God speaks to us in many
different ways. Sometimes it is through a professional person like a pastor or
counselor. Sometimes, it’s through a
speaker or friend sharing a personal story. And sometimes it’s through
Superman.
Yes. Apparently God speaks to me through Superheroes.
(See my previous post about Wonder Woman)
There was a period of time
where I was seeking some professional counseling for some issues with stress,
letting go of past hurts, and personal challenges. In one session, I was
talking about a family member and their struggles with anxiety and fears. The
counselor made a light hearted, but somewhat sarcastic comment to the effect of
"And you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" as if I had
already made this comparison/connection to myself.
It struck me in that moment. Pause.
What did he mean by that?
I never realized how much I
lived in fear and anxiety, over so many things. I started noticing nervous
habits like picking at my nails, or jetting my eyes around instead of direct
eye contact, wiggling my foot, all while smiling, 'pretending' to be confident,
etc. And I say "pretending" because I became so good at self-soothing
that *I* didn't even know I was anxious MOST of the time. It was my normal.
So now I was aware of my
weakness. Now what?
I have been trying to catch myself. Ok. What is going on? Why do I
feel anxious? Is it real fear or irrational? Is this a legit concern or am I
being a Mother What If-er?
With this new awareness, I try hard to check myself… for
God did not give us a spirit of fear.
Recently,
I was at a conference and Pastor Debbie Kaplan was talking about her son being a Navy Seal. She said he told her that when they
are doing special operations, they have to understand their enemy inside and
out. They live among them, learn their culture, learn their religion, their way
of life, their language, their belief system, their habits. They infiltrate their lives and understand
their enemy so well that they have little chance of being surprised by an
attack because they can anticipate it. They KNOW it is coming and how they
might attack. She then reminded that we have a spiritual Enemy that wants to steal,
kill and destroy us. So our enemy studies us and looks for our weaknesses. He
is oh so patient, and will wait years for the prime moment to attack us in a
big way to take us down. It was a great comparison. It is a battle.
More specifically the battle is
often between the self we want to be and the self we were in our past. Or maybe
it is the self we know we are and the self we were told we were through insults,
lies, neglect, or abuse. I feel pretty
certain that there isn’t a person alive that has not been in one of these
battles.
So what can we do about it? (And what does
Superman have to do with it? Hang on… almost there...)
Like the Seals, we can be prepared for the
attack if we understand what the Enemy is trying to do, which is infiltrate OUR
lives…our beliefs, our habits, our language, our culture, our religion, to expose and remind us of those places we don't measure up, or doubt, or fail God's Will for our lives. The
thoughts will take hold when we are weak in any of these areas. So we have to know
our own weakness, because you can’t change what you won’t acknowledge. And you can't ask God to step in until they are revealed.
Now be warned…paying attention
will make all those weak areas begin to rise to the surface- one-by one- like
little tortellini pastas floating to the top of a boiling pot. Soon you may feel like you
are more weak than strong. Full of little Kryptonite-filled tortellini.
When this
happens, first remember 2Cor 12:9 “My
Grace is sufficient for you. My Strength is made perfect in weakness.” Then
think about Superman.
Recently there was a debate on
Facebook about who would win in a fight, Superman or Batman. (I know. But these
are the things people discuss on social media. LOL)
So, I chimed in with my
Superman vote and read the arguments for each side. Batman fans would acknowledge Superman's strengths and then mention of his ONE weakness…
Kryptonite. Then there was a line in a rebuttal that struck me again.
"Exposing a weakness does not guarantee
defeat."
Wow. Immediately, I thought of
our victory in Christ and the verse ‘I can do everything through Christ who
gives me strength.’ Phil 4:13 Then I thought about my realization of my own
weakness of anxiety and fears. Once I was aware of my weakness, I was better
prepared to examine it, turn it over to God and let Him be strong or flat out
rebuke my worry as a lie. I may still have the weakness but the enemy doesn’t get to
use it against me like he did. I’m on to his battle tactics and I know my weak
areas!
Oh no you don't. I'm not falling for that trap again!
I’m sure you have ample time
and opportunity to think about and be reminded of your weaknesses. I’m sure other
people are quick to remind you of them, too. Maybe, like me, for the first time
you are beginning to see those areas for yourself. The enemy tries to steal
your freedom, destroy your family and kill all you are supposed to be by exploiting those weak areas.
Some battles he wins.
Sweet friends, you are still here and so
the war is not over.
Ultimately we know that Christ
is victorious on our behalf so we will always win when we belong to Him! You
can now recognize them and that secret enemy plot can be thwarted a little
easier!
So the weakness is exposed. Well, exposing a weakness doesn't guarantee defeat.
Keep Shining,
XOXO Sheila
