Castles, moats and dragons...

Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self sufficient to fell the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us. – Abraham Lincoln

I am thinking that Honest Abe was onto something.  

Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." - Luke 18:24-25

I have been reading up on strongholds...just some light reading as usual *LOL*.  Some people are perfectly content to stay planted...it's just not me I find healing and Jesus absolutely intreging. Anyway, stronghold are beliefs that are so well protected that they can't be penetrated. The are fortresses with moats, and dragons, and high towers.  We take it upon ourselves to control the situation so that others won't know what our true beliefs are.   We control God right out of the picture.

We establish ourselves as our own best guardians and protectors and leave little if any space for God in our hearts or in our plans.  That's why the rich young ruler didn't need God, he was self-sufficient - he had all that he needed to create safety around him.  It is in our comfort, in our contentment with ourselves that we don't need God.  When we walk in blessing after blessing, we begin to take Him for granted and we begin to think that somehow we have brought this success upon ourselves.  What pride we have.  We boast of our "stuff".  It's just stuff, they are making more stuff everyday.  What makes your "stuff" any better than anyone elses stuff and why do we use it to categorize ourselves.  The stuff havers and the none stuff havers.  What a bunch of bunk.

I woke up this morning and God spoke to my heart saying, "You take yourself with you everywhere you go."  Well that's a pretty brilliant point there God.  Thanks for that revelation.  He goes on...  it doesn't matter where you go, it doesn't matter who your friends are, where you do or don't go to church... you are still with you.  There are no "do overs"... there are new areas to occupy in healing but you can't toss all of this out.  I began to understand.  The thoughts I have about myself go with me everywhere.  The strongholds I have built, my defense mechanisms... until healed will go with me everywhere I go.

I have experienced a lot of healing, I have begun to understand God's redeeming love... but there are parts of me that God is just now beginning to touch.  He knows that if he touched them all at once I would blow up... it isn't His heart to kill me... my flesh, yes.... but he wants me to be free from the strongholds because not only do they keep out potential pains... get this.... they keep Him out.  When we let down our defenses... when we realize we are so tense from trying to hold it all together... when we are so afraid of being hurt... we hold on so tight.  

We do everything that we can to ease the pain... we crutch on everything from sex to withdrawl.  We get so afraid of pain that we don't leave our homes... we don't interact... we facebook instead of having lunch.  We seek to control our surroundings to keep the pain at bay.  We Scarlett O'Hara... I won't think about that today...  All He wants to do is to come in and ease our hearts.  To create a new stronghold in which the thoughts we have of ourself can't penetrate our understanding of His love of us.  It's in the demolition and remodel that we really get to see how many thoughts we have, how many places that even we ourselves haven't opened the doors on.  

But I am always up for a project, an adventure.  I don't know what tomorrow looks like.  I don't need any answers... I just need the Jewish Carpenter to help me with a remodel of my castle.  I cry out in pain as he removes blocks and moves them around... I scream in agony as he demolishes walls that I have so carefully erected.  He is tearing me down to the foundation... and jack hammering the parts that are unstable... I submit.  I surrender.  When it gets to painful I cry out and He is quick to come to my side and apply the salve of His love...

What a wonderful maker.  Thank you Lord.