Not to be a Debbie Downer, but while "fighting the good fight" for God and the truth, be aware that satan will come full force against you. If you speak of being healthy, the next day satan will bring you some sort of sickness. If you speak of the truth coming out, the next day satan will throw more lies your way. If you speak of prayer and Jesus, the next day satan will send doubt and trouble where you question if God even hears your prayers.
It is a never ending cycle of faith/good versus doubt/evil. When you "fight the good fight" you will be fighting against evil forces 24/7/365. That is where faith is so important. Faith in God is everything and is what most humans do not have, including myself. I struggle with faith every second of the day, and somedays the troubles are too overwhelming, but I have to continue to "fight the good fight" even if it appears I am losing.
I want to share a secret with you, I recognize the suffering you describe because it has plagued me for my entire life. But something happened to me a few years ago, I submitted my will to God and called out to Jesus Christ in a moment of absolute despair. And he answered. I learned the truth about the devil that day. And the truth is that he is an absolute nothing burger in comparison to God. Jesus Christ's victory over him is absolute. The problem is that our culture has lost the understanding of the Holy Spirit and no longer teaches us how his authority works.
The truth is that we are completely helpless and have absolutely no ability to resist satan and his demons with our own will.
We have to submit ourselves to God's will and call out to him through prayer in order for him to intercede. You have to be under the dominion of Jesus Christ and acknowledge that it is by HIS AUTHORITY. The words "in the name and authority of Jesus Christ I command you to leave now" are words of power when dealing with the demonic. The words of God are power, they are law. Spiritual dominion is different than human dominion. The devil and demons are bound by Gods word, Jesus did so much more for us on the cross than most realize. Rather than rely on your own imperfect will, put your faith in his will.
Fear God, not the devil. In fact mock the devil every chance you get, and glorify the triumph of Jesus Christ, the lamb of God to his face. I promise you God will pour out his favor on you for your faith in him and boldness in proclaiming his glory.
Thank you so much for your wonderful advice. Everything you say is the truth. In the past when I had much less faith, I would periodically have night terrors, where a dark shadow would envelope and paralyze me in my bed. Each time that I called out "In Jesus' name begone!" the dark shadow would lift and disappear.
Now that I have more faith in God the night terrors have disappeared, although satan and the demons still find other ways to mess with me on a daily basis. But I have the answer in what you posted above:
"the words of God are power" and satan "is an absolute nothing burger in comparison to God."
I have been plagued by the night terrors since I was a child. I spent years not understanding without anyone to console me before I finally found the answers I was seeking. Have you ever heard of the dark night of the soul? The works of St John of the cross or the interior mansion by St Teresa of Avila?
If yes. The suffocating pressure you felt that night was a light touch from God, the malevolent presence was the evil inside of your soul. You saw the state of your soul in the presence of God. When you submitted to Jesus Christ that night, God removed the evil in your soul and filled it with his spirit. The devil is harassing you because you are blessed and favored by God. You are a daughter of God! The demons and nightmares serve a purpose, you have a calling on your life that requires you grow into a higher state of spiritual maturity than most others achieve. We can only grow stronger spiritually through practice. I suspect you have very little fear of death, suffering, or pain. You were born for times such as these, do not let the opinions of others cause you to doubt.
I would read up on spiritual discernment as well, I think you will love what you find. I have other book recommendations that helped me a lot if you want them.
Thank you. I will look at the website you linked. Interesting about the night terror pressure being God releasing the evil from my soul. I never thought about it that way. I haven't had a true full blown night terror in years, although I do get mini ones from time to time whenever I speak out about the goodness of God, then like clockwork the next night a mini night terror will try to suffocate me, but I just call on God and wait for it to pass. They no longer frighten me.
Also just to prove I’m not a evil spirit and sit at the feet of Jesus Christ.
I truthfully believe and claim Jesus Christ as the son of God come in the flesh. The lamb of God.
That inner voice or feeling that tugs on you, that instinctive feeling deep set inside you, that ancient wisdom that sometimes comes out of you that doesn’t belong to you is the Holy Spirit. Not emotional intelligence or some gift for reading others body language. Haha 😂
I experienced the same thing. The first time I experienced sleep paralysis before I had learned how to call out to Jesus and use his authority instead of my own, was the most terrifying thing in my entire life. The malevolent presence was so strong and obviously inhuman, even the worst human on earth could not compare to the revolting hatred this entity radiated. Humans just do not feel like that. But after that night, when I experienced subsequent episodes it was like the power of that malevolent presence was no longer present. Instead of being helpless to its grip, I was now an active participant capable of conquering it because Jesus had claimed ownership of me. I was under his dominion, his authority, a willing servant to his kingdom and he vowed to never abandon me (even if everyone else did) and he keeps his promises. Its just who he is.
The nightmares changed with time, Ive died 1000 times and experienced my darkest fears and I remember them vividly. Sometimes more vividly than my memories of the waking world. A repetitive theme is a battle with snakes/reptiles. The more grew in spiritual maturity and understanding of the Holy Spirit the smaller these reptiles became (they started out as giant anacondas - they would always be determined eat my guardian angel who usually takes the form of my dog). Now when I have the dreams, it is me hunting small snakes and lizards and them hiding from me in fear.
While these dreams brought me more suffering than most, they have also been a great gift. My knowledge of spiritual discernment and spiritual warfare far exceeds most of the "trained experts" knowledge. It has also molded me into an extremely strategist. I am always 7 steps ahead of everyone else, in almost all areas of my life. While most only see what is right in front of their face, I see the entire chessboard. This ability was gained through no effort of my own, God favors me and has blessed me with it. However, if I abuse this gift for my own personal gain it can bring great destruction to those around me. It is important for me to always be sure I am aligned with his will, my purpose in life is his glory and will.
Sometimes I think I could have been a great warlord, it is in the heat of battle, in the darkest of hours that I am at my best. Resilience, is a beautiful thing to see in action. Fixing broken things, turn trauma into something beautiful, embracing failure for the gift it is. All these things not only inspire us but like a virus infect others around us. Nothing makes me happier then igniting that spark inside others and watching them become luminous.
What really funny is how fragile and vulnerable I am. Everything about me makes others underestimate and dismiss me as a threat or challenge to their own agenda. God sends the weak things to confound the strong. The simple to confound the wise. Its like watching Rapunzel completely demolish Thanos by making a macaroni crown haha. God definitely has a sense of humor. I suspect you may also have a similar gift, or some calling.
Be aware that as you spiritually mature and grow stronger and begin to fully understand just how badly Jesus neutered the devil on the cross he will change tactics. If he cannot get to you directly, he will start attacking your loved ones and create a situation you are helpless to intervene in. Please listen to me, there is nothing you can do in these situations to help them but pray. Prayer is our greatest gift, and you must learn that it is not our will but the Holy Spirit that can help them. Learning this lesson almost destroyed me, should have destroyed me, but in the end it did the opposite. I hope this helps you feel less alone and encourages you to embrace the gifts God has granted you. You are not crazy or evil or hopeless, you are blessed and truly favored by God. My life is a living testament to him, I probably would have killed myself without his intervention. Without him, I have no purpose to exist, I don't want to exist without him. I have a feeling you understand this statement more than most I have shared with. You know god but you are not quite sure how, know his love personally, know the difference between human love and Gods love. He will never abandon you, even if everyone else does.
You got that right Pug. One day after writing this post I came down with a cold. Satan doesn't like health, which explains the past three years. I'm just going to get through the next three weeks (all my colds last forever) and keep on keeping on.
Take some ivermectin, zinc and loads of vit A, vit D abd vit C. I do that when I feel a scratchy throat, stopped up nose coming on and after one or 2 doses, the symptoms never progress. 🙂 I used to get 3-4 colds EVERY YEAR!I haven't even been sick in 2+years now.
I just say "Not today, satan! Jesus rebukes you! I'm a child of the Most High God, King of Kings, Lord of ALL and I'm washed in the precious blood of Jesus! Praise God!" satan flees at the mention of Jesus' name.
You are correct about Satan’s attacks. This is why we should pray for others and ourselves to be shielded from those attacks while we go about the Father’s business. I remember what one friend in Christ used to say: “We pray for a hedge of protection around ______ and believe it will stand, in Jesus’s name, amen.” I am keenly aware that when my prayers slack off, my faith walk falters.
As somebody that grew up in the 50's in a "rock & roll bad" household, and consequently who was just discovering 70's music in the 80s (I never made it to 80's music), I knew nothing of Triumph, so I read a little about them, and watched a music video of that number. Now I'm a little confused, but I guess anybody like that that can hit G above the treble clef can't be all that bad. Appropriate lyrics indeed!
I'm going to show your animation to my housemate. She came to the Lord in early 2021, when the shots were rolling out, and she saw through that deception in time. This video should clarify everything else. :-)
The world divided along the exposed fault line of fear in a VERY unusual way in 2020. We had been tested and prepared by earlier scares, but nothing quite like this. Some rejected the fear while many more appeared to surrender to it and let it take them where it would. My view of this may be exaggerated, living in California and watching most of the still-living people I had ever known succumb, including those I thought would have known better. I guess I didn't really know them.
God made it possible for us to see and decide well (not perfectly, but well enough). I can see how that worked in my life, and it goes pretty much all the way back, but especially to the 60's when I learned -- from my church! -- to be cautious and even downright suspicious of medical "authorities", and to eat the food that God, not industry, provides. I wish I had stuck with that view always, but after doing much damage to myself I received a "refresher" through a different church in the late 90's, and the entire horrible picture began to come into view over the following decade or so. I never would have found any of this on my own. Now it is on full display for anyone with eyes to see, which is still not that many, but thankfully quite a few more.
The exposed fault line is still there, though people are pretending now that the worst is over. I believe that the worst has not yet begun, and reports from the alternative media bear that out. It reads to me like the Biblical end-of-age scenario, rooted in the "Old" Testament and brought into full focus in the book of Revelation. The latter is more clarifying than original.
Many of those seeing _what_ is happening have yet another bridge (or fault line chasm) to cross -- seeing _why_. It doesn't originate from all these insane super-villains running and ruining our world. Those are God's response to and "reward" for our collective sins. The problem is within us and it is us, and no amount of finger-pointing at villains will change that. Trying to "live better" doesn't work either. We can't fix it.
Jesus did. It's fixed. Done deal. We just have to accept the offer, and walk the walk, be the light, endure to the end. I am hopeful that a great many more will.
Thanks for your great comment CM. There's some great music in the 80's, usually early to mid 80's. Triumph was one of those bands I thought would be more popular than they were. Kind of like Bob Segar, he disappeared around 86. But I digress.
"The problem is within us and it is us, and no amount of finger-pointing at villains will change that. Trying to "live better" doesn't work either. We can't fix it."
This in a nutshell. We have to fix ourselves before society can be fixed. I see people still writing in substack comments about how there is nobody left to save us and I just cringe. There was one and only one person who has already saved us and the majority of the world has dismissed that person. What do we expect would happen to us when we told God to disappear? As we get closer to Easter, I am going to try to be more joyful as an example to others who may feel downtrodden by this world. The one thing the devil hates the most is laughter, smiles and joy!
Thank you for the reminder that we may be unwitting examples and beacons. There was never a choice, to fight, not to fight. It seemed to me in 2020 that only one conceivable path lay ahead and that the whole of one's experience and life had perfectly prepared one for, and sensitised one to that very moment. Not easy and not hope filled, it remained nevertheless the only path, and still does.
The standard (which most may know?), a hymn written in 1863 (Monsell) and put to music ('Pentecost', William Boyd) in 1864 still possesses enduring relevance:
"Fight the good fight with all thy might. Christ is thy strength and Christ thy right. Lay hold on life, and it shall be thy joy and crown eternally."
"Run the straight race through God's good grace; lift up thine eyes, and seek Christ's face. Life with its way before us lies; Christ is the path, and Christ the prize."
"Cast care aside; lean on thy guide. God's boundless mercy will provide. Trust, and thy trusting soul shall prove Christ is its life, and Christ its love."
"Faint not nor fear: God's arms are near. God changeth not, and thou art dear. Only believe, and thou shalt see that Christ is all in all to thee."
Thanks Dr for that hymn! I did not think I knew it, but after I looked it up, I do remember it. Here's the piano version (I'm going to see if I can play it on my piano):
You are right that there was only one path for many of us during the last three years and we took it no matter the cost. What happens from this point forward will be very interesting for all of us.
What a wonderful and uplifting post. The bonus was the song. I also feel that things like truth and integrity are moving forward slowly and perhaps it will pick up momentum soon. Thanks for encouraging us all!!
Charlotte you got an avatar! Great! I love how God talks to me through songs all the time. We will triumph if we fight the good fight, I truly believe that.
Excellent, hopeful essay. It is crucial that we remain positive and strong in confronting the evil around us. No matter where this drama ends, we need to remain unafraid to act and speak the truth. We are never alone; God is with us always.
That's the thing about substack at times. Sometimes everyone's posts are too depressing, even for me! You are right, we have to be positive and strong. We have to show the opposite of what they want us to show. Things are getting better, even if it is just individual people's lives. Society only changes once the people within the society change first.
Napoleon, I thought of you during Mass yesterday. I have been blessed with a freedom-loving priest. His homily yesterday was on the transformation of Christ and how Christ transforms us. I felt like he was looking at me the entire time he spoke - yet another message that was just for me. The COVID experience has certainly been transformational for me, transformational for my faith and my relationship with God. Please keep sharing - I look for your writing.
Thanks Jennifer for your kind words! The sign of a good Homily is that it speaks to everyone. Thank God for your wonderful priest and may he continue to speak the truth.
Not to be a Debbie Downer, but while "fighting the good fight" for God and the truth, be aware that satan will come full force against you. If you speak of being healthy, the next day satan will bring you some sort of sickness. If you speak of the truth coming out, the next day satan will throw more lies your way. If you speak of prayer and Jesus, the next day satan will send doubt and trouble where you question if God even hears your prayers.
It is a never ending cycle of faith/good versus doubt/evil. When you "fight the good fight" you will be fighting against evil forces 24/7/365. That is where faith is so important. Faith in God is everything and is what most humans do not have, including myself. I struggle with faith every second of the day, and somedays the troubles are too overwhelming, but I have to continue to "fight the good fight" even if it appears I am losing.
Hi Pug!
I want to share a secret with you, I recognize the suffering you describe because it has plagued me for my entire life. But something happened to me a few years ago, I submitted my will to God and called out to Jesus Christ in a moment of absolute despair. And he answered. I learned the truth about the devil that day. And the truth is that he is an absolute nothing burger in comparison to God. Jesus Christ's victory over him is absolute. The problem is that our culture has lost the understanding of the Holy Spirit and no longer teaches us how his authority works.
The truth is that we are completely helpless and have absolutely no ability to resist satan and his demons with our own will.
We have to submit ourselves to God's will and call out to him through prayer in order for him to intercede. You have to be under the dominion of Jesus Christ and acknowledge that it is by HIS AUTHORITY. The words "in the name and authority of Jesus Christ I command you to leave now" are words of power when dealing with the demonic. The words of God are power, they are law. Spiritual dominion is different than human dominion. The devil and demons are bound by Gods word, Jesus did so much more for us on the cross than most realize. Rather than rely on your own imperfect will, put your faith in his will.
Fear God, not the devil. In fact mock the devil every chance you get, and glorify the triumph of Jesus Christ, the lamb of God to his face. I promise you God will pour out his favor on you for your faith in him and boldness in proclaiming his glory.
Thank you so much for your wonderful advice. Everything you say is the truth. In the past when I had much less faith, I would periodically have night terrors, where a dark shadow would envelope and paralyze me in my bed. Each time that I called out "In Jesus' name begone!" the dark shadow would lift and disappear.
Now that I have more faith in God the night terrors have disappeared, although satan and the demons still find other ways to mess with me on a daily basis. But I have the answer in what you posted above:
"the words of God are power" and satan "is an absolute nothing burger in comparison to God."
That is the truth and it is powerful.
Thank you.
In found this ministry last night and it brought me great comfort.
https://www.worldchallenge.org/sermons
I have been plagued by the night terrors since I was a child. I spent years not understanding without anyone to console me before I finally found the answers I was seeking. Have you ever heard of the dark night of the soul? The works of St John of the cross or the interior mansion by St Teresa of Avila?
If yes. The suffocating pressure you felt that night was a light touch from God, the malevolent presence was the evil inside of your soul. You saw the state of your soul in the presence of God. When you submitted to Jesus Christ that night, God removed the evil in your soul and filled it with his spirit. The devil is harassing you because you are blessed and favored by God. You are a daughter of God! The demons and nightmares serve a purpose, you have a calling on your life that requires you grow into a higher state of spiritual maturity than most others achieve. We can only grow stronger spiritually through practice. I suspect you have very little fear of death, suffering, or pain. You were born for times such as these, do not let the opinions of others cause you to doubt.
I would read up on spiritual discernment as well, I think you will love what you find. I have other book recommendations that helped me a lot if you want them.
Thank you. I will look at the website you linked. Interesting about the night terror pressure being God releasing the evil from my soul. I never thought about it that way. I haven't had a true full blown night terror in years, although I do get mini ones from time to time whenever I speak out about the goodness of God, then like clockwork the next night a mini night terror will try to suffocate me, but I just call on God and wait for it to pass. They no longer frighten me.
Also just to prove I’m not a evil spirit and sit at the feet of Jesus Christ.
I truthfully believe and claim Jesus Christ as the son of God come in the flesh. The lamb of God.
That inner voice or feeling that tugs on you, that instinctive feeling deep set inside you, that ancient wisdom that sometimes comes out of you that doesn’t belong to you is the Holy Spirit. Not emotional intelligence or some gift for reading others body language. Haha 😂
I experienced the same thing. The first time I experienced sleep paralysis before I had learned how to call out to Jesus and use his authority instead of my own, was the most terrifying thing in my entire life. The malevolent presence was so strong and obviously inhuman, even the worst human on earth could not compare to the revolting hatred this entity radiated. Humans just do not feel like that. But after that night, when I experienced subsequent episodes it was like the power of that malevolent presence was no longer present. Instead of being helpless to its grip, I was now an active participant capable of conquering it because Jesus had claimed ownership of me. I was under his dominion, his authority, a willing servant to his kingdom and he vowed to never abandon me (even if everyone else did) and he keeps his promises. Its just who he is.
The nightmares changed with time, Ive died 1000 times and experienced my darkest fears and I remember them vividly. Sometimes more vividly than my memories of the waking world. A repetitive theme is a battle with snakes/reptiles. The more grew in spiritual maturity and understanding of the Holy Spirit the smaller these reptiles became (they started out as giant anacondas - they would always be determined eat my guardian angel who usually takes the form of my dog). Now when I have the dreams, it is me hunting small snakes and lizards and them hiding from me in fear.
While these dreams brought me more suffering than most, they have also been a great gift. My knowledge of spiritual discernment and spiritual warfare far exceeds most of the "trained experts" knowledge. It has also molded me into an extremely strategist. I am always 7 steps ahead of everyone else, in almost all areas of my life. While most only see what is right in front of their face, I see the entire chessboard. This ability was gained through no effort of my own, God favors me and has blessed me with it. However, if I abuse this gift for my own personal gain it can bring great destruction to those around me. It is important for me to always be sure I am aligned with his will, my purpose in life is his glory and will.
Sometimes I think I could have been a great warlord, it is in the heat of battle, in the darkest of hours that I am at my best. Resilience, is a beautiful thing to see in action. Fixing broken things, turn trauma into something beautiful, embracing failure for the gift it is. All these things not only inspire us but like a virus infect others around us. Nothing makes me happier then igniting that spark inside others and watching them become luminous.
What really funny is how fragile and vulnerable I am. Everything about me makes others underestimate and dismiss me as a threat or challenge to their own agenda. God sends the weak things to confound the strong. The simple to confound the wise. Its like watching Rapunzel completely demolish Thanos by making a macaroni crown haha. God definitely has a sense of humor. I suspect you may also have a similar gift, or some calling.
Be aware that as you spiritually mature and grow stronger and begin to fully understand just how badly Jesus neutered the devil on the cross he will change tactics. If he cannot get to you directly, he will start attacking your loved ones and create a situation you are helpless to intervene in. Please listen to me, there is nothing you can do in these situations to help them but pray. Prayer is our greatest gift, and you must learn that it is not our will but the Holy Spirit that can help them. Learning this lesson almost destroyed me, should have destroyed me, but in the end it did the opposite. I hope this helps you feel less alone and encourages you to embrace the gifts God has granted you. You are not crazy or evil or hopeless, you are blessed and truly favored by God. My life is a living testament to him, I probably would have killed myself without his intervention. Without him, I have no purpose to exist, I don't want to exist without him. I have a feeling you understand this statement more than most I have shared with. You know god but you are not quite sure how, know his love personally, know the difference between human love and Gods love. He will never abandon you, even if everyone else does.
You got that right Pug. One day after writing this post I came down with a cold. Satan doesn't like health, which explains the past three years. I'm just going to get through the next three weeks (all my colds last forever) and keep on keeping on.
Take some ivermectin, zinc and loads of vit A, vit D abd vit C. I do that when I feel a scratchy throat, stopped up nose coming on and after one or 2 doses, the symptoms never progress. 🙂 I used to get 3-4 colds EVERY YEAR!I haven't even been sick in 2+years now.
I just say "Not today, satan! Jesus rebukes you! I'm a child of the Most High God, King of Kings, Lord of ALL and I'm washed in the precious blood of Jesus! Praise God!" satan flees at the mention of Jesus' name.
You are correct about Satan’s attacks. This is why we should pray for others and ourselves to be shielded from those attacks while we go about the Father’s business. I remember what one friend in Christ used to say: “We pray for a hedge of protection around ______ and believe it will stand, in Jesus’s name, amen.” I am keenly aware that when my prayers slack off, my faith walk falters.
As somebody that grew up in the 50's in a "rock & roll bad" household, and consequently who was just discovering 70's music in the 80s (I never made it to 80's music), I knew nothing of Triumph, so I read a little about them, and watched a music video of that number. Now I'm a little confused, but I guess anybody like that that can hit G above the treble clef can't be all that bad. Appropriate lyrics indeed!
I'm going to show your animation to my housemate. She came to the Lord in early 2021, when the shots were rolling out, and she saw through that deception in time. This video should clarify everything else. :-)
The world divided along the exposed fault line of fear in a VERY unusual way in 2020. We had been tested and prepared by earlier scares, but nothing quite like this. Some rejected the fear while many more appeared to surrender to it and let it take them where it would. My view of this may be exaggerated, living in California and watching most of the still-living people I had ever known succumb, including those I thought would have known better. I guess I didn't really know them.
God made it possible for us to see and decide well (not perfectly, but well enough). I can see how that worked in my life, and it goes pretty much all the way back, but especially to the 60's when I learned -- from my church! -- to be cautious and even downright suspicious of medical "authorities", and to eat the food that God, not industry, provides. I wish I had stuck with that view always, but after doing much damage to myself I received a "refresher" through a different church in the late 90's, and the entire horrible picture began to come into view over the following decade or so. I never would have found any of this on my own. Now it is on full display for anyone with eyes to see, which is still not that many, but thankfully quite a few more.
The exposed fault line is still there, though people are pretending now that the worst is over. I believe that the worst has not yet begun, and reports from the alternative media bear that out. It reads to me like the Biblical end-of-age scenario, rooted in the "Old" Testament and brought into full focus in the book of Revelation. The latter is more clarifying than original.
Many of those seeing _what_ is happening have yet another bridge (or fault line chasm) to cross -- seeing _why_. It doesn't originate from all these insane super-villains running and ruining our world. Those are God's response to and "reward" for our collective sins. The problem is within us and it is us, and no amount of finger-pointing at villains will change that. Trying to "live better" doesn't work either. We can't fix it.
Jesus did. It's fixed. Done deal. We just have to accept the offer, and walk the walk, be the light, endure to the end. I am hopeful that a great many more will.
Thanks for your great comment CM. There's some great music in the 80's, usually early to mid 80's. Triumph was one of those bands I thought would be more popular than they were. Kind of like Bob Segar, he disappeared around 86. But I digress.
"The problem is within us and it is us, and no amount of finger-pointing at villains will change that. Trying to "live better" doesn't work either. We can't fix it."
This in a nutshell. We have to fix ourselves before society can be fixed. I see people still writing in substack comments about how there is nobody left to save us and I just cringe. There was one and only one person who has already saved us and the majority of the world has dismissed that person. What do we expect would happen to us when we told God to disappear? As we get closer to Easter, I am going to try to be more joyful as an example to others who may feel downtrodden by this world. The one thing the devil hates the most is laughter, smiles and joy!
Make that 50's and 60's. Born in 1950. I didn't grow up in in 10 years. I'm still working on it at 72.
Thank you for the reminder that we may be unwitting examples and beacons. There was never a choice, to fight, not to fight. It seemed to me in 2020 that only one conceivable path lay ahead and that the whole of one's experience and life had perfectly prepared one for, and sensitised one to that very moment. Not easy and not hope filled, it remained nevertheless the only path, and still does.
The standard (which most may know?), a hymn written in 1863 (Monsell) and put to music ('Pentecost', William Boyd) in 1864 still possesses enduring relevance:
"Fight the good fight with all thy might. Christ is thy strength and Christ thy right. Lay hold on life, and it shall be thy joy and crown eternally."
"Run the straight race through God's good grace; lift up thine eyes, and seek Christ's face. Life with its way before us lies; Christ is the path, and Christ the prize."
"Cast care aside; lean on thy guide. God's boundless mercy will provide. Trust, and thy trusting soul shall prove Christ is its life, and Christ its love."
"Faint not nor fear: God's arms are near. God changeth not, and thou art dear. Only believe, and thou shalt see that Christ is all in all to thee."
Thanks Dr for that hymn! I did not think I knew it, but after I looked it up, I do remember it. Here's the piano version (I'm going to see if I can play it on my piano):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES5ctQ3sktw
You are right that there was only one path for many of us during the last three years and we took it no matter the cost. What happens from this point forward will be very interesting for all of us.
What a wonderful and uplifting post. The bonus was the song. I also feel that things like truth and integrity are moving forward slowly and perhaps it will pick up momentum soon. Thanks for encouraging us all!!
Charlotte you got an avatar! Great! I love how God talks to me through songs all the time. We will triumph if we fight the good fight, I truly believe that.
Excellent, hopeful essay. It is crucial that we remain positive and strong in confronting the evil around us. No matter where this drama ends, we need to remain unafraid to act and speak the truth. We are never alone; God is with us always.
That's the thing about substack at times. Sometimes everyone's posts are too depressing, even for me! You are right, we have to be positive and strong. We have to show the opposite of what they want us to show. Things are getting better, even if it is just individual people's lives. Society only changes once the people within the society change first.
Napoleon, I thought of you during Mass yesterday. I have been blessed with a freedom-loving priest. His homily yesterday was on the transformation of Christ and how Christ transforms us. I felt like he was looking at me the entire time he spoke - yet another message that was just for me. The COVID experience has certainly been transformational for me, transformational for my faith and my relationship with God. Please keep sharing - I look for your writing.
Thanks Jennifer for your kind words! The sign of a good Homily is that it speaks to everyone. Thank God for your wonderful priest and may he continue to speak the truth.
Thank you Laurie for reading! Things are getting better even if we often don't see the forest for the trees.