Geared for battle - pt. 1

The Lord gave me a word this morning that I'd like to share:
"No weapon fashioned against you shall prevail."  

This passage is from Isaiah 54 and a powerful truth it is. For those who love God no weapon can destroy them. "This is the lot of the servants of the Lord, their vindication from me, says the Lord." Satan has no power over those who love the Lord. An example of this is suffering. Satan would use the suffering that he brought into the world against us. For a soul in a state of grace, the very weapon that Satan tries to use to destroy us is turned back on him and becomes a weapon for his defeat. Jesus sanctified suffering during his passion. If there was one thing that all humanity had in common it was this: because of our fallen nature we all were sinners and suffered. Pain was universal and no one was excluded from it. But Satan in his pride failed to see the humiliating nature of his own defeat.
The same creatures (us) that he so looked down upon and despised would become powerful weapons through the victory of Jesus Christ....the triumph of the Cross. To the degree of our abandonment to God we become mighty weapons in the hands of the great I Am. Who says God can't aim straight with crooked arrows?! He certainly can! We are all crooked arrows to some degree but God makes all things possible. Jesus himself came to show us the way. One of the conditions of discipleship is this, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." (Mt. 16:24) Our crosses are comprised of our daily duties and whatever God sends our way even if it's an illness or a disease. Wielded in Christ our cross becomes a powerful weapon against Satan's attacks and even helps our brothers and sisters in the Lord. 
You may be wondering why I am posting this so soon after being healed from a serious disease and I'll try to explain.
Hidden beneath the Myasthenia Gravis was a great gift. What Satan mocked as a curse became a sword of light in the hand of the Lord. Just as the world looked upon the suffering of Jesus "He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, One of those from whom men hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem", like this, those who suffer a lot are often looked down upon. The world cannot understand the mystery of the cross and the mystery of suffering. We will probably not understand it's full significance and power until we meet the Lord. My illness brought me closer to God than anything else in my life. Many years ago, after the Lord brought me before His Mercy, I was determined to accept whatever the Lord sent my way. The Lord stoked up such a fierce fire in my heart that nothing, absolutely nothing, could put it out. Yes, I suffered imperfectly but I united every single minute of it with his sufferings and was blessed greatly through this. Beyond measure. To this day I am stunned at the graces the Lord poured upon me once I stopped fighting His Will and immersed myself in it instead. Miracles, graces, love, mercy, gifts upon gifts flowed down upon me. The Lord gave me many hints of what was going on beneath the surface and I will speak about this in a later post.

Right now I am praising the Lord for my healing because...this too is His Will. Whatever the Lord sends....

Praise be to God, forever and ever!