The Charge

The world offers no shortage of noise and to-do’s, and it can quickly become overwhelming.

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Last year my hubs and I snuck away to a fancy hotel in the mountains. My parents, who live really far away, were visiting and told us to get away for a few days. They didn’t have to offer twice; we packed up and drove into the stunning beauty that is fall in the mountains.

My husband booked us at this really bougie hotel with a sprawling property. The kind that we only splurge on for things like anniversaries. As we pulled in, there were lines upon lines upon lines of cars being valeted. Almost instantly I found myself overwhelmed and inventorying the cars lined up. Thinking… Oh, that’s a Mercedes, and that’s a Tesla, and there’s a Range Rover over there. But that’s a Honda and that’s a Nissan, so my GMC is maybe ok. 

This was me, a fairly stable and sane adult, seeing if I measured up and belonged at this fancy hotel. 

We got our bags out and were rolling them inside, struggling to move the wheels over the uneven cobblestones as the crowd of new arrivals looked on. Once inside, I was really struggling to get my suitcase to move across the thick plush carpet..it’s hard being fancy. As I was precariously teetering and about to topple everything… a young couple strolled in and cut in front of me, completely blocking me from my husband. 

They looked like they were 15, and I’m clearly old because 15-year-olds can’t book a hotel room for the night, but I swear they looked 15. She was stunningly gorgeous and dressed in the most amazing mountain getaway outfit. You know, the kind that looks like she’s perfectly pulled together but also like she didn’t even try. In this instant, I was convinced that I didn’t belong in this gorgeous mountain escape… I started looking around at all the people in the lobby, taking in the various men and women sitting and milling around. All the while, wondering if I really belonged here, or if I was an imposter pretending she could live a fancy hotel life. 

Not even 10 minutes into our mountain adventure, and I had spent most of it judging my worth and if I belonged.

We ended up having a wonderful stay at this “fancy” hotel, and will definitely go back again if we are able. 

I share this story because it relates to much of our female existence day in and day out. Because ultimately We want to blend in. We want to belong. We don’t want to make waves. We want easy. We want the path of least resistance. 

But God wants us to pursue truth. Boldly standing out. Sharing the gospel. Speaking truth no matter the cost. He wants us to be a stark contrast to the world because he has done a good work in us and we now resemble our God.

He doesn’t want us to compare ourselves to those around us. He doesn’t want complacency ruining what He has for you and me. He doesn’t want fear and timidness to rule our day…He wants us to lean with our might on Him. He has called us to be bold, courageous, and fearless NO MATTER THE COST.

This is the life and calling of God’s daughters. We are in a battle to the end, let’s not waste it on the sidelines.

We live in a society that has perfected numbed-out and distracted living. Social media —> mindless scrolling. Netflix —> mindless binging. 

Everywhere we turn we see distracted and unengaged. It isn’t just rampant in our society, that is our society. 

As daughters of Christ, are we just as disengaged? If your time away to rest and relax is anything like mine, you are allowing silly and unimportant things to creep into the gift of time to refresh and recharge – which is so important to our ability to stay in the spiritual fight. 

Follow me for a sec as we sidebar slightly… If we become overwhelmed by life, and in response choose to check out for a bit with mindless activity, allowing ourselves to be distracted from reality for a short time, that’s no big deal right? 

But then the next time life is a bit much, we do the same, and we do this again and again and again… somehow it becomes our go to, it becomes a habit. Pretty soon we are turning to numb, or distracted, over feeling. 

Eventually, we are full on avoiding real-life encounters, and then when life gets hard, we immediately turn to mindless activities to unwind. This cycle can even cause our barometer for hard and overwhelming to become smaller and smaller life circumstances. And without even realizing it, we have completely checked out of life – checked out of the fight. Satan has successfully incapacitated us without ever striking a real blow.

Can you relate to this? I think if we’re honest, all of us here can to some extent.

If this becomes our norm, then how are we filling our lives with Christ?

What’s the antidote to complacency and numbed-out living?

It’s intentionality. 

It’s purposely choosing to engage.

I want to caution that I’m not sharing a roadmap to living your best life, or offering quipped solutions to a better life. I’m talking about THE PLACE that God wants each of us to engage the world. And we can’t have any of it without being intentional. 

We can’t be a bold and strong warrior if we are hoping our days away. Hoping for the best. Hoping we can survive today. Hoping we find time to pray. Hoping we can find time to study. THIS is not the hope of a Christian, and not at all how we are to spend our days. If we are merely hoping for the best, we will always come up short.

We NEED to be intentional and prioritize our time with God. Plan in quiet study time. Plan in focused prayer time. And then, we fill extra moments with Him, not the other way around. 

The world offers no shortage of noise and to-do’s, and it can quickly become overwhelming. What do we do with that overwhelmed? What’s the foundation to overcoming the noise?

Intentional time with God. 

The spiritual battle is raging all around us and we are a part of it, whether we choose to engage or not.

We know that… The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy; but Jesus came so we could have life to the full. (John 10:10)

And we know we need to … Be alert and of sober mind because the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

Make no mistake, Satan wants us paralyzed by life, unable to impact anything and anyone for the kingdom. 

There are numerous perspectives on the best way to start each day ready for the battle, but all of them originate with engaging God at the start of our day. 

And when the hits come and life gets overwhelming, we have a solid foundation to stand on. Sometimes the hits will be big and change our everyday in one single moment, other times, it’s multiple little hits throughout the day that can eventually leave us exhausted and struggling to keep battling. 

God knows our human frailty, he knows our need. Jesus walked the earth as a human and understands exhaustion in the middle of a raging war. What was His posture when life started to wear him down? He took to solitude to pray. In Luke, we see that news about Jesus was spreading and large crowds were coming to hear him speak and be healed. But it says, “Jesus often withdrew to deserted places and prayed.” (5:15)

He went off in the quiet and prayed to God.

So what should we do when life starts to wear us down? 

When the crowds and the chaos and the busy press in? 

We find quiet and pray. We recharge our spiritual tank.

 

There is an old Twila Paris song that comes to mind, some of you may know it. The Warrior is a Child.

 

Lately, I’ve been winning battles left and right

But even winners can get wounded in the fight

People say that I’m amazing

Strong beyond my years

But they don’t see inside of me

I’m hiding all the tears

They don’t know that I go running home when I fall down

They don’t know who picks me up when no one is around

I drop my sword and cry for just a while

‘Cause deep inside this armor

The warrior is a child

Unafraid because His armor is the best

But even soldiers need a quiet place to rest

People say that I’m amazing

Never face retreat

But they don’t see the enemies

That lay me at His feet

They don’t know that I go running home when I fall down

They don’t know who picks me up when no one is around

I drop my sword and cry for just a while

‘Cause deep inside this armor

the warrior is a child

 

I love the tender picture painted in these lyrics. 

We need a daddy-daughter relationship with our Heavenly Father that lets us step out of the battle and find rest laying at his feet. There is a safety and comfort in that, but we can’t find that without relationship with Him, and relationship requires intentionality. We need our God in a big way. The battle is raging, whether we are conscious of it or not. And NOW is the time for us to say no more to watching from the sidelines, and charge headfirst into the war, knowing that we have all the tools we need. Now is the time to take up our swords and stand tall as daughters of the King.

If we are going to engage in the fight, a spiritual foundation is crucial. We need His truth stored up in us, we need an open connection and communion with our Heavenly Father so that we can discern truth from fiction. We need to know where we find our worth, and in whom we find our worth.

Let’s show the world how radical our God is as we intentionally engage and share His love everywhere we go.

 

This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Rachel Rae Anderson

Featured Image Image by minka2507 from Pixabay


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About the Author

Rachel Anderson is mom to three awesome kiddos, wife to an amazing husband, dog mom to three little furry friends, and a child of God searching for her place in this vast world. God has been pruning her life for many years, and He has prompted her heart to share what He’s teaching her in this space.