A Wonderful Place To Be

"There is nothing to defend."

OUR BEST defense is no defense at all. We want to swing at an enemy. There isn’t one active. Satan is old news. Jesus condemned him.

We don’t know what to do with this. It’s all through the Word. Hebrews 2:14. 1 John 3:8. 2 Timothy 1:10. John 12:31. Even John 16:33. “But be strong! I have won! I have destroyed the power of this world (EasyEnglish).” This same verse begins with, “In this world, you will have trouble.” So, which is it? Trouble or no trouble? That isn’t what I said at the start of this. I said we need to stop defending ourselves. Jesus is involved now. He released the Holy Spirit within us, and nothing is the same. Nothing.

There is nothing to defend. Our battles now are within. We fight ourselves, our opinions, criticisms, doubts and fears. The Spirit of God works in us to heal our thought patterns, but we have to commit to change. Repentance is a change of behavior, and thinking is part of that. We have to lay our ways of thought down at Jesus’ feet. We do this by meditating in the Word. We read it over and over again, and it becomes who we are. It replaces our negative, wayward thoughts, and we speak Truth now and not destruction.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]” (Matthew 11:28 AMPC)

Negative words, speaking the doubts and fears, are destruction to our soul. The word “soul” in Hebrew means the mind, the will, and the emotions. The only way to learn how to drive is to learn the rules of driving and the how-to behind the wheel. We are willing to educate ourselves to this, to physical things, to formulas of science and math and ways of business, but somehow, God’s Truth will come by osmosis. We can simply sit in church or watch from home, never taking any private time to spend with Him, and suddenly, we’ll know His ways.

He is our defense. We put Him first, make His methods and principles, His character ours, desiring Him, listening to Him, and fall in love. He must be everything, every word we speak, every reaction we make. We, in the church, still think we get 90% and God 10% of our thinking (mind), our actions and choices (will), and our emotions. We’re allowed to be independent. It is, instead, that we are entirely dependent.

There are illnesses, injuries, and mental traumas that leave many with no personal defense. They are entirely dependent upon others for their care. I’ve seen glimpses of some on social media who have made happiness of who they are. But what I discovered in my own life is how much being in that position alters your dependence. You are still you, but you know gratitude. You know how to surrender and stop trying to stand on your own when you can’t.

Nothing we do as ourself will fix anything. It is only as we rest in who God is within us that we find healing and strength. Our only defense is no defense but submission to our loving Father who is so very kind.

We have no defense on our own. Nothing we do can ever save or heal us. It is, instead, that by staying filled with God we will be at peace, far beyond our own understanding (Philippians 4:7) and be unworried by what could happen or what is happening because it does not depend on us. We don’t need to explain anything to God nor make any excuses. We trust Him with our future entirely. And that is a wonderful place to be.

“But God is so very good and kind! Our spirits were dead and we were doing wrong things. But still God loved us so very much that he made us alive with Christ. God has saved you only because he himself is so very kind.” (Ephesians 2:4, EasyEnglish (v4-5))

“The LORD continuously does what is right, executing justice for all who are being oppressed.” (Psalm 103:6 ISV)

Photo by Mesh on Unsplash


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com