Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

Life is a battle. We all long for peace, both within ourselves and in our world.  But truth is, there are battles daily, everywhere, and within everyone. Some battles are more fierce than others.  As Christians, we may grow weary of our fight against our enemy, the devil.  Yes, he is most certainly a defeated foe.  He lost "the" battle when Christ died and rose again. Death is defeated, so the main enemy of life is vanquished!  We will  live forever.  Somewhere. God has written eternity in our hearts.  Death has been around for a long time!  So why would we think that we could ever attain immortality?  How could we even fathom such a thing? Because we were meant to live forever from the start.  Christ, in His mercy, even when sin entered the human race through Adam and Eve, deemed that we would never die.   Of course we know that all bodies die.  You can try to cling to reincarnation, or the possibility of science inventing a way to "freeze" us until they come up wi

Perhaps you've heard it before.  "Rise above" your circumstances.  But what exactly does that mean and how do we do it? I believe it is both a mental and a spiritual feat.  We need to  think  differently about our situation or problem that seems insurmountable.  Are we focusing on the problem too much?  We will never rise above, if that is the case. But how do you  not  look at what is "in your face," so to speak? Some spiritual battles are fiercer than others.  Sometimes, the enemy comes in like a flood. When we feel like we're drowning in a sudden influx of "water," and we cry out to the Lord for help but we are still drowning, then what?   I use the drowning analogy perhaps because I just watched "The Perfect Storm" the other night.  I'd seen it years ago but watched it again.  A spiritual attack can be like the "perfect storm."  All forces come together and hit us at once, and we feel out of control.  We cry out to God,