Not Defeated depicts a humbled warrior surrounded by ministering spirits with the light of Christ calling him to arise and walk. Though it may be night, the dawn WILL come, and God’s mercies are new each day. He is not defeated!
“The steps of good men are directed by the Lord. He delights in each step they take. If they fall, it isn’t fatal, for the Lord holds them with his hand.” Psalm 37:23-24 (TLB)
“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NLT)
“The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.” Psalm 145:14 (KJV)
“Keep me safe, Lord, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from the violent, who devise ways to trip my feet.” Psalm 140:4 (NIV)
“Are not all the angels ministering spirits sent out [by God] to serve (accompany, protect) those who will inherit salvation? [Of course they are!]” Hebrews 1:14 (AMP)
{seeing} Jesus extending His hands to the fallen, even kneeling to help lift you from the ground. His focus is on your repentance and recovery, not on the fall or failing. He saw it all, and sees clearly now, but none of that hinders His deep love for you. He reaches out in great love to restore you, minister to you, and lift you above what was. His healing touch cleanses all and brings peace. It is the humble heart that He can cleanse, mend, and restore. It is the heart turned toward Him that will again soar in delight with Him. This will be used as a stepping stone to help others, to pour out compassion, mercy and love to them. The place of your greatest weakness will be come the place of your greatest strength, honor and dignity. Why? Not because you have “earned” it, but because He is lavish in His love for you. Does it make the path easy? No. But know with certainty He is with you and from this point forward, live and move and have your being in Him. HE will never leave you nor forsake you because His love for you is unshakeable.
Often we can fall prey to a sense of shame when we have moments where we’ve been humbled. We so desire to appear strong, and yet we know it is in our weakness that His strength shines forth. He is all the more glorified because it is so clear we can do nothing in our own strength. Be encouraged to resist feelings of doubt and shame, knowing that you are a vessel of honor – that you have chosen to yield yourself (the good, the bad, and the ugly) to His service however He sees fit best to work through you and be glorified.
The lyrics from Israel & New Breed’s song I Am Not Forgotten are connected to this image, “I am not forgotten, I am not forgotten, I am not forgotten, God knows my name. He knows my name. | Light over darkness, Strength over weakness, Joy over sadness, He knows my name | Father to the Fatherless, Friend to the friendless, Hope for the hopeless, He knows my name | I will praise You, I will praise You, For I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
There is much honor due you, not because of mistakes, but because of your walk through the mistakes. A repentant heart, a humble heart resides within you, and that has drawn honor to you. And hearing a prayer for Justice to come to and for you, to minister to you. And seeing Justice grab the hand of Joy, and joy being poured out to you. His manifested lavish love being poured out on you and those around you. Simply because you chose the path of His love.
Father, help us to reject feelings of shame and to instead embrace the knowledge that You rejoice in working through imperfect humans who love you enough to surrender their will to Yours that You might be made great and glorified – even when that doesn’t feel good or look good for us (like it looked poorly for Lazarus when he died, but yet had he not died You would not have been glorified through his resurrection). In that same way, be glorified through us – yielded, willing vessels – prepared and ready for You.
Note: Due to the length of this word, the free 5×7 version that comes with prints is an abbreviated version; however, an 8×10 version is available for an additional cost is you want to display the full word along with your Dyed4you Art piece. If you don’t plan to display the word, it is shown in its entirety above. 🙂
Oh Meghan – this one has stolen my heart. Our daughter is getting married on 01.07.2017. 24 years -neither have dated and her first kiss ever will be on her wedding day. We have had only 3 months to prepare and the battle has been heavy on us all. They are both anointed and the enemy has tried to rise up and destroy us. There have been days during this journey that I slipped and fell deep into areas that I did not turn over to Him and thought for sure that I would not be able to rise up. I have asked for forgiveness during these trying times and to be honest I truly forgot whose child I am. 2 days ago broken on the floor crumbled and humbled I called out for the Creator to not forget me and not turn His face from me. I did feel His restorative work – and today I asked Him again to not let me become so weak that I ever forget my place in His arms. I came home tonight ready to press into His love for me – just needing the comfort that only comes from the Master and I saw this image flash across my screen. Once again dear Sister God uses you to minister to the heavy hearted and uses you to answer the hidden questions. Then as I open the page – I see the background – OH MY WORD – does God not ever forget me. Thank you Meghan – thank you for listening – thank you for obeying – thank you for allowing the Mighty God to use you in times when people are desperate. Once again humbled by the Love Of The Almighty. Love you forever – Judy