Worrier to Warrior – A Battle Plan for the Fire Swamp that is 2020.

Do these days have you feeling like we are living in a fire swamp?

Barely able to breathe under the weight of the world’s brokenness, sinking lower, lower…everything getting so, so heavy.

Then, just as you muster the strength to trust the day again, you step out…only to get burned by another fire.

With each new burn, it feels like we are sinking neck deep in a fire swamp.

But what if we had an armor against that fire swamp?

We went tent camping last weekend and during our “long hike” on Saturday, my littles kept picking up the pretty colored leaves that decorated the path we were walking along to take home.

We have been hunting for weeks now, for the bright yellow and orange leaves that mother nature provides us with during her turn of the season. I loved that they were in awe of the leaf treasures they were finally finding under the veil of greenery.

At one point I stopped to admire a grouping of tiny ferns growing along the path and pointed them out to Shawn, commenting on how much I loved their small size and friendly looking nature.

He quickly remarked that this is what is referred to as “Understory” in a forest.

Fun fact: “Understory” by definition is: “a layer of vegetation beneath the main canopy of a forest.”

This quick exchange and word “understory” flipped a switch and turned on a lightbulb tucked inside my brain. It reminded me of a sermon I had heard one Sunday morning at Mountain Christian Church about God’s “Upper Story” and the “Lower Story” we live out daily, here on Earth.

The sermon enlightened me to the the very real “Upper Story” that takes place in the heavenly realm and the struggle we face, living within the tensions of the invisible boundary lines of the “Lower Story.” Or, in this case, I will call it, the “understory” that unfolds below, which we can see playing out in plain view among us.

Oh friend…this “understory” is getting thick isn’t it?

Very “fire-swampish.”

Not a word…I know.

The “understory” of 2020…seems to be fertilized with fears and doubts that are growing our worries likes weeds, perhaps making us doubt if there even is an “upper story” at all.

Friend, I want you to know there is an “upper story,” even though we can’t see it, it is there, way above the canopy.

And while, we breathlessly wrestle within our personal fire swamp understory…you can rest in confidence, that YOUR STORY is being fought out FOR YOU above.

“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.”

EPHESIANS 6:12 NIV

So? When the under story gets thick and deep…I think it’s about time, we gear up with the proper armor.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

EPHESIANS 6: 10-11 NIV

From Worrier to Warrior:

Your Battle Plan Inside The Fire Swamp

1. Worship

“Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care.”

PSALM 95:6-7 NLT

What I know about worship:

It changes you from the inside out.

Thankfully, in the United States, we can worship while on a walk, in your car, in your closet, in church, at your desk, on a plane. You can do it silently, quietly or loudly.

Plainly said, when we worship, it recognizes our deep need for Him in our life and properly positions our heart to move within our understory that He is working out from high above the canopy, on our behalf.

The posture of a surrendered heart and open hands is the foundational positioning for the battle we face as we step into each day.

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”

Ephesians 6:13-15 NIV

2. Prayer

“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

JEREMIAH 29: 12-13 NIV

I had a friend ask me a few years ago:

“But, how do you hear God’s voice…how do you know it’s Him?

I related to my sweet friend and her desperate desire to hear from God. I have been there.

Discerning God’s voice in a loud season can be really hard.

There are so many voices demanding a room with a view, inside your head space. It truly can be hard to hear from God above all the noise.

But, as a mother of three girls…and for any other Momma or Papa out there…I know there has been a time, when you have been in a crowded, noisy place, party or playground, where your own child is out of view but playing within ear shot…and you hear it.

Your child’s cry.

You stop.

The conversation clicks a moment of panicky pause because you KNOW it is your child. You know this because you KNOW your child…and you know their cries…happy, sad, scared, you know every verse and every refrain.

Friend, God is the expert at hearing his children’s cries.

You are His beloved child.

He knows you by name, He knows your happy cries and your desperate cries.

The good news is, the more you talk to God in prayer, the more familiar His voice becomes to you when He replies.

Just like a parent is familiar with their child’s cry…the child is familiar with the calming, reassuring voice of their parent. Many voices may rush to their rescue to help…but the one they are longing for is the familiar voice of their parent.

God wants to be that for you.

The best way I know how to answer my friend’s vulnerable question of how to hear God’s voice is…to pray to Him.

To pray to Him, simply means to talk to Him.

The more you talk to Him in a quiet place, on a walk, a drive, alone or in a group…the more familiar His voice will become when He answers back to you.

Similar to the crowded party or playground, God hears your unique voice. And, even better?

He will fine tune and equip your ears so you can hear Him too. Because, even inside the noisy understory…there is a familiarity, an open door that finds it’s way as a whisper in your ear.

3. Praise

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.”

PSALM 150:6 NIV

The tough thing about the battle we face inside the tensions of our personal understory is that, when we do hear from God…

we don’t always like His answers.

Amen?

Since COVID came in March, I have decided to enlighten our daughters to some of the movie “classics” I loved when I was around their age. We started with Gone With the Wind, Pollyanna, The Sound of Music, The Parent Trap.

Recently, on a rainy sports free Saturday morning I decided to introduce them to the classic that is, “The Princess Bride.” Yes friends, I said it. It is on my personal list of “classics” – I was born in 1980 remember?

Then, I was on a run this week when I noticed this vine hanging down from the canopy of trees above.

It reminded me of the rescue vine in the movie that heroic Wesley held onto when he dove into the quick sand of the fire swamp to save his beloved Princess Buttercup.

If you haven’t seen the movie…bless you…here is the classic scene.

While continuing on my run, pondering the fire swamp vine, I was reminded of Wesley and his character’s famous reply to Princess Buttercup’s every single request.

“As you wish.”

Anything Princess Buttercup requested of her Wesley, without hesitation he would respond with these three words, “as you wish.”

Friend, can I just praise God that he does not answer our every prayer request with “as you wish.”

I cringe to think of what my life would look like if the King of all Kings, performed like a magician on stage working from above in His Upper Room with the quick replies of “as you wish.”

Thankfully, we serve a perfect God, who, when we chose to worship Him and pray to Him…knowing every detail of our understory and how it connects to His Upper Story…he answers us with, “as you need.”

God does not answer our prayers with

“As you wish”

But

“As you need.”

So the question for us, living inside this thick fire swamp understory is:

Will we praise Him…even if He doesn’t answer our prayers the way we hope?

It can be crazy hard…but, I hope so.

Because that is a real weapon to wield against the one who comes to steal, kill and destroy.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

John 10:10 NIV

A heart bent in worship,

an honest cry in prayer,

and a voice laced in praise

sent up to the One who connects and works every single one of our detailed under stories into His perfect Upper Story is the best battle plan we have to rise up as warriors in the fire swamp of this year.

Need one more?

“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

EPHESIANS 6:16-17 NIV

Let’s take up the shield of faith friend together, that will extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Did you catch that?

“Flaming arrows.”

Remember, we are in a fire swamp…but you are a warrior who is battle ready.

And these songs?

These are your fight songs, because every warrior needs a playlist of praises.

Father God,

Thank you, that your Word tells us how to put on your armor and be ready for the battle being fought in the under story of our daily lives.

You tell us to stay alert and be persistent in our prayers. Help me to talk to you more and to praise you even when you answer my prayers differently than what I ask for.

Help us to take up our shields of faith in stand in your armor of love.

Amen.

Living on a prayer,

Heather

“Warrior”

BY HANNAH KERR

Staring down the face of fear
Gotta keep breathing
When the negative is all you hear
Gotta keep believing

‘Cause in the dark there is a light
Your truth it keeps on burning bright
Brave enough to fight the fight
And shout the battle cry

You’ll never stop me, I’m a warrior
When I fall down I get stronger
Faith is my shield, His love is the armor

I’m a warrior (I’m a warrior)
I’m a warrior (I’m a warrior)
I’m a warrior (I’m a warrior)

Every scar on my skin
Is a beautiful reminder
Of a moment when I didn’t give in
And I walked through fire

‘Cause in the dark there is a light
Your truth it keeps on burning bright
Makes me brave to fight the fight
And shout the battle cry

You’ll never stop me I’m a warrior
When I fall down I get stronger
Faith is my shield, His love is the armor.

I will keep the hope alive
I will find the strength inside
I will keep the hope alive
I am a warrior, I will survive
I will keep the hope alive
I will find the strength inside
I will keep the hope alive
Warrior
You’ll never stop me, I’m a warrior
When I fall down I get stronger

You’ll never stop me, I’m a warrior
When I fall down I get stronger
Faith is my shield, His love is the armor

I’m a warrior (I’m a warrior)
I’m a warrior (I’m a warrior)
I’m a warrior (I’m a warrior)
Jesus make me Your warrior

I will keep the hope alive
I will find the strength inside
I will keep the hope alive
Warrior.

This one is for you Aunt Jeanie.