Assurance In Facing The Mountain
Assurance In Facing The Mountain (by Kathy Gabler)
As we position our hearts to receive the joy of the Lord, may we have the wisdom not to equate JOY with EASE. If we think JOY means EASE then the least bit of opposition can add discouragement, oppression and depression to the mountains we face. JOY does not pivot around EASE. Joy comes on the heels of conflict: Isaiah 29:19 tells us, The “afflicted” shall increase their joy in the Lord. That statement is both an assurance and a challenge: the temptation and trial process shall not win, nor shall the accuser of the brethren or failure prevail; so we must forge ahead, confident the Joy of the Lord is rooted in overcoming. Joy confronts the depleting foes of grief, vexation, disappointment, hurt and worry to defy and defeat them. Joy is a by-product of relationship with God. Joy is not an emotional state. It is an attitude of the heart that does not bow at the throne of EASE.
Joy In The Mountain
Joy In The Mountain (by Kathy Gabler)
Ps 121:1-2: “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” (NAS) It was not the mountains that provided strength and help, rather the God who created them and who sat enthroned in Zion. We will not find the strength and refuge we seek by isolating ourselves in a mountain-stronghold. Neh 8:10 says, “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” In Hebrew, the word “strength” literally means: a place or means of safety, a protection, a refuge, a stronghold. We must allow the joy of the Lord to rise up in us to remove our mountains and provide true protection and refuge.
King Of The Hill?
King Of The Hill?
(by Kathy Gabler)
The problem with strongholds in the soul is that Self takes the lead, surrounding itself in a defensive determination, demanding a right to survive. As king of the hill, the banners of NO SUBMISSION and SELF-SUFFICIENCY defy all comers – even God. Soulish determinations, demands, self-justifications and self-sufficiency are the opposite of humbling self; and it is those who humble themselves to God that receive God’s enabling grace, His ability to overcome. (1 Pe 5:5b) “…for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Tides And Mountain Strongholds
Tides And Mountain Strongholds (Kathy)
Like tides coming and going, there will always be problems. Ps34:19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” (NKJ) 1Pet 4:12 “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.” (NIV) It is not life that builds blockages in our hearts and understanding. It is our reaction to life that causes us to build isolated forts atop high mountains of the soul every time we try to protect ourselves rather than trusting God, or when we try to justify our offenses rather than forgive or repent, or when we try to avoid pain rather than obey God. So God’s goal is to change me to the point that the tides cannot stir the same reactions within me. He desires to equip us so that troubles, afflictions and offenses are confronted with the Word and displaced by the Truth instead of a reactionary blockage or the false strength of a mountain-stronghold I erect in my soul. seecministries.org
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