As young and immature Christians, we all desire to please the Lord but we are not sure what he expects from us. After our times of prayer and bible study, it often seems that we struggle with our new found faith, and feel the need to do something more.
To grow in our faith we need to learn how to apply his word while trusting in his leadings. Because Jesus said “Let not your heart be troubled, just believe in me”. I am learning that the Lord is very practical, and will help with small ways of practicing our faith in our daily life experiences.
One such small beginning in my own daily life has come through my husband’s favorite pet, a small Chihuahua. A somewhat humorous but seriously true lesson in spiritual warfare had unfolded. I was presented with a unique opportunity to learn to practice walking in the spirit.
When we first got this dog it was fully grown, and had a fear of most everyone, as though he had been mistreated. We were strangers to him, and it took some time to get him adapted to us and our routine. He quickly claimed my husband as his possession because he had such an affection for him. He has always loved dogs. Although I do not dislike them, I need grace to love them as he does.
This new pet quickly began to show a fierce distrust of me, while jealously guarding my husband from me. If I approached his chair, the dog would sit up and bare his teeth and growl fiercely! If I reached over to the table beside his chair to pick something up, he would snap at me, and even bite. If my husband left the house to go to town, this small but bossy dog would stand and bark at me loudly, as though accusing me of hiding him. The poor dog would then run all over the house crying and searching for him. If he managed to get outside, he would take off down the road, nose to the ground, sniffing his trail! When the children came to visit, he would hide under the couch and bark ferociously until they left. A pleasant visit with company was impossible.This was turning into a constant irritation!
I was very young in my experience with spiritual warfare, and was just learning to hear God’s voice through his prophets. One day while watching a well known prophet of the Lord on T.V a rhema word was quickened to me. I do not even recall the subject he was speaking on, but suddenly, I heard, “don’t be intimidated by the voice of Chihuahuas”!! The Lord had my attention.
Isn’t it amazing how the Lord speaks into our lives through everyday life habits and events? As I pondered on all this the Lord began to teach me. I could learn how to bring change.
I was learning that the Lord desired to free us from the bondage of all control through fear and manipulation. A spirit of witchcraft can and does work through animals and humans, with an underlying purpose of destroying our hope for peace and victory. Many churches and leaders need experience in this kind of warfare, for God also loves the person these spirits are controlling. We, as believers, are given the authority to bind carnal responses and to loose spiritual ones. We can choose to crucify the normal reactions of our flesh, anger, jealousy and such, by the spirit. Our feelings are emotional and they are very real. However, by our continual practice of walking in the spirit, grace is able to make us into overcomers. We don’t have to be ruled by our emotions.
I was instructed by the leading of the spirit to demonstrate the love of God and to turn the other cheek and to bless my new enemy, Cooter the Chihuahua. I took the responsibility of feeding and keeping his water fresh daily. Occasionally he would have a day of sickness, and I would pray and seek his healing. By grace, I struggled to maintain a right heart attitude while this small dog was wreaking havoc in my home. As the Lord promised in his word, little by little, he brought peace and change, while giving me great victory over my own emotional reactions, and those of my husband’s. As a result of the truth of the word of God being practiced, what was a real irritation has become a laughing matter, and is gradually vanishing away.
The word of God is active and powerful! We have been blessed with spiritual giftings that enable us to decree God’s words of truth over our lives and see changes in our circumstances. The devoted believer has mighty weapons of warfare to activate against enemy plans. Just as the children of Israel had to drive the enemy from their promised land, we must overcome these spiritual giants in our own lands. The strife and division that is ever present in the carnal nature must be tamed and brought under the Lordship of Christ. Voices of strife from the enemy camp in our homes and families can be bound, and spiritual peace can be loosed by setting the mind and heart to learning the Lord’s way of resolving issues in our lives. We must not be intimidated by works of the enemy camp, Joshua and Caleb said the enemy was as grasshoppers and not giants. Know that in God’s mind all voices that are opposed to his peace are like little Chihuahuas.
The work must always begin in the heart and home of the believer. To start with the voice of Chihuahua’s will give good practice in learning to overcome and conquer bigger spiritual enemies. King David started with lions and bears, then he grew strong enough to bring Goliath down.
Life by the Spirit
Galatians 5:s
16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Where are the voices that are speaking into your life to lead you into reactions that are not pleasing to the Lord? We are to subdue our own flesh and take dominion first so that we might learn to occupy our lands for Christ in a right spirit. We have to start at home, even if it is with our pets and our loved ones.
Update…..
Down memory lane today with Cooter memories. Just as an update, Cooter and my husband have both passed on. Cooter was ten years old and he died recently. He and I became great friends after I lost my husband, and he was an adventure in learning I’ll never forget. He was so attached to Bill that he was never the same after he died. He only lived a few months after that. But I did learn from my days with him..Father God never tires of using all of His creation to teach us.
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Treasures Of Secret Places 