When the Going Gets Even Tougher - The Invisible Woman part 4

No one ever said life was easy. If they did, I'm here to say they were wrong.

Unfortunately, I've found that quite a bit of my own difficulties are because of not being where I need to be Spiritually.

Not putting aside the time to pray like I should.
Not putting aside the time to be in the Word like I should.
Not being careful what I allow into my mind and heart like I should.
And sometimes, it takes longer than it should to figure these things out, and when I do finally figure them out, I have to start preparing for the battle that is ahead of me.

How do you fight a spiritual battle? How do you prepare for a war you cannot see? An enemy that is far stronger than you? How do you fight a battle that becomes so terribly strong that all you can do is hold on?

Are you facing a difficult time in your Spiritual life? Are you under attack from the enemy? Is he trying to tear your testimony to shreds and take you to a place you feel you'll never recover from?

There are steps you can take right now that will help take you through each difficulty.

Surround yourself with prayer warriors. God admonishes His people to bear one another's burdens. It's up to you to ask. I would suggest you find at least one person that you can trust not to be a gossiping Mimi, and lay it all out on the line. Pray for guidance in this area. You don't want to find that all the problems you told your friend is being passed along in the Rumor Mill. If you're not sure if you know them well enough to lay it all on the line, ask them to promise to pray for you.
Gather around friends that will hold you accountable for your actions. We're only human, and being human, we fail. We may have the best intentions, but we still fail. Find someone that will counsel you with Godly wisdom during those times and will encourage you to repent, get up, and try again.
Gather friends that promise to pray and quote Scriptures to you. When you feel terrible, hopeless, or worthless, there's nothing better than hearing how much God really does love you. Do you have a friend that will read those passages to you? No? Then find a little book that has God's Promises and read through those. Here's ISBN numbers of two little books I use. 9781583754764 and 0937347000 - Both are available on Amazon.
Find some Christ honoring music to listen to. I'm walking testimony that music does affect attitude. Be careful what you listen to at these times. Well. All the time! :) Need some help? I found these songs to be pretty awesome when I'm down. (Is Anything Too Hard for God, The Promise, and Stand Still are some of my all-time favorites.)
Download and listen to some free AudioBible mp3's. I have a weekly AudioBible reading on my other blog that runs every Sunday. You can download them for free.
Print out and lay Scripture verses around the house. This may seem simple, but it's good practice to get into. During trials, when you're weak and willing to run back into that secret sin that still tempts you and calls out to you, if you have these laying about, it just may catch your eye and remind you why you want to leave that sin alone. Try it. It works.
Promise to read a daily Scripture. I know. You're busy. We all are. But it doesn't really take that much time to read a chapter of the Bible every day. During breakfast or right after you get out of bed. Read a Proverb. You'll be surprised how much cleaner and refreshed you feel when you start your day like that.
Find an emergency friend you can call or text when you're tempted to run back to that secret sin. Oooh the tempter has been very good at his job since the beginning of time, and no. He's not going to let you go without a fight. Find a friend that you can text and cry out to when the temptation to return to sin is strong.
A private place where you can go to pray during those extremely difficult times. No one needs to know that your heart is breaking. If you're anything like me, I wanted to run back to that secret sin a million times a day. But if I were to text my friends or prayer warriors EVERY time I felt down and out, um, I would have driven them away before one day was through. Remember. They're human too, with very human, busy lives, with their own set of complicated problems. And this is where your prayer closet comes in. Find a secret place that only you go to when you need a moment of special recovery prayer. When your heart is hurting because you want that oh so badly, run to your prayer closet, shut the door, and pour your heart out to God. He's waiting for you. He's waiting to give you the peace that passes all understanding. Don't be stubborn. Run to Him and Just. Ask.