August 19, 2015

Fighting YOU!

By Christina

beautiful woman with the red boxing gloves, studio shot

Why do you keep on fighting with yourself?

You don’t wanna go;
You don’t wanna grow;
But God wants you to know;
It is time for you to sow!
What are you gaining;
By constantly straining;
A battle within;
That God wants you to win!

There was a man in the bible named Jonah. Many recall the story of this man that was called out by God for a specific task. The moment he was called out…he ran from God. As he ran from God, wherever he went destruction followed him. So much so, that it even affected the people around him. Jonah was a loner. Jonah was selfish. Jonah was anti-social. Jonah was troubled inside about many things. Most importantly his communion with the One who called him [See Jonah Chapter 1].
For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
~Matthew 16:26
The story of Jonah ends so abruptly. He was still angry, alone and scorched. When all that God had for him was good. Yet his ending was horrid. Is that something that we want for ourselves? To keep away from your purpose and calling? To keep an isolation because of our own inner wall? To keep away from everyone because of some past hurt or pain? To keep away from people, to keep away from church or to keep away from GOD? Yet keeping away is causing you the most pain. A life of solitude and your own personal prison.
A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment. ~Proverbs 18:1
The walls you have built are even too heavy to hold yourself. YOU NEED HELP! You need God. You need people and you need fellowship. Pull the one inside of you out from the dark isolation and into the light and allow God to lead you through the rest.
Then the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” ~Jonah 4:4
awarThis can be such a struggle for many of us. We don’t want to do what God tells us to do. We don’t want to go where God tells us to go. We don’t want to grow in maturity or the things of God. But God is just telling you, that it is time for YOU to sow good into YOUR life! It is time for you to bring yourself under the mighty hand of God and not the hand of self. We are destroying our growth by staying in confined places of our minds. We keep fighting ourselves. We keep battling in our mind. We stay in that war zone of our mind and never come out fully free.
What are you afraid of? Why is it so easy for you to stay in the wrong place when you know that it is NOT good for you. What exactly are you waiting for? The big fish to come swallow you up as it did to Jonah [Chapter 1:17]. You say it is difficult. You say you can’t. You keep coaching yourself into failure and not into success. When the only one that can help you is YOU!
There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. ~Proverbs 14:12

AtWarYou can at least start by changing the pep talk that you have with yourself. You change the words by exchanging yours for His. Then you can get in to the place where you need to be with God. All is downhill from there… mental smooth sailing! A peace beyond understanding. A joy inexpressible. A laughter like medicine. A smile that is radiant.

Don’t waste another day at war with YOU! Imagine how exhausting it is fighting with someone else, let alone yourself. All your own effort to crush your own growth and progress. Find the root cause for your war and END IT! If you were hurt, move on. That is the only thing to do. Not everyone is going to hurt you. Begin to find a place where you can come out of the isolation and into a place of plenitude. Study and practice improved people skills. Seek wise counsel. Talk to God daily through prayer. Build up your confidence about YOU!

“But they don’t like me…
I’m a bad person…
I did things wrong…
People say this about me…
They hurt me…”

Dear brother or sister…BE FREE! Forgive and forget…that is the way to your wholeness. If God forgave you –WHO CARES WHAT “THEY” SAY OR THINK! Why hang on to pain, anger or frustration another day. It is the most liberating thing to overcome offenses. Smile at your hater…embrace them…kiss them hello…give them a GIFT of goodness. Jesus did so with the one who betrayed Him for 30 pieces of silver. He did so with the “bestie” that denied Him three times. He did so with the all the disciples that fled from the scene….buddies for THREE years and then nothing! It is all okay because the buddy He wants is for LIFE and that is the relationship that He is seeking with YOU! Don’t let the enemy tell you any more lies in your mind! Even if that enemy is you. If that pushes you away from God–then that is a lie!!!!

So instead of fighting with you… why don’t you take up a stance and fight FOR you! Listen–no one else is going to do that for you. Stop waiting for sister Suzie to always rescue you. Stop waiting for brother Mikey to show up on the scene for you. God is there with you always…all you need to do is go to Him! That is something each of us have to learn independently. If someone brought you to Him initially – you were the one that had to surrender that prayer of repentance. It was your voice not theirs that said the prayer!

And when you get there…how sweet the victory…how great the battle is won. What a celebration. Because the time and energy is running dry that you use against yourself. It is time to put all your emphasis now in building a better you.

YOU CAN DO IT! 

About Christina

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Blessings to all that are viewing this. My name is Christina Cruz-Mendez. I am a Senior Pastor at Mission United International Church in Yonkers, NY working along side my husband Juan A. Mendez Jr. Senior Pastor, currently residing in Canton, Georgia. We have been together for 29 years with 2 children that God has blessed us with. Makes us the family of four - "JusChrist4". I have been a Christian and active in ministry for about 22 years now. Through all the rocky and smooth roads in life I am eternally grateful that God has brought me this far in life to share with the world what He is doing in me, through me and for me. View all posts by Christina
This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 19th, 2015 at 6:27 pm and tagged with , , and posted in Encouragement, Faith, Inspiration, Restoration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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