Spinning, Spinning, Spinning...And Standing!
Scripture: Eph. 6:13 - "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."
Do you remember as a child spinning round and round, getting very dizzy and then trying to walk? As you spun round and round, you lost control of your balance and then would giggle and giggle at the sight of trying to walk as if you had balance. The staggering and stumbling were quite a sight!
I would like to suggest that there will be times in our spiritual walk when things seem to have spun out of control. We can lose our balance and thus our focus. We may begin to stagger and stumble in our walk, all the while trying to regain balance and control.
In Ephesians 6:13, Paul instructs that after we have done all to stand, we are to stand. Just as it is difficult for the spinning child to stand, it can be difficult for us to stand our spiritual ground. However, if we offer the spinning child something to hold onto, something to steady them, he/she is much more likely to be able to stand steady. And the good news is, there is something to help us steady ourselves in the spiritual sense also. God never instructs us to do something without equipping us to be able to do so.
In recent months, God has been growing me in this area. There are two principles that He has taught me that are useful in helping to steady my spiritual balance.
The first is the power of His Word. I have learned the power of not focusing on the circumstances, but rather focusing on God's promise. When my mind begins to stray or focus on the natural, getting into the Word and declaring it out loud will bring me back into balance very quickly. I have to admit, sometimes I'm even surprised myself at how quickly it works.
And, there's a reason it works. Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Word is living and active. Verbalizing the Word of God brings changes on two fronts. The first is you begin to see your circumstances as God does, and the second is it brings changes in the Spiritual realm. Declare the Word - it will calm the spinning and allow you to steady your spiritual balance.
The second thing I have learned is KYMS - Keep Your Mouth Shut! I once worked for a gentleman that kept a post-it note on the table in his office. The post-it note had the letters KYMS written on it. This man knew there was a time to speak and a time to listen. This post-it note was a reminder to him that keeping quiet is beneficial.
And, so I have learned. I'm a fairly straightforward person. I like all the cards to be on the table. Then we can talk and talk and talk about them. So, as things begin to spin out of control in my life, I would declare God's Word, and then jump into action to make it happen! Oh my - the struggle it was for me to stay quiet and let God move. Psalm 46:10 says - "Be still and know that I am God." Believe it or not, 'still' in this scripture does not including talking, analyzing, or resolving! It is simply being still - being peaceful and confident that God has your back. He is fully able to follow through. I have to admit, the reason I struggle with this is that often God's timeline and my timeline are not in sync. So, I feel the need to synchronize His with mine! Ughh - don't do this!
If you allow God to be God, to synchronize your timeline with His, you will stand in awe at the outcome. When I've been able to do these two things successfully, I've seen God do exceedingly abundantly more than I could think or imagine (Eph. 3:20).
When you're staggering and stumbling, dizzy and have lost focus, when things are spinning out of control, it is possible to stand firm. Declare God's Word and let God be God - you won't be disappointed!
Blessings
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