“You can’t be pitiful and powerful at the same time!”
I heard Joyce Meyer say those words many years ago. And they are the words that came back to me this morning as I was praying for someone. You cannot be pitiful and powerful at the same time – you will have to choose.
I am not saying you won’t find yourself in situations where you feel weak or where you feel powerless…even hopeless. But I am saying, in those times, you cannot, absolutely cannot, allow your feelings to rule you.
Let me share a little personal story.
Growing up I had three sisters. If you asked my Mom about us she would say, “Keva was the smallest, Kay the youngest, Tanya was the one that needed her most and Kim was the survivor.” I have been told that my whole life.
That was my life. No matter what was thrown my way, I plowed through. Most of the time without fear.
Then my Dad died of cancer. Not long after, Jesse died in his early 30’s. One year later, my sister went to sleep and didn’t wake up. In the midst of that there were battles with the magazine we were publishing. Battles in my marriage. And battles with Bryson, my grandson. For years, I was losing loved ones consistently and it appeared I was losing battles as well.
I had always been a person who LOVED a good storm. I loved the thunder, the lightening and even the high winds didn’t bother me. I loved to sit on the back porch and be right in the midst of storms. I don’t know why – I was just never afraid of them. I even recall one time I was driving to Florida. Up ahead I could see a storm coming, I raced to the next exit so I could get to the beach to sit out in the storm and watch it.
However, after the deaths of several loved ones and the battles I endured, something changed. And it changed without me realizing it.
One night I was driving home from my Mom’s, it was storming. Not bad, just a little storm. While driving I heard the Lord speak to my heart and ask, “what are you doing?!” I realized at that moment I had a grip on my steering wheel and my whole body was tense. Suddenly, I was afraid of the storm. It shocked me. I had never been afraid of storms.
I sought the Lord that night about what had happened to me. I realized through all the battles and the loss, I had become afraid. Fear had somehow become a part of my life. I didn’t even know it until that moment. Once I acknowledged it, I could see the evidence of fear in other areas. I didn’t like this one little bit. It took some time, but I dealt with it. There is only one remedy for fear and that is building your faith in the truth. It takes time. But…it took time for the fear to get in there too.
That’s what I realized today as I was praying for someone. Fear, powerlessness, hopelessness doesn’t come suddenly. It may seem so, but it doesn’t. It comes a little at a time, so you won’t notice. It comes in small doses until it is a part of your life. Most times, without you realizing it. Often times by the time we realize it, it seems too big, too overwhelming to overcome. It isn’t.
If you face battle after battle or even disappointment after disappointment, fear or unbelief can find a way in if you are not diligent in the word of God through it.
The good news is, you can overcome it the same way it came. Little by little. One step at a time.
We all feel weak at times, but we can’t allow our feelings to rule us. I will never forget the line from a movie I once watched. The woman said, “feelings come and go, it is the truth that holds me steady in life.”
We cannot allow our feelings to rule us, especially when we are going through battles. We must use the word of God more than ever. Stand firm in faith. Spend more time with God and His word than we do rehearsing the problem. Give the problem no place in our life. Declare the word of God. Joel 3:10 says; “Let the weak say I am strong.”
When we are feeling sick, we declare our healing. When we feel lack, we must declare our abundance. And when we feel weak, we MUST shout from the rooftops that we are strong in God and in the power of His might. That is the only way to go through a fire and arise without the smell of smoke.
He is still God, even in the storm. His word will hold you steady if you allow it to. Psalm 63:8 says; “I cling to You, Your strong right hand holds me steady.”
It’s true we can’t be pitiful and powerful at the same time. We must choose, knowing, in HIM, we are full of power. Remember that!
Meditate on this:
I have made you, and I will carry you. Be assured, I will carry you and I will save you. Isaiah 46:4
