Skip to main content

233. Not Done

 I’m not one for chasing signs and wonders, but I’m also not one to ignore them. Months ago I was done. I wanted nothing to do with ministry. I wanted nothing to do with serving the Lord. I wanted nothing more than to run right back into the world, guns blazing never looking back. In every room I felt the glares and heard the whispers. Sometimes I still do. You’d think it gets easier over time, it’s only gets easier with Jesus. 

I didn’t feel worthy to go to this retreat in Wyoming. I didn’t know why the Lord called me there. I was struggling with my identity now more than ever before, and I spent months at home crying out to the Lord trying to find a reason to cancel. 

God has a funny way of reminding me “I’m not done with you yet”. He said it firmly in 2018 and He reminds me frequently to this day to keep going. That’s how we learn, that’s how we grow. As individuals, as leaders, and as ministers of the gospel, it’s all about never giving up, learning from our mistakes, and never losing faith. 

Friday night I received a word from the Lord that freed me from so much. It confirmed what I knew all along. When the Lord speaks through someone who knows nothing about what you’ve gone through and hits it perfectly…. Oh Jesus! You can’t deny the existence of the Lord. 

Saturday morning during worship the Lord had me release a vision for the leadership at the retreat. I saw a lake glassed over. The water perfectly calm and still. The clouds in the sky were slowly blowing past as the summer winds kicked up. One single rain drop hit that water and caused a ripple that went out. Then another, and another, and another. Then I saw the hand of the Lord sweep across the sky and it began to pour down rain as if the heavens themselves were opened by the hand of God. That is the effect this yearly retreat is having in that area. That is the effect we can all have in advancing the kingdom of God. Every word, every action, a ripple. 

About an hour or so later it went from clear blue skies to raining confirming the word. 

The Lord covers me in His love. He shows me the things that other people are too busy to look for. He reminds me that He’s with me in my mom’s old Correlle pattern 1,614 miles away from home, in a cloud in the sky, or in a cross on the floor that I didn’t notice until I sat, kneeled and cried there for almost 3 days. 

The Lord reminded me this weekend why I do what I do and of my authority in Christ. He reminded me who I belong to and where He is taking me. He reminded me of His restoration, reconciliation, mercy and grace. He reminded me of His sacrifice on the cross and what it really really means to be washed clean. He reminded me of His love. He reminded me why I’m not quite like everyone else and that it’s ok. He reminded me to get up every time I fall. 

He picked me up this past weekend and I pray He picks you up too. Up out of the depression, up out of the hopelessness, up out of the cycles of family dysfunction. Up out of financial bondage, up out of your harmful thought patterns, up out of your fleshly views, worldly beliefs and your need to fit in; and I pray you are seated with Him in heavenly places and that your Spirit overrides your flesh, that the word of God renews your mind with the truth of the Gospel, and that you encounter the Glory of the Lord in Jesus mighty name. 

He is with you, He is for you, and He is NOT done with you yet!

Proverbs 25:2 “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.”

Ezekiel 34:11

“For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.”

Psalms 44:21

“Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.”

Jeremiah 29:13

“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

Ecclesiastes 1:13

“And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.”

Galatians 6:9 - And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Luke 1:37 - For with God nothing shall be impossible.

2 Chronicles 15:7 - Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.

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.

Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

John 8:12 - Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Proverbs 16:7 - When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Proverbs 27:17 - Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

Hebrews 11:6 - But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

258. Is Jesus Enough?

Is Jesus enough for you? What if we never arrive? What if like Moses you wander in the desert for years only to have the Joshua generation be the one to enter the promised land? The land that was originally promised to Abraham 42 generations prior. 42 generations it took to fulfill that promise.  What if you’re generation 37, or 16, or 5 or 41. What if your family is this close to the breakthrough of the promised land that you’ve been praying for, and you give up now? What if you take the bait of the enemy and quit before you reach the finish line? Or worse yet, you give up, erase the efforts of every generation before you, and your kids or grandkids never meet Jesus at all.  This is your reminder…don’t fall for it. Same evil tactics different worldly package. All designed to kill, steal and destroy.  Satan doesn’t have to take your life if he can take your peace, wrap you in groundhog’s days, and have you spread that woe is me, lack of joy under a “Christian” label, like...
Post a Comment
Read more

240. Back together again

  You know, it's hard when you're growing and walking things out in this life. We look at the world and we point out what's wrong, or what needs changed but we don't realize that the change within us is the most important change needed of all.  The Lord took me to a hallway today. The rooms were all white. In the first room I saw myself about 5 years old. I had crayons and paint and I was dancing to music, painting and coloring these beautiful pictures on the walls. I was praising the Lord and singing as loud as I could. In the second room I was a teenager. I was sitting at a desk. I had colored pencils lined up distinctly in a row, sorted by color. I was coloring on a piece of white paper making a neat picture of a hillside. On top of the hill sat a small white church with a view of the sunset. I had head phones on, jamming out the inside while my composure was quiet and still. In the third room I was in my 20's. I was seated at a dining table. I had a canvas and p...
Post a Comment
Read more

120. Don’t get Distracted by the Shiny Things

I was listening to a bethel podcast this morning and I was blessed with a vision of a brick road. I’ll get to that in a bit but first I’ll brief you on the podcast. (link in the comments) The podcast had referenced the difference in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd heavens. It focused on making sure that we understand that we can view and discern all three realms. We are not meant to see only this one dimension. It was an eye opening teaching about making sure you ascend into the third heaven, seated with our Heavenly Father in order to find the right direction needed to conquer the battles in the other realms. That happens in prayer, if you let it. The three realms are this natural world (1st heaven), the spiritual warfare realm where the demonic dwells (2nd heaven), and the Lords kingdom (3rd heaven) where the enemy and all demonic forces have lost all authority have have zero power. I’ll have to learn more on all of that before I can actually elaborate in teaching, but I’ll tell you how this vi...
Post a Comment
Read more