Baptist City Blog

Your Breaking Point

Job 13:15

"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him."

When a person is being interrogated by an enemy, many times they will perform horrible acts upon them to bring them to the breaking point so that they can get the information from them that they want. When you hear of the horrific acts that were performed upon the martyrs, a person can only admire that these people moved their breaking point past death. These martyrs, with the help of God, trusted that God would help them endure the suffering of their death. They truly proved that they had no breaking point in this life.

The verse above is interesting in that Job was saying that he had no breaking point. You must understand that everything had already been taken from him but his life. Job had lost his wealth, transportation, job, children, friends, health, and his wife had given up on him and told him to curse God so he could die. Yet, in all this Job did not break and continued to trust God. Job affirmed in the verse above that it didn't matter what else could be placed upon him, he said that he would trust God to his death. He understood that the only thing left was his life, and he made it clear that even if he lost his life that he would not break and stop trusting God.

Christian, what is your breaking point? Could you lose all and still serve the LORD? That is what Job did. Even when it came down to his last possession, his life, he still made it clear that he was going to trust God. Too many Christians break and stop serving the LORD because they think it's too tough, yet you can look around and see that there are others who have lost more than they who are still serving the LORD. You must decide that there is no breaking point to your trust and service to God.

Will you allow finances to be your breaking point? When finances get a little low, do you start griping and quit on God? Christian, when you lose it all financially God can still take care of you, and He will if you continue to trust in Him.

Is family your breaking point? Job lost all of his children and even his wife, yet he continued to trust God. When your family turns on you, are you going to continue to serve the LORD? There must come a point in your life when God becomes greater than family. This doesn't mean that you don't love your family, but family will turn on you at some point because they don't understand why you would serve God in the manner that you do. Don't let family be your breaking point.

Furthermore, don't let possessions be your breaking point. Too many Christians are so wrapped up in possessions that when God takes them away they quit on God. Don't let that be your breaking point. If you lose your transportation and home, keep serving the LORD. If you lose some of your prized possessions, keep serving the LORD.

You may wonder how you can lose all and not break. The answer is that you must focus on the Person you will never lose, God. When everything else is gone, God will still be there. That is how you keep from breaking when you lose it all. When family forsakes you, God is there. When health is gone, God is there. When finances have flown away, God is there. When everything in this world seems to be gone, you can count on the fact that God will still be there. If you keep your focus on God and not on possessions or people, then no matter what comes your way you will continue to serve the LORD. Keeping your eyes on God is the only way you will keep you serving the LORD when you lose it all.

Leadership Exposed

2 Chronicles 10:11

"For whereas my father put a heavy yoke upon you, I will put more to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions."

There are two principles of leadership that have been passed down throughout the years. One of the principles of leadership has been highly successful, but sadly it is rarely followed. The other principle of leadership seems to be the prevailing principle followed to the detriment of churches, homes, businesses and nations. The story of Rehoboam acquiring the throne of Israel exposes both principles of leadership.

Rehoboam took over the throne of Solomon after his death. Within a short time of Rehoboam taking the throne, the people came to him and said to him in verse 4, "Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father,..." Rehoboam responded by telling the people he would give them an answer to their request in three days.

During these three days, Rehoboam went to his counselors to ask what he should do. The old men who worked with his father told him to be kind to the people and do what they asked. In other words, they were telling him to serve the people. He then went to the young men with whom he grew up and asked them what to do. They told him to be harsh to the people and tell them that he would be more demanding of a leader than his father. In other words, they were telling Rehoboam that leadership is about the position, and that he must be demanding of the people and make them serve him. Sadly, Rehoboam followed the young men who grew up with him. These young men had never led a nation, but they thought they knew better than the old men who knew what leadership was all about. Israel was divided because Rehoboam followed the wrong model of leadership.

There are many leaders today who follow the wrong model of leadership to the detriment of what they lead. Many pastors make their position about themselves and not about those whom they lead. If you are the pastor of a church, your purpose in pastoring is not about what your people can do for you, but it is about you serving the people. Every pastor who makes his position about himself destroys his church.

Those who hold government leadership roles must understand that the privilege of their position is to serve their constituents. There are too many government officials who have made their position about what they can get out of it, and that is why there is so much corruption in government. If every person who holds a leadership position in government would make his position about serving his constituents, they would find that people would want them to stay in office for a long time.

It doesn't matter what leadership role you have, if you make your role of leadership about the position, then you will harm those whom you lead and the institution or organization that you represent. Whether it be the home, church, business or government institution, every leader should realize that their purpose of holding a leadership role is to serve those whom they lead. Don't ever make leadership about the position, but make leadership about serving the people. If you will make your role of leadership about serving the people, then you will have the privilege of serving them in a leadership role for a long time.

Preparing in Spite of Troubles

1 Chronicles 22:14

"Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the LORD an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto."

Years ago when I was learning to fly airplanes, part of the training my instructor put me through was learning to fly in spite of clouds and storms. To prepare for these, he had me close my eyes as he made several maneuvers to cause me to become disoriented. Then, he put a hood over my head, which was something like a sun visor hat. When he told me to open my eyes, I was to immediately look at the instruments to orient myself with what the plane was doing. The purpose of this was to teach me to stay focused in spite of clouds and storms so that I would be able to successfully fly through any trouble.

David did this in his life. David said, "...in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the LORD..." You will notice that David didn't wait till everything was running smoothly to make preparations for the LORD's house. No matter what he faced in his life, he continued to prepare for the house of the LORD. In spite of wars, he kept sight of his purpose of preparing for the house of the LORD. In spite of family turmoil, he kept preparing for the LORD's house. In spite of death, he kept preparing for the LORD's house. David did not allow the troubles of life to sidetrack him from preparing for the house of the LORD.

The Devil would love to get you to let your troubles sidetrack you from doing what you are supposed to do. One of the reasons the Devil tries to send troubles your way is to get you to stop serving God and focus on your troubles. He is not as concerned about you destroying your life in sin as he is with you doing God's will for your life. So, he will send every obstacle and trouble your way just to get you sidetracked from God's purpose of placing you on this Earth.

Christian, your troubles of life are not going to change if you allow them to sidetrack you from serving the LORD. If you stop doing what you are supposed to do to focus on your troubles, then you have left the very thing that will cause God to help you through them. God allows your troubles because He can do greater works through them. You must not allow your troubles to keep you out of church. You must not allow them to keep your from soul winning. You must not allow them to keep you from your ministry. Don't allow your troubles to sidetrack you from what you are supposed to do.

Furthermore, the greatest test of your Christianity is if you continue to do what you are supposed to do in spite of your troubles. When the world sees that you continue going in spite of hardships and heartache, then the world will see that you truly believe in your purpose. The Christian faith is made stronger when you continue going through your troubles.

Have you allowed troubles to sidetrack you from doing what God wants you to do? Have you stepped back from your responsibilities because of your troubles? Have you allowed troubles to sidetrack you from what you are supposed to be doing? Be careful that you always stay focused on what God wants you to do. Troubles will come, but they should never cause you to stop serving God. When troubles come, take them to the LORD and let Him deal with them. Then, leave your troubles with the LORD and go serve Him. This is how you keep your troubles from sidetracking you from what you are supposed to do.

Can You Do Me a Favor?

1 Chronicles 11:17

"And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, that is at the gate!"

When reading through the list of David's mighty men, we often miss why these men were in the list. We see the great feats that these men accomplished, but we don't see the greatest feats of these men. Inside this list are some of the greatest truths that you can apply to your life, and the verse above is no exception.

What was it that caused three men to become the mightiest of David's captains? Was it their great individual feats? No, it was not! It was not that one of these men slew three hundred men all by himself that caused him to become the mightiest. Yes, this was a great feat, but this is not what caused him to become one of the three mightiest. It was not that one of these men was with David when he defended a parcel of ground full of barley that caused him to become the mightiest. Certainly a lot can be said about people who stand with their leader when they make positional stands for the old-time religion.

So, what was it that caused these men to become the mightiest of David's thirty captains? What caused them to become the mightiest is that they risked their lives to fulfill a desire that David verbally expressed. David simply thought out loud about how he wanted a drink of the water from the well where he grew up in Bethlehem. These three men heard their friend and leader express his desire, and they risked their lives to be sure to fulfill that desire. They understood that fulfilling the request of a friend is one of the greatest things they could ever do for David.

One of the things I feel we have lost in Christianity is the selfless action of doing whatever you can to fulfill a friend's desire. Certainly, obeying leadership is of utter importance, but doing something for someone because they express a desire is what defines great friendship.

If you are going to become one who fulfills the desires of friends, then you are going to have to start living a selfless life. Let me make this clear, life is not about what others can do for you, but life is about what you can do for others. When you fulfill the desires of people, you will be amazed of the great satisfaction that comes from that.

Furthermore, you are going to have to start listening to people. You will never fulfill the desires of people if you don't listen to them when they talk. Many times people simply express desires inside of a conversation. It may be that they talk about one of their favorite foods. It could be that they simply talk about wishing they could have something. It could be that they see something that they mention they would like to have someday. You will never know these things if you don't listen to them. You must listen to people as they talk if you want to become a person who fulfills desires.

You will win people's hearts over to you if you will learn to help people realize their desires. I know that you can't always give people what they want, but you can do everything in your power to help them get something they desire. I challenge you today to listen to those around you and see if they subtly mention something they desire. Then, take that desire and make it your command to give to them what they want. You will be surprised how the LORD will supply the wherewithal to meet these desires if you will simply be willing to be the delivery boy for God.

Trusting a "Bruised Reed"

2 Kings 18:21

"Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him."

The verse above is a message that the king of Assyria sent to King Hezekiah. Hezekiah rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not compromise his beliefs in God. Hezekiah understood that God commanded His people to live a certain way, and the king of Assyria attempted to change that. The king of Assyria told Hezekiah that he shouldn't trust in the "bruised reed" of Egypt. What he was telling him was that his trust in what God did in the past wouldn't work for him in the present. He was saying that God's methods were outdated and that those methods were no longer relevant for Judah. Thankfully, Hezekiah would not compromise his beliefs and was willing to die for God's way of living. As you finish reading the story you find that God blessed Hezekiah for not compromising, and instead killed the king of Assyria.

I recently heard a sermon by a supposedly fundamental Baptist educator who compared how independent, fundamental Baptist do things to "grandma's couch." He said that the only reason we like grandma's couch is because of all the memories that the couch had, but that grandma's couch was outdated and no longer useful. He then said that the way fundamental Baptist did things in the past does not work in bringing people to the church. The whole analogy of the sermon was that the methods of the past were outdated and that we need to be willing to change our music, style of dress and church services to a contemporary service for the sake of keeping people.

This mentality is the same mentality that the king of Assyria used against Hezekiah. Christian, you must realize that we are to follow God's methods whether or not they work. It is not a matter of whether we become popular or not. It is not a matter of whether our churches grow into mega churches. It is not a matter of whether we seemed outdated to the world. The whole matter is that we must always do what God tells us to do even if it doesn't seem to work. I often say that I would rather preach to a small crowd and stand for right than to preach to large crowds through compromise.

Furthermore, we must watch out that we don't fall for the mentality of trying to bring God down to man. 1 Peter 1:16 says, "Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." You will notice this verse does not say that we are to bring God down to our level. On the contrary, God is saying that we are to bring ourselves up to His level. Holiness should not be measured by the world, holiness should be measured by God. Too many Christians compromise and want God to come down to their level when they need to change how they live and dress to become like God. We should not lower our dress and music standards just to get a crowd. Instead, people should change their music and clothing styles to meet God's standards.

Christian, the compromisers will always try to convince you that the old-time way doesn't work anymore. You must stand strong and not accept their compromising ways. God's methods have worked in the past in times of compromise, and they will still work today. However, even if they didn't work, we are never to change God's way of doing things for the sake of being successful in the eyes of the world. Success is not measured by crowds and popularity, but success is measured by whether we successfully follow God's way through whatever we face.

I'm Not Good Enough For You

Judges 10:13-14

"Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation."

One of the common characteristics of Israel in the Book of Judges was that after a judge died they would go back to serving the gods of the land. This action wearied God. In fact, it brought God to the point that He told them He would no longer deliver them from their enemies. God continued by saying to them, "Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen;..." God was telling Israel that if He was not good enough for them, then they needed to rely on the gods that did nothing for them.

I believe God is teaching an important principle in this verse that every leader and follower needs to learn. God was teaching that you should not waste your time on people who won't heed your advice. This does not mean that you don't love them, but constantly telling people what to do when you know they are not going to follow it is a waste of your time and theirs. If your advice is not good enough to follow, then let them go follow the advice of whomever they will follow.

There are many preachers who waste their time counseling people who never follow their advice. Preacher, why waste your time with those who never follow your advice? When you constantly spend time giving advice to someone who never follows it, you are taking time away from those who will heed your advice. I don't mind helping people. In fact, I love to help people; however, I am not going to try to help people who don't think my advice is good enough for them. I don't need to pat my ego by saying I counsel all these people. To be honest with you, I would rather spend less time counseling people who want my advice than wasting hours of my time counseling people who will never follow it. God did this with Israel, so why would you not follow His example? I am not saying that you should not help these people, but there must come a time when you tell them to get whoever's advice they are following and stop wasting everyone's time.

Moreover, let me personally encourage you to stop shopping for advice. There are many people who look for advice, not to know what to do, but to find someone who will tell them what they want to do. Christian, you can always find someone who will counsel you to do what you want to do, but that does not always mean that it is right. You need godly advice that will guide you down the pathway God wants you to walk. It may not always be what you want to hear, but if your life is happier because you followed godly advice then you should be satisfied.

Let's be careful about wasting time in the counseling arena. Yes, everyone should get godly counsel, but let's be careful about wasting someone's advice because it is not good enough. If you find someone who doesn't think your advice is good enough for them, then let them go to whoever it is that they think is good enough. It may not be the right thing, but sometimes you have to let people experience ungodly advice so that they will follow godly advice for the rest of their lives. Don't ever give up on people, but don't waste your time with people who never follow what you tell them to do.

Building Courage

Judges 6:27

"Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night."

When you think of the great men in the Scriptures, it is hard not to put Gideon on that list. Gideon is one of the great stories you will read about; however, you can see from the verse above that he did not always exhibit great courage. When God initially called Gideon, he was hiding his wheat in the winepress. In the verse above, he was not taking a bold stand in the middle of the day, but he was taking a stand in the middle of the night hoping that nobody would know who destroyed the altar of Baal. Something happened between the time that he was victorious over the great Midianite army and the time that he was making a stand at night. There were some steps that he took to build his courage so that he could make the great stand against the Midianite army.

First, he built a personal altar. You will never have the courage to do what God wants you to do without having a personal time with Him daily in the Scriptures and prayer. A personal time with God always helps build your courage, for the Word of God is full of promises that build your courage. How can you know God's promises if you don't spend time with Him in the Scriptures? You may think you are too busy to read the Scriptures, but you must find time to have a personal altar with God, for it is in this time that your courage is boosted.

Second, you must be available when others aren't. Gideon was busy, but he was available for God. One of the reasons people don't have courage to do great things for God is because they have time to serve the world, but they have no time to serve God. God uses people who are available to do His will. If the things of the world take precedence over God, then you will never find the courage to do God's will.

Third, you must believe God. Though Gideon did not understand how God could use Him, he trusted that God could if He said He would. Belief in what God tells you to do is what will give you the courage you need to do great things for God. Fear will always be present whenever God tells you to do something, but you must believe that God will do what He says He will do.

Last, it takes answered prayer to gain courage to do God's work. When Gideon had his fleece experiences, they were nothing more than answers to prayer. The greatest way to build your courage to do something for God is to get answers to prayer. Christian, God can't answer your prayer if you don't pray. God promises to answer prayers, and He will answer prayer, but you must be willing to ask Him to do something before He can answer your prayers. When God does answer your prayers, you should record those answers so that it can help build your confidence for future challenges you face.

It takes courage to serve the LORD. You may be like Gideon who seemed to be lacking in the courage category, but if you will follow the steps that he took, you will find the courage you need to do the tasks that God asks you to do. God can and will build your courage if you will simply give Him a chance by following the steps above. You can always take courage in the fact that people whom God used in the past started out with a lack of courage, but He gave them the courage they needed to face their challenges which eventually gave them the great courage for which they are now known. Don't let your lack of courage stop you from serving God, but remember that if God asks you to do something that He will provide the courage you need to do it.

Guarded Love

Joshua 23:11

"Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God."

One of the great things to see is watching people fall in love with God. I love to watch someone get saved and see their love for God grow in a great way. On the other hand, one of the saddest things to see is someone's love for God begin to wane. Something or someone affected their love for God, and a love that used to be fervent is now cold. This is tragic!

In the verse above, God told Israel to "Take good heed...that ye love the LORD..." This is interesting because God was warning them to guard their love for Him. God didn't want anything affecting their love for Him. God knows there are many things that can steal someone's love. You must realize that just because your love for God is fervent today does not always mean that it will be fervent tomorrow. If you don't guard your love for God, then something will steal that love away.

There are two things that can steal a person's love. First, people can steal a person's love. Galatians 5:7 says, "Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?" Notice it is a "who" that hinders people and not a "what."You can get caught up with the wrong people and they will steal your love for God. This is why it is important that you run with the right crowd. I have watched it happen so many times that I get sick of it. I have watched people associate themselves with someone only to see that person steal their love for God. You must guard your associations closely and not allow them to steal your love for God. Don't let work associates steal your love. Don't let close friends steal your love. Don't let relatives steal your love. Closely guard your love so that no person can steal it.

The second thing that can steal someone's love is possessions. Jesus asked Peter in John 21:15, "...Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?..." Jesus asked Peter if possessions had stolen his love for Him. You must be careful that you don't allow possessions to become more important than your love for God. Money should never become more important than your love for God. Cars and homes should never become more important than your love for God. When any possession becomes more important that your love for God, then that possession has stolen your love. Guard your love for God so that nothing can steal it.

Let me take this thought in one other direction. Married couples need to be careful that they don't let anything or anyone steal their love from their spouse. When you got married you promised to love your spouse till death. You will never do this if you don't guard your love for them. Believe it or not there are people who will try to steal your love from your spouse for one night of pleasure. Don't let this happen! Guard your love for your spouse and NEVER let anyone become more important to you than your spouse. Likewise, don't let things become more important than your spouse. You can have all the things in the world and lose your spouse, and you will find out that those things don't mean that much. Don't ever let a possession become more important than your spouse. It is better to lose the possession than it is to lose your spouse.

When you love someone, whether it is God, your spouse, parents, children or a friend, there will be people and things that will try to steal your love. Guard your love so that these things don't steal it. When you choose to love someone, then you must guard that love that nothing would hinder or take it away. If you find someone or something has already stolen your love, then remove it so that your love can stay fervent for God and the one whom you chose to love.

Giving Up on Your Dream

Joshua 17:13

"Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute; but did not utterly drive them out."

A troubling statement is made in the verse above when it says, "...but did not utterly drive them out." This is sad for the fact that they gave up on what was rightfully theirs. They gave up on something they worked so hard to obtain. They gave up on doing their best and settled for the second-best. They gave up on something that was given to them because something became too hard. These people had no business giving up. It doesn't matter what their excuse was, they were commanded by God to go and utterly drive out the people. When God gave them this task, He didn't say it would be easy. He simply expected them to follow through on His Word, and if they would have done so, their children would not have suffered the heartache from the Canaanites whom they did not drive out.

When God lays something on your heart to do, then you need to decide that no matter how hard it may be that you are going to conquer it. God did not give you a dream for you to let it fall by the wayside. God did not give you a dream to let it defeat you. When God gives you a dream, He also gives you the wherewithal to conquer that dream.

Don't let the difficulty of conquering your dream cause you to give up. Yes, these people saw that there were giants to conquer and decided to give up. If your dream wasn't difficult to obtain, then it wasn't much of a dream at all. There should be some difficulty in conquering a dream. That is part of what makes it a dream. Don't let the difficulty of obtaining your dream cause you to give up its realization.

Don't let your weariness be the thing that causes you to give up on conquering your dream. I know there are times when you simply get tired of fighting to see your dream come to pass; however, you cannot let your weariness stop you from realizing your dream. You must claim God's promise that He will give you the strength you need to see the dream come to reality. When you get weary in trying to conquer your dream, keep on going for the realization of that dream is near.

Furthermore, don't let the lure of settling for the second-best become your plight. Christian, if God gave you a dream, then don't stop until you get what He wants you to have. Certainly, God's second-best is always better than the best of the world, but God does not want you to settle for the second-best, He wants you to have the best. When the lure of settling for the second-best comes your way, you must decide that you will keep on going until you see the whole dream come to reality.

So, what is the impact of giving up on your dream? When you read about the history of Israel, you will find that many of these cities that they did not conquer became a snare of sin to their children and grandchildren. When you give up on your dream, you are affecting future generations. You must realize that your dream is not just for you, but it is for generations to come. The decision to give up on your dream will affect you, your children and your grandchildren.

I challenge you not to give up on your dream. I don't know what dream God placed in your heart, but whatever it is there is nothing that should stop you from seeing the realization of your dream. If you gave up on your dream, then right now you need pick it back up and start striving to see your dream come to pass. If you are considering giving up on your dream, don't do it! Keep going, for when your dream is realized you will thank God a thousand times over that you didn't give up. Your dream is worthy of not quitting, so keep going until you see your dream come to reality.

What to Do After the Victory

Joshua 8:30

"Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal,"

Everybody loves the experience of victory and success.
Society is filled with books on what to do to have victory and success in different areas of your life, but there are very few people who deal with what to do after the victory. What you do after your victory may determine if you have more victories in the future. One of the most vulnerable times in anyone's life is right after a victory. One of the reasons for this is because we let our guard down because of the feeling of elation, we become overconfident in our invincibility which causes us to get out of our routine which results in an immediate defeat. It is important that you do the right things once you experience a victory.

In the verse above, Joshua and Israel experienced a great victory over the city of Ai. To some, this may not seem like a great victory, but to Israel it was huge because this battle was a rematch of a previous battle that they lost. What Israel did after this battle allowed them to go on through Canaan and conquer the Promised Land. Their actions after the battle allowed them to continue experiencing victory. What they did after the battle is what every Christian should do when they experience victory in their life.

First, take time to thank God for the victory. The verse above shows us that they immediately set up an altar to thank God for His help over the people of Ai. You would be wise after a victory to thank God for His help. Why should God continue to help you if you won't thank Him after you've had a victory? If you thank God for the victories He gives you, then you will find that He will be more likely to help you with the next battle. Be careful that you don't become so elated with a victory in your life that you forget to take time to thank God.

Second, get back to work. In verse 32, Joshua wrote a copy of the words of Moses on a stone. Joshua understood the importance of getting back to the routines that brought him the victory. One of the dangers of victory is that many get out of the routines that led them to victory, which results in them seeing an immediate defeat. Don't let victory be the steppingstone to backsliding. Once you have a victory you would be wise to continue doing what led you to have a victory.

Third, continue to obey all of God's Word. Verse 35 shows us that they didn't just read some of God's Word, but they read all of God's Word. Their purpose of reading God's Word was so that they could obey. Christian, just because you had a great victory in your life does not give you a license to do wrong. You are to continue doing right after the great victories. Obedience to God's Word is just as important after the victory as it was before the victory. If you continue doing right, then you will continue to see victory in your life.

Finally, watch out for the next battle. Right after the battle of Ai came another battle for Israel. You will never stop fighting battles in your Christian life. Enjoy your victories, and praise God for the victories, but always remember that there is another battle right around the corner. Don't become complacent, but prepare for the next battle and you will continue to experience God's victories in your life.#exit