WHERE IS YOUR FOCUS?

Leigh-Ann ‘Abigail’ Evans

“Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” (Psalm 24:7-8)

I recently had a symptom show up that caused me much distraction & tempted me to go into a state of fear & anxiety over it.  I was miraculously delivered from fear & anxiety a while ago, so I knew this was a part of the devil’s scheme to ‘steal, to kill & to destroy’ that which I had received from Jesus (see John 10:10). This is where the rubber meets the road in a faith journey: – the practical exam & an opportunity for growth. Yes, the symptoms were affecting my body, but the war was in my mind. All sorts of crazy thoughts would hit me – “What if it’s a certain condition?”, “What if it’s anxiety returning?”, “What if? What if? What if?” The more the thoughts came, the CLEARER it became WHO was sending them!

So, I took this to my Abba Father & He led into a beautiful vision – He was holding my heart gently in His hands on the inside of my body. I could see Him admiring His created work & reminding me that I am ‘fearfully & wonderfully made’ (see Ps 139:14). Then the Holy Spirit whispered “Psalm 24” in my spirit & I read it. The part that jumped off the page was verses 7-8 (see above). Jesus was reminding me where my FOCUS needs to lie in order for me to be able to access the flow of the spiritual. “LIFT UP YOUR HEADS!” I needed to move away from symptom focus & look up to THE ONE who has paid for my healing (see 1 Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:4-5, Matthew 8:17). 

I went off to Parkrun & over the 48 minutes I was walking, Jesus led me into another vision as I kept repeating the Psalm 24 verses He had led me to. In my vision, I saw Jesus as an armored knight on a horse, going into battle. He stopped where I was & piece by piece, He started handing me His armor. As He gave me His helmet, He reminded me that this was the helmet of Salvation (see Is 59:17 & Eph 6:17). This covered my MIND (the place where this war was being waged). He then handed me His breastplate, reminding me that this was the breastplate of Righteousness (see Is 59:17 & Eph 6:14). This covered my HEART where the symptom had been occurring. He reminded me that the shield He handed me was the shield of FAITH which SURROUNDED me, protecting me on all sides (see Eph 6:16 & Ps 5:12). As He handed me His belt, He reminded me that this was the belt of TRUTH (Jesus is faithful & true – Rev 19:11). The truth ALWAYS sets me free (see Jn 8:32). He untied His shoes & came & put them on my feet, just as the father of the prodigal son had done when he returned home (see Lk 15:22). He reminded me that these were the shoes of the Gospel of Peace & He was equipping me with a way to share His Good News (hence this testimony). Finally, He handed me His sword, the only piece of offensive weaponry & reminded me that this was a sharp, two-edged sword which came out of His mouth (see Rev 1:16 & Heb 4:12). The WORD of God is our OFFENSIVE weapon. Jesus used it in His temptation by the devil in the wilderness when He answered the devil, “It is written…”. Isaiah 51:16 says, “I have put my words in your mouth & covered you in the shadow of my hand.” I needed only to declare the word of God & rest in the fact that I am protected & covered by Him because of what Jesus had accomplished on the cross for me. 

So, I was armored up & it was then that Jesus reminded me of 2 Chron 20:17, “You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you..”. The armor I was wearing was not so I could go in to fight, it was a reminder to FOCUS on the One who had fought & WON for me (see 1 Cor 15:57).

The only battle I faced was resisting the devil (see Js 4:7) & casting down thoughts that tried to get my focus off God (see 2 Cor 10:5). As the mental battle waged, I STOOD FIRM. I knew the spiritual attack was over when my mind returned to the peace of God that surpasses understanding (see Phil 4:6-7). My mind cleared; the ruminating thoughts that had been on repeat ceased & there was stillness once again. My last health battle took 23 years! This one took 12 hours!!! I think I passed this practical exam with flying colors & may have given the devil caution that he’s only making me stronger in issuing these challenges. When you LIFT UP YOUR HEAD to the One who deserves all praise & glory & honor, He most certainly WILL COME IN to any situation you are facing & lead you through it victoriously.