Well, it's that time of year again.
It's heavy out there.
Hi, my name is Leanne Friesman, and this is Restoring Word.
It's a short devotional designed to build your faith.
I'm not asking for offerings.
I'm not selling anything, and I don't want to come preach.
I just want to share the goodness of God with you every week.
Today we're going to talk about celebrating victories.
There's so much heaviness in the economy, in the job market, stock market, whatever.
And sometimes I feel like our biggest battles are right up here in between our ears.
And there is spiritual warfare that you're going to sense, and really the principle
in that is out of the book of Ephesians, starting in verse 12, for we struggle not against flesh
and blood, but against the rulers and against the authorities, against the powers of this
dark world, and against all the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Guys, we're not fighting against people.
We're fighting against spirits.
And when we walk with Christ and we renew our minds and we speak the word, that's the
most aggressive thing that we can do in the spiritual battle that we're fighting.
But one of the things that I've found is that I have to take authority over my thoughts,
and part of that means I've got to rehearse or celebrate my victories.
Now one of the things I taught my kids to do when they were really little was to journal.
And we would stand on God's promises and I would say, okay guys, let's write down what
we're believing for, especially in January where we would fast as a family.
And our kids learned to write it down and journal it and then go back and see God's
goodness in the middle of all of it, and then to reflect on that.
And I was over with my kids, my daughter last night, and she opened up something that she
had journaled in her phone many, many months before the boys were born.
And there were some very specific targeted things that she was asking the Lord for, things
that statistically, in terms of genetics, that were just almost impossible.
What would be the odds of having two boys with blue eyes?
Well, statistically, when your husband is Spanish and German, yes, how does that work?
Well, guess what?
That girl not only had one baby boy with blue eyes, she had two.
God is an abundant God.
And I think sometimes it's just because we haven't asked.
Now think about it.
What have you prayed and what have you asked God to do that He's already done?
Can you remember those things?
Have you made a list to celebrate what He's done?
Have you reminded yourself lately of His goodness?
It's helpful.
It's very helpful because when you make a decision to celebrate the victories, when
you make a decision to focus on the things He's already done, then going forward, maybe
into a season that is stressful or stretching or depressing, whatever that next season may
be, you can remind yourself of what wonderful thing He's already done for you.
Philippians 4, 6, and you know I love this one, don't be anxious for anything.
But in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.
So there's prayer, you're asking Him, you're thanking Him, let your request be made known
to God.
You know, a lot of times if I'm needing something, I look back and I think about it and I think,
did I really pray about it?
Sometimes no, I didn't pray about it.
I might have thought about it a lot.
But I really didn't take it to Him.
He knows you and He knows your thoughts.
He knows your heart.
But sometimes you just got to go ahead and ask.
This is Psalms 9.1, I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all of my heart.
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
You know, sometimes the person that you need to tell the most is you.
Sometimes you just need to rehearse your victory and you need to let that victory come out
of your mouth. You know, I remember the time when, I remember when God got me out
of, I remember when I didn't know how I was going to, and when you go back and
you remind yourself of that in the midst of stress and adversity, it really builds
your faith up to endure what you're gonna do next. Now that doesn't mean it's
not gonna be easy. What that does mean is that the grace of God, the heart
posture of gratefulness and thankfulness and trust, which is faith,
it will carry you in that next season. And then this is Colossians 315, and let
the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one
body, and be thankful. And let the peace of Christ. Now what happens when you
rehearse your victories? It's followed up by peace. Don't we all need that right
now? I mean, I don't know about you, but there's nothing peaceful in the news
right now. Nothing peaceful. Everything is anxious, anxiety, anxiety, anxiety. No, I'm
going to be peaceful, and I'm going to be thankful, because I know how good he's
been. I'm gonna focus on what he's already done in my life and in the lives
of others and of the other testimonies that I've heard, and I'm going to make a
decision today to be thankful. Colossians 2 7, let your roots grow down into him.
You know, the root is the most important thing in a tree or in a plant. It's
the thing you don't see. It's the thing that nourishes the plant. It pulls it up
from under the ground, right? Okay, let your roots grow down into him, and let
your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong. Now think about
it. When the roots of a tree are deep, and the winds come, like in Oklahoma, we
have crazy thunderstorms and tornadoes. Listen, the wind can blow, and the tree
comes right back up, because why? The roots are deep. The roots are strong. You
might, it's not that you aren't gonna wobble a little bit. It's not that it
isn't gonna be uncomfortable, but you're rooted in him. You're rooted in the Word.
You will, then let your faith grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you
will overflow with thankfulness. Colossians 2.7. Sometimes the person that
you need to teach the most is you. I don't know. Maybe you guys are all more
spiritual than me, but I need help. I need to rehearse. I need to remember. I
need to be thankful. I need to steer my focus. I need to discipline as much as
possible my thought life, because my thought life can go all over the place.
When I make that decision, I'm gonna focus on him. I'm gonna trust him. He's
gonna be good, and he's gonna walk me out of it, and he's gonna walk you out of it.
Have a great day. Thank you for liking and sharing. If you know somebody that's
going through something right now that's just over their head, and they need a
little word of encouragement, say, hey, you need to listen to this encouragement
today. This lady will help you walk with him. Have a great day. Have a great
week. Thank you for liking and subscribing.