Float Like a Butterfly; Sting Like a Bee

We are twenty-two days in and , “Happy New Year,” still echoes, repetitively throughout my conscience. I know, it’s 2019 and you promised to reveal to the world the new you under that new do. You have declared this will be the new year you'll progress with no fear! The vision boards are all complete with their star studded decor and bedazzled glam. You have written the vision and made it plain. You’ve gotten on God’s good side; praised your way on over, recited your “I’m going to be better prayer” - the one you promise more consistency, elevated your superficial faith, showed up to the first Sunday School and / or bible study class of the year and finally embraced that new attitude! If it’s anything like mines, it mirrors Tiffany Haddish’s infamous Whip and Nae Nae combo screaming out, “SHE READY”!

WRONG!

At least I thought I was. Mane, the devil came out the gate swinging- harder than ever! May I repeat, we’re only twenty-two days in! I stepped in a ring and forgot my protective armor. I can’t be the only one recovering from a potential knockout, grasping the boxing ring ropes, fighting against gravity and the sting of that hard blow, while pulling up against the timing of the ref’s count down. I refuse to let you leave me hanging. I am certain that I can’t be the only one falling off the wagon already! Yes, falling - sinking terribly into the old habits that I professed leaving behind last year. May I be honest? I supposedly left some of these negative attributes behind five years ago! Yet, here I am.

God! I thought I was prepared.

Just when you thought you finished 2018 strong, fulfilled the new year’s preparation requirements before the clock struck 12, and actually lived to see the first day of the new year; here he comes, the devil - full force, horns up, ready to meticulously mingle in your business! I can hear your overwhelmed self now saying, “I thought this year would be better”! I know you really didn’t think he was going to cut you some slack just because we crossed over into an odd numbered year? Did you really think he was capable of doing any less than what he proclaimed as he fell from heaven to hell? Unlike some of us, his resolutions never change. They are always: steal, kill and destroy. It’s another year, you’re still alive- meaning his old plans didn’t work! Yea jack, he angry angry and nothing about his demise for your life will be any less intense than before. I mean, unless you’re laying there and making it easy for him. By now, the ref is on 3-2-1! You still down or what sis? I don’t know about you, but let’s not get it twisted, I made it back up! I’m still in this fight!

We are in battle- fighting at all times. Sometimes with the devil and sometimes with the process and stagnant progression of our walk with God. We become complacent and lazy, which results to us not practicing on the skills needed to win our battles. Some of us go as far to say, it doesn't take that much when, in all actuality, it takes more. Higher levels in God produces higher attacks on your life. You must stay ready.

God doesn’t want us to be comfortable. Comfortable in defeat nor in Him. You in the act of being comfortable conveys your unwillingness to conform. You cant conform when you’re mentally, spiritually and physically at ease. The tactic is to always provide a level of discomfort. It propels you to get up and do something about the very place you’re in. Remember, the devil can only do what God allows him to. God doesn’t always lead you to green pastures and still waters. He'll never put you in situations that he hasn’t already provided a way out of either! If you’re conforming, you’re actively preparing yourself for any high or any low that may come your way.

Lets not forget that if we are believers in God, he has equipped us with all the tools needed to be victorious. Phillippians 2:5 states, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus". When you think like Christ, you've already won! When you've embraced the mind of Jesus, everything about your fleshy self begins to conform. The process, beginning with your mind and flowing down, allows you to turn off attributes such as defeat, depression, and anxiety. Your new Christ like mind negates every negative connotative thought the devil will send your way.

Along with changing your mind, you acquire new equipment that helps you prevail in the matches ahead. Ephesians 6: 10-17 states,

"10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 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. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God".

I hear you asking, "How do I put on the full armor of God?" That answer is easy to give, but it's a challenge to consistently apply daily. Reading, retaining, trusting and applying His word, morning devotion, worship and praise, continuous praying, and faithing it are all ways to spiritual equip yourself for the fight.

Find your cadence and change your strategy. The devil can't find you easily if you're approaching life through new routes. Question is: Did the devil catch you at a place of comfort, or did you get so comfortable in God, you didn’t think he required anything more from you? Either way, don’t get caught slipping! Make him work for you! You already know your opponent, be proactive and manuever differently. Throw him off. This way, you're able to adjust, block sustain each punch being thrown.

Be that butterfly - floating without care, amazed at its beauty and hard to catch. Nevertheless, when the devil comes and that bell rings for the next round, light him up, sting him like a bee. Stay ready. You got this!