This  word is submitted by Teresa Seputis [ts@godspeak.org]

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                      Do Not Grow Weary

Child of Mine, I know the battle rages around you. I am aware of the
many forces and schemes that of the enemy has unleashed against you. 
Do not be astonished by this, and do not allow yourself to be caught 
by surprise. Remember that you are a soldier in My army, and remember 
that I am at actively at war against the forces of Satan. Have faith in
Me, and you will not be disappointed.

Many of My children expect Me to shield them from the attack, and there 
are times that I do that. But for the most part, I allow your enemy to 
actively engage you, and do not shield you from his attack. But I do 
not abandon you to him. So do not loose faith and do not allow yourself
to become discouraged.

I allow the battle because I am teaching you to war, so that you might 
gain a great victory. Do not fear, little one, for I will fight beside 
you. I will give you a victory and I will teach you to how to become 
an overcoming one. If you allow Me to train you, I will make you a 
conquering hero in My kingdom.

I know that you have chosen to serve and honor Me. I am aware that you 
have been careful to conduct yourself in a holy manner so that you might 
please Me. I have seen you lay down your rights to Me, I have seen the 
many that times you have obeyed Me when you would rather do something 
different. All of that pleases Me greatly, and I promise that you will
reap great rewards. 

But do not be confused. A holy, obedient and dedicated life does not 
exempt you from your position in My army, not does it excuse you from
needing to exercise your faith.  Dear one, you will see your share of 
battles, no matter how holy you walk before Me, and there are going to 
be times when the battle around you will be fierce. Do not lose faith
and do not become discouraged. The fierceness of the battle is never a
sign of My displeasure upon you. 

In fact, it is almost the opposite. The enemy attacks you because you 
are a threat to him, and because you are tearing down his kingdom and 
disrupting his plans. Child, when you are being effective for Me, you 
will face opposition from your enemy. That goes with the territory. It 
should not be a surprise to you, for My word is full of examples of this 
in the lives of My own. 

Look at David. He was a man after My own heart; the one I selected and 
anointed as king over Israel. But despite his intimacy with Me, he still 
had to face many battles; the enemy of his soul even stirred up strife 
against him in his own household. He was a great warrior for me, but 
there were times when he had to run for his life and go into hiding. 
Even though My anointing was upon him, there were times when the forces 
of the devil that opposed him were almost to much for him to bear. There 
were times when his spirit despaired because of his circumstances. But 
he held fast to me, and in due time, I gave him the victory. I plunged 
him into the fullness of his destiny. That destiny did not come cheap, 
he had to fight for it and he had to endure and to stand in faith. But 
in the end. it came upon him just as I said it would.

Look also at My servant Joseph. I gave him wonderful promises of a
destiny, and he believed everything that I showed him in his dreams. But 
the enemy of his soul came against him to torment him. He was beaten up
by his own brothers and thrown into a pit, then he was sold as a slave.
It looked like the enemy had defeated him and stolen his destiny, but
I was with him. I caused him to prosper in the midst of his slavery; I 
caused all that he did to prosper, as a sign of my favor upon him. This
first attack against him was indeed fierce, but it was not the only 
battle he faced. Just as he began to catch his breath form being sold 
as a slave, the enemy of his soul came at him again with another one--
false accusation. This attack marred his reputation and made his 
character questionable. He was so "beaten up" by this battle that he 
did not think he would ever recover. 

Do you know how he felt and what he thought during this battle? He felt 
that the more tried to walk in integrity before Me, the more the enemy 
would attack him. The more he choose to serve and honor Me, the more the
enemy tried to beat him up. If Joseph had merely consulted to the 
adulterous wishes of Potiphar's wife, he would never have been thrown 
in prison. But he choose to walk in my integrity and live blameless
before me.

That is the nature of the battle--the enemy of your souls wants to cause 
you to fall and he tries to alienate you from Me. He is ruthless and he 
will do all he can to discourage you. He wants you to despair in the midst 
of the battle, just as Joseph despaired in the midst of his imprisonment. 
He will tell you that you are utterly defeated and try to get you to give 
up.

But your enemy the devil is a liar. You are not defeated and I have not
abandoned you. I will allow you to face your battles, but I will war
along side of you. In due time I gave Joseph his victory and thrust him
into the fullness of His destiny. And I will do the same for you. Your
enemy will tell you that he has power over you, but that is a lie. I
am the One Who holds the world in His hands, and I am the one who will
cause you to overcome. I will thrust you into victory after you have stood
in faith and remained faithful to Me. So do not grow weary of the battle
and do not become disheartened or loose faith. Trust in Me and hold fast 
to your faith in the midst of your battle. I will surely fulfill every 
promise that I have made to you and I will give you a very great victory!