Lows and Highs – Week Five

Not long ago I was going through my normal routine when I was surprised by my internal response to a situation. An area that I thought I had worked through and put behind me was suddenly overtaking my emotions. That day led to many days of working through questions, doubts, and negative thinking. Because I felt like I should be past this struggle I was at a loss – How could I conquer this? How could I move on? What would it take to find healing?

Other concerns intensified my mental battle. This wrestling continued until one night I found myself unable to sleep, overwhelmed, and fearful. After many hours, I finally turned on my light and began to pray. My prayer did not consist of well-formed sentences, deep thoughts, or positive reflections – it was more of a rambling series of questions and frustrations.

As I prayed, I was reminded of the fact that I am in a spiritual battle. While I want to look at things at face value, there is a deeper underlying war. And when I forget that, I open myself up to danger. These thoughts prompted me to read Ephesians 6. If you are not familiar with these verses, here Paul reminds Christians that we need to be on our guard. We are in a fight not with flesh and blood but with spiritual forces. And we need to take time to prepare for this battle.

Reading through these verses two thoughts surfaced, two pieces of wisdom and insight that applied directly to that night’s struggle. First, I noticed that multiple times the phrase “stand firm” is used. While my instinct is often to give up, ignore, or find an easier way, God challenges me to take a stand. In the days when I feel out of energy, strength, or power that is the exact time I need to plant my feet and not give up.

Instead of signs of trouble, my emotions and challenging situations are simply part of the journey. God’s way is not easy and trouble-free, but for every problem we face (internal and external) He gives us the resources to withstand the storm.

If you continue reading through Ephesians 6 you will see a list of spiritual armor we can put on. This night, my second lesson came from the first piece of equipment. One that was at that moment a missing competent for me – truth. Instead of dwelling on facts, what I knew to be true, and reality I was allowing what-ifs, made-up scenarios, and false thinking to dominate my mind.

Your life and my life will always be full of highs and lows, ups and downs, and mountains and valleys. When we are in the low points, we need to be on our guard. We have an enemy (the devil) who wants to bring us down. He wants to take away what is good. As John 10:10 puts it, his goal is to “steal, kill, and destroy.” If we are not careful, when we are most vulnerable we will fall.

In this low point for me, God taught me a valuable lesson. He reminded me of the truth. He put me back on a solid path. I needed to remember to stand firm. I needed to ask – what is true? I needed to filter my mind. I needed to go back to Him. I needed to read His word. I needed to pray. I needed to worship.

What about you? When you are in the valley what do you do? When you don’t have a solution or can’t find the way, how do you respond? I believe God wants to speak the same message to you that He did to me.

Plant your feet. Don’t give up. Stand firm. Fight.

Guard your mind. Recognize falsehood. Change how you think. Dwell on truth.