We’re talking about being FREE……. There are fears, anxieties and apprehensions that don’t need to be carried into your tomorrow, nor the rest of THIS day.
Many of us have been going THROUGH. But it doesn’t matter if you feel a little weather beaten and have been going through the storm and the rain. It doesn’t matter if your REALITY has been a bit uncomfortable. The TRUTH is that we serve a God who is not limited by ANY of it.
It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been crying, wandering, wondering, praying, seeking, messing up, giving up, fainting, recovering, suffering or throwing spiritual temper tantrums, the TRUTH is that He IS the PRINCE OF PEACE, the BRIGHT AND MORNING STAR, the LILY OF THE VALLEY, the I AM THAT I AM, the THE LION OF JUDAH. He IS the ALL POWERFUL……KING OF KINGS…… MASTER HEALER……STRATEGIC RESTORER…. ALPHA & OMEGA……FIRST & THE LAST……. THE AUTHOR AND THE FINISHER OF YOUR FAITH.
Being confident of this very thing, that He that has begun a good work in you shall complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Phil. 1:6
After all you’ve been through, He has the autonomy to make it PAY you…. To make it work out for your good…… RECOMPENSE
A couple of weeks ago, I was in Washington D.C. and found myself smack dab in the middle of a heat wave. So unless, I was required to be somewhere, I stayed in my air conditioned hotel room. I had a LOT of time to think, process and pray. I was telling God that I never thought I’d be THIS age enduring some of the realities that I am. I never saw myself at THIS place. You couldn’t have told me when I was younger that I would have to endure some of the things that I have. I never thought I would have to go through some of “THIS”.
God offered no explanation or defense (as if it is His fault, which of course I know it isn’t). The words I heard were plain and simple, “Don’t get tricked out of being thankful. Don’t forfeit through unbelief.”
As I declined the invitation to my pity party where I would mull over the realities of my life, I realized that the TRUTH is that if I would have attained what I thought I wanted at the age I thought I wanted it, I wouldn’t know the things I know now. I wouldn’t have experienced some of the things I’ve gotten to experience. Notice the same words with a different perspective. ONLY GOD!!!
My pursuit and quest for clarity and understanding, which was birthed out of adversity, would have been short-circuited and would have temporarily addressed a need that only the presence of God and a revelation of Him could satisfy (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Back then, I didn’t have the spiritual or emotional resolve to be in the company of what or who would have been beneficial for me in THIS season and what God is requiring of me in it. The 3rd law of physics- All energy is magnetic. There have been times in all of our lives where we’ve had to choose between patience and comfort, ridicule and validation. We ALWAYS have options. May we have the strength and conviction to choose the option God endorses. The reward may seem slow, but when it arrives it will STAND.
David said, I would have fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. (Psalm 27:13)
There is good to come! BELIEVE THAT!!!
No matter what you have endured or sacrificed, the TRUTH is that you haven’t walked this terrain alone. You’ve actually been carried through much of it. There will be a reward for faithfulness. He will not forget or overlook your obedience and steadfastness in the face of temptation. Utilize and maximize your time during adversity, because no storm lasts forever and this too has come …. to pass.
Consider the man at the pool of Bethesda in the 5th chapter of John. He was passed up for 38 years! For 38 years, he watched others moved into the pool and receive their healing. For 38 years he wondered when it would be his turn. And in 38 years, he never abandoned his position to be blessed. It didn’t appear to be working. No one was showing up to help him, but he was resolved about not moving. Simply because, if a miracle was going to happen, this is the posture he’d have to keep to be in position for it. And guess what… no one ever came to help him into the pool. No friend cooperated with the process that would get him healed. BUT Jesus came HIMSELF!!!
If people aren’t showing up or supporting, let it go. If people you thought loved you, have abandoned you, disregarded you, walked over you, used you and overlooked you, FORGIVE & LET IT GO!!! Jesus knows how to show up and do it HIMSELF!!! Maybe your method won’t be to get to the pool. You’ll get your miracle right out of His mouth (His word)! As I mentioned last week, He is minimizing the “thank you-s”. He wants all of the glory!!! GO JESUS GO!!!
At the end of this thing, you won’t owe anyone but Him the credit!
I pray you are being infused with hope right now!
2 Corinthians 4:7
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
Say out loud: THIS can’t be done in my own strength!!!
Liberty and deliverance are bi-products of salvation, whether we utilize our access or not.
Have you ever noticed how animals that have been in captivity for a long time won’t leave a cage even after it is unlocked? We are like that a lot of the time. We stay so focused on the pain, the past, and the problem that we don’t look at the open door and WALK OUT!!! Lay aside every weight and sin that is so EASILY besetting you and WALK OUT with endurance!!! (Hebrews 12:1 paraphrased)
Remember that the same thing it took for you to get free, is the same thing it will take for you to STAY free. Know who your deliverer is and rest in Him, keeping Him on the throne of your heart. This is NOT a sprint, but a marathon!!!
You ran a good race, but who hindered you??? This persuasion didn’t come from Him that called you!!!
Another translation…..
You were running superbly! Who cut in on you, deflecting you from the true course of obedience? (The Message)
Make up your mind and say it out loud… I won’t be hindered any longer…
Shake the dust off…get your gumption back, get your passion back and BE WELL!!!
Amen! So much confirmation ! So much truth! I woke this morning and basking in God’s presence and then I heard “Get Up.” I started listening to a Juanita Bynum song “Let the praises ring.” I started waving my flags in the Glory of God’s ability to strengthen me, provide for me, and bless me abundantly! He so love us!!! Do we really know who we are? Mind Blowing! Heirs to the Kingdom of God! Thank you for your timely word. Love you sis. Great word. I’m answering the call of Hope.