June and July have been so HOT. It’s an absolute scorcher out here in Arizona, with the average temperature in the area I live hovering at about 103. I know in most of the country it has been pretty hot as well!
For me this year’s Summer season is not just about the heat but it has been a season of being in “the dojo” of spiritual warfare. And although there is all sorts of craziness going on out on the world stage. Mostly the spiritual battlefront I am looking to master is in my mind.
See, just like when you are stuck inside in a climate with long Winters, Arizona Summers can have a similar pattern of self preservation. The temperatures get so hot that the only way to get by is to be indoors but when I am indoors for so long, then I can start going a little stir crazy.
But we are at the halfway point of Summer and the Autumnal Equinox is on the horizon!
And since I believe we are all in this together, I decided to throw together some resources that have been helpful to remember. Little things that help me keep infusing joy into life on a planet that, well from what I understand, is ruled by the principalities of darkness…
I know that sounds heavy but there is good news that has been getting me through: there is a King that promises to return to make it right again and the ones who believe in Him hold a little light in their hearts given from Him to help this world.
First, some tips to help keep cool:
Then some ideas to keep the Summer interesting and fun filled:
Here’s a little excerpt from my journal entry from July 10th:
“Dear Lord Jesus, Holy Father and Holy Spirit,
There was a terrible wave of heat that came over me as the searing sun blazed outside at a whopping 110°F. But the heat felt like a spiritual heat from within. A disturbing feeling filled my heart following a call with a social worker where he mentioned the heat feeling like the pits of hell. And it wasn’t as funny as the meme I saw of the British man with his first time in Phoenix.
I should have had more empathy for Him, I knew what he meant but I felt paralyzed in the moment. I wasn’t remembering that Jesus promises that the curse in this world will be lifted. I was sinking down to agree with him. The room felt like it was collapsing in on me. I forgot to pray for the Armor God today and I forgot to pray for His peace. Both have been day shifters.
If the desert has taught me anything it is that we can’t live without water.
Lord God in your Psalms you say through your servant David, Chapter 63 Verse 1: “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water."
This chapter of life from January until June, I’ve faced internally what has felt like a spiritual desert but your Holy Spirit my God is a living, quenching well of sustaining waters.
Each time I try to rely on myself instead of putting my life metaphorically in the hands of God, it’s like trekking through the summer desert without water. When I do not seek out your spirit daily my heart seems to dry up and petrify with discontented thoughts. Your spirit nourishes my heart again and again. It’s like how the monsoon rainstorms water the desert, it softens my heart to open to live life again.
Thank you God, for always being with me in my time of need.”
I sent my journal entry to a friend of mine who had also been in the cult.
“Jocelyn, your voice message from your journal entry honestly scared me. Are you sure you’re not in another cult?” I can still hear her voice echoing in my mind. No, I’m not in a cult again. There is a big difference between putting my life in the hands of All Holy God and an infallible man calling himself God.
BIG DIFFERENCE.
I have always been a person who sensed the spiritual realm, it's how God made me. But where I feel I didn’t have enough spiritual maturity was in my spiritual discernment. I was brought up being told about the battle of good and evil but perhaps from being lured into the 90’s culture my curiosity about the occult grew as I got older. I soon forgot the warnings of the demonic realm along with the beings of evil disguised as beings of light and started dabbling in areas where I could find out for myself. Oh and did I dabble…
What contributed to the lessening of fear towards seeking out the spiritual realm of the occult was when I started to learn about non-dualism. As Wikipedia puts it, “Nondualism includes a number of philosophical and spiritual traditions that emphasize the absence of fundamental duality or separation in existence.” You are taught to label both good and bad as benign and meditate your way to enlightenment which transcends all “labels”. It sounded so beautiful, it’s all connected, we are all one. But wow, what a perfect way to put to sleep any inherent spiritual discernment in a world where there are people as well as entities that can harm you whether physically, emotionally or spiritually.
Now my discernment is growing. I have been knocked to the mat a few times as a deeply feeling person and out of all the teachings that have helped me to date believe it or not the person and spirit of Jesus Christ as well as his word in the Bible has helped me the most.
I’ve been putting to practice what Dr. Greg Gifford (well and honestly my husband) says on how to live in the joy and peace. The analogy that was so helpful to me is that my emotions are the “ “caboose” so to speak to my thoughts. Therefore, if I can direct or influence my thoughts in a positive way then my emotions will follow. (This is not to say that all emotions should be directed because emotions are also an essential part of our conscience which helps in knowing right from wrong)
My daily discipline now is to constantly fill my mind as much as possible with things that will lift my spirit and put my mind’s eye on what is good, true and eternal. I have been listening to worship music, praying, Bible studies, reading the Bible and listening to podcasts or reading books. If I don’t fill my mind with inspirational or educational content then the worries of the world start to creep in again.
But when I write this out it seems that I alone, am the one that is making the changes in my life and I know that I would not be able to change without the Holy Spirit helping me to do so. Christianity is not just a moral system or a set of rules to apply. It is a spiritual family I have been adopted into and I am actively being discipled and changed by the Holy Spirit.
One of the greatest takeaways from a sermon series on The Armor of God by Martyn Llyod Jones was that cults all have one thing in common: they promise all the struggle in this world will be gone if you just follow their system. They promise a life of ease but no one can promise that in this lifetime, in a world where there is a spiritual, economical, political and sociological battle happening at all times.
True Christianity doesn’t promise a life of perfect health, wealth and happiness. It tells the truth about the reality of the curse that is acting itself out through our human condition and the state of our world. It directs us to soberly assess ourselves and to have an active relationship with our creator. And most beautifully it’s how God Himself, incarnated as a man and sacrificed Himself for us so we could be the light in a dark world and have the promise of eternal life.
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