Strengthen yourself

Recently as I was listening to a podcast of one of my favourite preachers (Bill Johnson for those of you who know me well!), he opened with the statement that one of the signs of spiritual maturity is being able to minister to yourself. This is something that God has been leading me in for years, and of course, it's an ongoing process, always deeper and further as we grow in him more and more. It's also been a regular theme of late for myself and my husband Gavin. Circumstances have been stretching us, both in the physical realm and not surprisingly, in the spiritual. Our faith is being tested and increased and our capacity is growing as a result. This is certainly not an easy process, in fact, it is quite painful and difficult! Sometimes I think back over my prayers and say to myself, "What did you expect, praying for capacity like that, of COURSE it was going to be hard!"As our situation and circumstances have put us in a place where our faith in God's provision and love has been forced to be stretched...so has our personal faith in him and HOW we go about that. When circumstances are tough it is so easy to get down. Then, when we are down we open the door to doubt, despair, depression, discouragement...and any other negative D word you can think of. This is the enemy's way of getting in and once he's in it's a downward spiral. Unless we take control.It is so important to surround ourselves with like minded people who can encourage us, strengthen us, give us wisdom, pray for us and support us in our journey. But as we mature in the Lord, he also expects us to be able to do this for ourselves. We grow into it, step by step. We learn to minister to ourselves. We learn to strengthen ourselves in the Lord. It doesn't mean we go it alone and start walking this journey by ourselves, it's simply a sign that we are increasing our spiritual muscle and growing and developing and maturing in faith.We need to be able to minister to ourselves, to build ourselves up, to encourage ourselves, because we need to learn to rely on God. It's not that we can't rely on people, but they are just that...people. God is God, and he needs to be where our trust is. Look at poor Job, when he was in the midst of absolute destruction and depression, he turned to his friends who weren't really much help. "You must have sinned big time for the wrath of God to come upon you like this." His wife wasn't any better either "Just turn from God and all this will stop." Wow, great advice. Yes, we are called to live in community, to live as a body and to strengthen and support one another, but sometimes we just need it to be between God and ourselves. And this is where the growth occurs.Job's journey throughout all his troubles led him to a place where it was just him and God. It was here in this place where his relationship with God was tested and ultimately strengthened. It was in this place that we are able to see how he ministered to himself and what prosperity and blessing this led to in his life. We too, must learn to strengthen ourselves in God...despite our circumstances, good or bad.It all begins with thanksgiving and praise. Yes, amidst the desolate circumstances and depression THANK God. When we thank God for all he has done, all he has given us and all that he is, we strengthen ourselves and our position shifts from a place of complaining to a place of humility, awe and gratitude. This automatically shifts our realm. Then when we start PRAISING him it goes to a whole new level. If we can give thanks and praise his name in the midst of dire circumstances, this shifts the position of our heart. Notice that we enter his gates with thanksgiving, and then his courts with praise (Ps 100:4.)? We enter into his presence (the King is in the throne room) through the door of thanksgiving. As difficult as it may be and as much as we may not be feeling it, being able to give thanks and praise in situations like this is a sure sign of spiritual maturity. And as we do it more and more we strengthen and increase this ability within us to MINISTER TO OURSELVES. WE get ourselves out of the pit, without the help of people around us. Again, I'm not saying that we don't need the people around us, or that we shouldn't call on them for help and encouragement - after all, that's what we are called to do as a body - but when we are able to strengthen our own selves, God is then able to entrust us with more, because he knows that when the enemy hits and the despair, depression, doubt and discouragement hit, we will not be crumbled by it, but we will overcome it with victory. We are not ruled by our circumstances, WE rule them. No matter how bad they may be, our attitude towards them and how we react to them is what determines the outcome.So as Gav and I sat on the lounge BOTH feeling all of the negative D's, I felt the whisper to my heart...."Rise up." That was it. No big prophetic word, no revelations from heaven with trumpet blows and lightning flashes, just a simple instruction that called for immediate obedience. Rise up. So we did, both literally and spiritually. We stood up off our seat and started praying, speaking in tongues, thanking and praising God, declaring his Word over our circumstances. Oh my, what an experience it was! To be feeling so downcast one minute and then so full of passion, power, hope and faith then next (well, maybe after half an hour or so!) was amazing. Now, our circumstances hadn't changed (yet!), but WE certainly had! And that was all that mattered, because once our attitude had changed, once we had gone from the negative to the positive, once we had risen up then the entire realm had shifted.NOW, God was able to move in our circumstances. The very next day a multitude of provision flooded in in the very areas of our life that we needed them. Praise God! Are we there yet? No! But we're on our way and this was yet another great reminder that God is moved by our faith. When we sit and wallow in despair we aren't allowing him the freedom to work because our actions and attitude are actually saying "I don't trust that you can take care of this." I love the verses in Matt 6:25-34 that talks about the need for basic provision in life. Jesus says that God takes care of the birds and the flowers, so how much more will he take care of us..."Why do you have such little faith?" (vs30) That's exactly what doubt and despair is! It's lack of faith, and WE actually prevent God from coming through and providing for us in these situations - even though he wants to, even though he is able to, even though he plans to- because he is moved by faith.How often do we need to catch ourselves and strengthen ourselves in the Lord, BEFORE we even get to this place of despair! As Paul says in 2 Corinthians, we need to catch every single thought as soon as it enters our minds and put it into submission to the authority of Jesus (2 Cor 10:5). Take captive every thought BEFORE it takes you captive! And if you do find yourself in submission to it, make the decision to RISE UP and take charge of your feelings and thoughts. Give thanks, praise, be grateful, pray in tongues, declare the word of God. Keep going UNTIL you feel the shift...and then some!God can use us more and more as we allow him to develop and mature us into the vessels he needs us to be in order to use us for the individual purposes he has called each of us to. Being able to minister to ourselves and strengthen ourselves in the Lord is a lifelong practice that will eventually become a natural lifestyle. But we need to get it to that place. And even when it is at that place, God will stretch us and take us continually deeper and further in it.Resources:I highly recommend Bill Johnson's "Strengthen Yourself in the Lord" which can be purchased on iBooks or at major book stores.