Eva Conner | Transformation From the Inside Out

You are in me, and I am in you. John 14:20

I Hate Snakes

By Leave a Comment

I hate went I’m scrolling through Facebook and all of a sudden an image of a snake pops up in my feed. I quickly scroll by but that image is burned in my head and I physically shudder for added effect of how much I hate snakes (and yes, I shudder even if no one is around).

This happened to me this week.  After the theatrics of the super-fast scroll by and shudder were out of the way, it struck me that this is exactly how our enemy behaves.

Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy and he loves the sneak attack.

We’re going about our business having a good day and BOOM.  The enemy attacks and all of a sudden we’re in warfare.  Can you relate?

It often leaves us reeling not knowing what happened.

Sometimes it’s a thought in our own head that brings the attack. When we nurture and feed that thought, the attack can take on a whole new life.

Let me give you an example from my personal life. God gave me a passion for His Word and I am called to share that passion with others through Bible studies and blogging. There have been times after a study where I know I was teaching the Word He gave me when I start allowing doubts to creep into my head.  Those doubts sound a little like this: “Those people were bored and you wasted their time talking nonstop for an hour” or “Who do you think you are to teach God’s holy Word?” Does this sound familiar?

We all have a former life before God.

During that former life, we did things that we are not proud of that lead to shame, guilt and condemnation. I’m no exception.  It’s this very area of life where we have to be careful. 

If we don’t know who we are in Jesus Christ, we can allow those dangerous thoughts to take up residence. And if we don’t know the Word of God, we don’t really know who we are in Jesus Christ because He is the Word.  The Word reveals Jesus and who we are in Him to those who read it.

When we walk in ignorance of our true identity, we allow the enemy to tell us that we are not worthy of our calling.

But here’s the truth.

We no longer own our past or have any right to allow it to come into our present.

Jesus Christ bought our past with His blood.  When we allow our past to come into our present, we are stepping out of our new life back into an old life that was put to death when Jesus died.

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.  Galatians 2:20

Make sure you catch these words that Paul speaks to the churches of Galatia.  This is a very important truth for all of us to be able to put the past in the past and grab hold of our identity in Christ.  We were crucified with Jesus the very minute we accepted Him as our Lord and Savior. This is done.

We no longer live our old life because He entered us at that very minute and He now lives in and through us!  When we continue to allow the past bondage to control our lives, we are doing a great injustice to Jesus.

We are telling Jesus that His death was for nothing.

Jesus is the very substance of life and we are rejecting Him all over again when we stay in guilt, shame and condemnation from things in our past. Click To Tweet He died while we were yet still sinners because He knew that we’d NEVER be able to get our act together without Him.

Let me phrase it one more way.  It is a form of spiritual pride when we reject Jesus because we think we are not good enough for Him.  We are being self-focused instead of Christ-focused. We will NEVER impact His Kingdom for good and for His glory as long as we are self-focused.  Your past does not define you any longer.  Turn your vision from your past to His Presence in your present:). Click To Tweet

Your past is covered – once and for all – by the Blood of the Lamb.

Blood is our lifeline and without blood we cannot live, right?  Look at it this way. The Blood of Jesus Christ gives us new life.  We are a new creation and we need to step into this new life and embrace it.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17

Every time those thoughts come to attack you, take them captive and make them obedient to Jesus Christ.  Tell yourself that Jesus died to pay for those sins.  Jesus took your shame and guilt. There is now no condemnation in Jesus because He paid the price for your past.

It is that simple.

Don’t allow those sneak attacks to be anything more than a one minute interchange in your mind.  The thought pops in your head that says, “who are you kidding to think you’re worthy of talking to God?” and you immediately tell it that “you are worthy because of Christ Jesus who lives in YOU is worthy of all things.”  The thought pops in your head saying, “Skip church today because it doesn’t do you any good anyway. You’re still nothing but a sinner.”  To which you immediately reply, “I am not going to church for myself. I am going to church to worship and praise Jesus for being my Lord and Savior and for giving me new life.”

Speak life to yourself.

Here’s another wonderful verse to meditate upon.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.
Proverbs 18:21

The words we speak have power over our life. We can continue to agree with the thoughts of the enemy or we can grab hold of those thoughts and turn them around to speak truth.  Truth that comes from the Word of God.  Get in the Word today and start reading. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom and a revelation of who Jesus is as you begin reading His Word.

We have complete power over the enemy – in all areas of our life.

The Word tells us that if we submit to God that the enemy WILL flee from us.

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
James 4:7

This is a powerful promise that we glean from His Word.  When we turn our hearts and thoughts to God and we become conquerors over the enemy.  Every. Single. Time.

When we take those thoughts captive whether they are thoughts of our own shame or inadequacies or thoughts of others who have hurt us, we are doing the “super-fast scroll by the snake that pops up in our feed.”   We are not giving the enemy any territory in our lives.

Dig into the Word today. You’ll be transformed for the rest of your life.

Stay in the Light and the Love always,

Eva

 

Running on Empty

By 3 Comments

Too many of us in the Body of Christ are running on empty.

It was never God’s intent for us to be empty. God is a God of plenty. He is able to fill us completely.  Recently in a time of praise and worship, I had a strong revelation that Jesus IS able to fill every person who has ever lived and who ever will live. Billions of people. Maybe even trillions. He IS able to fill each of us every minute of every day and His tank will NEVER deplete.

Jesus is NEVER running on empty.

So why are we?  How do we get filled to become more like Jesus?

Our in-filling is hinged on one thing – Jesus.

There are so many distractions in our world clamoring for our attention.  For me, in addition to these worldly distractions, there are also distractions in my own head clamoring for my attention.  It’s what is in my SIGHT and the THOUGHTS in my mind that distract me.  I venture to say it’s the same for a lot of you.

These things I’m seeing and thinking are leading to anxiety and stress.  They lead to lack of hope and excitement for tomorrow.  Boy, am I painting of a picture of the world today!

BUT we can take heart.  We are not of this world.

How do I know this?  The Word of God says it is so.  And the Word of God is Jesus Christ Himself (John 1:1,14). Infallible truth!

Friends, this is the key we need to have in the palm of our hands.  We are not of this world. We are merely here as God’s ambassadors to share Jesus ~ to share hope and eternal life with everyone He puts in our path.  This life is temporary. It is going to be painful and we are going to experience trials and tribulations BUT we are overcomers and we are given abundant life in Christ Jesus.

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
John 10:10

Look at this verse.  What is the very first thing that pops in your mind?  This is key to getting us out of this world and into God’s Kingdom.  Do you see and feel the fear?  Or do you see and feel the excitement of the abundant life?   Be honest with yourself.  Please.  It is critical to overcoming.

It’s nothing to be ashamed of if your first thought is destruction and fear.

It’s actually necessary for us to see the fear first so that God can open our eyes to life beyond the fear which is only in Jesus.  If we see the fear, we should be excited that God revealed this to us now.  Once revealed, we can look to the second half of this awesome verse.  Jesus tells us He came to give us life and not just any life but abundant life!

Jesus is the fullness of life.

For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
Colossians 1:19-20

If we dwell in Him we, too, will have fullness of life.  Jesus is peace and He’s given us His peace so that we do not have to live in fear and anxiety worried about tomorrow.

For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
Colossians 2:9-10

We are complete and full in Jesus. His power is ours.

But we must seek Him daily in prayer and in His Word.  Don’t worry if you don’t currently have a hunger for Him.  What gives us that hunger is Jesus Himself?  He does all the heavy lifting for us.

All we have to do is open His Word and start reading.

Obedience opens up a new world to us.  The eternal world. As we begin reading His Word, we will quickly find that He is reading us.  We think we need to understand His Word as we read it but He is the one giving us the understanding we need in that moment. And that understanding will differ from day to day depending on what we need.

The Word of God is alive and powerful. It is active. It performs exactly what is needed in that moment for each of us. His Word will never return to Him without accomplishing what it purposes to accomplish.

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:11

He fills us when we are in His Word.  It’s that simple.

Let’s stop making it so difficult.

Open up your Bible today and get filled.  He will give you a passion and hunger as you continue to press in to His Word.  If you don’t currently read your Bible daily, I challenge you today to try it and see for yourself if I’m not right.  Begin reading and commit to reading every day for the next couple weeks.  You will find that it is addicting and consuming and filling all at the same time.  As you open your Bible to begin reading, say this simple prayer.

Father, open up Your Word to me today. Holy Spirit, give me wisdom, revelation and insight into the very thing that I need. Jesus, fill me with Your Word – with You – today. In your holy name. Amen.

God desires our communion with Him. Prayer is communion with God. As we read His Word, talk to Him as if He’s sitting right there with you.  Ask Him to help you understand those things you may not understand. Along with reading His Word, begin talking to Him throughout your day. Bring Him into every minute of your life. This pleases Him immensely.

This is why we were created ~ to simply be with Him.

I love you all and I am happy to help anyone get started if you don’t currently read your Bible or if you don’t know where to start.  It’s the key to living the full and abundant life and it’s vital to our well being. It’s that important.

Stay in the Light and the Love,

Eva

You cannot outrun You.

By 2 Comments

Besides God, there is one other person that you cannot outrun.  You.

Do you like yourself?  Recently I was challenged with coming up with three attributes about myself that I like.  It’s so easy for us to come up with a laundry list of things that we DON’T like about ourselves BUT have we ever pondered all the things we like about ourselves?

We are created in God’s image.

If we cannot find things about ourselves to like, are we rejecting God?

God recently spoke to me about our skin.  Our skin is a covering and a protection for our inner organs and inner person.  The very first mention of the word “skin” in the Bible is in Genesis 3.

Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. 

Genesis 3:21

This very first mention of skin is a type and shadow of Jesus for us today. For God to have made Adam and Eve tunics from skin, He would have had to sacrifice an animal.  Do you see the shadow of Jesus?  Jesus became our covering, our tunic. He became our sacrifice to clothe us in righteousness and salvation.

Jesus became our skin.

Our skin is what people see when they look at us.  Is our skin reflecting Jesus? 

Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.

Exodus 34:29-30

Jesus Himself reflected off of Moses’ skin so much so that the people were afraid of him and made him wear a veil. It was a physical transformation wherein the very presence of God was manifested in the skin on Moses’ face.

We see another transformation that appeared on the face of Jesus.  Jesus, Peter, James and John went up on a mountain and had a personal encounter with God that transformed the very face of Jesus.

The others fell on their faces afraid, but Jesus calmed their fears.

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. 7 But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.”

Matthew 17:1-7

No veil is needed when Jesus is with us.

I’ll share one other verse in 2 Corinthians where Paul speaks about the glory of God on our faces reflecting Him to the world. It is this reflection that is our fishing pole allowing us to fish for men.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

2 Corinthians 3:18

So I’ll ask again.  Is your skin reflecting Jesus?

If you don’t like yourself, it’s impossible to reflect Jesus to the world. One of the very first things that God will work on in our spiritual walk with Him is our own self-image and identity.  But, as is God’s way, we first have to invite Him in to do the transforming work needed.  God is a gentleman and will never intrude and enter uninvited. He is waiting on an invitation.  Always.

For too many years in my own life, I did not like myself.  I spent a lot of years running from who I was. But you know what?  You cannot outrun yourself.  Wherever you are, there you are:)

Not until I handed the reigns over to God did I begin to like myself. This is truth. I now love myself and who God created me to be. I am comfortable in my own skin. I enjoy being alone with me.  I no longer try to outrun me.

If you are running from yourself, today – right now – invite God in and pour out your heart to Him.

Let Him know what you don’t like and hand it over for Him to begin the most amazing transformation of your life.  Jesus desires to cover you from the inside out and the outside in.  Let Him in today.

To begin the transformation and to start loving yourself, begin reading some Scripture that speak of God’s love for us. Here are a few verses but please dig into the Word of God and find the deep and hidden treasures it holds.

The Word is truly our lifeline to Jesus because the Word is Jesus.

For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
   Psalm 139:13-14

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
    John 3:16

The Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but have the light of life.
    John 8:12

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
    John 15:5

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
    Romans 8:32

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
    1 Peter 2:9-10

Comments 

I’d love to hear if this post has unlocked something within you. Please leave me a comment.  I also am happy to help you start your journey if you haven’t begun yet.  And I’m happy to help you along the way!  We need to strengthen one another because all of us together make up the Body of Christ.  Love and blessings!!

Stay in the Light and Love always,

Eva

 

Your Inheritance

By Leave a Comment

The word “inheritance” should make us happy, not sad.  How we feel when we hear this word depends a lot on how we feel when we hear the word “death.”  The two are linked together.  Intertwined.

Here’s good news.  Jesus died so we could live.

Death is not always a bad thing.  When Jesus died, we became heirs and received our inheritance.  His death gave us eternal life.

His death gave us life.

The word “inherit” means to come into possession of or receive especially as a right or divine portion (source: Merriam-Webster).  Note the words “come into possession of or receive.”  We come into and receive.  NOT because of anything we’ve done.  We cannot earn or work for an inheritance.

It is freely given from the bestower.

Jesus freely gave us our eternal inheritance.  Grab hold of it.  Reach out and take what is yours.  For a lot of us, this is an area of struggle. It’s hard to position ourselves to receive without giving in return.  But it’s so very important for us to grasp this and to step into all that God wants to give us.  To do so, we must have a clear understanding of our identity. We are HEIRS.  We are entitled and have a right because of the work that Jesus did for us.  And if we belong to Jesus, we are Abraham’s heirs.

And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 3:29

We are heirs according to the promises given to Abraham.

What does this mean?  And what are these promises?  Abundant life.  Eternal life.  Blessed life.  Covenant people of God Almighty. A God who multiplies what is His. A God who blesses, protects, cherishes, loves and protects what is His!  Do you want this?  I know I do!!

Now the Lord had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 12:1-3

And…

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. 2 And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.

6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. 8 Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

Genesis 17:1-8

You and I have a rightful place in these promises.

Read these verses carefully and insert your name in place of Abraham (Abram). The Word of God tells us so in Galatians 3:29.

Are you walking in these promises?  If not, start declaring them over yourself and your offspring daily. Speak life, not death.

Let’s look at an important aspect of stepping into our inheritance.

In Genesis 12 above, we see that Abraham was instructed to leave his family and land behind and head into new land. He didn’t know where he was going but he had faith to trust God. He believed God’s spoken words.

Do we believe God’s words?

In the Old Testament we see a shadow or pattern in the natural of what is to be in the spiritual. Abraham had to actually leave behind his family and everything he had ever known to step into the new land that God wanted to give him.

To advance spiritually in our walk with God, we must also be willing to do this.  It may not involve physically leaving your family behind; but, it may involve cutting the spiritual connections. It will definitely involve cutting generational curses and wrong-thinking.  In the verse below, Jesus tells us to leave behind all that is familiar to us to inherit eternal life.

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.

Matthew 19:29

God instructed Abraham to leave his family in the natural.

Abraham was a Chaldean and was called out from his land. The Chaldeans were idol-worshipers.  God is telling Abraham to leave behind his many gods for the one true God.  In Matthew, this is what Jesus is referring to as well.  He is telling us to leave behind those things that we cling to in life that are comfortable and known to us.  Those things could include mindsets, strongholds and beliefs that are based on the way we were raised and not based in truth found in God’s Word.  We must step out of the old life and into our new life to claim our inheritance.

We will not advance forward if we are hanging onto our past.

What are you holding on to right now, today?  Do you have loved ones who died that you can’t leave in the past?  Do you have family members who may criticize and condemn your walk with God?

Not only can people be our hindrance to advancement but religion can be a major roadblock to our advancement in the Kingdom of God.  Do we live by the Word of God alone as our measuring stick against the world?  Or are we using what we’ve learned within our different denominations of Methodism, Catholicism, Baptist, Pentecostal, etc.?

Where are our doctrines and thoughts of God anchored?

If we cannot definitively answer this question with the very Word of God, then we may need to do some deep digging within. Religion can create strongholds and barriers within us that prohibit God from fully using us.  Do we believe every Word printed in the Bible?  Do we believe in healing miracles?  How about the possibility of raising someone from the dead?  Casting out demons?  Or how about the existence of demons at all?

I hope these questions get you thinking and searching for answers.

Go to the Word of God and seek God Himself in prayer.

Ask Him to show you what you need to see in His Word.  He will do so with love and patience.  His Word is alive and breathing and has power to transform lives.

The Word of God will turn a caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly.  Step into the FULL INHERITANCE Jesus died to give you. Don’t miss one single thing that He wants you to have.

Get hungry for more Jesus and for the Word of God (which is Jesus).

Stay in the Light and the Love always,

Eva

The Cat’s in the House

By Leave a Comment

Please be sure to read this entire post because this story takes a surprising twist of incredibly good news full of hope at the end.

I recently had a vivid image pop in my head during prayer time of a cat reaching its big, hideously ugly paw out towards a mouse. In this vision, I knew the cat and mouse to both be in the House of God. The mouse was God’s children and the cat was Satan.

This is truth.  The cat is in the House with the mouse.

The cat was playing with the mouse with its fierce, long, menacing claws. It put fear in the mouse making the mouse run around wildly not knowing where to go.  But it did not kill the mouse. Before the cat could get a firm grip on the mouse, the mouse found a hiding place in the wall of the House where the cat could not reach.

Another truth we need to know is the House will protect the mouse.

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
he is my God, and I trust him.
For he will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from deadly disease.
He will cover you with his feathers.
He will shelter you with his wings.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

Psalm 91:1-4

In this Psalm, the Psalmist shows us that God alone is our hiding place.  If we choose the Most High as our Lord and Savior, He will be our refuge and place of safety. He will cover us with His mighty feathers and shelter us with His wings. He will be our House of protection from the enemy. He will hide us away from the enemy’s reach.  He will even hide us away from the enemy’s sight!

In my vision, the House of God did just this – the mouse ran into the wall outside of the cat’s reach and sight.

As I was praying and seeing this vision, at first I was stunned that the cat was allowed in the very House of God.  But then God reminded me of Job. In the Scripture below, we see Satan in front of the Throne of God in God’s House.  The Word goes on to tell us that Job had an open door of pride that gave permission for Satan to enter his house.

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. 7 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?”

So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”

8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”

9 So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”

12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.”

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Job 1:6-12

Like Job, we can unknowingly allow access for the cat to come into our house as well.

It’s important to have an intimate relationship with God so that any possible open doors we may have can be identified and closed.  Some examples could be fear, pride, lust, and jealousy.

Scripture tells us that we are God’s Temple which makes us God’s House. I don’t mean to be confusing so let me explain. I’m speaking literally of our church buildings as God’s House and I am also speaking spiritually of God’s House being within each of us as the Church.

In the book of Job, we see that Satan is allowed into the very presence of God so we shouldn’t be surprised to find him within our churches. Satan is the master deceiver and his goal is to divert our attention away from God by attempting to steal our identity.  If he can convince us that we are not the chosen children of God, he succeeds in messing with our thinking which in turn diverts us from our main job of discipleship and leading people to Jesus.

Our goal in this life should be one thing and one thing only – to empty hell and populate heaven.

To do this, we need to learn to spot the cat in God’s house. We can only do this when we know God’s Word because Satan twists God’s Word ever-so-slightly casting doubt on us and on Jesus. When we get God’s Word deep within us, we’re able to spot the deception.

There are so many benefits to reading God’s Word daily but the one that stands out for the purpose of today’s post is that it gives us the only weapon needed to fight the enemy.  In Ephesians 6, Paul tells us that God’s Word is our Sword of defense.

In Matthew 4, when Satan was tempting Jesus by distorting the Word, we see Jesus serving the Word right back to Satan.  Every hit Satan made, Jesus responded with, “It is written…”  And Satan backed off and left Jesus alone that day.

The Word of God prevailed for Jesus and it will prevail for us – every time!

But before we can say, “It is written…” we must know what it says, right?  If we don’t know what it says, there’s no way we can stand on it when we are facing the enemy.

Let me share one more layer to this message.

We need these enemies in our life and they will benefit us but only when we are fully equipped and prepared to stand against them.  Yes, you read that correctly.

Predators have a purpose.

In nature, predators actually help keep the herds healthy by not allowing them to get complacent in one area.  If herds were to get complacent in one area, they would soon be eating their own waste which would bring disease and death to their numbers.  Predators keep herds moving to new land.

Predators in our spiritual life are necessary as well.  You probably think I’m crazy about now but let me explain. If we did not have to be on our toes to stand firm against our spiritual predators, how easy would it be to get complacent in our prayer life and our time with God and His Word!

Complacency is not good.

It brings spiritual disease and death.  We cannot afford to ignore or, even worse, be unaware that we are in warfare with the enemy.  If we’re not one step in front of the enemy, we’re in his camp.

It’s important to get daily doses of the Word to give us wisdom and spiritual armor.

Let me bring this post to a close with the surprising twist that God showed me a week or so after my vision of the cat and the mouse.  This is so encouraging and edifying I can’t wait to share!

As I was praying into that vision for more revelation and insight, God spoke clearly to my heart telling me that a lot of things look a certain way when actually it is but a mere shadow of the true reality.  A friend of mine recently said that Satan uses fun-house mirrors to distort our vision of reality.  This is what God showed me about the cat and the mouse.

GOD IS THE CAT.

He is the Lion of Judah and He is “The” Cat toying with Satan, who is really the mouse.  Boom! There’s the amazing surprise twist!!

Do you see it?   Satan wanted me to focus on him and him alone as the big, fierce cat.  When all along he was just imitating God, who is the real Cat!   God uses Satan and toys with him as the cat and mouse in my vision.  Satan is a pawn God uses to strengthen and build up His children.

It is up to us to see what we see.

We can make the choice to see God as “The” CAT and Satan as the mouse.  Or we can make the choice to see Satan as the cat and us as the mouse.  It’s our call.

Choose today to see the Lion of Judah! Keep your focus on Him and Him alone.

I hope this word encouraged you as much as it did me.  God really grew my faith in this word and that’s my hope for you in my sharing it.  I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.

Stay in the Light and Love always,

Eva