God and the Devil are Fighting

God and the devil are fighting… and the battlefield is the heart of man.

– Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Wow, is this ever a true statement for me.  Inside of me there does feel like there is a constant battle going on.  It is amazing all the things that can go on inside of us!  God wants us and he has a place by His side for us doing wonderfully marvelous stuff.  On the flip side, the Devil has taken his stabs at our hearts hoping to take control.  For me this is a huge issue that I am battling.

This weekend at the Women’s retreat, that I was able to participate in, I let myself break down Saturday night with all the worry and stress that I have been feeling lately.  It was such a blessing to have some amazing people on the retreat that stood/sat by my side and let me feel what I needed to feel.  While my closest friends are the most amazing things to me, these friends that I have found are great to me. 

Our theme was surrounded around finding our light amidst the darkness as well as recognizing the darkness as a holy darkness.  Throughout the whole weekend I had the quote I presented to you in my head.  Darkness tend to be associated most with the devil and times of difficulty.  Light tends to be associated most with God and the good things that Jesus has made possible for us to achieve. 

The thing is, when that darkness comes we need to lift it up to God and reach for his light.  So many people, me definitely included, get so caught up in the dark and do not see beyond it to the light that is left on for us from God.  That light can come straight from the big man Himself, friends, family, your surroundings, the great outdoors and many different things.  Holding onto that and giving everything to the light, to God, will make the darkness holy. 

How can darkness be Holy one may ask?  Well, when you give that pain and suffering to God you are shoving all the efforts of the devil back in his face.  The devil wants so much to take you over and win you soul for himself.  God wants equally the same and will wait there with the light on for you to come.  Giving your dark to God to be made into light turns the darkness into holy darkness.  We can learn from our dark moments; the lessons perhaps are the most meaningful to many people who suffer deep dark moments.  Sure, there are things we wish never were or we wish that we had never done, but there are some lessons to be had.  All this as long as we turn around and give our darkness to God to be turned to light. 

Of course I am telling all of you this and not relating at all, so how in the world could I know anything on this topic?  In my life, as has been mentioned before, I have hit some low points that I am not proud of.  I have thought about things one should never think about in their lives.  I have cried so many tears you would think I should be a shriveled up wrinkled ball of mess (yes it is okay to laugh, it is a funny image).  All in the same, I have had many lights in my life that have shown me out of the dark moments in time.  My friends are perhaps my greatest blessing in this world.  God truly shines through them.  They have pulled me through many things and given me back the light of God.  Holy Darkness.  Lessons were surely had and taken deep into my heart. 

So when the battlefield is in your heart with a fight between God and the Devil, remember to take the darkness you maybe feeling no matter how dark and give it all to God.  That way, he will turn it to lessons and light, winning the battle for your heart.  It is hard, I am not going to say otherwise, but it is so worth it when you make it through and there is true joy in your heart.  The true joy of finding God and being where He wants you to be.  Will your heart be the broken battlefield won by the Devil or will God reign with His light in your entire being?  Be the light of the world to each other and darkness will be Holy and we will live in joy! 

“You are the light of the world” Matthew 5:14