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Here is one of my favorite Bible verses: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusteth in you.” It’s Isaiah 26.

The phrase translated “perfect peace” is “shalom shalom.” I am told that in Hebrew, words are repeated to emphasize them. In English, you might say “the highest degree of shalom,” but supposedly, Hebrew doesn’t work the way English does, so Hebrew speakers repeat things.

Many people say “shalom” means “peace,” but that’s not right. It means a state of being that includes peace and other things, such as wellbeing and prosperity. It comes from a root meaning “completeness.” It is also said to describe a state that is permanent.

You know what that sounds like? It sounds like what I felt the two times Jesus visited me. I felt his love radiating through me, and I also felt a kind of peace that could not even be challenged, let alone destroyed. I was totally assured that everything would be all right. No evil could touch me.

Permanence is a big deal in the Bible. Evildoers are not able to receive permanent blessings. Jesus said they were like men who built their homes on sand. When rain and winds come, such houses are washed away. Righteous people are like those who build their homes on rock. They can withstand anything.

The word translated “stayed” means “supported.” The English word “stay” doesn’t necessarily mean “remain in place.” We use it that way today, but it can also mean “support.” This is why collar and corset stays are so named. If your mind is stayed on God, it means God is supporting your mind, like a tentpole.

Isaiah 26 has to do with standing, like a house built on rock. This world is full of evil forces and voices, and they act like storms. They puff and threaten constantly, and much of the time, we believe their puffing, and we give in and lose. Children of God who know their rights can overcome the wicked by focusing on God.

I’m writing about this because, as I predicted, Miami is not letting me go easily. I knew I would get a Satanic backlash. I’m moving possessions out, and I’m getting rid of the last really troublesome property I have, and Satan is trying to make it painful.

I got a $4000 quote to move my machinery up here. I moved two machines myself, and then I asked for a new quote. They nearly doubled the price. I found a new rigger, but I’ll still have to pay more than I wanted. A meddlesome neighbor turned me in to the city for having a dirty roof and walls, so now, right before closing, I have to pay a handyman to clean and perhaps do touch-up painting, to the tune of at least $750. My house sitter hired two guys to help him move old furniture out to be picked up by the city, and they didn’t show up, so either he will have to do it alone, I will have to help him, or I’ll have to hire a junk hauler. Now the buyer’s attorney is demanding my LLC’s operating agreement, which is none of her business. You don’t need a document like that to sell a house. I sold a house earlier this year without it. It’s confidential. I told her paralegal they weren’t getting it, and I said I would send other things to prove my ownership and authority.

None of these attacks will stop me.

The other day, I thought of Isaiah 26:3, and God filled my heart with a new understanding of it. He showed me I should direct my attention to him and remember all the strongholds he had broken for me. People don’t decide what happens to me; he does. He breaks their will and makes them fail when they trouble me. He does the same things to the spirits behind them.

I threw out a ton of things when I visited Miami, and many of them were valuable. I didn’t care. I’m putting valuable things on Internet selling sites for nearly nothing, just to make them move. I don’t care. It’s worth it to be free.

I think I understand why God told us to turn the other cheek and agree with our enemies. Sometimes, when Satan demands something of you, the thing he tries to take is extremely trivial compared to what God has set in front of you. It’s like having your pocket picked while you’re waiting to get on a lifeboat. Do you really want to chase a thief and drown?

Early Christians had to give up their very bodies, but they knew it was a bargain for them and a bad trade for Satan and his children.

The things I’m losing are junk. There will be new things for me later.

I look forward to having ALL ties to Miami cut.

I can’t tell you how many times someone has stood in my way and told me something I wanted to do was impossible, only to see them knocked out of the way by God. It’s not a rare thing. It’s a way of life for a Christian.

I needed to get a tax document for my dad’s last return. I called the local IRS office. A man answered and said I needed a birth certificate. My birth certificate, not my dad’s. Who keeps a birth certificate lying around in 2019? I have had passports. I have a Homeland-Security-approved driver’s license, which is the best ID you can have. No one with any intelligence respects a birth certificate. You can falsify one in 5 minutes. No one is going to dip your feet in ink and see if they match the prints on your birth certificate.

I prayed and drove to the office anyway. They called my name to go to a window. I was ready to argue with them. I sat down, told the IRS employee what I needed, and showed him my driver’s license. He printed out the necessary document and handed it to me. Could not have been nicer. This is what it’s like when God breaks a stronghold.

The government is particularly bad about strongholds. “You can’t start this business.” “You can’t build this house.” “You can’t have prayer meetings here.” They throw up ridiculous obstacles all the time. It’s the nature of bureaucracy. If you’re not a Christian, you will probably be blocked. If you know God, however, you have a friend who is better than a man on the inside, and he will break walls for you.

Brother Andrew is a famous preacher who smuggled Bibles into countries (such as leftist-dominated nations) where they were banned. He risked imprisonment over and over. When he started out, he hid his Bibles. Eventually, he got bold and left them on the front seat of his car, in plain view. Guards at checkpoints looked right past them, and Andrew drove on. God does things like this for his children, but you need to focus on him and remember all the times he has delivered you in the past.

When I think about God and his deliverance, I feel peace and invincibility. They seem to radiate down to me from his throne. I want to get better at it, and I want to spend more time in that state.

I’m going to be free of the house I’m selling. I am free from the power of the spirits that rule South Florida. They can’t stop me. They are like ants before my God.

I look forward to blogging from the other side, when my machines are here, the house is out of my hands, and I no longer have to think about lawn people, pool people, hurricanes, insurance, and taxes. It’s a done deal, and it will happen shortly. I just have to wait.

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My realtor texted me. The lawyer who wanted my private documents caved in, after arguing with me and then her. Of course. She was completely, obviously wrong.

Glory to God.

I always hope for a day when I can go 20 continuous minutes without anyone insulting my intelligence. Maybe I’m crazy, but I keep dreaming.

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When you have a testimony which seems solid, and then you find out it’s not so solid, you’re supposed to say something. God doesn’t need people to make excuses for him. One of the church’s big problems is that we clap when someone testifies or prophesies, and then when it turns out something is wrong, we ignore it.

I said I was being pestered for unnecessary documents for my upcoming closing, and I said the other side had caved in. This was true, as far as I knew. I later found out they were not going to be reasonable after all, so I sent them things they had no right to. The closing is still moving along.

Take it how you will.