The title of today’s episode: GOD OF THE BREAKTHROUGH
He is the God of the breakthrough. When things seem like they are going wrong we realize we need a breakthrough. We need God’s anointing to break whatever is holding us. It takes God’s anointing to break our chains that hold us bound. Worship will bring the flow of anointing.
Isaiah 10:27 And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.
One definition of “Break Through” is to succeed in forcing your way through something. I think about breaking down a wall. We often do not want to worship when needing a breakthrough. When we worship, we make a deeper connection to God. Worship helps to get us in a position of breakthrough, because our focus shifts when we worship. It goes from us and our problems to just how big, wonderful, helpful, loving and amazing our God. His intervention on our behalf brings about the transformation of events. We achieve victory in the moment that we feel like we cannot hold on one more second.
Many examples in the word of God show the moments of breakthrough. The Red Sea parting. The falling of the walls of Jericho. When God shut the mouths of the lions for Daniel. The thud when the stone from David’s sling hit Goliath in the one spot he didn’t have armor.
All it takes for a breakthrough is circumstances to look like there is no way things could possible work out for our good. Then God says stand still and watch what I will do.
Luke 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
We have to hold on to this verse. When things look like they are not going to work out and we are down for the count. God will raise us up and put us back onto our feet. Once we are back on our feet we have the ability to walk out our faith. We have the ability to encourage others.
It is almost impossible to keep our minds on God all the time. Many things are in our lives to distract. I don’t even mean the enemy. But the responsibilities of this life. He will help us to focus on the things that matter if we look to him for all the answers concerning our lives.
Our first real breakthrough is when we are born again or brought from death to life.
We will always get breakthrough when our challenging circumstances meets God’s intervention. How do we know we are on the verge of getting our breakthrough. The enemy will throw everything he can at once at us to get us to give up or speak negativity out of our mouths. He wants us to say that we cannot go on. We will never make it. There will be numerous obstacles and an overwhelming feeling of being stuck.
The enemy will send toxic people to encourage us to give up. Saying things like maybe it’s not God’s will. They will spew negativity and if we are not careful, we will find ourselves agreeing with them. But God says, We are his children and he will take care of us, no matter what the need may be.
God will send us real encouragement, if we pay attention. Maybe it’s a song, a verse of scripture, or someone to speak life into our situations. He will not let us down or leave us all alone to fight for ourselves. Even when we go through times, we do not feel his presence. He is not far from us, as long as we have not allowed sin to creep in and separate us from him.
Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
Be encouraged, when life seems like it will never change, you are on the edge of your breakthrough.
Below is the link to the video for the Thursday blog, “Facing the Fire.” I had computer and internet issues all weekend. Hopefully, I will be able to get back on track. Have a great day!
Don’t waste the trials. Just as a blacksmith tempers a blade with fire, so are we tempered with fiery trials. It is in the fire that our edge can become ready to be sharpened. Until it has an edge put on it the blade is useless.
Further using the analogy of the blade, imagine you are the metal that is being pounded, stuck in a fire, stretched, dunked in cold water, then pounded again. If the metal was able to think, it may wonder why this is happening to it. Just as we often wonder. We question what we have done for things to cause us such distress. Is God disappointed in us? Many times, it is not because we have failed, but because we have set our minds on doing God’s will. The things we are dealing with we realize is an attack of the enemy and not a trial at all. Having a good prayer life will help us to discern the difference.
Trials remind us to depend on God. They drive us to our knees in prayer for a good outcome. When we are able to give our situations to God, he will give us amazing peace in the middle of the worst storms of life. In our trials our weaknesses become strengths.
Nothing can touch us without it going through God’s hand, so even when things are tough it is for our good. It is to teach us a lesson that will grow us into the best version of ourselves we can be. In becoming the best, we will be the warriors God needs us to be to gather the harvest.
There are trials that shatter us into a million pieces. We don’t even think God can find all of the pieces to put our lives back together, but he knows everything we feel, hope, dream. He knows how we hurt and how the enemy lies to us. He is the only one able to put us together. He will bind our wounds and heal our brokenness.
Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Our suffering cannot compare to the spiritual gain that will be built up in us. The things of this life will someday pass. Of one thing we can be sure. Trouble comes to everyone. Just like thunderstorms come and go. But when the storm is over, the sky looks even brighter than it did before the storm. We just have to lean on God and ride out the storms of life, leaning on him. He will not allow us to be overtaken but will at some point whisper peace be still to our storms.
James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
I can honestly say that I have never rejoice and counted it joy when trials come, none of us want to suffer. Jesus didn’t want to suffer, he asked for the cup to pass from him. But he surrendered to the will of God and went to the cross. He will never allow more in our lives than we can handle.
Sometimes trials and suffering come to grow us. Other times we suffer because of bad choices and disobedience. The only good to come from this type of suffering is to learn not to be disobedient children.
Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
We as children of God can never allow the enemy to make us feel alone. We cannot allow him to put heaviness on us that we isolate from other believers. We need our brothers and sisters to pray with us and encourage us when we are fighting our way through trials of life.
Taking life one day at a time is the only way to walk through a trial. Allowing God to work in us will give us strength to see us through whatever storm we are facing. Sometimes, we need to reach out and help others through their situations. In lifting up another, we elevate ourselves out of our trials.
Through it all, we can trust that God is with us, he will never leave us. He will see us through whatever comes our way.
Our enemy will try to offer us shiny sin. He will paint it with glitz and glitter to distract us and cause us to make a bad choice. If he can distract us with sin and we freely choose to follow the enemy, then he has us trapped.
But if we choose to follow Jesus, and are resisting the enemy’s temptations, then he will try to distract us in other ways. He will cause people that follow him to give us a hard time. He will throw things at us to distract us from what we need to be doing.
Prov 4:23-27 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. 24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. 25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. 26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. 27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
With every new level of growth we obtain, we will be stronger. It takes new battles to continue to strengthen us. The enemy will try even bigger distractions. He will use our hope and dreams and try to give us what we really desire, but it is a trap. We need to wait on God to give us what we desire.
Psalm 37:4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
If we are doing our best to delight ourselves in the Lord. We will desire to please him and delight in his ways. If we do his will, he will give us what we desire. We cannot take shortcuts offered by the enemy or we will be in a mess.
His traps often look to be exactly like the opportunity we have been waiting for, for a long time. Having discernment about God’s plans will keep us from falling into the trap.
Heb. 12:1-2 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
We have to set aside every weight and sin that distracts us. The enemy will not win if we keep our focus on Jesus. He has the final say and will give us what we need to stand against the enemy. Not only do we have the whole armor of God. But God himself has promised to be our defense.
Isaiah 54: 17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.
No weapon the enemy creates to use against us will prosper as long as we allow God to lead our lives. He is our strength and our shield.
Psalm 59:1 Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me.
It doesn’t matter what distractions he tries to send our way. It doesn’t matter who he tries to use to cause us to fall into fear, anxiety, worry, sin or any other distraction, we will stand strong as long as we hold tight to our Lord.
Stand strong, my friends; the enemy may be seeking whom he may devour. But hold tight to the faith, and he will not find anyone to distract with his lies or traps.
The title of today’s episode: THE DANGERS OF THE SINNER’S PRAYER
I want to talk to you today about the dangers of the sinner’s prayer. Please listen to the end so that my point can be made clear. I know that many will take offense at my words, but I feel compelled to share them anyway. I do not want to see people lost because they lacked understanding.
I know from personal experience; I had a cousin that said the sinner’s prayer when she was around nine or ten. Then she grew up and refused to listen to anyone about her salvation. She lived a sinful life by even man’s standards. But when the subject came up, she said she was saved. She had said the sinner’s prayer when she was younger and considered herself a Christian. Even though she didn’t have any fruit of being a Christian. She died and I am ninety five percent sure that never changed and she died lost, because there was no conversion. There was no change. Although this is a beginning for some, I think it does more harm than good, on a grand scale.
Acts 3:18-19 But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. 19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.
Because Christ came and died, we have a right to salvation through and by the blood. Verse 18 says that Christ has fulfilled the prophecy given by the mouth of all his prophets. Verse nineteen then says, because Christ has fulfilled the prophecies and the law, we now can be saved. Then verse 19 shows the next step is to repent and be converted. Let us deep dive into what it means to repent and be converted.
Websters Dictionary online says Repent means
1: to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one’s life
2 A : to feel regret or contrition
B : to change one’s mind
Contrition means to be Contrite- feeling or showing sorrow and remorse for improper or objectionable behavior, actions, etc.
In summary repent means to show sorrow and remorse for our actions that break God’s law. It is not enough to say the words, we have to truly feel sorry that we have broken God’s laws. It is not enough to repent, but we need to allow God to work in our lives that we are converted or changed. This is how our sins are blotted out. So that our soul can be refreshed by the infilling the Holy Ghost.
Webster’s says converted means- to bring over from one belief, view, or party to another, to change from one form or function to another, to alter for more effective utilization.
Being converted means that we change from the person we were when living in sin. We will start looking to Christ for our direction. Does it mean we will be perfect doing this, especially at the beginning? No, that is where God’s grace comes into the picture. His grace is not a license to continue like my cousin to walk in our sins.
Many churches have adopted what the mainstream television ministries have created, it is known as the sinners prayer. They will tell them to repeat these words and then say now you are saved. When they most of the time have not even repented, let alone been converted. Then they continue to live their lives believing that they are saved. Because the preacher told them they were saved. This is a huge lie of the enemy. He wants people to be lulled into a false sense of security.
Romans 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Believe in thine heart…. How can I tell if you believed in your heart or if you just have head knowledge. Who am I to tell you, you are saved? This is just simply wrong and sending a lot of people to hell with false security. Because no conversion was ever made.
I often use this for example to prove my point: When I was in elementary school we used to say the pledge of allegiance to the flag. We said the words but didn’t know what they meant, it didn’t create allegiance within me to the flag. It was just words. Just like all the nursery rhymes before we learned to quote.
Saying the sinners prayer is just words. People may be a little happy since others have told them that they are saved, but in many there is no real change. We need to stop creating a false sense of security in people. We need to explain to them that they need to just talk to God and sincerely tell him that they are sorry. They need to understand that it is a journey of repenting daily. A journey of enduring and walking out our faith.
They need guidance that true repentance in a heart thing. (Believe in thine heart) Being converted means that you no longer wish to break God’s laws, and you strive to live a life pleasing to him. You will no longer live a life of sin.
We should never tell anyone they are saved. We don’t know their heart. They need to ask God for the answers to those questions. He will not allow any to be lost that truly love him and want to live for him.
There is coming a move of God in our world that is going to shake things to the foundation. God is sick of religion and division. He will call those who truly love him to higher ground in him. He will not leave any behind that want to follow him. But it is going to take more than repeating a few words after a preacher. It is going to take us being sold out to the cause of Christ. To be so wrapped up in him that people will not be able to tell where we end, and God begins. It means walking in his spirit and not fulfilling the desires of our flesh.
I have wrestled with this for weeks. Trying to find the right words to get my point across. I understand it is hard for people to find words sometimes. But we can encourage them to pray by simply talking to God. Explain that there has to be a change, we have to change what we can and let God change the rest. But we do not say a magical bunch of words and are instantly saved. It has become a religious ritual. Jesus didn’t come to start a religion. He didn’t come to burden us with a bunch of rituals. There were already people bound by religion and religious rituals. He came to set the captive free. Those who were captive in every sense of the word. From those bound by satan to those bound by religion.
Just because you went to the altar at age six doesn’t mean you are saved for the rest of your life, and you can go out to live like the devil until you die of old age. Nothing in a life like that glorifies God. We are here to help others find God. To live a life that he is pleased with, not to be a bad light by telling people we are Christians when living what is obviously a sinful life. Please stop the religious rituals and stop telling people that by saying this magical formula that they are saved. Saying the words only will not change people. Unless those words come from their heart.
I hope my point was made clear and this was not an attack on anyone. I felt compelled to warn people to think about it. God is trying to bring up his church to a higher level. It is time we think about everything we have always done to see if it lines up with the word of God. Nowhere did Jesus send out his disciples and tell them to have someone do a religious ritual of saying certain words to be saved.
We are in end times, evil is strong in our world. The only way we will survive is if we as the body grow together and level up. It is time to be serious about our faith walk and our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Only in being who he fully needs us to be in the earth will the church prevail over evil.
He cannot use a sick body as effectively as he can a whole healed unified body. We are each responsible for our own souls. But we have to make sure we are helping the lost and not empowering them to stay that way.
I want to ask all of you to say a prayer for the victims of these crazy storms that have been in our nation for the past couple of days. Which brings me to my topic, things right now look scary. It is impossible not to feel emotions at the loss of life and everything people have worked their whole lives to build. But we cannot let the enemy cause us to fall into fear. Fear is the opposite of faith.
I want to talk to you about fear and those who try to cause it. In this world there are a group of people that have sold out to satan. They do anything and every evil thing for their fake god. Just as there are those who are preaching the truth of God’s word there are those who are purposely twisting it to cause people to fall into fear and even into sin.
There is a woman on social media that is telling everyone that we need to shut ourselves into our houses and block our windows so that no light can escape. If we do not do this then evil beings will come and destroy us. When I heard this I knew it was not from God. God did shut the children of Israel in for a night while the death angel passed, that is true. But it wasn’t to cause them fear. And nothing harmed them because the blood was over their door.
When we become children of God, his blood is on the door post of our heart. He has taken on the task of being our protector. All through the word of God before judgment was sent, God’s people were safe. Noah and his family were locked in the ark before the floods came. Lot and his family God sent them out of Sodom and Gomorra before the fire started falling.
It comes down to trust, how much do we trust God. If we cannot trust him to take care of us in this life, then why worry about the life to come. We have to trust and not fear. We cannot give into the lies of the enemy. The God of the mountain that saved Israel from Egypt lives inside of us.
Get alone with him, spend time in his word. Thank him for his protection, for peace in the middle of chaos, safety when the world is out of control. But do not fall into fear or allow someone on the internet to spread propaganda and lies to cause fear. Fear is not faith. It is ok to not know the details of what tomorrow, because we know who holds our tomorrows in the palm of him hand. He did not create us to cower in fear. He created us to stand strong and be warriors.
2 Tim 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
We have to stay strong in the middle of our transition. God is getting ready to abundantly bless his people. We have no reason to fear.
Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
He has promised us strength, help and that he will uphold us not allowing us to fall. We just have to trust and walk by faith. We cannot go by our natural eyes and the things the enemy wants us to see.
Ps 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
I will not fear evil, because God is with me. His staff to guide me and keep me in the right path, his rod to protect us from the dangerous wolves of this life. The enemy will not prevail as long as we stick close to our shepherd.
Praise and worship is important at this time. The enemy cannot stand praise. When we sing worship songs to God, it draws us closer to God and his presence. The enemy cannot stick around with all his lies, it causes him to run. So put on the garment of praise and the heaviness of your heart will lift.
I know things feel hard right now. Like if one more feather is added to the pile of things you are carrying will break you. Remember that is when we are in the position for breakthrough.
We will prevail as long as we allow God to lead and guide us and not fall into fear.
Have you ever heard someone say, just hold on you are on the brink of a miracle. Like things could change at any second. I was thinking about the story of Esther and a few others today. Most of the time they waited a long time for their breakthrough. Suddenly, it was the day that God saved his people, the enemy lost, but God’s people won.
Take the children of Israel, for example. One day they were slaves the next they were marching out of Egypt with great wealth and God had healed their bodies. The things the enemy used to hold them, no longer held them back. God used the salvation of Israel to destroy Egypt because of their worship of false gods and the way they had treated God’s people.
Look at Haman in the story of Esther. He was second in command next to the king. He was prideful. That pride became his downfall. He tricked the king into making a decree that the Jews would be killed on a certain day. He thought that he would get rid of Mordecai, because he hated him. Mordecai refused to bow to Haman, it made him angry.
The story goes that Esther approached the king to save her people from being killed. Even though approaching the king without him asking for her could have meant her death. But when she boldly approached him, he asked for her petition. But instead of asking right there she asked him to come to a banquet and bring Haman.
Haman was feeling important at this point. Dinner with the king and queen. No one else had been invited. When the king asked her what she wanted she asked them to return to dinner the next night and she would ask him.
That night, Haman went home feeling pretty good about himself but couldn’t stop obsessing over Mordecai. His wife suggested he build a gallows for Mordecai. That is what he did all night. He built a fifty-five-cubit-high gallows. That is seventy-five feet in the air. He wanted the whole city to see Mordecai on the gallows.
The king couldn’t sleep that night, when he called for records to be read, he discovered that Mordecai had overheard a plot to kill the king. He discovered that Mordecai had not been rewarded for letting someone know about the plot. The king was pondering the next morning about how to reward him.
When Haman arrived at the palace, the king asked him what he should do to honor someone. Haman with all his pride, thought the king meant him. He thought up his best scenario. He said this person should be placed on the kings horse with the kings robe and crown and paraded through the street with someone yelling this is the man whom the king desires to honor. Deep down Haman wanted to be the king.
Wouldn’t you love to have seen the look on Haman’s face when the king told him to go and do that to Mordecai. Evil Haman had to go through the street yelling this is the man that the king desires to honor. I am sure his blood was boiling.
While Haman plotted evil, God planned good things for his people. That night was Esther’s second banquet. When the trap sprung and Haman was exposed for his evil. He hung on his gallows for the whole city to see. God saved his people, through the boldness of Esther.
Haman went from being at the queen’s banquet to losing out completely. Just as quickly things looked bad for the Jews and Esther went boldly before the king and God saved the Jews.
Anytime we face the enemy and things look bad, we are sitting in a good position for things to turn around quickly. We just have to be strong and hold on until God gets things in position to tear down the enemy while he elevates us.
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Hold on my friends when things seem hard. Remember the stories in the word of God. There are many things that seemed hopeless, then God showed up. This is why we walk by faith and not by sight. Things look bad, but God will turn it around quickly. Once everything is in place. The old saying goes, it is always darkest before the dawn. So hold on, your miracle is on the way. God will never forsake his people.
The title of today’s episode: TIME TO ARISE FROM THE ASHES
There are several places in the word of God that speaks about sackcloth and ashes. I decided to look it up and see exactly what it was, it is a black cloth made of goat’s hair. They would put on this hot, itchy material and put wood ashes on them as an outward sign of the mourning inside. It was a sign of repentance and prayer for deliverance.
The people of Ninevah wore sackcloth and ashes as a sign of their repentance. This was normally done while praying and fasting. It was a sign of mourning both for their nation and personal.
Like Job when the lying witnesses told him that all he had was gone. Job sat in sackcloth and ashes. He believed the report of the enemy and it put him into a state of grief. Many things happened to Job, but he stood strong on his belief that God had a reason for everything he had allowed in his life. Even when those around him were miserable comfort.
David sat in sackcloth and ashes when he lost his first-born child. After a period of mourning, these people have to eventually arise and get on with their lives.
2 Sam 12:20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.
Mordecai in the book of Esther sat at the king’s gate in sackcloth and ashes, mourning for the Jewish people that were about to be killed because of a decree of an evil man that had tricked the king.
I started thinking about the story of Esther and how there could be some comparisons to the church of today. In her story is an evil man named Haman. He was determined to destroy a group of people because one man would not bow to him.
Mordecai refused to bow to him. I believe the reason that it bothered him so badly was because deep down he knew he didn’t deserve to be where he was as second in command.
Compare the church of today to Esther. The enemy has put out a plan to destroy us. We as the church have been sitting in the ashes of our mourning. Too long we have been grieving for what is behind. People say all the time, “Church is not like it used to be…” they get nostalgic for the things of the past. But God is getting ready to do a new thing. We have only a short time to gather the harvest. He is getting ready to pour out his Spirit in ways we cannot even imagine.
Esther 5:1 Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house.
We cannot be stuck sitting in our ashes of mourning. It is time we arise like Esther and put on our royal apparel and go before the king and petition for the change we want to see. Evil Haman ended up hanging on his own gallows he had built for Mordecai. It is time satan was put in his place. Although we cannot get him hung on his own gallows, we can pray and break his hold on the church. We have power through and by the blood of Jesus. He has given us power over the enemy. We just need to find some holy boldness.
Isaiah 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
It is time we gave our fears, worried, insecurities, past regrets, ideas about the way things need to be and embraced what God is going to do. It is time we traded all those old garments that we have been wearing for the one God is getting ready to give us. But we cannot praise him if we are in mourning. It is time to arise from our ashes and let God build a glorious church to gather the end time harvest.
No one wants to deal with adversity. We all would like life to be exactly as we want it to be without the storms of adversity. But without the storms we wouldn’t recognize the sunshine.
I was thinking about the winds of adversity. When strong winds blow against a tree there are four different things that can happen to the tree.
It can fall over, pulling the roots out of the ground. This means that the tree grew too fast for the roots to develop and grow deep. Deep roots will allow the tree to stay grounded.
Christians sometimes jump into the church culture. They do all the Christian things, but do not take the time to get grounded in the word. Learning what God’s word says will give us the root system we need to help us to grow and stay grounded when the winds of false doctrines blow through our land. If you are not grounded in God’s word you may fall for anything that sounds good. This is how people end up in cults. They are willing to accept what some so called preacher or prophet tells them, instead of knowing the word for themselves. On a side note, If a person is a true prophet of God, what they say will always, always line up with the Bible.
Sometimes a tree grows too many leaves and branches and becomes top heavy without having a strong trunk. During the storms this type of tree will break into at least two pieces. But if the trunk of the tree has strong roots it will soon send out shoots to produce a new tree. All is not lost as long as the roots are strong and run deep.
Christians who fall into this category may face something that causes them to break. It may shake their faith to their very foundation. It may be so bad that everyone wonders if they will come back from it. Many go through periods of depression and grief. But if their roots are deep, they will rely on their faith foundation to help them to pick up what is left of their lives and try once again to grow toward heaven. Finding new ways to reach for the sky.
Having a strong but flexible trunk will give them the ability to bend when hit with heavy winds, but to remain true to their purpose. As soon as the wind stops blowing, they are standing tall and as strong as ever. I pictured the palm trees during a hurricane. When thinking about a tree being flexible.
Christians that are flexible have been through a few storms. When a tree is young and flexible it will be more pliable. Saplings that face strong winds will develop small cracks in their structure. The tree will repair those places in the tree’s fibers causing it to be stronger. It is through facing the wind that it actually becomes strong. Just as we grow stronger when we are facing the winds of adversity.
A tree might stand strong when the winds blow. This is the tree that has a strong root system. It is not top heavy. And has the right amount of flexibility to withstand the storms.
Christians that are like these trees have grown and are mature. They have had the right environment to grow in and flourish. They have deep roots. They are not top-heavy with a bunch of things they do not need to be dealing with, traditions of men, gossip, and trying to measure up to society’s standards. Worry about things we cannot control. Fear, anxiety. All the things the enemy wants us to carry in our minds so that we cannot deal with what is happening in the moment. It is the enemy’s number one trick to try to distract us with run away thoughts. He always causes us to go to worst case scenario before we know the facts.
Psalm 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
People that have learned to set aside the weights that try to distract us are ones that are growing and are becoming mature Christians. Only mature trees grow fruit. A young tree that doesn’t have to face the wind will never grow a strong trunk. It is in our adversities that we gain a strong core. Helping us to produce fruit.
Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
God allows the storms to make us stronger. Adversity causes us to grow deeper roots. The more we set aside our ideas, wishes and traditions the more room we have for God’s will and word. Making us mature enough to start developing the fruit of the Spirit. Listed in Gal 5.
Psalm 92:13-15 Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; 15 To shew that the Lord is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
Learning to fully trust and rely on God will help us to be that flourishing tree even when the wind blows.
Jer. 17:7-8 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
The next time you face adversity, remember the storms are there to make you stronger or clear a path to your next level of growth. It is in the storms, we realize more than ever that we need our savior. Only in him do we have the strength to face the storm.
In the world we are living in there are many things that are going on that the average person doesn’t know about. The truth is slowly coming out and some of the stories are hard to wrap our minds around. The cruelty done to innocent children is beyond the scope of imagination.
I heard one such story today, it shattered my heart into a million pieces. It grieved my Spirit; it took me several hours to pray my way through it. As a child of God, it would be impossible to not be moved by all of the things going on, but I was reminded that we cannot dwell on the evil. We cannot do anything about it except pray and let God deal with it.
He is the God of justice; he is the God that will punish those who are evil and refuse to repent. His word says Vengeance is mine, I will repay. God is in control; I had to change my focus. I started thinking on God and his amazing grace.
I realized that I had allowed my God focus to become unfocused. I had to pray for an adjustment to my lenses. For God to help me focus on what I could control and let him handle everything in his scope of control. We have to be ever-vigilant to keep our minds focused on Jesus.
Col 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
As we lean into the vastness and glory of our God, it will give us a sense of peace. It helps us to realize even though we are small and in many ways weak, we are still mighty through the power of his Spirit that lives within us.
Phil 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Our God is an awesome God. He has got the entire universe in his hand. Focusing on him will always give us peace. In a world where peace is hard to find outside of God. It may not even exist outside of God. But we can sit in his presence and feel surrounded by a calm tranquility that can only come from him. As he ministers to our souls.
Being in his presence and gaining our focus on him will lighten the heaviness that comes from knowing the evil that exists in the world. Some of it is closer than we ever thought possible.
Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
We are human and it is easy to allow our focus to be swayed to things other than our God. But he is there to remind us as soon as life gets to be overwhelming. He is the same God that delivered a nation from Egypt. He is the same God that delivered the three Hebrew men from the fiery furnace. The one that caused the walls of Jerico to fall, giving his people access to take the city. He is the same God that sent his son to die for our sins. He created each of us with a purpose. But we will never fulfill our purpose until we get our focus on him and allow him to move in our lives.
When you find yourself discouraged or see something that breaks your heart, he is there to pick you up and give you peace. It all comes down to our ability to keep our God focus and allow him to do a work in us.
GOD FOCUS--Psalm 34:3 O magnify the Lord with me.... 