The Winds Against Us
During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
“Lord, if it is you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him, “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him saying, “Truly you are the son of God.”
Matthew 14:25-32
The Word of God is so amazing because God can teach us something new from the same scripture day after day after day. (It’s alive and active!) God showed me more on Peter out on that water. I was running yesterday and it was slightly cold and extremely windy. Running the 1.8 miles to Collins Hill Park was easy in that the wind was on my back and there is a big hill that I ran down. On the way back, however, I ran up that big hill and against the wind. The physical force of the wind ruffled my wind-breaker and made the loose part of my pant-legs stand straight out as if a wall. At certain points, my own body seemed to move for a moment; the wind was strong.
My mind went to Peter out on that water. Remember how he looked at the wind and got distracted? I bet he looked at the wind, and I bet he felt the wind. It’s pretty hard not to see a big wind coming and not look at it. It’s even more difficult to stand firm when the wind is pushing and screaming at your body, trying to make it move along with its current. As I ran against the wind, I felt empathy for Peter. What a difficult position he was in. I thought of how the enemy brings winds against us (circumstances of difficulty: mean people, lack of funds, sickness, fear, cars that break down, etc.) and the strong wind of that difficult circumstance comes against us like a forceful wind. A scripture comes to mind, “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all” (Isaiah 7:9).
The circumstances that come against us are physical, so if we face them merely in the physical, they will push and push and push against us until we submit and go along with them back to that place of isolation and defeat. This is why it is so critical that we face the physical circumstance with spiritual faith! As I ran, I envisioned myself in the Spirit, transforming from my physical body into a clear, free-flowing spirit. As I transformed, the wind that was coming against me lost some of its power because I was no longer a physical obstacle. See, our bodies are like mini-walls and when winds come up against them, the wind hits us and tries to push us backwards. The wind on either side of us is able to escape around us, but the wind that comes against the dead-center of us hits us as if we are a wall. The wind must move that wall backwards if it expects to be able to keep traveling to its destination. Therefore, its mission is to get our bodies to cooperate with its plan. The winds of the enemy are like this. But when we allow our physical bodies to operate in the unified spiritual realm of faith, the winds that come against us no longer have a physical wall in which they collide. Now, they have a spiritual wall in which they collide and the difference is our spiritual wall is more powerful than the enemy’s spiritual wall because it is God who is our shield! He gives us a shield of Faith which is rooted in the power of Jesus Christ!
When we hold up our shield of Faith against the enemy’s wind, we become the strong-force that begins to push the enemy’s wind back! Now, we have the power to push the enemy back from where he came rather than the enemy pushing us back to our place of defeat and doubt. You see, our shield of Faith allows us to rise above the wind, and as we rise, we push the enemy’s wind back. Picture yourself running. The wind comes against your physical body. You pull out your shield of Faith, which transforms your thought process, focusing on the unified spiritual force of God within you, rather than a mere physical obstacle, and you begin to simultaneously rise up and push forward against the wind. You keep going, pushing, praying, wining, quoting scripture and gaining territory in a forward motion. You continue to rise and rise and rise as you do this. Do you know where you ultimately end up? On eagle’s wings!
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:31.
I conclude with a thought: When you face the wind simply “hoping” that you’ll make it, the wind always wins. But Ahh, when you face the wind with your shield of Faith, you begin to rise up, pushing forward and gaining victory against it! When your hope is rooted in your own physical ability, your inabilities always surface. But when your hope is in the Lord, your strength is limitless!
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
When Peter took his first steps upon the water, his hope was in the Lord, but when he started to think, “I hope I can keep doing this; I hope that wind doesn’t take me out, I hope I don’t sink,” he instantly began to sink.
He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants.
Psalm 104:4
God is calling Warrior Moms out to become a unified forceful spiritual wind that gains strength and momentum against the enemy’s winds against us. Rise up Warriors, and be transformed from walking and/or running through this world with merely a physical focus or a divided focus on the physical here and the spiritual there. To win against the wind, you must become a wind, more powerful, more victorious than anything that exists to take you out. The armor of God allows you to do this. Take out your shield of Faith and be transformed by the renewing of your mind!
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Romans 12:2
Run to the Word of God, stay there continually, and rise up as the warriors God has called you to become.
Warrior Moms Unite!®
Love,
Kristina
The Warrior Mom Ministry was founded by Kristina Seymour, author of The Warrior Mom Handbook – Equipping Women through the Word, a Bible study for moms who desire to live by faith in the midst of their everyday lives. Kristina has learned that moms can't survive on caffeine and animal crackers alone; women in the Word and in community are united and able to stand firm. To learn more about The Warrior Mom Handbook, the Warrior Mom Ministry, and to sign up for daily encouragement, visit, www.warriormoms.net.