Regret & Defeat

Just because the current giant you are facing looks like one you defeated in the past, don't buy the lie that you never really won the first battle! By the strength of God's grace, you trusted the Almighty and conquered your Goliath. The first giant is dead. Satan is masquerading as your former enemy so he can slip past your faith and regain entrance into your life. Resist him.  Francis Frangipane

There is a great song by Matthew West called “Hello My Name Is”.  I was listening to it this morning and thinking about the words while also singing at the top of my lungs. I love singing in the car because there is no one to hear me but God and He doesn’t care if I sing out of tune.  The first few lines of the song are amazing. 

Hello, my name is regret
I’m pretty sure we have met
Every single day of your life
I’m the whisper inside
That won’t let you forget
Hello, my name is defeat
I know you recognize me
Just when you think you can win
I’ll drag you right back down again
‘Til you’ve lost all belief
These are the voices, these are the lies
And I have believed them, for the very last time
Lyrics by Matthew West
I decided to read up on the songwriter.  As I was reading about some of the trials he went through including almost severing an artery in his arm which could have ended his ability to play guitar and another incident with his vocal chords and the possibility of never singing again, I started thinking about how we often become defeated by life.  Circumstances occur and we become broken don’t we.  There’s a chip here and a crack there and before we know it we have been battered by life. 
When this happens we often lose sight of the One who loves us the most.  It’s easy to do.  We start thinking that God doesn’t care and our faith slips a little, then we get hit again by life and we feel like we aren’t hearing from God so we slip a little more and before we know it we give up on God.

Every one of us has met “Defeat” and “Regret” at one time or another in our life.  How we react to these two circumstances will make the difference in a great or mediocre faith.   

I love the final verses of this song:

Hello, my name is child of the one true King
I’ve been saved, I’ve been changed, and I have been set free
“Amazing Grace” is the song I sing
Hello, my name is child of the one true King
I am no longer defined
By all the wreckage behind
The one who makes all things new
Has proven it’s true
Just take a look at my life
What love the Father has lavished upon us
That we should be called His children
I am a child of the one true King

Lyrics by Matthew West

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, thank you for the times in my life when I was defeated.  These times became a stepping stone toward a greater faith. You are the One True King in my eyes and I am forever grateful for Your love for me.   

Scripture: Christ on a White Horse
Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.  He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.  And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.

Revelation 19:11-16

The Beast and His Armies Defeated

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.”  Revelation 19:17-18