“For this is what the high and lofty One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite” (Is 57:15)

What are the things God is looking for in our hearts? The contrite (genuinely sorrowful for wrong doing) and lowly (those who are not proud and arrogant, not self reliant) have gone through a valley that has stripped them of self dependence and arrogance and left them brokenhearted. They have been brought down and humbled by life’s trials to places where, naturally speaking,  it’s impossible to get out of. God allows these trials to reveal to us what is in our hearts and He exposes it.

All day long God spreads out his hands and says to us, “here I AM, here I AM!” but we don’t see or hear him because our hearts are deceitful and infected by sin (Je17:9). We are not only blind to our own needs but also cannot hear the cries of others who desperately need help. “I have spread out My hands all the day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts— (Is 65:2). “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (Rev3:17). Without life’s testings and being brought to a place where our hearts are exposed, we may fail to understand our dependence on God and His direction for the purpose of our life.

I was reading about David Livingston and his missionary journeys into Africa during the 1840’s. In one account of his travels he met a chief from a certain village. This chief embraced the Gospel of Christ and loved the Word of God. None of his brethren joined with him believing in Jesus Christ because of the hunger they experienced from a severe drought. In their thinking they associated the drought with the discipline of God therefore they would not serve the God of an “empty stomach”.

Dear friends, I speak these words to myself. Why would I think any different than these Africans? Is God only interested in causing me to suffer? Has my trial continued so long that God has forgotten my cause? Yes, these questions may be natural to think but this is not the full understanding. “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” (Is40:28, 29).

Israel was tested numerous times in the wilderness and yet would not truly rely on their need for God, instead their tendency was to murmured and complain. All the while, God was trying to bring forth a testimony in His people, The children of Israel could have gone through the wilderness and testing and said “God is with us! God will bring us through”.  The Israelites are used in the Word as an example of unbelief. We can trust that God will never leave us, He desires to bring us through our wilderness. Halleluiah! Praise God; He is our Deliverer!

How do we open our eyes to see His ways and open our ears so we can we hear the cries of the brokenhearted and weary? We need to have God’s heart of compassionate love for others that He reveals through testing and what lacking in our own heart. God says to ask and seek Him (Is 55:6).  Beloved Saints, call upon God when you are in a time of personal drought because He wants to use you as a testimony to your generation. He will never leave or forsake you (Heb 13:5). He is near to the brokenhearted and He is an ON TIME GOD!!

After Jesus had been in Samaria and Galilee, where he healed the nobleman’s son, and had spoken to the Samaritan women about living water and true worship. The time came for Jesus to get up and go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Jews (Jn5:1). We aren’t told specifically what feast this was, but it was probably one of the major three feasts in which attendance was required; the feast of Passover, the feast of Tabernacles or the feast of Pentecost.  Jesus kept these feasts as the Messiah, and used them as an occasion to teach and to work miracles.

Whichever feast it was Jesus would be going; entering Jerusalem through the Sheep Gate. The lambs destined for Temple sacrifice for Passover were brought in through this gate. Jesus is our perfect Passover Lamb (I Cor.5:7; Isa.53:5-6). Just inside of the gate there was a great multitude of sick people laying, sitting or standing around by the pool of Bethesda (Jn 5:2-3), a well-known place where people gathered because of the pool’s reputed healing occurrences.

“For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had” (vs. 4).

These people may have desired to attend the feast inside the Temple but their physical condition kept them waiting by the pool for a healing. There were a lot of sick folk lying around but Jesus notices one man in particular lying helpless on a sleeping pad. Jesus took the time to stop and consider the plight of this man (already knowing why this man had been in his paralyzed condition for 38 years). Jesus, full of compassion, approached him and asked “Do you want to be made well?” Jesus gave this man an opportunity to respond to His question and then patiently waited for the paralyzed man’s answer. I wonder why would this man be languishing there if he didn’t want to be made well. The sick man answers Jesus’ question by saying, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me” (Jn5:6, 7).

We are not told much of this man’s history or about the years that he had been in this condition. We don’t know for certain how he got to the pool that day but he was there! As we follow this story we read that he just needed someone to bring him to the pool. He still had hope; maybe this would be the day for his healing! When Jesus approached this man he not only didn’t recognize the man, Jesus, standing before him. He didn’t recognize and wouldn’t have fathomed that it was Jesus, the Son of God, Creator of the Universe, The Messiah.  The God of the miraculous was standing before him asking if he wanted to be made well. Possibly this man had only hoped that Jesus would pick him up and carry him to the edge of the pool. God had a different plan for him; this was his day of healing! Jesus asked him again in a different way, this time with a command “Rise, pick up your bed and walk”! He had to get up! At that very moment Jesus forced the man to make a decision. In essence, Jesus was telling him I’m not going to help you live in weakness by carrying you to the pool when you can get up and walk to the feast in the power and strength of my Word. From the authority of His spoken command, the man instantly became well and recovered his strength and picked up his bed and walked (Jn5:8, 9).

Jesus’ instruction was unconventional from the way healings at the pool had previously been manifested. It is possible that we may limit God by thinking that He has to do things the only way we understand them. God is beautiful for situations (Ps 48:2), He can intervene whichever way He sees fit. Jesus asked this man to respond, to act on His Word; “Rise Up”. This paralyzed man must have recognized the authority in which Jesus spoke; he subsequently obeyed the command to take up his bed and walk. I wonder if we sometimes wait around, witnessing God working in the lives of others but cannot quite believe to receive a touch for ourselves. Do we stand upon the authority of the Word of God recognizing the presence of the Lord himself?

The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I [too] will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. [I will let myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.]”  (Jn14:21AMP)

This man rose up from where he had laid and walked into a future with new potential. He went to the Temple most likely to offer a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to God. A little later Jesus found him there and said, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you” (Jn5:14). No doubt this word was received with gratefulness by the man. He had 38 years to speculate about the possible reason(s) for his condition or personal sin. Somewhere deep in his spirit this man must have known Jesus’ words were true. Going back to old habits could no longer be an option, not after such a demonstration of the changing power from the Word of God.  Jesus had set him free from his paralysis; he was healed! The Jews, who had questioned this man about his carrying his bed on the Sabbath (vs10) also did not believe that there should be healing on the Sabbath because of the strict laws requiring the people only to rest on the first day of the week.  This man proclaimed that Jesus healed him. Amen! I love this mans attitude…He “got up!” went to the feast and testified of the healing power of Jesus!

Maybe you feel paralyzed by years of addiction or other weaknesses that seem to overwhelm you; controlling many aspects of your life. The enemy’s projections and condemnations beat you down with powerlessness and shame. It is hard to believe how you could ever be free from this bondage. In the account above of the man that was healed, we recognize that God is speaking to us about getting up and walking away from sin but somehow it’s beyond our ability to do. We hate willfully repeating it and ask God to heal us often, but continue the cycle of sin. We must be willing to allow God to expose and come into the light so we can correct our course now while we still have breath on the earth. “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.”  (Heb10:26, 27)

Saints of God it is Jesus who has come to set you free. Ask Jesus to forgive you, to heal you, to be your perfect sacrifice for sin! Do you recognize him? Do you hear his voice? He says both to you and me, “Get Up! Get up, the time is short! Get up, from the sin that has paralyzed you so long from entering His presence. Get up and enter the feast!!”

 “What will you do in the appointed day, and in the day of the feast of the LORD?” Hosea 9:5

The short story in the beginning of 2 Kings 6  speaks to us today of a miracle performed by Elisha that caused an iron axe head to float upon the waters of the Jordon River, contrary to the law of gravity.

Elisha, as the prophet of God, was given headship over the school of the prophets. When the student prophets felt their residence was too small they approached Elisha saying, see now, we have outgrown our living place and we desire to build a larger house at a place along the Jordan River. The beams we will need to build our home can be cut out of the trees that grow along the banks of the Jordan. Elisha tells them “go”. One of them asks Elisha if he will go with them, he says “I will go”. So Elisha went with them to the Jordan and they began to cut down trees. As one of the student prophets was cutting down a tree, his axe head slipped off its wooden handle and plunged into the Jordan River. He cries to Elisha “What am I going to do? I borrowed the axe”. Elisha asked him “where did it fall?” The student shows Elisha the exact place where the axe head fell into the muddy Jordan River. Elisha cuts off a stick and throws it into the river where the axe fell and suddenly the weighty iron axe head floated to the water’s surface. Elisha tells the man to “Pick it up for yourself”. The man reached out his hand and took it.

(I pray God ministers to your heart this portion of scripture the same way He did mightily to me.)

Sometimes it may seem as if a personally ministered promise or dream that has been given to us disappears and slips away under the dark murky waters of life. Just as illustrated in this account of one of the student prophets. He was especially distraught over losing the axe head at the bottom of the Jordan River because it wasn’t his, he had borrowed it!! Our dreams and promises belong to God; He is the originator of everything we have. It’s His plan!! It is His gift! “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (Jms1:17). God commissions us in His work as His vessels and light to the world. He has called us according to His purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began (2Tm 1:9). At times along the way, we may lose our focus and confidence in God, realizing that our dreams and aspirations have died.  The man in this story (also a learner) cried out and sought the help of Elisha, the prophet of God. Almighty God is the only one who can revive sunken dreams and resurrects dead promises! He is the Restorer and Giver of Life! He is the great “I AM THAT I AM” (Ex 3:14). This covenant name manifests the eternal availability of God’s love and power. When we call on His name, He comes to give us what we need.

What an exciting day it must have been! After the student prophet lost his borrowed axe head in the Jordan River, he did not attempt to find it himself, instead he cries out for Elisha expressing the grief of his predicament. Elisha asked him in calm, reassuring voice…. “Where did it fall?” The man tells Elisha the exact place it had sunk in the muddy Jordan. The next thing we know Elisha is cutting off a stick and throwing it in the river where the axe-head sat on the bottom of the Jordan. Very peculiar behavior! But what happens next is why I am so excited about this account in scripture! Once the stick touched the water, the iron axe-head resurfaced, symbolizing new life, new future and new possibilities! Also, the retrieval of the axe head relieved the man from the anxiety of shame and disappointment of having lost what was borrowed. It was a miracle! Halleluiah, Praise you Jesus! It rose off the rivers’ bottom and swam to the surface.

Elisha tells the man, “pick it up” and that’s exactly what he did. I believe God wants us to pick up our hope! To take hold of our promise! It does not matter where you lost it…maybe you lost hope because of addiction, accident, illness, failed marriage, bankruptcy, prison or other hardships…go to God and tell Him you want to “pick up” your lost dream or promise!! When we are symbolically dead, lying on the bottom of the Jordan River with waters encompassing us; the Supernatural Resurrection power of the Holy Spirit will revive us.

“But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Rm 8:11).

Jesus Christ, our example, died on a wooden Cross and rose again 3 days later! Even though for a time you may sorrow, YOU WILL REJOICE! No one or no circumstance can take joy out of your heart…..the person of Christ who lives within you and He is not sad. He has finished the work and is entered into His rest and we can too. Jesus wants to bring us into the glory He has right now, not only when we die and go heaven. “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you” (Jn 14:20).

That “day” is now! Just as sure as Jesus was resurrected from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of God in the Throne Room, so are we because we are in Christ! We are seated in heavenly places, in the throne room! “To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” Col 1:27.

Do you believe it? Reach out now and pick up your promise!!

Scott in Death Valley 2000

Many times I have thought that the path I am on is not easy but if it is God’s pathway I must trust Him. What is God’s way? The children of Israel were told  “remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not” (Deut 8:2). God’s way for them was through the wilderness (a place of desolation or wasting). Before the children of Israel could enter into the Promised Land, God would lead them into the wilderness to humble and test them revealing their hearts of unbelief. God’s way for them exposed their human frailty and weakness and revealed their need and dependence on God. If they were never tested then their hearts would be full of pride and self sufficiency saying to themselves ‘we have entered the Promised Land by our own strength and effort’.

“Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my portion’, says my soul, ‘Therefore I hope in Him!’ The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” (Lam 3:22-26)

 Moses knew God’s way through the wilderness; (Ps 103:7) it was a narrow path that required total dependence on God. All flesh (human effort, pride) would be consumed there (Deut 2:14). “He brought them out, after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years”(Acts 7:36).

 Jesus knew the path into and out of the wilderness where he would be tempted by the devil (Matt 4:1). The devil tested him in the wilderness by accusing and lying to him. Jesus was led there by the Spirit for a greater purpose than just survival. He overcame the devil’s temptation by depending and believing the Word of God.  It was the path of victory on the way to the Cross. God allowed Jesus’ suffering so that others could be saved. Jesus was crucified for our eternal salvation (deliverance).

God sometimes will allow suffering on our life’s path so others can be helped. We may never know why but we can ask God to teach us in our spirits what our eyes cannot see. Our adversary, the devil, is also on our path encircling us and wearing us down with taunting thoughts and words of despair. He tempts us to doubt our way and our God. If we listen to his subtleties and lies we will quit before we see our victory. He will suggest “the Lord sent me to afflict you” or “God is teaching you a lesson” or “your life is too messed up for God to change you”. The accuser of the brethern wants us to believe there is no relief in our affliction because our circumstance have not changed. In fact, by sight things have gotten worse! But this is a LIE, if God has led you into a wilderness of affliction; He won’t abandon you there. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous; But the LORD delivers him out of them all” (Ps 34:19).  God wants us, first of all, to go to Him and “obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16b). Then, we are to take the comfort and strength that He gives us and share it with others who are despairing  in their souls. By this declaration, God is glorified on the earth.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor 1:3-5 NKJV).

We may think of strength in practical terms as in physical stature and ability or mental confidence through knowledge and practice but this is a natural view and is not what truly sustains us. It is the power of Christ’s Spirit that gives us inner strength; a fortitude that keeps us pressing forward in hope. When we are weak then He is strong. “For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God for we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.” (2 Cor 13:4). We are constantly faced with our inabilities, knowing that we lack and do not have the resources we need to be able to overcome in the battle(s) we face in life. We need strength to believe, strength to get up when we get knocked down, strength to persevere, strength to withstand the enemy. Basically, we need the power of God who is the source of all strength (1 Chron 29:12; Ps 68:35). STRENGTH we find is a title given to Yahweh “And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent” (1 Sam 15:29). I love the biblical stories of men and women who overcame great adversity through the empowerment of God. Despite years of silence where there may have been no manifestation of their personal promise. Our biblical heroes may have been discredited, ridiculed and scoffed at but we see God through His providence using the weak things of this world to confound the wise. One such story is that of Zerubbabel.

 Zerubbabel was the first governor of the repatriated Jews (Hag 2:21); a descendant of King David and an ancestor of Jesus Christ (Mt 1:12).  In 586BC, Jerusalem was conquered by Babylon and the original temple that Solomon had built 400 years prior was destroyed. They took captive and exiled the Jews, including Zerubbabel, forcing them on a 1000 mile march to Babylon. I can imagine these people being worn down with malnutrition, sickness, wounds from battle and dying along the way. After arriving in Babylon many began assimilating into the Babylonian culture of comfort and ease. Fifty years later, King Cyrus of the Persia conquered Babylon. He was stirred up in his spirit by the Lord to make a proclamation that any person from Judah held in captivity could return to Jerusalem to help rebuild Solomon’s temple. Zerubbabel, with King Cyrus’ blessing led a remnant group of Jews that were moved with compassion in their spirits to return back to Jerusalem to help rebuild the temple (Ez 1:1-8).

 As they approached Jerusalem, the people of the land may have said, “Who are these pathetic looking people coming out of the wilderness”? After finding out these people were the remnant Jews that were returning from Babylon to rebuild the temple; this might have given them reason to scoff, laugh at, and despise their intentions. After arriving to a hostile crowd they began the work of rebuilding the altar and foundation to the temple.

 No sooner had the altar and the foundation stones of the new temple been laid then spiteful opposition arose to stop the work. “Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia” (Ez 4:4-5).

 For approximately the next 16 years Zerubbabel had to overcome discouragement, doubt, fear, and accusations with the thought that he may never see the temple rebuilt in his lifetime. By sight only the altar and foundation stones for the temple had been laid. Any attempt to continue the work of building the temple itself would have been quickly shut down. Where was Zerubbabel going to find the strength he needed to accomplish such great endeavor?

 Around this time Zechariah the prophet received a vision from God that he was instructed to tell Zerubbabel (Zech 4:1-10). The temple would be rebuilt by the perfect work of the Holy Spirit that flowed through the weakness of Zerubbabel!! “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts” (vs.6). God’s Spirit would equip Zerubbabel with supernatural strength and provision to finish the work of rebuilding the temple.

 The second temple would be built within the next 4 years (516BC), after King Darius reaffirmed the original Decree by King Cyrus. The mountain of obstacles that previously hindered the temple from being rebuilt would be leveled as a plain before Zerubbabel, “Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!” (Zech 4:7) Zerubbabels own hands would finish the work he had started some 20 years earlier (Zech 4:9-10). Most likely not what Zerubbabel had expected when he first set his hand to the work but it was God’s plan. “Then the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the descendants of the captivity, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy” (Ezra 6:16).  

 God also has a unique work for you and me to do while we are here on the earth. Don’t be discouraged if you do not see progress in the work. Over time God will make it plain, “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began” (2 Tim 1:9). We have been set apart for a divine purpose. God has something he wants to do through our lives. Invite God to be conformed to His Son in your soul.  “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Cor 3:18).  In trials, temptations, adversity and wilderness times or success, notoriety or blessings that God adds; we must agree with Paul to be content whether we are abased or abound and trust that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Phi 4:11-13).  “For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment” (Lu 1:37). As my good friend Natalie Nichols has said, “Our job is to rest, knowing nothing is impossible and GOD IS FAITHFUL! His job is to determine when and how he fulfills.”

Arise from the depression that has caused you to bow to circumstance and has kept you from shining your light!! “For the glory of the LORD has risen upon you” (Is 60:1)!

 Jesus said; “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Mt 5:14-16).  Praise the Lord!

 We are not to hide the light of Christ within us with fear and shame; allowing the devil to paralyze us because of past sin, insecurity or unworthiness that hinders us to take a step of faith into the unknown. Do not lose heart fellow believer; Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:2 NIV)! For those that love Him, He will redeem the things that are seemingly against them, so that they are all for their sakes that the life of Christ may be glorified. Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame for the joy that was set before Him. What seemed like defeat was actually the greatest victory ever won! Yes, the Lord had JOY set before Him. JOY that overcame shame, humiliation, pain and suffering! JOY; that the eternal purpose was being fulfilled. Jesus paid the price for our redemption so that sin would not stand in the way of our reconciliation to the Father. He is the light of the world, those that follow Him shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life (John 8:12). Through the same joy in purpose He took away the keys of death and hell from Satan so we would no longer have to fear death. He has conquered the Grave! Praise you Jesus! I am restored to the JOY of my salvation, upheld by His generous Spirit (Ps 51:12)! Yes Lord, your Joy is my strength (Neh 8:10)! Praise you my King!

Many people drift away from Christ when they become weary of life’s struggles, overcome in the battle of life. They are just plain tired of all the trouble; financial, emotional, physical or marital stresses. Pressures are all around, concerns for things out of our control.  These burdens we cannot carry, they are too heavy for us. People are worn out and inwardly know that they don’t have all the answers within themselves for a lifetime of trials. Many just want to give up or sublimate in temporal fulfillment. The more they pray, the more trouble they see, with no end in sight. The great unanswered question “what is the purpose?”

Paul said, “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear” (Phil 1:12-14).

Paul wrote this from a Roman jail, while being chained between two guards. He was chained to a circumstance beyond his control. He could have lost sight of his future because everything had changed for him. Paul’s tomorrows were taken away. He had two options; he could ask “why me? I do not deserve this” and begin to complain and murmur which would lead him into bitterness and a hardening of his heart or he could think with God and consider how he should react to the circumstance that had now come into his life. He could decide that he would let it count for Christ by letting it preach to others in the way he reacts. He chose to be a testimony and ministry for others. His afflictions had become a cause for his rejoicing. He did not say he was happy he was in prison. I’m sure he cried out for God to deliver him; praying for God to give him the grace to get through each day. Paul did not need people to pity him saying; “Poor Paul, he was dealt a bad hand in life” Paul did not just resign and give up by only saying “this is Gods will for me”. But rather he said, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” Phil 4:4. He was able to see that God was turning his sufferings around and working something good for others, so he could joyfully say that his sufferings were for the Philippians and other Christians.(1) What is your reaction when affliction comes your way? Does your life preach Christ?

I have some dear friends from South Africa and Texas who having been faced with terrible tragedy and suffering. They have chosen to allow Christ to be preached in the midst of their trial. As a result, thousands and thousands of lives have been saved and touched for the kingdom of God!

Retha McPherson of RethaMcPhersonMinistries.com recounts from her book; A MESSAGE FROM GOD:

“The entire McPherson family was involved in a terrible motor car accident. Retha, her husband Tinus and her youngest son Josh walked away with little or no injuries, but her eldest son Aldo felt the full brunt of the impact. He was thrown from the vehicle and found unconscious on the other side of the highway…Aldo was on life support for a long time after the accident, and during that time Retha was lifted into a new level of walking by faith and not by sight. Although Aldo sustained severe brain injuries as a result of the accident, Retha testifies: “God is good! He has awakened my Sprit to Him and I have come to know Him as a holy God who wants my life, not only my heart.” After a few weeks in a coma, Aldo finally woke up. While he was in a coma, he had a supernatural experience where he went to heaven, saw God, the angels, Moses and Abraham. Aldo came back with one message: “Jesus is alive!” Due to the seriousness of his injuries to his head Aldo was not able to speak for a long time and related his miraculous journey by writing letters lead by the Holy Spirit – which he is still doing today”.

Natalie Nichols shares from her website ShadesofGraceMinistries.com.

“In 1991, at 20 years old, Natalie was a senior honor student at Baylor University, a talented musician, and a gifted motivational speaker. In a matter of weeks, an undiagnosed illness suddenly progressed, taking her on a downward spiral. Finally in 1996, a correct diagnosis was made – late-stage Lyme disease. By this time there was little left that resembled the teenager who had begun the journey. What began with a flu, fatigue, stiffness, and pain had progressed until she was confined for over seven years in a wheelchair, a bed, and then within her mind, as the infectious disease caused severe cognitive destruction. It was only God’s grace that carried Natalie through this ultimate test of her faith. His Word literally became her sustenance from day to day. As with Job, the Lord brought her through her trial with His love and grace”

Natalie, Retha and Aldo are precious examples to me of people who, because of pure joy in serving their King, took up their cross, despised their shame and allowed Christ to be preached to others. One day soon we will all have to stand before Christ and give an account for our lives. Our eyes will be open, we will see His glory, we will see all the Angels that encamped around us. The Holy Spirit will reveal to us how He was always there in comfort and power; we will see our Father; the Great “I AM” in all His glory and majesty!! We don’t want to miss this because we allowed the devil to blind our eyes and ruin our testimony by his deception! NO! NO! Instead, we want the light of God’s countenance to rest on us in our lifetime having all joy and peace in believing, abounding in hope for the coming day. We will stand in heaven REJOICING!!! Knowing that we did not waste our sorrows in vain, but our affliction became the message of Christ’s faithfulness (Rm 14:10-12, 2Cor 5:10).

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(1)Thoughts from “Trusting God for all your Tomorrows” David Wilkerson 2006

What do we make of someone who has been given a dream or promise by God but experiences no evidence of that promise? When in the midst of trial or affliction with no end in sight, we can still have a testimony of God’s love and faithfulness although we may be mocked by the god of this world.

I wonder what Abraham was thinking when God told him at the age of 75 he would have the promised son and 25 years later Isaac was born. I wonder what Joseph thought 13 years after his dream while he sat in an Egyptian prison? Or Paul when he was stoned and left for dead at Lystra? How about the woman who had the issue of blood for 12 years or the paralytic man at the pool of Bethesda, who for 38 years waited for his chance to have a changed life. We meet many throughout the Bible who had earnest needs and were looking for deliverance and fulfilled promises to them, even in their lifetime.

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13

These individuals hoped in the miraculous with an expectation of the faithfulness and mercy of God, despite the long periods of silence. I am sure that at times they grew weary or exhausted, losing heart and fainting in their minds. Even in the despondency of the psalmist of Psalm 88 knows to petition and cry out to the Lord although the psalm itself does not reveal his deliverance.

“My eye wastes away because of affliction. LORD, I have called daily upon You; I have stretched out my hands to You. Will you work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise you?  Selah. Shall your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or your faithfulness in the place of destruction? Shall your wonders be known in the dark? And your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? But to You I have cried out, O LORD, and in the morning my prayer comes before You.” Psalm 88:9-13

Despite despondency in my own life, my spirit has been encouraged considering Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us”.  This cloud of witnesses is a metaphor referring a great amphitheatre with tiers upon tiers of seats rising up like a cloud surrounding an arena full of runners that are in a race.[1] In heaven, these witnesses are in the bandstands cheering us on as in the spectators of an athletic competition. We as the contenders of life make every effort to overcome present discouragement while making strides to run the course set before us. The witnesses refer directly to those just spoken of in Hebrews 11 having gone before us testifying  from their own experience to God’s fulfilling His promises. Great men and women of faith like Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. Multitudes of believers throughout the ages have followed their example. Our relatives and loved ones are among them; moms, dads, grandparents, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters and untold number of friends and acquaintances who have finished their race trusting God and are now filling  the heavenly amphitheatre seats cheering us on.

Hebrews 12:1b continues to exhort us to lay aside every weight and sin that so easily ensnares (or clings to us) to slow us down in our race. What we need is endurance; to finish what we have begun in Jesus Christ – a race that is set before us. Our race is before us and we must run it!  In Acts 20:24, Paul pictures himself as a runner who had a race to finish and nothing would keep him from finishing his race with joy. In that passage, Paul speaks of my race – he had his race to run, we have our own – but God calls us to finish it with joy; and that only happens when we look unto Jesus. The NAS Bible version translates this: fixing our eyes on Jesus. We run this race of faith as we look to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. He is our focus, our inspiration, our example and our prize.

Take encouragement, do not lose heart. Your race is not hidden from the Lord. Isaiah declares in Is 40:28-31:

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.  Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

Where is my God, when by sight the things I hoped and believed for by faith seems to have been taken away? The accuser of the brethren whispers to me “God never said you would be healed! God really said you will have a spiritual healing in heaven. You want to go there anyway, so you might as well go now!!” These thoughts are what the enemy of my soul keeps whispering in my ear as I tried to reconcile with the Word of God what has happened to me in the last few months; indeed the last several years! His subtle temptation is to not believe that I heard correctly; to distort the message of God’s personal promise spoken to me for healing. Truth is, God has not changed, and I can believe His promise. Eve heard similar lying words of the devil in the Garden of Eden. “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” Genesis 3:1-5. What Eve heard God say to her was now being challenged. Satan wanted her to believe that God was withholding or taking away something that would make her feel more fulfilled or happy. Eve started feeling insecure about God and his words and replaced Gods words with a different interpretation.

 Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 6:4-10 that in everything we are going through we can rejoice as ministers of God. Jesus tells his disciples the night before His crucifixion in John 16:33 that in the world they will have trials and tribulations but not to worry and to be of good cheer because He has overcome the world. Revelation 12:11 tells us how we overcome the real enemy, Satan, who tries to steal our testimony by destroying our hope and faith.  “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death”. We can rejoice in our tribulations because the Blood of the Lamb of God was shed for our redemption.  We can access His supernatural enabling and equipping power in our trials. Praising the Lord in the face of adversity relates to our trusting in the Lord. A secret place of victory God wants us to find during times of anguish and suffering. This is the place God led me to when I was full of discouragement. Have you ever been in that place? The spot where you know God is your only hope?!

Ps 91:1-4a reads “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.’ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge”

The words in this Psalm came alive for me and renewed my hope from the enemy of pestilence, a colonizing bacterial infection that has been plaguing me in my weakened condition. I found encouragement in this Psalm. God had comfort and protection already prepared; a secret hiding place for me, under His shadow of His wings where I take refuge and find faith rest.

“…knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise” Heb 10:34a-36

 How many times in our lives will we have a major life changing decision confronting us? I expect many. Who do we turn to help guide us through these difficult waters? Our family, advice from a friend, Pastors, medical authorities or other professionals, they all help us in making up our minds based on the information we’ve gathered. Perhaps our ‘circumstances dictate’ our course. Although these may be typical and some admirable sources for helping us make decisions; how many of us will pray and wait on God for His guidance? Where does His guidance through His Word speaking to our hearts fit in amongst our criterion for decision making? Sometimes, it may seem that we need to take action and “do something”, react, be spontaneous, (ie: be “on the ball”, have your “finger on the pulse”.” We all have a strong, natural inclination to take things into our own hands. How many times have we done this only to later reconsider that our decision was made in haste? We don’t foresee how the impact of one decision will beget more difficult decisions and consequences. God will weigh in His counsel if we will hear His still, small voice. His ways are not our ways and many times He leads us in directions that have nothing to do with our rational or sensible logic for making choices. We need to set our hearts to wait on God; to esteem His life with our own, bearing in mind that many other people are affected by our lives. By honoring God as best as we can, we can be individuals cooperating with God’s will being done.  

 ^“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace“.                                                                          Romans 8:5-6

In the advice of our elders and those who have walked closely with God, we recognize temperance and wisdom. By their life’s experience they have grown in understanding. We do well to regard their testimony. A mature person demonstrates good judgment; they have insight and are our examples. We also, are maturing in our relationship with God; growing in understanding and resting in His love. We can trust Him, He cares for us, the Holy Spirit sought us out when we were walking contrary to God, how much more can He work in our lives when our ears are inclined? God desires an intimate relationship with us, He calls us His friends (Jn 15;13-14). How it pleases the Father to have a two way conversation with us.

In Luke 8:43-48 there was a woman that had an issue of blood (or an incurable disease) for 12 years. Year after year for those 12 years she sought God for healing but her condition only worsened. She searched out the aid of physicians; these physicians could not heal her and only left her broke and still desperate. Can you imagine the heartache and the pain she must have suffered after every unsuccessful remedy? Yet she persevered not to lose hope or give up under these overwhelming feelings of despair. Why? Because she knew God would be gracious to heal her, she went to great lengths to pursue the Master. This desperate woman would have had to have great faith to go out in public being “unclean” according to Jewish law. Crawling on her hands and knees and pushing her way through the crowd she found Jesus and touched the hem of his garment. Imagine the burning desire within her to seek the Lord for healing despite 12 years of worsening health.

When Jesus came to her town on that certain day, she drew healing virtue from Him. He realized it immediately and sought after who it was. He commended the woman by stating that her faith had made her whole. This woman had made a decision to believe God by faith and acted on it by stepping into the crowded streets to find Jesus. Through the 12 year trial, her prayers of healing had not manifested but there was a “certain” day (Lk 8:22) when her world changed. She did not give up and get bitter because of delay in her prayer. No, this would be the day God would answer her request of healing, immediately making her whole.

I find it notable that Jesus never admonished her for seeking healing from physicians. His only comment was “Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace (Lk 8:48). Could it be possible that for all those years she waited on God, the failed medical intervention during that time only strengthen her faith to believe God for a miracle? The physicians could not help her but her loving Father could.

Be assured my friend, God is not delaying answering your prayers although they may have been hindered for some unforeseen reason. He knows the right time to make the blessing especially precious for you and to bring glory to His name. Be encouraged! I’ve been thinking about this woman and how she continued to believe God, she is an inspiration to me of persevering faith, she was bold to receive her healing by acting on what she believed.

God desires that we know Him so intimately that we can trust Him for our every need. When we put our confidence in Him we will have the patience we need to wait on Him for an answer, as we have read in the account of the woman with an issue of blood. Oftentimes, we lack patience making snap decisions that we regret later. When we take the time to yield ourselves by waiting on God, He will reveal Himself to us in glorious ways.

One of the difficult lessons in God’s Word for me to fully capture is the state of abiding.

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” Jn 15:4
What does the word abide mean? menō A primary verb; to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy): – abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry.

The scripture tells us to abide or stay in Christ, or remain in a given place of safety where God will produce the most fruit in our lives.

In Acts 27:10, Paul was being transported by ship along with 276 other men and prisoners from Caesarea, Israel to Rome, Italy. Paul was to appear before Caesar to defend himself from his Jewish accusers. While in route to Rome the ship landed in a city off the Island of Crete called Fair Havens or Good Harbor. Paul encouraged the ship captain to stay (or abide) there because it was winter and sailing into the rough Mediterranean waters that time of year would jeopardize everyone’s life.  Paul’s words were not heeded and the captain ordered the ship to depart from Good Harbor. Paul had no choice but to trust God for the outcome. Once the ship was well on its way, there  arose a “tempestuous” winter storm. Although Paul was given a promise from the Lord in Acts 23:11 that he would speak in Rome, the storm  caused fear and robbed him of his hope. Paul had done all that he could do to stay in a place of safety (Fair Havens) but was thrust into a storm that he didn’t choose.

Sometimes, we also are thrust into storms that we dont choose. We may be fearful or lose hope because there appears to be no escape. God is ever faithful to His promises; in His Word and also to the promises He imparts to us individually. He inspires purpose and vision for our lives.  Storms may shake us to our core but God is still working within the storm to fulfill our destiny as the Lord has purposed beforehand. As with the Apostle Paul, God wasn’t finished producing fruit through his life and was going to save him from perishing in the sea. God sent an Angel to comfort and assure Paul that no one would perish and that Paul would appear before Caesar.

We as believers are much like Paul, we may desire to abide in Christ and stay in a place of safety like Good Harbor but because of circumstances beyond our control we are thrust into a storm. Many kinds of problems cause us to realize that our mind or body are both incapable of overcoming a situation that grips us with fear. Paul had a fear of perishing before he reached Rome even though he had a promise from God. Later in his life he would write,

“I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Phil 4:12.13

Paul was testifying that in every circumstance of life he faced; whether he suffered need or had fullness, it was Christ who strengthened him. It didn’t matter to Paul what his body had to go through because his only goal was learning about Christ.

While in the midst of a storm, Paul was in the process of learning how to abide in Christ. He was about to face unknown peril of the Sea and there was a good possibility he would die before reaching the promise of appearing before Caesar in Rome. We often think Paul was a super saint with no weaknesses, but real fear struck him. God sent an Angel with a promise so he would not fear and know that no one would perish in the storm, the Angel also confirmed his destination to arrive in Rome before Caesar. Once Paul heard from the Lord, his hope began to soar and his faith was strengthened. He told the men with him on the ship, that no one would perish because an Angel had spoke to him that night. Paul warned them that unless they stayed with the ship they would perish in the storm. God may use storms, circumstances or problems in your life to bring to pass His greater purposes, but be of good cheer for God is ever faithful to His promises. If God still has work for you to do here then wait on the Lord, abide in His rest, fully confident that “He that began a good work in you will accomplish it.” (Phil 1:6)  As you seek Him you will find Him. He will answer.