illness, an injury, a disability that needs to be managed – GOD WILL HELP YOU AND WILL NOT ASK YOU TO DO MORE THAN YOU ARE ABLE.

That last peice – it’s not exactly bible – but it is God’s character. HE will give you what you can handle – and with it He will provide you a way of escape.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it.

“BUT CHRISTI – WEAKNESS IS NOT A TEMPTATION, IT’S REAL!”

“BUT CHRISTI – I REALLY DO HAVE CARDIAC, BREATHING ISSUES, A MISSING LIMB, RUINED SHOULDER, DAMAGED BACK, FMS, CE, ADHD, AUTISM, MDD, BP!”

I have several of those. Here is what I know. Here is what I need to be reminded of.  While there are physical and mental and emotional issues that I have – God knows this. He knows how to work with these, and if He has to, He knows how to supernaturally empower me for what needs to be done. and if I’m done – He has provided a way of escape so that I am able to bear whatever is facing me.

Trials – these are not always bad things attacking us. These are also thoughts of weakness, inability, failure, mess ups, defeat, frustration, despair.

If I think negatives, there is one that will join me in these thoughts. And he is not looking for my best interests.

Revelation 12:10 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Messiah have now come, because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown out: the one who accuses them before our God day and night.

1 Peter 5:8 Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.

John 10:10 A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.

Jesus knew that Satan was going to try Peter –

Luke 22:31 “Simon, Simon, look out! Satan has asked to sift you like wheat.

What does this last passage tell us about Jesus’ attitude towards our weaknesses?

Luke 22:32 32 But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

JESUS IS PRAYING FOR US! AND HAS BEEN SINCE HE CAME TO EARTH!

1 John 2:1 2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

Hebrews 7:25 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

When Jesus left, He promised to send us a Helper – the Holy Spirit – and here is part of the Holy Spirit’s job:

Romans 8:27-27 26 In the same way the Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us[a] with unspoken groanings. 27 And He who searches the hearts knows the Spirit’s mind-set, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Here’s the Reel that sent me reeling about my current walk with Jesus!

Kittie J Rose

If you have Giants in Your lands – as in things that you struggle with seemingly constantly, I wrote about a couple of these giants in MY land.  Maybe one of these will speak to you.

Here’s a poem, The Cry of My Heart – about how one of my “thorns” gets to me, and how I work though it.

The next installment I’ll be talking about how to walk in the victory that Christ has purchased for me – instead of wallowing in this mess that Satan has for me.

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Hi! My hope in the midst of despair and my joy in the face of depression is because of my relationship with Jesus Christ. If you do not have one, or are not sure you will join him in heaven, please check out these links:

• Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
• Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation.

Thanks for joining me in this journey, In His hands and under His wings, ~Christi Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear. If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest Copyrights and Legal-eze

My heart has always gone out to the marginalized, underserved, broken, wounded and neglected.  Since Jim’s death, I have not been able to give to these ministries as we used to with his income.  So, my gift to them now is to speak their names to others that may be able to give, or pray for these ministries that I have seen with my own eyes grow, and grow others into their ministry and calling for the Lord Jesus Christ. There are many organizations that support children and families. Here are ones that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

• A Mission that Jim and I have been supporting for many years in the Philippines, in General Santos City, on the island of Mindanao, in a poverty-stricken area is Naomi’s Heart Mission. I have known the founder, Kristi Ward,  since I was a little taller than knee high to a grasshopper. Consider sponsoring a child, a college student, a feeding – many ways to give.
• A mission that grew out of Naomi’s Heart is Obed’s House Ministries. The daughter of one of my high school friends visited the Phillipines and fell in love with the street children. Meredith (Wood) Docena not only built a home for these neglected children, she found her love, Avery, and they have two biological children. Mia and Tegan, that are growing up in this wonderful environment.
• Another mission that grew out of Naomi’s Heart is Living Stone Ambassadors of Hope, founded by Becky and Marty Mingus. They teach and preach the gospel, but also give pratical help to teach families build sustainable income.
• The son of a high school friend ministers with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. Matt Plant and his wife Alexi, as well as their two children, are posted at Bowling Green State University to minister to the students.   If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.