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====Maintaining a Healthy Spirit and Embracing God's "Plan B"====
<p><strong>Maintaining a healthy spirit in life's journey </strong></p>
<p>Maintaining a healthy spirit and embracing God's “plan B” is a lifelong exercise and challenge. There are no stops. A believer can graduate from one level of spiritual health and healing to another only to fall down and suffer some spiritual wounds. God forbid that any of us ever experiences any other spiritual injuries. </p>
<p>Maintaining a healthy spirit comes through avoiding matters that can bring spiritual injury thus result in a wounded spirit. It comes through avoiding matters that Satan can use as legal access into our lives. His legal access comes through any of the spiritual doorways covered in this book. These are through 1) deception, 2) ignorance, 3) sin, and 4) storms of life (when not appropriately responded to). </p>
<p>Avoiding matters that give access to Satan does not come by shear personal determination. It's not by personal might, nor guts, nor power. The bible is clear on this. It comes through our intimate walk with God. This enables the Holy Spirit to effectively live in us, his temples, and overcome anything contrary to his nature. </p>
<p>Through the Holy Spirit we are enabled to know “all truth” (John 16:13) in required areas that Satan seeks to gain access through 1) deception, 2) ignorance, 3) sin, and 4) storms of life. </p>
<p>He also enables us to look at sin the way it really is. We're able to see sin as a fake coating of honey containing nothing but poison that is harmful to us spiritually, socially, materially and physically. Temptation may come but his inner voice will enable us not to succumb to it. </p>
<p>As for storms of life the Holy Spirit uses them as assets to work to our good. Instead of being assets that Satan would like to use to block us from moving forward the Holy Spirit closes his access. God allows storms of life to happen but does not plot them against us. He only does not stop them. </p>
<p>If God allows them to come our way, as bad as they may be, he surely has plan B to ensure whatever happened eventually benefits us. </p>
<p><strong>Embracing God's "Plan B" in life's journey </strong></p>
<p>God's “plan B"” is anything good he can fulfill out of whatever negative matters we may experience in life. Instead of Satan bringing destruction upon us God frustrates Satan's plans and fulfills the unimaginable out of them. </p>
<p>In whatever negative matter of our past or about us God is able to turn it around to work to our good. This includes matters we may be carrying as a result of past sins (e.g. a child out of wedlock), matters from deception and from ignorance. </p>
<p>A couple married outside God's perfect will can have a fulfilling marriage to the same level as those married in his perfect will. His only desire is that we be submissive and obedient to him all the remaining days of our lives. Then he'll proceed to work all things (good and evil, past and present, successes and failures, strengths and weaknesses, abilities and disabilities, etc.) to our good. </p>
<p>“We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose,” (Romans 8:28). Hallelu-jah (praise the Lord)!! That means, as God's children, nothing negative from our past has any negative influence over our lives. God is able to change all past negative circumstances and experiences to have a positive effect on our lives. </p>
<p>As we submit to God and allow him to fulfill his unchanging plans for our lives he is able use all matters in our lives to our advantage. Instead mourning over the past the Lord works things out to the point where we can say like Joseph, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good,” Genesis 50:20. </p>
<p>The past experiences, our disadvantages, circumstances, Satan and his fallen angels, people with ill motives, or whatever cause may have intended to harm us.&nbsp; God is sovereign power and might, who is above circumstances, limitations, impossibilities, closed doors, malicious people, and above Satan, is able to transform the negative matters to end up working to our good. Instead of becoming prisons for our lives, caging us in from moving forward, God uses them as stepping stones to our palace for bearing much fruit for God's glory. </p>
<p>Think of Joseph, the man who later told his bad brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good,” Genesis 50:20. It's nice to read the story but imagine yourself in his shoes. You get sold as a slave, stripped off all your human dignity. </p>
<p>All the lovely dreams of royalty vanished, your childhood robed, family bond robed, and anything else you would want to live for. You know there is a mighty God out there but what have you done to find yourself in this? Nothing. </p>
<p>Maybe you gain some hope that somehow this God will rescue you. So you keep going faithfully serving in your slavery. Then more strange events happen. You're accused of attempting to rape a wife of a high ranking governor. It's all over the media. You're further reduced from a slave to an animal that lives on instinctive drives rather than reason. </p>
<p>Could this God have forsaken you? Can anything get worse than this? I've worked jobs where a lot of cash is handled and the mere suspicion that I was pilfering made me want to quit. Being thought of as a thief was hurting enough to bring distress. What more an accusation Joseph got? </p>
<p>We seem to have a lot of easy answers on how Joseph coped with the severe storms that befell him. But the whole truth is that God kept him in the midst of it all. </p>
<p>&nbsp;Joseph did not have some high determination and guts to continue trusting in God. He was as frail as any of us. And he had no bible to read on the faithfulness of God. Put in his shoes many of us would rather be dead. Yet God in his power is able to sustain us if we go through the worst of experiences. </p>
<p>When we get out we even wonder how we came out alive, sane and still Christians. It's unfortunate when some depart from the faith or end up in sin or compromise that brings more bondage. This is another side of the story, but glory be to God for those of us who came out alive and Christian. </p>
<p>May he use us to save others that can be vulnerable to Satan's schemes during storms. No one deserves to face destruction, especially after becoming a Christian. May God use us to stand in the gap and allow him to frustrate Satan's attempts while fulfilling his plan B. </p>
<p>Through God all things are possible, bearable, and can be overcome. Unlike Joseph we have the bible to encourage us. With God's word richly living in us the Holy Spirit is able to effectively use it when storms come. He enables us to effectively respond to storms in a way that blocks Satan from using them to work against us. </p>
<p>During my worst trial or is it worst experience of reaping from ignorance, I concluded the best option was dying. Not through suicide but asking God to take my life. I cried almost daily seeking to be in heaven than in this weird world. Seeing that death never came I kept praying and fasting for God to do something about it if I was to be of any use here on earth. He did - eventually, after six torturous months. </p>
<p>Between the trial (or reaping to ignorance in my case) and the breakthrough Satan had no room of using the experience to bring destruction. God took over and kept working out plan B on matters he never orchestrated. He probably tells his angels, "Satan can try whatever he wants but I can still use any situation for good." </p>
<p>God used it to reveal the false teachings on spiritual warfare and deliverance, inspired all these books, brought the call into deliverance ministry, and many other matters that cannot be quantified. For anyone in a storm please forget not the discipline of prayer and fasting. Fasting is a powerful weapon in the realm of the spirit. It enables God to fight for us and work on "plan B." </p>
<p>Storms of life do not spell doom for us for as long as our response is in a way that blocks Satan from using them against us. Whether from past or current experiences God can still use them to work to our good. He did it for Joseph, for Jesus, the early disciples and many saints of God throughout history. Why not for us? Yes he still does today. He's the same God who changeth not (James 1:17). </p>
<p>Past or present storms of life are unpleasant experiences that befall us out of no fault of our own. They include experiences of living under constant negative and critical words; experiences of betrayal (by a loved one; trusted person, or leader); death of a loved one; severe physical or emotional abuse experiences; living under a heavy control and disciplinary environment that brings fear; living under rejection; false accusations; terrible divorce experience (as the victim); traumatic experience(s), severe accident (e.g. surviving the September 11 terror experience, traumatic accident, casualty of war); having a physical or social disability; having a certain physical appearance society “persecutes;” severe racial, gender and ethnic discrimination or abuse; falling victim to false teachings; genuine trials of faith; and so on. </p>
<p>A victim of whatever storm of life ought to focus on God's power, sovereignty and love in fulfilling "plan B." For instance, one can say to himself/herself, "Satan may have created this mess but God who is more powerful knows how to use it to bring out the best for his glory." Not saying it out of arrogance but out of humility of being God's child. He is the God who fights our battles. God will make a way, where there seems to be no way… Most of us know the song. </p>
<p>Another may say to himself/herself, "It was not a mistake to be born in family Y or living with guardian(s) Y. Neither was it a mistake to be born or living in location Z. </p>
<p>“I am not a mistake, regardless of how, where or when I was born, my appearance, gender, race, tongue, having certain strengths, having certain weaknesses, abilities, disabilities and so on. God "fearfully and wonderfully," (Psalms 139:14) put all these ingredients together for a particular purpose. </p>
<p>“I may not understand everything but bit by bit I'll be seeing his purposes unfold in my life. I may not like everything about this whole set up but he knows how to work every piece to work to my good. He's more powerful than forces that may try to set limits against me due to matters I only found myself into. My role is to focus on him, obey his word and allow him to fulfill his ultimate plan over this entire set-up I found myself in." </p>
<p>For any of us our resolve ought to be that whatever our limitations they cannot hinder God from fulfilling his ultimate plans for our lives. He's the one in charge, not our circumstances. Needless to say that we're in this life not to fulfill our fantasy island desires but to fulfill his preordained will for our lives. It is this preordained plan for our lives that's unstoppable for as long as we keep walking with God. </p>
<p>Our circumstances whether from past or present experiences can roar like Goliath if they want to. But the final choice is on each one of us. Whose report will you believe -the report of circumstances or the report of the Lord in his written word? One is proclaiming doom while the other proclaiming hope. One is proclaiming a curse while the other is proclaiming a blessing. </p>

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