This morning as I awoke, the Lord impressed me with a thought:  “Too many people wear themselves out preparing for the battle, so when it comes, they’re already too weary to fight.”  Well, that one got my attention, and I asked the Lord to expand on it

      Have you ever dreaded having to do something, and gone to bed dreading it, and woke up all worn out before the day even begun?  That’s an example.  You turn it around and around in your mind, and the more you think about it, the bigger the problem gets. And if you’re like many people, of course you put off facing it as long as you can, like going to the doctor, or preparing your income taxes or cleaning out the garage, for example.  So, by the time you finally decide to take care of the matter, you’ve already worn yourself out.  Needless to say, whatever it is, isn’t going to get your very best effort because, well, face it, you’re just too tired.  What you need is to be strong for battle. How does that happen?

    First off, there are things that all of us just have to do, like it or not.  That’s just life.  But why face them with dread?  I saw a man wearing a tee shirt once that said “Git ‘er done”.  That pretty much sums it up.  There’s a time to dread, and there’s a time to do.  I find personally that just jumping in and getting it done not only bypasses the dread mode, but getting it done leaves time left over to do something special I’d like to do.  You see, the time you spend dreading tasks not only steals your joy, but it steals your time as well, that you’d much rather spend doing something else.

    What does this have to do with being strong for battle?  Plenty.  Dread, of whatever situation you’re facing that you don’t want to, steals your joy. As the devil has you rehearse all the bad things that could happen over and over, it wears you out.  Chances are, all the bad things the devil wants you to imagine will happen, won’t.  And even if they did, why not just face it, and “git ‘er done”?  After all, whatever it is, you can bank on one thing, the devil wants you to think you’re facing the battle alone.  And that’s the biggest lie on the planet.  Remember, Jesus said, I will never leave you or forsake you.  Whatever it is the devil has you dreading, the Lord Jesus already has the solution for.   After all, He’s Lord “Got ‘er done!”

    First off, if you’re smart, you’ve already given all your cares to Jesus.  If you haven’t, it’s like they say in the old Monopoly game, go straight to jail, do not pass “Go”, do not collect $200.  And if you have, then why worry?  Tell me, what’s to dread if before you go into battle you already know you’ve won?  Well, when you give your cares, your dreads to Jesus, you get back those hours or days or months of your life that you would have spent dreading this or that. In your case, that even may be YEARS of your life that the devil was trying to steal from you. Wouldn’t you rather have that time to enjoy life instead? 

    Another advantage to casting your cares upon Jesus, is the strength that you would have spent worrying and dreading “________” (you fill in the blank), that strength is yours to use, and you’re not running on empty when it comes time to get things done. That attitude shows up in your health, your mental attitude, and your entire life.  Worrying people don’t generally have good health.  They have no joy, even when things are going good, because they know just around the corner, here comes another problem.  I say, So what?  Life is full of problems. But that’s just an opportunity for Jesus to show Himself powerful on your behalf.  And He will, if you’ll just trust Him.

    Jesus knew the meaning of dread, and it was so intense for Him on the night before He went on the cross for you and me, that He sweat dr

ops of blood.  That’s big-time dread.  But He “Got ‘er done”.  He didn’t let dread stop Him from accomplishing His goal.  And part of that goal was kicking dread out of YOUR life.  You see, Friend, Jesus was strong for battle because of the love His Father had for Him, and because of His love for YOU!  That same love will wipe dread clean out of your life, and make you strong!  Which would you rather have; you dreading having to face another day, or the devil dreading when you wake up in the morning?  I’d rather the devil have to say, Oh no….he’s awake again! 

    It’s time for you to make your move right now. Don’t waste another moment of your life dreading ANYTHING! Jesus has you covered. Remember the armor He gave you?  Why not invite Him to dwell with you inside that armor, and be strong for any battle!