My dear beloved brethren.

I am requesting prayers for my wife, Lisa.
The root issues(s) are being brought to the surface and the primary is one of fear and anxiety, of a nervousness, a "what if?"
She knows it is of the devil that it is being exagerrated. Pray for peace and assurance of Who she belongs to, for a stirring of the latent desire that is within her and a hunger for the Word again and for the Word made flesh, Jesus.
Pray for deliverance from this false evidence exalting itself against the knowledge of God.
Pray for anything that would apply.
I love her dearly.

Thanks
Mike

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Mike Balog

Father, we thank you so much for our dear brother Mike and pray for his dear wife Lisa. We pray that your words may take root in her heart so that she may become the daughter you envisioned before she came into this world.

We know that once we fully trust you that your purposes will prevail. Deliver her from this fear that she may love you with her whole heart.

Thank you Jesus...

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Ed Pugh

Dear Mike, I feel for your wife. I have had many problems in the past with anxiety and panic attacks. This is when my strongholds were the strongest and I thought the devil was behind every bad thing.

Letting go of control is a very hard thing. I had no idea that I had a control issue until I realized that I didn't like not knowing and not controling what would happen next. But when you start to surrender or "lay it on the table", this all comes to the surface.

I know it is very hard and I pray that she will press through by God's grace. I pray that the Lord's will will be done in her life.

When I read Chip Brogden's "The Three Enemies", it helped me quite a bit put things in perspective about the devil. Before i read this I kept thinking that all my problems and trials and fears were the devil's attacks. When in reality it was me fighting my "self". My self was rising up and fighting against what the Lord was trying to do. Yes, the devil likes to use these things to make it worse- he knows where we are weak. But more than anything our fight is many times our "self"- our old nature.

It was such a relief to learn this because then I knew I wasn't under attacks from the devil all the time.

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Chanin

Dear saints,

Thank you all. I printed out all the replies for my wife (Lisa) and she so appreciates all your prayers. There is a lot of issues that make this somewhat of a mixed bag, (physical, hormones etc.) and the spiritual.

Chanin, bless you. You are touching on some of the areas without a doubt. I just read your reply to her and will print out a copy of the C.Brogden article you provided. This is really good.

Certainly the Lord is at work and I am ever so grateful for all your prayers.

Bless you all
Mike

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Mike Balog

Thanks to you both for being so transparent. Yes, it's liberating to be able to articulate your struggles to others.

As for me, I was considered "hopeless" (by some of my teachers) at the age of 5 and misdiagnosed as autistic. I subsequently developed depression as an adult, which resulted in lengthy treatment including a hospitalization in 1991. My therapist considered me hopeless and at times I wondered "why do I have be this way?". I've often wondered that I'm rather unique and that used to bother me a lot.

Here's what I've learned. That when I trust Him totally, the sensitivity that comes to someone who can suffer depression, can help others who are suffering. When I'm focused on Jesus, I'm very sensitive to the needs of others but when I'm focused on myself I get confused and frustrated.

Because of this pain and those things I've suffered, I can relate to some people not considered "normal." The homeless, the helpless, the lame, the lonely I can understand the emptiness they face without Jesus. Then I thank God for this wonderous gift and I know no longer question why I am the way I am. (I'm not talking here about humanism because no man can match the love of God (we love Him because He first loved us), but allowing His love to flow through me to others.

That may sound a bit strange but I'm certain the Lord will give you wisdom as He you seek his face.

I also know that without Jesus I'm hopeless but with Him I can honestly say "By His boundless mercy we have been born again to an ever-living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3(b)). Brother we have a living hope (i.e. both a present and future hope) in Christ Jesus.

God bless you my friends.

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Ed Pugh

This is part of the surrender series but addresses these issues of fear and the consequences. May our ears be open to hear and our hearts open to receive.


~Surrender-Promises That Counter Our Fears

Would you have Him make you free,
And follow at His call?
Would you know the peace
That comes by giving all?
Would you have Him save you
So that you can never fall?
Let Him have His way with thee.
~C.S. Nusbaum


In my last posting we talked about facing some of our fears in surrendering all to the Lord. I would like to share some of God's precious promises with you as we continue with this series from the "Surrender" book by Nancy DeMoss:

God wants us to experience provision, pleasure, protection, and personal relationships. But He wants us to seek them in the only place they can be found- in Him.

PROVISION: Scripture exhorts us to be content with what we have (Hebrews13:5) and not to worry about how our future needs will be met (Matt.6:25-34). The basis for contentment and freedom from anxiety is that God has promised to provide all that we need (though not necessarily all that we want) (Philip.4:19). Based on His promise, when we have a need, rather than fretting, striving, or manipulating, we ought to simply and confidently ask Him to provide. (Matt.7:7)

If we are unwilling to trust God in the matter of provision, we may be tyrannized by GREED, STEALING, CHEATING, LACK OF GENEROSITY, LYING, WORRYING, COVETING, OR CENTERING OUR LIVES AROUND MONEY.

PLEASURE: We cannot escape the fact that pain is unaviodable in this fallen world and that suffering is an instrument that God does use to mold and sanctify those He loves. But God also created us to experience intense pleasure and joy. The problem is that we are prone to seek pleasure in THINGS and PEOPLE that cannot ultimately satisfy the deep longing in our hearts. For our hearts can never truly be satisfied with less than HIM. The unsurrendered heart pursues after what are worthless pleasures, compared with the pure, infinite pleasures God wants to give us.(Psalm 16:11;36:7-8)

Even fully surrendered saints sometimes experience sorrow, suffering, and struggles. But in the midst of our earthly journey, the joy Christ offers lifts us beyond our circumstances, and provides us with a breathtaking foretaste of heaven's eternal pleasures.

However, if we are unwilling to trust God with our happiness and well- being and we insist on the pursuit of temporal pleasures, we may become dominated by OVEREATING, GETTING DRUNK OR USING DRUGS, SEXUAL PROMISCUITY, ADULTERY, PORNOGRAPHY, OBSESSION WITH TELEVISION OR FILMS OR NOVELS, BEING IRRESPONSIBLE, OR LIVING BEYOND OUR MEANS.

PROTECTION: Our God is a refuge, a fortress, a shelter, and a strong deliverer to His children. Psalm 91 speaks of God's amazing protection: "...He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys midday."

God doesn't promise that we will never face danger, but those who take refuge in Him are placed under His protection. He assures us that He will defend us and keep us free from fear, no matter what comes our way.

However, if we do not entrust our safety to God, but demand human assurance of protection and security, we may be overwhelmed by FEARFULNESS, WORRY, MISTRUST OF PEOPLE, OBSESSION WITH WEAPONS, UNWILLINGNESS TO BE VULNERABLE, FEAR OF INTIMACY, TENDANCIES TOWARD VIOLENCE, HATRED, PREJUDICE, OR PARANOID-TYPE THOUGHTS.

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS: It is true that God may lead us into solitude for a season. But his Word makes it clear that an intimate relationship with Him is the basis for the richest of human relationships (1 John 1:3,7). God Himself has promised to remain with us, to be our constant companion, wherever we go, whatever we do. "I will never leave you or forsake you," He has vowed (Hebrews 13:5).

In the bible, whenever one of His children was fearful to step out alone, God's simple response was- I WILL BE WITH YOU. The implication was - I AM ENOUGH. IF YOU HAVE ME, YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED. "Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You." Psalm 73:25

If we do not value Him as our primary relationship, we will live in fear of losing human relationships and will set ourselves up to be tyrannized by such things as POSSESSIVENESS, GIVING OR TAKING ABUSE, ADULTRY, PROMISCUITY, GOSSIP, OBSESSIVE OR CONTROLLING RELATIONSHIPS, LUST, DISSATISFACTION, UNFORGIVENESS, BITTERNESS, MANIPULATION, DISHONESTY OR JEALOUSY.


Whatever your fears, whatever the unknowns or challenges in your life, God has promised to PROVIDE for you, to share His pleasure with you, to protect you, and to give you His enduring presence.

The fact remains that when we fully surrender, there are no guarantees about where God will lead us or how difficult our journey will be. Yet we know the character of the ONE in whom we've placed our trust. And we know that God's promises more than offset any risks or dangers or challenges that He may allow into our lives.

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Chanin

Wow.

This is tremendous.
My dear brother Greg, know that you are beloved of the Lord and by us. I don't have adequate words only groanings in the spirit as prayers to the Lord for you. This too will pass. The Lord is ever so near to those that seek Him with an honest and open heart. I am so thankful that you shared this with us so we can interceed on your behalf. Even now He is using these things to edify the body, these struggles are never wasted.
The past couple of days have just been...so much to say, the Lord has shown me so much and I want to share it all, I have given it all to prayer and consideration untill the proper time.

Ed,
What a brother we have here. We have been talking quite a bit and the Lord is working so mightly in your life, the things you have shared here as well as Chanin...Oh God, these are Your people! Thank you for gathering us here together...

My prayers are with you all

Mike

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Mike Balog