Made for Victory

 I happened upon this image when I was in college and fell in love with it.

It somehow resonated with me and challenged me at that time. I made a copy of it, laminated it and hung it on my closet door.  It was what I wanted to be about: quite, feminine strength. Isn't it pretty? You know what else it is? Safe, secure and tidy. At that point in my life my experience had basically been just that: safe, secure and tidy. I am thankful for that. It is the foundation upon which my life is built and it is strong. That was nearly 20 years ago and today my life looks nothing like the picture above.

I have always pursued God. I have always desired something deeper. Always. Why settle for something with God when there is always more? Don’t get me wrong and think that I claim to have lived a constant life of deep pursuit without times of settling, apathy, standstills and backslides. Those things have been very much a part of my pursuit. However, the deepest cry of my heart has always been, “More God, show me more!” 

God has always been faithful to steady me when I grow weak, begin to slip or look away.

Psalm 118: 13-14
I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the LORD helped me. The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. 

He is the one who reached out to me in the first place. He is faithful. He restores. He revives. He saves. He strengthens. He prepares. He protects. He does it. He, first and forever, is my pursuer.

Psalm 118: 15-18
Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous: "The right hand of the LORD does valiantly, the right hand of the LORD exalts, the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!" I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the LORD. The LORD has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over the death.

Today my vision and life looks more like this:

This is quiet, feminine strength. But this is not pretty. This is not safe. This is not secure. This, however, is real and exactly where God has placed me. I have been behind enemy lines and He reached in and claimed my life again. I understand, a little bit more, about the sly, cunning and masterful way our enemy operates. But more importantly, I understand and have experienced more about how deeply and fiercely God loves His children and about how perfectly He works in all of that which He created.

Amanda, you were made for battle, and I am now preparing you for a more intense fight. You will be marked with scars and wounds and, probably, more defeats. But know, that I am working all of this together for My glory. Know that I will not leave you. Know that with each submission to Me, you will gain strength. The battle you fight is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. . .but take heart, I wrote this story and I know the end. You were made for battle, but more importantly, you were made for victory. Rise up and claim it-