Overcoming the Enemy

I had this terrifying dream last night.  The kind of dream that is so real and yet you wake up and it seems so silly.  This one just kept me thinking though and so as I began my quiet time I prayed that God would reveal any meaning that this dream might have or else captivate my thoughts and help me not to dwell on it.  I began to think of the real enemies of our home, the ones that sneak in when we are preoccupied and least aware.  Have I recognized them?  Am I doing what is needed to repair the holes in God's protective wall around us?  Again I prayed for wisdom and revelation and then opened my Bible to the next chapter I was reading, 1Kings chapter 20.  Twice the Lord handed over the obviously stronger Aramean army to king Ahab and the Israelites.  After Ben-Hadad's (king of Aram) defeat, Ahab made a treaty with him!  He was punished for realigning  himself with a foe that God had already determined should be destroyed.  I thought how interestingly this with my dream.  Have I been faithful to destroy that which the Lord has condemned in my life?  I then read my devotional for the day.  I love God's way of stitching totally unrelated things together.  It never ceases to amaze me.  I was just proud of myself for getting up before the children to read His word and He had already written me a complete lesson plan for the day!  Anyway, if you will remember the story of Jael in Judges 4 & 5...She was alone and yet she took authority over the enemy who came in to her house.  It was a bloody gory scene and she did not let her fear stop her from doing what was right.  The same should hold true today.  We can not worry about hurting feelings and political correctness.  We must walk in obedience to protect our families!  That's the key though, for when we are in OBEDIENCE we have the power, in the name of Jesus to overcome the enemy.  (Luke 10:19) I am striving to live victoriously, not only over the enemy, but over the challenges of every day life.  Grumbling, discontent, negative thoughts toward my husband and others, gossip, and self-preoccupation.  As frustrated as I get with myself, I try to remember to view these things as a chance to live in Christ, not within my own power.  They are a test as to whether my life is built next to the shore where the sand is wet and easy to shape.  Or is it built on the rock that is Christ Jesus...much harder work but the result is for eternity.