Author: marquitabp

To know me is to accept me, and to love me is to help me.
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Showing Up for the Fight Unprepared

“The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent.” Exodus 14:14

Lord knows today, I walked outside without putting on my armor all the way. Normally each morning I read Ephesians 6:10-18 and cover myself in the blood of Jesus, because where I am now, I know I can’t walk out without my weapons for battle fully engaged. So I unknowingly allowed that first thing this morning the enemy came and suplexed me, totally off guard. I have been facing some difficulties at my current employment. The enemy has been attacking me repeatedly through certain people, but I can truly say I have grown in the midst. From crying after every snide comment or remark, to standing up for myself today, with the documentation to prove it, lol, I have progressed. And it is all because I chose to go to the Lord for help in this fight. I was not and am not equipped to fight these battles alone. It was during my candid conversation with a great friend that it dawned on me: I have been trying to fight battles that I wasn’t supposed to fight.

‘The LORD your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes,’ Deuteronomy 1:30 NASB

Several times the Lord tells us ‘Vengeance is mine.’ I thought of this, this morning, during the morning call for my project. I flushed with anger at the blatant disrespect and accusations of incomplete tasking. I had to walk out and go to the restroom so I could pray, and I walked outside to pray more because I had to remind myself that God would avenge my wrongs and He had to fix this situation. He spoke back, saying that He would fight for me if I let Him. He started reminding me of all the emails I sent to document my progress as well as the email detailing my specific assignments from a recent meeting. As I sent the text to my friend, “I feel like I’m fighting a losing battle,” I realized what I had said. God revealed to me that I would most certainly lose, if I did not get Him involved, acknowledge my own limitations and step back. Why, because we cannot defeat the enemy in our own strength. Our flesh kicks in–like my anger–and we succumb to it…because only God gives us the strength necessary to overcome, versus relying on our own strength. But we must trust, know and believe that with God as our warrior and Commander-in-Chief, there is no battle that will snatch victory from us.

For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” Deuteronomy 20:4 NIV

It was in my follow-up text that I spoke truth and uplift to my soul: “I’ll keep trusting God for deliverance. It’s not mine to fight…” In writing that, I realized that I have allowed these people (well the spirits operating within them) to get me shaken up, bent out of shape, and frustrated–open to attack from the enemy versus using what God gave me to fight. I hadn’t completely left these battles in God’s hands. I sat in my car and prayed for about 30 minutes to bind up the enemy and every attack. It was then that I was able to get my email working and print out all the emails. It was then that I was able to construct a professional email to document my response and attach the emails that vindicated me. It was after I ate some chocolate and an apple (don’t judge me, I needed comfort food from all that frustration :D) and catching up with a friend, that I was finally cooled off. After that, I could sing and praise God freely, because I know without a doubt that He had and is going up to bat for me.

You have to cover yourself. You never know who the enemy will use to accomplish His works, to distract you or to simply get you out of praising God. You have to know that God goes with you every step of the way and will fight your battles if you allow Him room in your life to do so. I didn’t cover myself this morning in my armor like always, so I was ambushed this morning. The beauty of this battle is that the enemy won’t win, even after an ambush. He won’t win, even after temporarily stunning me. God has already won this battle, by having me cover myself and acknowledge that issue for what it was…I won’t go out unprepared for fights anymore!

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Ephesians 6:13 NASB

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Play Your Position

“But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.” 1 Corinthians 12:18-20 ESV

My junior year in high school, I tried my hand at sports again. I had played basketball before and liked it but instead I decided to try softball out. And strangely enough, I was pretty good at it. I went from being a second string-hitter to a regular starter by the end of the season. During this time of learning fundamentals for some, including me, and refreshment for others, we were tried out at different positions to see where we would be best to play during the game. I started on third base but ended up an outfielder because I was a pretty fast runner. During this time, I learned that there wasn’t one position of more value than the others, contrary to what I had thought before. Yes, there are more popular positions like pitcher, shortstop, and 1st base, but it is the whole team that brings the team success. Every team member was as important to the overall function of the team.

I was reading today a book I ran across in the grocery store a few days ago entitled “Gifts and Ministries of the Holy Spirit” by Dr. Lester Sumrall. In the first few chapters, he has driven home the fact no one person is more important to God than another. I know from experience how today the position of pastor or head deacon or bishop or apostle have all been given some sort of acclaim. It’s like if a person has appended Prophet or Reverend to their name, they suddenly get special treatment or celebrity status. And in the end, many ‘regular folk’ feel that they have nothing to bring to the table. But the truth is, God wants us all–He wants to use us all. We are all a part of the body of Christ and have all been adopted into His family.

When you know the Word and have a relationship with God, you more than know your worth to Him. Saving your life was worth Jesus’ life!! Spend that time with God and get in position. Know your role and purpose in God’s overall plan. There is no small part in this production, if you impact one person’s life and lead them to Christ…you have made God proud! Play your position, and play it well, because lives and souls are at stake.

“On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” 1 Corinthians 12:22-26 ESV