There have been times that I’ve related really well with a yo-yo. Anybody? You get one thing sorted out and then you find something else that is out of whack. Get that one straightened and then something else is not lining up. Yo-yo. Yo-yo. Yo-yo. There’s a meme about not having ducks in a row and that the ducks may not even be theirs. There are definitely times that I wonder where my ducks are, and I seriously question why they’re messing with my yo-yos.
In the past month, I’ve had multiple nights in a row of the best sleep I’ve experienced after becoming a mother, and I’ve been a mother for over 21 years. Then it seems that once I take notice of how well-rested I am, the sleepless nights come back to plague me once more. There are days when I’m crushing everything on my list and then there are days when nothing seems to work when my hands touch it. There was a morning recently where I got my coffee started and was going to start the dishes while it poured. I heard it start and it didn’t sound quite right. When I turned to look, I saw that my cup wasn’t catching the delicious brew, but the counter was getting a good drink.
These times of yo-yoing and trying to sort out the ducks are really just part of the normal ebb and flow of life – unless it’s neglecting the proper destination of the flow of coffee. But that doesn’t mean these times of ups and downs are easy, but it does make them times that we can navigate… I’m better at navigating after my first cup of coffee. As I’ve been navigating all the yo-yoing and herding of ducks, I’ve found a few things that have drastically improved my skills (aside from coffee) and it started me looking closer.
Blasting my praise and worship playlist is a no-brainer now, or so you’d think as often as I mention it. But I still need reminding from time to time. Just a week ago I was experiencing blow after blow, no ebbing away or backing off but a constant barrage of stuff, and I knew it was a spiritual attack, but I wanted to try powering through. My hubby knew better (again) and told me to turn on my music. Demonic forces hate it when we praise and worship God. Before the first song was over, there was a calm that settled in my spirit.
If I had not turned on my music, I’m not sure how long it would have taken me to calm my mess. I had been praying, but there often needs to be a reminder of the position we’re praying from. Before I had turned on my music, I had been praying for strength, for peace, and for wisdom. I was begging for things that were already provided. I was praying from a position of defeat instead of victory. I was begging for an appointment with my King when I have 24-hour access to His presence.
This access really became clear as I was tossing and turning one night. I had prayed for all of the people I like the least (the devil hates it when we pray for our enemies), but I was no closer to falling asleep. I started reciting memorized scriptures and that wasn’t helping either. So, I decided to do it all over again. It was after midnight – I couldn’t very well blast my music when the rest of the house was sleeping peacefully. As I was going through Psalm 91 in my head, listening to the clock tick-tocking from across the dark room, I saw again something we as Christians often neglect to take advantage of.
“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.” Psalm 91:14-15 NIV
These last 2 verses of Psalm 91 got me thinking about this access we have to God. Not only is it obvious that we’re going to call on God because we’re going to be in need, but we’re not going to have to make an appointment with Him, beg Him to meet with us, or wait on hold while He makes His way to taking our call. As is typical for me, I started digging a bit. One Bible passage is fine and all, but there’s bound to be more, right?
Because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, taking on our wrongdoings, we now have access to the Father through the Spirit (Ephesians 2:18 and Romans 5:1-2). There is no more veil between us – it was torn from top to bottom, not from bottom to top (Matthew 27:51). There’s no barrier between God and mankind (Ephesians 2:14-16). We can approach the throne of God with confidence and boldness (Ephesians 3:12, Hebrews 4:16 and Hebrews 10:19). This confidence is not rooted in prideful thinking, but rather in confidence of who we belong to. We’re co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:14-17).
A friend of mine recently told me that there are a vast number of Christians – myself included – who live far below our privilege. Go ahead and read that again – it took me a minute to mull it over. But how true a statement! We have the Kingdom of God at our fingertips – in our hearts – yet we start begging to be heard when we can’t fall asleep till 2 o’clock in the morning. We plead for an audience with the King of Kings when we’ve been given the right to call Him Daddy (Galatians 4:6).
Too many Christians have this default mindset of limitations. We’re always failing, so we must have extremely limited access and extremely limited power (some default to having no power at all). I already have 9 passages that affirm our unlimited access to our Father – even when we’re in trouble, He’s with us (Psalm 91:15), and that’s just scratching the surface. But what about this power?
And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.” Mark 16:15-18 NLT
My husband jokes that this is the passage that explains why I’m able to drink coffee and still live… drinking poison… drinking coffee… He thinks he’s hilarious. I drink coffee almost every day, but it’s been a minute since I’ve seen a demon cast out, a lot of churches believe that speaking in tongues means you need a demon cast out, and I just can’t with the snakes. The last healing that I personally witnessed was my own over a dozen years ago, and a lot has happened since that could have used some physical healing (caner, broken bones, sprains, COVID, shall I go on?). We make excuses for not walking in what having the Spirit in us brings.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 NLT
That word, power, is dunamis (Strong’s G1411). It means miraculous power, ability, abundance, mighty power, strength, and of God’s energy. Its root word is dunamai (Strong’s G1410) which literally means force. That force came to earth, sent by God, and we know it as the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49). This is something I want to walk in. Sure, sure… to get my blog some views or some extra likes on social media – no.
There is no way that I can be freed from the chains that bound me and not share that it was God. There’s no way that I can be a quiet, compliant church-goer when my life was so drastically changed. I want to see others set free! I want to see others healed! If I stay silent about what God did for me – and continues to do in my life – then no real change takes place for myself or anyone. God gets the glory when we operate in His power.
Not only do I have God in my corner, he fought the fight for me. I never had to throw a punch. When my ducks get scattered or start stealing my yo-yos, He’s there to help. I don’t have to get in line, hold for the next available representative, or schedule an appointment. The only way any of this works is if we believe it to be true. Do you believe God’s Word is true? Or do we trust our experiences more? Boldly approach the throne. He opened the door, but you have to choose to walk through it.
Amen and hallelujah!