The Battle

This morning, and likely the events of yesterday, was a battle for my mind and attitude. This morning at 0900 I had PWOC. I facilitate one of the Bible studies. This was also my day to have the devotion for the whole group before we split into our classes. Then right after PWOC I had a spouse club board meeting. I am chairperson of the education/scholarship committee.

The battle went like this. I bought a new ink cartridge for our printer last night as ours was out. My DH installed it and then was on the computer all night. So, I went to bed thinking that I would get up at reveille this morning and do what I needed to do. This morning, I got up and came to the computer. I had felt the Lords urging to change my subject for the morning devotional and needed to print off the words to the song I was going to sing. The printer would not print. Nothing I could do would make it print. I also needed to print off some things for the meeting after PWOC. I called hubby in. We proceeded to start to get in a snit about it. I stopped. He fixed. Problem one solved. I apologized to my husband for my snippiness. I was feeling the presence of the Lord. Next, I pulled out the background tape and began to practice my song. Then I heard the tape deck chewing up my tape. NO! I shouted and turned it off. I tried to pull it out without damaging the tape. Discouragement swirled around me. I said, "Lord if this is your will for me to sing this fix it please! Satan you will not get the victory!" Then finally it pulled loose in one still usable piece. I sat down and began to wind the tape back up. My cat came and began trying to snag it away. He would not be shooed away. I said, "Satan, you'd better get away from me, I belong to Jesus. I am His child. You'll not get the victory!" Tape wound back up and using a different tape deck. Trying to practice the song. Feeling the Spirit's blessing strongly. The cat begins attacking my legs and scratching them with his claws. He never does this. I will not be distracted. Then the phone rings. It's our stateside phone and no one has ever called us on it (this phone is new). At first I wasn't sure what that noise was. Now mind you it's 0130 in the States. It's my brother. I ask him immediately what is wrong. My brother never calls me. I mean almost never. He just doesn't. The last time he called me in the middle of the night was the time his youngest son had just been born like 10 weeks premature and was intubated and being life-flighted to Oklahoma City. Nothing is wrong. He has just called me to chat. I chat with him as long as I can and then I have to go. At PWOC something is wrong with the music system and they decide to do the devotion first instead of last so, I'm up without a chance to steady my mind in prayer or warm up my voice for high notes. The thing is this devotion was from the Lord and not from Rebecca. He blessed it and ministered through it and gave me all the right words, notes and whatnot. Satan cannot pervert what the Lord has purposed! Try though he might. All that I went through yesterday and the things this morning Satan meant for bad, for the destruction of my attitude and therefore any ministry I might have had today. But the Lord meant it for good because it caused me to run to Him and hold on in the midst of the storm.
The song I sang today was "Eye of the Hurricane" by Trace Balin. The chorus goes, "In the eye of the hurricane, in the center of the storm. In the chaos there's a comfort. A harbor safe and warm. Though strong winds may blow, they can't change what I know. When I hold to the Rock that the wind can't erode."
Perfect timing. For me and, from the response, for many of the ladies there today.
Sorry it was so long today. Take time to glory in the beauty of the Father.
Rebecca