There is no better place to be in life than to know you are where God wants you to be, doing what God wants you to do. Unfortunately, very few Christians ever find their unique place, and if they do find that place, they are easily distracted or knocked off course. Godly Grit – Prepared to Stand is an in-depth look at three main topics designed to help Christians find their voice and use it as God intended.
1. What does it mean to find your unique voice in God's kingdom? The first part of the book looks at how you can find your unique voice and why Godly grit is necessary.
2. What distracting strongholds prevent you from finding your place? In this section of the book, we look at twenty common strongholds that I have witnessed in my forty years of medical practice. These strongholds have effectively prevented people from maturing and moving forward with God's plan for their lives.
3. The last section of the book looks at ten of the elements of the armor of God that are necessary to remain strong and finish well.
This book is not for someone satisfied with complacency. This book is for someone who sincerely desires to be a disciple of Jesus and reach a hurting world. The world needs an army of God's people ready and willing to stretch and struggle as they become vessels of God's love.
Is that you?
This book is a comprehensive review of how to find your purpose, what can detract you from your purpose, and what must be in place to maintain your objective.
My favorite part is the process of finding your God-given purpose or voice and what is necessary to maintain your role in His kingdom.
This section of the book is from the chapter on "The Enemies Playbook." It is a description of what you can expect if you find and pursue God's plan for your life.
If you are the coach of a team headed to the Super Bowl, you would have a considerable advantage if you had the other team’s playbook. A playbook details the game plan, listing what options you have and how you will respond based on the game's unfolding. The Bible is not only a guidebook on how to live, but it is also a revelation of the enemy’s playbook. You will be at a considerable advantage if you know how the enemy plans to stop you from fulfilling God’s plan for your life.
If you seek God and have found your voice, you will also discover that the enemy has a plan. The enemy’s objective is to prevent you from using your voice. The enemy has a book of tactics that he uses to knock you off course and cause you to quit. Often, the enemy is victorious. In this next chapter, I would like to uncover the enemy’s schemes to prepare you for what you will face.
This book is a project that started about fifty years ago. The contents developed slowly into a form that was ready to be shared with others in the fall of 2020. With ninety-five percent of the book written, I released the first podcast on November 18, 2020. The enemy was not happy. I believe I had found my voice and was now taking direct action to share it. On that day, the enemy released an unexpected attack to discourage me and prevent me from moving in the direction God was leading. That day's events included false accusations, mocking, deception, and shaming, with a significant threat to my finances. I was preparing to write this chapter, not realizing I was about to live it. Now, I have never given much stock to my dreams, usually explaining them on my dietary indiscretions or level of fatigue, but the night before these events was different. That night I dreamt that God presented my wife and me with an extraordinary gift – a gift that we at first would not understand to be a gift. I awoke that morning full of peace as I walked out to my shop to record and release the first podcast. God is so good in giving you what you need when you need it. I now have an experiential understanding of 1 Peter 4:16 (TPT), “If you suffer for being a Christian, don’t consider it a disgrace but a privilege. Glorify God because you carry the Anointed One’s name.” When you begin to live God’s plan for your life, you will find the enemy whispers, and he has many willing listeners, ready to cooperate in his plan to get you to become discouraged and quit.
Amid the turmoil, keep seeking God and do not quit. He is your fortress and source of peace. James 1:12 (TPT), “If your faith remains strong, even while surrounded by life’s difficulties, you will continue to experience the untold blessings of God! True happiness comes as you pass the test with faith, and receive the victorious crown of life promised to every lover of God!”
This victorious crown of life promised in James 1 is not waiting for you in heaven; it is available today as you find your voice and begin to use it. You will find your life has purpose and meaning; you will experience contentment and peace that can only come from God. You will experience fulfillment as you establish a legacy of God’s love. The enemy will push back with intensity but keep standing.
You are a threat to the enemy's plans, and he will fight back. He wants to steal your peace, kill your voice, and destroy your legacy. He wants to keep you from being who God wants you to be. How does the enemy attack, who does he use? The Bible contains many examples of the enemy’s tactics against people of faith.
The enemy will attack you through condemnation. We read in 2 Samuel 6 about David and Michal after David experienced a significant victory. When David danced in the streets celebrating the victory that God ordained, his wife mocked and ridiculed him. Do not be surprised if you experience condemnation from those close to you. Condemnation from strangers is powerless, but condemnation from those you love can be devastating. Do not let condemnation destroy you.
Another scheme of the enemy is a false accusation. In Genesis 39, we read the account of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife. Joseph was where God wanted him. He was in a place of leadership that would ensure the survival of the children of Israel. The false accusation from Potiphar’s wife was the enemy’s scheme to remove Joseph. A false allegation is an injustice that can destroy you in two ways. If believed by others, the accusation can hurt you. It can also destroy you if you become consumed fighting the false charge. In Isaiah 54:17 (NKJV), we read, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn.” When falsely accused, condemn the words as being untrue and move ahead with your God-given purpose. God does not require you to be the enemy’s doormat. Strive to love the people, condemn the words, and do not be consumed by the fight. God will defend you. We read the story of Samson and Delilah in Judges 16. In this account, we see that the enemy used seduction and flattery to prevent Samson from fulfilling his God-given plan. Delilah mocked Samson and then accused him of mocking her. Be careful; the weapons used against you are often how the accuser hides those same actions and intentions. If you are mocked, flattered, or unduly promoted, it is most likely to take something from you and not give you something genuine. God has more for you than the accolades of others.
The events I mentioned occurring on November 18, 2020, happened at a time of personal physical and mental exhaustion. I had been on-call for an inpatient facility 24/7 for 15 weeks. The enemy knows when we are most vulnerable, and one of those times is when we are exhausted. In 1 Kings 19, we read about Elijah running from Jezebel, fearful and intimidated. He was exhausted and wanted to die. 1 Kings 19:4 (NKJV), “But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” Take care of yourself – do not burn yourself out. Do not forget that the battle is the Lord’s. Do not become weary in doing good. Galatians 6:9 (TPT), “And don’t allow yourselves to be weary or disheartened in planting good seeds, for the season of reaping the wonderful harvest you’ve planted is coming!”
The enemy is aware of your vulnerable areas and will use those areas to steal, kill, and destroy. The enemy will use any of the stronghold areas that have been areas of vulnerability in your life to isolate you and cause you to retreat. As you move ahead in becoming the person God would have you to be, you can expect to wrestle with your past strongholds. Be aware and be on guard – seek the Lord and keep moving forward.
In 1 Samuel 30:18 (NKJV), we read of another scheme of the enemy. The enemy will attack by stealing the fruit of your toil and labor. “Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. And David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.” Moving forward with God may bring with it an attack on your finances, family, and reputation. The enemy will do all he can to rob your joy and peace to discourage you and get you to quit. Do what you can to value and protect your marriage and your family. Pray for them and be available.
We see another example of the enemy’s schemes in the account of Moses. Moses was God’s man to lead the children of Israel to their promised land. Almost every time Moses moved forward with God’s plans, the people turned against him. Exodus 14:11-12 (NKJV), “Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.” Do not be surprised if the enemy uses this scheme against you when it is least expected. A victory won is often attacked by the enemy through other’s envy and jealousy.
Another effective scheme of the enemy is to get you to become offended and bitter. Bitterness will quickly steal your peace and kill your voice. Others will pick up on your offense and become bitter themselves. As you move forward with God’s plan for you, you will see injustices more clearly for what they are. Do not pick up these injustices and transform them into a bitter producing offense. Look to Jesus, who faced the ultimate injustice as He hung on the cross yet did not become bitter.
If all else fails, the enemy will use fear and intimidation to cause you to quit and submit. We look at the Bible's heroes as people of exceptional courage and fortitude when, they are no different from the rest of us. What is outstanding about them is that they continued to move ahead with God’s plan amid fear and intimidation. Esther 4:15-16 (NKJV), “Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” Do not expect to fulfill God’s plans for you with feelings of confidence and strength. God’s plans for you are much bigger than you could ever accomplish with your own power, and because of this, you will experience fear and intimidation. God’s plans for you will take you miles beyond your zone of comfort and confidence.
We will need God’s help to survive and move ahead with His plans for us. We need to develop a Biblical approach to spiritual growth and understand our role in God’s kingdom. We need to build and supply a storehouse of spiritual weapons so that we will not be consumed by distraction, complacency, fear, and the enemy’s other schemes.
Remember the words of Jesus in John 16:33 (TPT), “And everything I’ve taught you is so that the peace which is in me will be in you and will give you great confidence as you rest in me. For in this unbelieving world you will experience trouble and sorrows, but you must be courageous, for I have conquered the world!”