Do you know your story?
Do you really know it in a way that will guard you against the I-can’t-do-it moments?
I am beginning to know it in this way and it is making all the difference. I am beginning to see the small cracks in my armor.
I can’t do it. Crack.
I won’t succeed. Crack.
I am losing my abilities. Crack.
I won’t be blessed. Crack.
God’s calling is non-existent. Crack.
I have no purpose. Crack.
I will not be led, inspired, helped, released, forgiven. Crack.
I will never be good enough. Crack.
My deep crack was: I can’t write. God hasn’t called me to do this. He is no longer blessing my work.
Underneath this crack, lived surface pressure: God won’t really be for you. He will leave you. Crack.
A crack is just enough for the devil’s foot to grab a hold of a heart.
A crack is just enough to forge a distance of space
between us and the God of our dreams.
A crack is just enough for a foothold of discouragement
to break down faithfulness.
A crack is just enough for him to start
ransacking our holy temples of God.
Which he loves to do. If he can penetrate a crack, he will perpetuate all problems. Days, turn into weeks, which turn into months, which turn into years and before you know it, the door to dejection is flung wide open. Suddenly, what you realize is that you are standing there vulnerable, naked, exposed and not sure where to run.
Unaddressed lies turn into a dressing of no protection that move us from
armed by the power of truth to defeated by the cleverness of lies.
Make no mistake, the devil is a carnivore who delights in eating up anything resembling the temple of God. We don’t have to have four legs for him to take a bite of our flesh. We don’t have to be doing bad things to get chewed up and spit out by the one who hates us.
He wants to take our true, honest, just, pure, lovely, virtuous, and praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8) and make it fake, deceitful, unfair, desecrated, horrible, vile and condemnation-worthy.
When our thoughts move to unholy, we become unholy. The second dirty hands leave an imprint, we grow shame at their touching. The second he raises uncertainty, we become certain that God doesn’t love us anymore.
This happened to me. But then I saw it. I saw what changes it all, the way of flipping my heart back into God’s goodness.
Here is what I saw:
1.) An alone, uncertain and unsure 3rd grader. One who for the life of her could not read or write with the other kids. One who knew she would never succeed. One who would never learn. One who couldn’t progress. It’s no wonder she stayed back that year, she was a loser of a writer. The only comfort she lived with, besides her thumb-sucking habits, was the idea that she would always fail.
2.) A grown woman at the will of an abusing woman. An abusive woman who would rip up time-intensive writing works with an air of “how could you?” An abusive woman who was a nightmare by day and literally a nightmare by night. An abusive woman whose degrading and demoralizing taunts still haunt. A woman who caused an eager-to please employee long-lasting defeat, pain and fear of future criticism because her voice still resounds today.
3.) The devil is one who doesn’t give cause to our small cause, but one who goes after our big, audacious and wild causes for the Lord. He is one who, from day 1, has been trying to savor and steal the blessing the Lord has been baking and preparing our whole life. He is the one who never wants the timer of “ready” to ring and resound.
What has the Lord been baking
that the devil is hungry to burn?
What central lie, from day 1,
has the devil pounded over you to ensure you crack?
For me, he wanted to burn my belief that I could write, so that I never could write for the Lord.
What is it for you? It has likely been happening from the days of old and he will continue it through days of new if you let him.
He wants us handicapped. He wants us crippled. He wants us unable to walk towards real purpose, real value and real transformation. Jesus wants us free, full and ready to say, “This is my body, take and eat.”
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. Jo. 10:10
Jesus enters into our life to bring life – always and everyday. But, beware, we are being sent you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore we must be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves (Mt. 10:16). Are you this way?
This means, if we are standing firm, we must be careful that we don’t fall (1 Cor. 10:12)! Are you ensuring your good standing before the Lord?
We must “see to it, brothers and sisters, that none of (us) has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. (Heb. 3:12) Are you turning away as you analyze and consume yourself in the small cracks of your armor?
The cracks we cannot see, we cannot repair.
If you don’t want the tectonic plates of your life to shift beyond repair, the time is now to shift your view on all you have believed to be true your entire life.
—
Join me for Part II, 5 Ways to Fight Back When Under Attack! To get busy with going and doing – we have to come alive to arming. We must arm up in the power of our Most High God to fight back.
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Oh, Kelly- such truth here! We can only fix the cracks that can be seen. We must turn toward the truth and light and allow God to speak into our weak places- for His voice to drown out the lies. We all need this reminder about our enemy: “He wants us handicapped. He wants us crippled. He wants us unable to walk towards real purpose, real value and real transformation” Thanks for speaking boldly about your struggles. What a testimony that God is strongest where we are weak. Thanks you.
Let’s let that glorious light soak in and penetrate us in the deepest of places.
Kelly … thanks for speaking truth against the lies we believe. The enemy of our soul prowls around looking for who he can devour. He hisses in the ugliest of tones, knows which buttons to push that’ll stop us right in our tracks, leaving us immobilized, depressed, useless.
Praise be to God who speaks truth to us, always drawing us closer to His precious side.
Thank you for writing grace …
Thank you Linda! I so value you word to me today. He does hiss. God purrs love.
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BY the end of your post today, I was shouting “yes” to becoming stronger to defeating the devil. He does enter through the smallest opening possible and I am learning to secure al of those holes in my own life. You write for God and your words honor Him by leading us toward Him each time. Blessings on your week!
Yes! We will reign. We will rule with Jesus. Until then, we are covered with the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. Thank you for your love Mary.
Thank you for this reminder that we…I need to examine the cracks in my armor. You are so right – we can’t mend them if we can’t see them and so often we avoid examining the things we don’t like, but it will only serve to make us stronger women of FAITH!
Yes, God has us and is working out the details in the cracks.
Yes Kelly, the more good works you do for God’s glory, the more the enemy will see you as a threat. And he will try to find our weak spots to work his way into our thoughts and cause that discouragement you describe here. But greater is He that is in US than he that is in the world! No weapon formed against us shall prosper. God forms a hedge of protection around us, so we can put those thoughts where they belong and keep moving forward for our Lord. I praise God for you today and for your desire to share the love of Jesus with others!
How true I am finding that to be Kristine. It is crazy. No weapon forged against us shall prosper. Let’s believe that today!
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oh I too know the power of that lie. My big crack looks like this- you have no voice, and your voice doesn’t matter. That sneaky devil continues to try to get me believe that what God has put in me no one else should hear. The devil has attacked my voice since the beginning, but through the power of the Lord, believing His promises, I believe that I have a voice, and that He can use my voice for Him! May we walk and believe God’s promises more than any lie. Thanks Kelly. Great encouragement this morning.
Kortney, I pray that you are armored and empowered and embraced as what comes against you tries to spout lies. We are greater through the name of JESUS!
I hear the crackling of Holy Spirit sparks behind your writing this morning Kelly. Stay close to Him always and let Him fan into flame His purposes as you blaze for Truth.
Amen. Thank you sweet Katie. I needed him to write this. It took me x5 to write, but I finally got to a place of trust.
Strength in my weakness — what a promise!
Thanks for shining the light on truth today.
He will work; he will be faithful!
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Kelly, what a powerful post. I’m sorry you suffered so, that must cause a great deal of pain to revisit. But thank you for being so open, in helping us refute the lies of Satan. This is such a great tool for women everywhere, the Scriptures full of truth and hope! Thank you!
And thank you for the link up each week!
The scriptures are full of truth, power and release. Lord, help us to access them.
My goodness, what a lie you’ve believed-I think all who write for and with the Lord believe this same lie. This post, Kelly, is packed with juicy tidbits of truth and nuggets of wisdom. I love this (because it’s my favorite verse): “He wants to take our true, honest, just, pure, lovely, virtuous, and praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8) and make it fake, deceitful, unfair, desecrated, horrible, vile and condemnation-worthy.” So good! Bless you for hosting and for posting such a fantastic article. Keep going, girl! You ARE called.
Much love dear Mary. I am called (period). Amen and amen. So are you!
Crack-remember the “step on a crack, break the devil’s back” game as a kid? Made me think of that. Break him down so he doesn’t break us down. Or crack us apart.
Lovely!
Amen. He is ready to rip us up and spit out relationships all over floor. Let’s step on him!
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“What has the Lord been baking that the devil is hungry to burn?” Kelly, this question is one that I’ll ponder in my heart today. Thank you for truth and encouragement today!
May your heart find the small glimmer of what the devil wants to use to take you down.
You really nailed the jelly to the wall on this post, Kelly! I love the visual about teutonic plates and a shift needing to occur. I could easily click off “guilty” at quite a few places and most certainly in the area of my writing. Many doubts were planted there and when someone who had done some editing for a publisher looked at something I had written about 15 years ago and told me I could not write well. It shut down something inside me. I did not try writing anything again for a very long time. Even as I am now taking back the truth on that, the whisper in my head and heart often can sneak back in. Thanks for this good word and reminder!!
Thank you for joining me Pam. I pray that the words of that person long ago are released from your mind. I pray that today you lay a stake in the ground to move past what the devil is using against you. I pray that you forge through to the promised land that is full of affirmations and beauty.
Kelly, this is beautiful and just the reminder I needed today to examine the cracks in my armor as well. It’s so easy to let the small lies slide but as they gain momentum they become positively crippling. Thank you for your honesty and bravery–so glad you’re fighting the lies with Truth and using your gift to honor God and encourage women!
Thank you Asheritah. I praise God that he is actively working to fill in what is broken. He loves us so much. He will always bring us back to full restoration.
God’s definitely filled in some cracks for me this summer. It’s amazing that it doesn’t even matter how long we’ve walked with Him…some things aren’t revealed to us until it’s simply time to work through them. His timing and strength are amazing. Keep it Kelly! Keep speaking those words and standing firm in His truth. Have a great day:)
Thank you God for your refilling work. You are good every time. We praise you.
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Kelly, that’s for this “hit-the-nail-on-the-head” reminder to check our armor for cracks. You’re right, if we can’t see the cracks, we can’t allow God to repair them. So important to recognize Satan’s lies so we can grab a hold of God’s truth!
Let’s check and let’s get out a magnifying glass. This is serious spiritual work. Thanks Betsy. Love you.
“For me, he wanted to burn my belief that I could write, so that I never could write for the Lord.” So glad that belief wasn’t burnt to a crisp because the gift is obvious. Girl, you have words and they’re good. Praising Him for your words today, Kelly, and for His victories that lift His name higher in each of our lives. (“Not good enough” rings and attempts a rise in my life from time-to-time. Lies, I tell ya! 😉 Go God, go!)
Thank you for loving me so much Kristi. You are generous with your love and I am thankful.
“What right do you have?”
“What do you bring to the table?”
“Who do you really think you are?”
The more we expose his lies, the more we will believe God’s truth spoken over our lives. Thank you, Kelly!
Amen. Those lies are all a sham. You bring so much, you have the rights of Jesus and you are his son! There you go for truth! 😉 Love you Samantha.
He is a clever liar. He knows right where to hit us where it is going to hurt the most. Thankful to have a hedge of protection from our Lord who will defeat all of these lies. Thanks so much for sharing this article and for hosting the party. Blessings 🙂
Yes, he is Kelly. I love the idea of the hedge of protection. Valuable stuff.
Such beautiful encouragement here, Kelly. Satan knows our vulnerabilities so well, and I sometimes easily believe his lies. Those lies can be so deeply rooted, but Jesus conquers all. He can bring those unknown cracks to mind and use His deep cleaning power to heal and restore. I’m so sorry you were so hurt in the past, but I’m so glad God has given you healing and courage to keep writing. Your writing blesses! 🙂
Thank you Trudy. I praise God for the faithful woman you are. You are such a deep encourager and speaker of love and truth. I praise God he created you. You care so big!
Kelly, I am so grateful that girl is writing still because the Lord uses her words in powerful ways. Amen!
Thank you Jesus for keeping me going in your truth. I agree Bethany, I am humbled that he helps me.
So much truth in this post. We truly can only fix the cracks which we see. May we ask God to help us see those cracks & let Him come & fill them in. It’s so true that the enemy wants to see us handicapped. So grateful our God desires for us to be whole more so. Wonderful to be here!
That’s right. Help us God to see beyond our busyness and into our thoughts. Be blessed today, Joanne.
Kelly,
This is so true: “The cracks we cannot see, we cannot repair. ” Yes…it is hard work to open up to seeing the cracks, but it is the only way we can invite God’s power to heal us…Thanks for blessing us with your words 🙂
Dolly, let’s be healed by God as we look at what we truly believe.
It’s so easy to listen to the lies of the enemy instead of the truths of our Savior, especially when they come through people close to us. Thanks, Kelly, for redirecting our ears.
It sure is! God is faithful all the time. Let’s listen as you so wisely implied.
Kelly,
We, as a community of writers, have the ability, through God working in us, to spread His truth far and wide. The enemy would love to see us rendered useless, afraid, insecure. He knows just the right buttons to push to get us to question our ability and purpose in Christ. Thank you for leading the rally cry to say “NO” to his lies and to focus on God and the Kingdom work He has for each of us to do. Great post…standing with you!!
Bev xx
How right you are Bev! We have so much power to spread his seed far and wide. Thank you for standing down and against anything that comes up against Jesus Christ!
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The devil is definitely a carnivore……good post. #nocracks
He is! He’s a sneaky one.
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Wow! I’m so glad I read this post. Thank you for exposing ways in which the enemy lies to us. Another thing he likes to do is keep us isolated. I appreciate that you pushed that lie back as well, by opening your blog up for others to share what God is doing in their writing.
By encouraging each other and joining together as one body, we defuse the enemy in his strategy to divide Christians.
Where my blog doesn’t reach, another fellow writer’s just might. The goal is spreading God’s love through the Good News of Jesus.
Can’t wait to connect with some of these lovely people. God bless!
Praise God that you did. How right you are Beckie, he loves to keep us isolated (and fearful). May we join together and walk in peace as we follow Jesus Christ.
Oh, Kelley, this was so beautiful. So real, so heartfelt. Just so full of Jesus. I have goosebumps and tears all at once. The devil finds those cracks and sinks his ugly teeth into them so viciously. I, too, hear these same lies.
I am praying that he simply be stomped out and never utter the lies that say you cannot write – ever again! Because Jesus has already won and He has seated you in victory over these lies! You are created to write and you are created to touch and minister to the hearts of many through that writing! I’m thankful beyond measure to be one who has been ministered to by your words.
Many hugs!
Lori
Thank you Lori. I praise God that he used this post to touch you. You and I, let’s grab hands and let to of this stinky, old and smelly lie. Enough! We are being used by God!
May Jesus help us all defeat those lies! I’m late to the party, but I finally got a post written!
Yes, God, we don’t want to be ruled by the burdens of yesterday, when we stand in the blessings of today.
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