Words have power to either build up or to destroy. Satan is real. Spiritual warfare is real. Satan’s primary objective is to oppose God’s will and create chaos among people.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens” —Ephesians 6:12. 

Satan’s tactics are subtle but powerful and we better be able to discern what is happening. One of his most effective methods is sowing seeds of division among God’s people. Division is Satan’s tool to weaken the church’s witness in the world and to disrupt its mission. By causing division and discord, he diverts attention from God’s work and focuses on internal strife. 

 Scripture warns about Satan’s nature and we better take heed. “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace” —1 Corinthians 14:33

 1 Corinthians 14:33 highlights the contrast between God’s order and Satan’s chaos. Satan thrives in hostile and negative environments where there is confusion and disarray, as these conditions are fertile ground for the enemy’s manipulative and evil schemes. He creates situations that lead to misunderstandings, miscommunication, and all kinds of conflict, all aimed at destabilizing whole families as well as the unity of God’s people. 

A fundamental strategy of Satan is to create discord and division by inciting God’s people to turn on one another. He exploits human weaknesses, such as pride, jealousy and resentment, to create rifts and factions. Galatians 5:15 warns us: “If you bite and devour each other, watch out, or you will be destroyed by each other.” 

It is essential to recognize Satan’s presence in situations of disunity. “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every evil practice” —James 3:16.

Family disputes, internal office staff disputes and competition with jealousy, to seeking ways to gain control for selfish ambition will end in disaster. 

Speaking negatively about family in front of children damages their emotional security, causes high stress, misplaced emotions and defiles their ears, while teaching them unhealthy communication habits. Children internalize criticism and can be damaged for a lifetime by negative words.  

Hearing bad things about family members causes kids to feel trapped and to choose one person over another instead of developing lasting, godly relationships. They tend to find someone to always be angry with because they’ve grown to feel that it’s a normal family dynamic—it’s not! They feel pressure to take sides, and hide their love for family members based on gossip and hearsay. 

When adults attack each other, children feel a lack of stability, and can become anxious about their own safety. Children imitate how they see adults handle conflict. Hearing insults or heated conversation teaches them to use disrespect and gossip, while sabotaging their own future relationships. Whole families and legacy can be destroyed through evil communication.  

Gossip is an extremely dangerous sin. It can cause a young adult to choose the exact opposite of what they need in a relationship, even a spouse, based on trying to escape the same possible threat of what they’ve experienced. It’s not normal to sabotage relationships and family members. 

Fostering a spirit of unity and understanding within church and family is a powerful way to counteract division. Resist the enemy and he will flee. 

The next time you think about opening your mouth with a loose tongue, think on this. Gossip and slander destroys oneness. A loose tongue sows division. The gossip and slanderer privately attack their brothers and sisters and murder reputations and entire organizations. They attack sheep Jesus paid for with His blood. They just do it privately around tables to phone calls and meetings—they are Christianity without love. 

God takes your words very seriously. Every person will stand before God and give account for their own life.  Choose to walk in holiness and truth with love and respect!  Learn to “walk by the Spirit.” 

HIS love and mine, 

Deborah Starczewski 

 

Praying Psalm 139   - God Knows You Intimately

 Psalm 139 “Hemmed in by God”

Did you know that you are the object of God’s attention. Let’s take a look at praying Psalm 139 in real life. God knows everything and in the world today, data computers are able to collect from people because of the use of electronics, which can be traced and tracked across the globe. Many of us had no idea we are the object of so much attention—from God to mankind. We ought to be thrilled and encouraged to know that the God of all creation knows everything and is intimately involved in the details of our lives. 

It’s interesting to me how we all have a bit of fear of people getting to know us too well. Sometimes it comes from betrayal in the past or gossip and people not holding a confidence. Why are we afraid of people getting to know us? Are we afraid of what people might think if they knew us well? We do often seek to hide because nobody likes prying eyes or nosy people. Yet David is going to remind us that there are all-seeing eyes that we can never hide from in life. 

It is written: 

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O LORD, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it.” (Psalm 139:1-6).

Some people have little self worth and seek validation through words, power, control, and a fine display on social media posts. Some have to control every conversation. We are told by many that we are nothing more than an insignificant speck on a piece of paper in comparison to the great cosmos. Yet the Spirit of God tells us a vastly different story. 

We learn that God is far greater than we could ever imagine, than we have ever thought and yet far more intimately concerned with us than we could have ever hoped. That’s good news. God searches and knows us. He knows when we sit down and when we rise up in the morning or from a nap. He knows the road you are on right now. He knows your every thought. He understands what we’re thinking, our emotional struggles, and knows us intimately. 

Have you ever had times when your thoughts were jumbled and you felt slightly off or insecure? Perhaps you can’t figure out the next season in your life according to God’s will. But God understands where our jumbled up thoughts come from and what they are connected to as well. It might be an unhealed hurt or a place that gets triggered easily.

An obsession with cleanliness might stem from trauma or divorce and can be the same thing that leads to piling up the garage. You might have a problem with procrastination in some area due to feeling overwhelmed. You might loose too much weight or eat too much to cover pain. Each can be from the same root problem with different symptoms. Women often pile up the garage with whole sets of new dishes planning for a fresh start for their future home, especially after a betrayal and divorce. A husband who lost his wife to cancer at a young age can find it difficult to move forward, to empty boxes, and to function well. God can see through the fog of our lives. He is intimately acquainted with all our ways. He knows why we feel the way we do. 

And it’s why David says, “Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it all” (Psalm 139:4). We don’t have to waste time to articulate our thoughts to God or write them out perfectly. He wants us to be honest and transparent because He knows everything anyway. God knows what is in our hearts and the why behind the what in every situation or crisis. As Hebrews 4:13 reminds us, “There is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” 

The word scrutinize translates the Hebrew word meaning “to sift.” You might be thinking of sifting flour to make bread or a scripture that comes to mind. God carefully, intricately, and thoroughly sifts our choices and decisions. It’s certainly why He knows us better than we know ourselves. 

Are you aware that God is interested in you? His interest in us is personal, intimate, and burning with a fervent compassion. He doesn’t view us the way family, friends, or associates view us. But some people want to hide from God. It’s impossible to hide from God. This knowledge ought to be a comfort to the weary soul who is losing hope in life or the one who feels isolated or hemmed in a situation. David continues, “Behold, O LORD, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain it” (v. 4-6). 

The word enclosed comes from the Hebrew word for the besieging of a city in battle and closing all escape routes. It means “to be hemmed in.” I remember telling my son that God had him hemmed in with regard to a particular career so he would not make a wrong decision. It’s in these times where we might not understand, but God sees the big picture. He sees the delay as protection from a disaster. He sees every detail and orders our steps. He positions us for divine purposes, protection, and the future.

There are times in life when we all want to escape a dreadful situation, a crisis, or trial of faith. God, in His infinite wisdom, knowing exactly the area we need to grow, keeps us “hemmed in” so we can grow and mature in our walk with the LORD. It’s the place where you want to escape—the job, the loss, the crisis, the betrayal, the sickness, the severe battle, the arduous schedule due to family matters—where God encloses you in order to deal with issues you would rather not face. This is where you must learn to lean in to God, to trust Him with all your heart, mind, and soul. To trust Him when you would rather move to Italy. Each time we are hemmed in by God, it is by His divine design to make us more like Jesus and to bring more peace than ever before. 

God encloses you…so you have to deal with issues.

Shutting off the escape route is an act of love. Keep reading and pay close attention to what I learned about jellyfish in a particular region of the world yesterday while in a nail salon. God guides us wisely and lovingly where we need to be in order to become more like Jesus where we can embrace peace and contentment and joy. Where we are trained to endure. Where we learn to depend on the Holy Spirit within instead of outward circumstances. 

God is good and praise ought to flow from our lips for His goodness. Praise ought to flow like rivers of living water from our hearts as easily as prayer. What a divine blessing it is to sit at the feet of Jesus and to bask in His Presence, and to walk with Him. We have a divine gift to share how wonderful God is to other people and to praise Him for how marvelous He is to us. 

We learn in Psalm 139 God is extremely attentive to you. God is the guardian of the galaxy. Psalm 139:9-10. God thinks you are incredibly important. Being known by God isn’t the same as being important to God. David understands this as he writes:

For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” (Psalm 139:13-16). 

Again, God’s omniscience is mentioned. God knows about us in the womb. I remember knowing the woods were on fire behind the house before I was born and in my mother’s womb. Mother said I was born with a red tree shape on my leg that disappeared over time. 

God cares about every detail in your life and mine. He cares about the birds of the air and knows the number of hairs on each head. God knows how many days you will live, how many beats your heart will have, and how many precious breaths you will take, how many steps you will take—before you were ever born. He knows if you will accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and goes to extreme measures to make Himself known. 

This causes David to write: 

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You. (vv. 17-18). 

God doesn’t tell us things about Himself so we are merely informed but so that our hearts and minds will be transformed. This leads David to verses 19-24. 

O that You would slay the wicked, O God; depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed. For they speak against You wickedly, and Your enemies take Your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with the utmost hatred; they have become my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way. (vv. 19-24). 

David is angry at all the evil. With the current violence and evil raging, it’s wisdom to take an in-depth look at this for ourselves. When you love someone intensely and compassionately, you become livid when someone belittles them or tries to bully them. David asks God to get rid of them. Many believe that zeal for God leads to hate, but that is not the case. It leads to a hatred of evil and the evil that people do and say in this life. 

Where is Jesus in Psalm 139?

In John 22:16-17, Jesus drove the money changers out of the temple because He hated their activity. You can hate the sin and love the sinner. As the apostle Paul reminds us, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God hated the sin and punished it on the cross. Jesus paid our debt in full by giving His life. for all mankind. Jesus died for us on the cross because He loved us. A true zeal for God will lead to hating sin but loving the sinner. 

While it’s easy to see sin and frailty in the lives of other people, it’s hard to see it in ourselves. So this is where David invites God to “search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me” (vv. 23-24). David welcomes God’s gaze upon him, His all-seeing eye, to purge him of any sinful thoughts, ambitions, or dreams that might destroy him. 

David invited God to purge everything out of him that was not godly. David did not want to be hurtful to man or God. That ought to be our prayer as well. 

Where are you hemmed in today? Is it with a family situation or a career path you took or a decision you made that clearly keeps you there for a season or extended time? Is it something God has called you to do? Is it a health situation that keeps you fully trusting God? Whatever the case, God uses all things for our good and His glory. He hems us in to make us more like Christ where we learn to endure and fight the good fight of faith. He wants us to be mature in our walk with Christ and be moved by the Holy Spirit within instead of reacting like the world around us. 

While sitting in a nail salon recently, I heard the most amazing facts about a certain region and jellyfish while watching the channel on their streaming service. Take time to read the fascinating information below: 

*Jellyfish Lake, a famous marine lake located on Eil Malk Island in Palau, a small island nation in the western Pacific Ocean. Similar isolated habitats exist in Indonesia (like Kakaban Island and Raja Ampat) and the Philippines.

In these unique lakes, the jellyfish have evolved to have stings so mild that they are essentially harmless to humans, allowing people to safely swim and snorkel right alongside them.

 How They “Lost” Their Defense System

• Geological Isolation: Around 12,000 years ago, these lakes were connected to the open ocean. As sea levels changed and limestone reefs rose, the lakes became landlocked basins

No Natural Predators: A few species of jellyfish, such as the Golden Jellyfish (Mastigias papua), became trapped inside. Because the lake was cut off from the sea, their natural ocean predators (like sea turtles and large fish) were left outside

Evolutionary Shift: Developing potent venom and maintaining firing mechanisms (nematocysts) takes a massive amount of metabolic energy. Because the jellyfish faced zero threat of being eaten, natural selection no longer favored individuals with powerful defenses. Over thousands of years of isolation, their stinging cells shrank and weakened.

A Common Myth Debunked

It is a popular myth that these jellyfish are completely stingless. They actually do still have stinging cells, which they use to capture microscopic organisms (zooplankton) for food. However, the cells are so microscopic and weak that the sting cannot pierce human skin, though a person might feel a slight tingle if the jellyfish touches a highly sensitive area like the lips

Instead of hunting large prey, these jellyfish have adapted to survive through a symbiotic relationship with tiny algae (zooxanthellae) living inside their tissues. They spend their days physically migrating across the lake to follow the sun, essentially “farming” the algae via photosynthesis to get their energy.

Have you learned to depend on the Holy Spirit within through surrendering your life to Christ so you can walk with the LORD and endure to the end? Choose life today and ask God to purge you of anything that displeases Him and live the victorious life in Christ. Choose to follow God’s son—Jesus Christ. 

HIS LOVE and mine,

 

Deborah 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HOW TO HANDLE ANXIETY GOD’S WAY 

 If you dealt with anxiety as a child, you may be more prone to anxiety as an adult. I believe God wants to walk with us through every trial or issue, and equip us with truth for our anxious minds. Never say things like, “That’s just how it is,” or “I’ve always been that way.” Don’t fall for the bait of satan by believing the lies of the enemy. 

Jesus promises us in John 10:10 that he has come to bring us life to the fullest, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” With God’s help, I don’t personally believe we have to settle for less. Anxiety can get the best of any person, and at times, when listening to someone rehearse something repeatedly, it can cause anxiety in the listener. It leaves you feeling off and can leave you feeling dread, fearful, or wanting to walk away. The mind of an anxious person can get caught in an anxiety loop, circling like a roundabout in a city and going over scenarios that happened or haven’t happened yet or stressing over things that may never happen at all. It’s all crazy making. 

Can you relate somewhat?

Thank God there is hope in Christ. God’s Word is full of comfort, encouragement, and truth for every anxious situation. We don’t have to walk the path alone. Choose to write these truths on your heart that you might return to them when needed. Memorize the Word of God and get it in your head and heart, so that when trouble arises, or anxiety tries to rear itself, the scripture comes up first and foremost. Renew your mind in the Word of God till it becomes part of the very fabric of your precious being. 

I love the verse: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” —John 14:27

God gives us His peace and we don’t have to work it up or manufacture our own. 

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”  —1 Peter 5:6-7 

Cast all your cares over on the LORD—because He cares for you! You don’t have to know everything or even understand your circumstances to have peace. Never allow anyone to pull you out of your walk with the LORD. Guard your heart above all else. 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” —Philippians 4:6-7 

I love this verse: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” —2 Timothy 1:7 KJV

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”   —Isaiah 41:10

Remind yourself of the Good News of Jesus Christ. “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.” —Proverbs 12:25

If you know anyone struggling with anxiety, send this to them. Encourage one another and spur one another onward in the Christian life. Choose to live one day at a time, fully trusting Jesus. He cares for you. “Take therefore no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” —Matthew 6:34 KJV

People with anxiety disorders can stem from life challenges, trauma, or even several mental health and neurodevelopment conditions. Pray for yourself. Pray for your family and friends. The enemy of your soul (Satan) always tries to bring eye gouging experiences at a young age in life to leave a personal crippled so they never step into their God-given destiny. Choose life today, trust in Jesus Christ. Choose to align your life with God’s Word and walk with the LORD fully. 

His love and mine, 

Deborah