The Warfare Got Loud Because Your Assignment Got Real
Hell Does Not Waste Ammunition on Empty Vessels
This one is personal today, so personal that I questioned whether I should even share it. Yet maybe somebody needs to hear what ministry leaders do not always tell you,
Sometimes the person encouraging everybody else needs encouragement too.
It has been a challenging few days. Today is especially difficult visually. Then there are email-domain problems at the worst possible time, while Dominion Renaissance Ministries is involved in ongoing contractual discussions and people need to reach me. Add the continuing visual challenges, unanswered questions, second-guessing decisions, and people I expected emotional and pastoral support from seemingly disappearing.
Yes, ministry leaders need somebody to pour into them too.
I even questioned my own participation in ministry.
And let me really expose myself: I even thought about having a drink or self-medicating!
I said thought about it.
That thought came, and I brought that thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ Jesus!
2 Corinthians 10:5 (AMPC) “[Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).”
See, temptation knocking on the door is not permission to open it.
Weariness is not permission to abandon obedience.
Disappointment is not permission to walk away from your assignment.
And feeling weak does not mean God has left you, in fact, it is quite the opposite!
2 Corinthians 12:9 (AMPC) “But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and to enable you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!”
THAT IS WHERE I AM TODAY!
Not pretending everything feels good.
Not pretending I am not tired.
Not pretending I have every answer.
Not pretending I never question anything.
I am simply reminding myself that my weakest moment can become the platform upon which Christ demonstrates His greatest strength!
I recently saw words that hit me hard:
“The warfare got loud because the assignment got real. Hell doesn’t fight empty vessels.”
Now hear me carefully: every inconvenience is not necessarily spiritual warfare, and we should never give Satan credit for everything that goes wrong.
Yet Scripture makes something equally clear, we have an adversary, and believers are commanded to remain alert.
1 Peter 5:8-9 (AMPC), “Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour. Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset—rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined], knowing that the same (identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world.”
So today I am preaching to Karl.
STAND.
When your eyes are struggling - STAND.
When communication systems fail - STAND.
When people disappear - STAND.
When you start second-guessing yourself - STAND.
When the thought comes to escape instead of endure - TAKE THE THOUGHT CAPTIVE AND STAND!
Because maybe the pressure is not evidence that you should quit.
Maybe this is the moment when you discover whether your obedience requires favorable circumstances.
I do not need everything around me to work perfectly for God to remain God.
I do not need everybody who started with me to stay with me for God to remain faithful.
And I do not need to feel strong today because His strength is made perfect in my weakness!
So if you are reading this while tired, disappointed, isolated, tempted, questioning yourself, or wondering whether continuing is worth it, DO NOT MAKE A PERMANENT DECISION FROM A TEMPORARY PLACE OF EXHAUSTION.
Bring the thought captive.
Get back before God.
Remember what He called you to do.
Then STAND!
Question For Today
When the warfare gets loud, will you interpret the pressure as permission to quit, or will you bring every rebellious thought captive, stand in the strength of Christ, and prove that your obedience to God is stronger than your desire to escape what you are going through?
If You Have Ears To Hear, Then Hear It!
This is so vital here’s the link to the deeper study https://buymeacoffee.com/drministries/the-warfare-got-loud-because-your-assignment-got-real
I pray for you each and every day.
All God's Best!
Karl McKinnie
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Dominion Renaissance Ministries - www.dominionrenaissanceministries.church