THORNS

God has blessed me with two beautiful granddaughters. Both have a love for reading and more recently, writing. I credit their love for reading to their mother who taught them from birth the joy of sitting with a good book, and I am so grateful she did. What a wonderful gift she instilled in them!

They recently became interested in writing and publishing their own books and asked if I would help edit them. What could have been a passing fancy has become words and chapters. Both of the girls are actually quite gifted writers, which makes me as proud as can be.

Recently, my youngest granddaughter asked me to read and spot edit her latest work. As I was reading her story, a paragraph hit me hard. It was like the Lord dropped a revelation into my mind, so I asked her if I could save it and possibly use it. 

This post, written by me, is from the inspiration the Lord gave me though the writing He dropped into HER heart and mind. Thanks, Bri, for letting me use your words. You are a precious gift to me!

************

Bri’s story is about two friends. One girl shared with the other how someone had witnessed to her about the love of Jesus and asked if she wanted to accept Him. She said no, because none of her friends were Christians and she didn’t want to be alone. Later that night, she had a nightmare. Below is the excerpt from the story. 

“What was your dream?” I asked, looking at her. She had tears in her eyes. Cassie blinked and a tear rolled down her cheek. She took a deep breath.

“I was walking through the woods and there were vines with thorns on them, trying to grab my legs, hair, arms, anything they could reach. They all had words on them, like one had the word fear, and another the word doubt, and whenever they would touch me it burned like fire. But then there was this person walking toward me and all around him the vines would shriek and coil back into the dark like snakes. He walked to me and touched my shoulder. Then he called me His daughter and…” she crumpled over in her seat and started crying.” 

The following is what I saw revealed in her story: 

“I was walking through the woods”

 This girl was walking through life and had an opportunity to accept Jesus but didn't. As a result,

“and there were vines with thorns on them, trying to grab my legs, hair, arms, anything they could reach.”

Anytime we walk through life without Jesus it leads to thorny paths. Satan will bring things to inflict hurt, pain, or wounding in some way.  These demonic “thorns” in our lives try to grab at anything they can reach. In Bri’s story, the thorns tried to grab her legs (where we go and the direction of our lives), her hair (our minds, where fear, doubt and lies of the enemy originate and live), and her arms (what and who we reach out to, or embrace) … Thorns tear and wound “anything they can reach.”

“They all had words on them, like one had the word fear, and another the word doubt, and whenever they would touch me it burned like fire.” 

 

Thorns... "wherever they touched me it burned like fire”. In what area of your life do you have thorns and what is its effect? The thorn of doubt…burns up faith. The thorn of fear… burns up trust. The thorn of anger…burns up peace.  The thorn of lust…. burns up the purity in your life and destroys relationships. The thorn of joining with wrong people.... burns up good morals. The thorn of going wrong places... burns up reputations.

“But then there was this person walking toward me and all around him the vines would shriek and coil back into the dark like snakes.”

Jesus is always walking toward us. He is always seeking us out. In the presence of Jesus, all darkness has to flee. Demons tremble and run. When we walk in His ways and in His protection, the enemy cannot touch us nor torment us anymore without God’s ordained purpose. 

 “He walked to me and touched my shoulder. Then He called me His daughter and…” she crumpled over in her seat and started crying.”  

The realization that we are His sons and daughters is overwhelming and the love He has for us is too great to comprehend. When He touches us, we are forever changed.  

When Jesus willingly laid down His life for each one of us on the cross, His murderers jammed a crown of thorns onto his head which mocked His kingship, His royalty, and His holiness.

But those thorns!  Each individual thorn bore a name; a name that Satan tries to use to defeat us in the battlefield of our minds. Jesus took each named "thorn" onto Himself on the cross and DEFEATED them.

Depression, anxiety, fear, loneliness, rejection, abandonment, guilt, lust, shame….  The power those words once had on our minds can now be overcome by the blood of Jesus. We simply have to accept Him and live for Him. He took all of our sins, our diseases and infirmities, and all the things that would bring us defeat.

Jesus very authoritatively took the power of each “thorn” sent by the devil onto His own head and destroyed them. He battled for us, so we can be free. 

And because He won, we win, too.  

Are You in a Battle? Be Armed!

When we think of battles, our minds often go to foreign lands or military forces who serve our countries. Here in America, we have little idea of what it is to face a war on our own land, for which I am forever grateful to our Lord. But there are other types of battles which affect basically all of us at one time or another, whether small interpersonal squabbles, or all out health battles we fight in efforts to save our lives, or even battles we face within ourselves– “fighting our demons” we have heard it said. 

Whether we like it, see it, or accept it, the reality is we are all in a battle.  

When armies go to war, they go armed. They are fully prepared with defensive and offensive weapons. They know very well there will be encounters with an enemy who desires to kill and destroy them. They go alert and trained. Do they hope to avoid confrontation when possible? I imagine so, but they go prepared anyway because they bear the knowledge that a real enemy is always seeking them. 

This is the war in the physical realm. We believe it because we can see it on the news, we hear reports from the media and from those who have been involved in it, and we feel the pain of those who have had losses, or bear the permanent scars of those battles. Our five senses confirm the reality of those wars.

 

But there is an even greater war happening right now in the spiritual realm. We don’t seem to realize that it is more real and much stronger than any physical battle being waged on this earth. If we are spiritually in tune, we can see it, we can hear it, and we can definitely sense it. 

Observe family relationships implode. Grieve with survivors of suicides and murders. Witness the destructive force of words used against each other to bully and humiliate. Listen to the media feeds that leave people angry and frustrated. Sense the tension that is present in conversations and situations. The war is definitely real, but many are ignorant of it. Most are untrained to fight this battle, let alone acknowledge its existence.
 
Within this spiritual war are territories claimed by the dark side. Picture a small town, then a larger city, a county, a state, a country….the world. All in play for this battle of spiritual domination. Each has a demonic spirit or spirits of varying strength– rulers, powers, world forces of this darkness, and spiritual forces of wickedness– who seek to control, wreak havoc, bring destruction and death. The war is waged in small locations and huge playing fields– even the world stage. 

As Christians we are instructed to engage in this spiritual battle. We cannot sit idly by and hope it will all go away; that we won’t be affected by it. We WILL be touched by this war. We and our loved ones. We must stand and fight for the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 6:12 says,

"For our struggle 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." (NIV)

Note that it doesn’t say “if” we struggle, or “if” we wrestle, or “if” we fight, it says we DO struggle, we DO wrestle, we DO fight, but not against flesh and blood. We fight against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 

As believers we have been given primarily defensive gear for this spiritual battle. God has given us armor, but we must wear it to be protected from enemy assault. Ephesians 6:13-18a is very specific.

“Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. 

Notice the words. Take up, stand firm, take up, take, pray in the Spirit at all times.  These are not suggestions. These are not words that say do it if you feel like it. They are commands. Orders. In this battle we are all engaged in, our Commander-in-Chief has given us directives. But if we don’t believe in the battle, nor feel we are involved, or we feel we are safe from attack, we leave ourselves vulnerable and open to assault.

Then consider our offensive weapon. The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. It is so strong, so powerful, so complete in and of itself, we need no other weapon. 

The word of God– our only offensive weapon– “ For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

So if we are already engaged in this fight, how do we fight? The best way to fight is to look to our Leader, Our Commander; the Lord of Hosts. How did Jesus fight the devil when He was on this earth? He is our example and Teacher.

He used the WORD OF GOD. He responded with Scripture when the devil tried to trip Him up. When he was slinging temptation after temptation at Jesus in the desert, the only reply given was the word of God, and it was the only thing needed to silence the enemy.  Jesus was armed with the ammo of God’s word. 

Christians, if you have never considered the battle you are in, please do. The devil will not leave you untouched. Because we are created in God’s image, your destruction is assigned by the devil. 

Become prepared for battle. Read, study, memorize, ponder, look at, write out the word of God. Know who you are in Christ and what He has provided to help you in this spiritual fight.  Know WHO your commander-in-chief is. KNOW the One who loves you and is there to help you. 

You would never walk into a physical war with no means of defending yourself or of striking out to stop the one who desires your physical death, so please don’t remain disarmed in the spiritual battle for your soul. Be prepared!