When the Lord Tarries

 

For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. (Habakkuk 2:3)

 

God has a storehouse of blessings that He has reserved for you and me. However, our timing to receive those blessings may not be the same as our Lord's. God has a specific timetable that He requires to accomplish His purposes in the life of the believer. Sometimes that timetable seems excruciatingly cruel and painful, yet it is needful.

When we read that Joseph remained a slave in Egypt and was then placed in prison after being wrongfully accused, it would be easy to second-guess the God of the universe. Oh, how cruel and uncaring, we might think. Joseph thought he was going to be delivered from prison when he interpreted a dream for a court official, but then he was forgotten another two years. Why? An early release would have disrupted God's perfect plan.

God takes time to develop character before anything else. God could not afford to have a prideful 30-year-old managing the resources of an entire region of the world. We can sometimes delay this timetable if we refuse His correction. Although it is sometimes difficult to understand, the Lord is just and gracious in His dealings with His children. When He does decide to move on our behalf, we will appreciate the delay and will often understand the reason it was needed.

 

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him! (Is. 30:18)

If you are awaiting the fulfillment of a vision in your life, ask the Lord for His grace to sustain you. It will be worth the wait.

TODAY GOD IS FIRST by Os Hillman © 2001 - 2007. All rights reserved. Click here for personal prayer and counsel. (Please include this line to forward the message).

Pressure Develops Character

 

A friend of mine used to work on offshore oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico during the summer to make money for college. He tested all the pipe for the pipeline that came in to the rig. Pipes were rated to take a certain amount of pressure, but the drillers never took the manufacturer's word for it. My friend tested each pipe for oil pressure with water pressure to be sure it would not spring a leak under water.

One day he was cranking up the pressure to test a section of pipe when suddenly a stream of water shot out of an unseen crack. When it happened, he told me the Lord spoke to him and said, "The pressure did not create the crack. The pressure revealed it." My friend said that revelation changed his life forever.

In the same way, pressure doesn't create our weaknesses--it exposes them. But that's when God's strength can flow through us. Character is developed through pressure.

In II Corinthians 12:10, the apostle Paul wrote, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Paul wasn't saying that when he was at his weakest, he was his strongest. He simply meant that when he realized his weakness, then God could strengthen him.

We all hate to be put under pressure. We want to run from it. But God sees the tests and trials that we go through in life as valuable. The apostle Peter described the trials of our faith as being "more precious than gold" (see I Peter 1:7). So don't run from pressure. This is how character is developed.

 

My Declaration of Faith for Today
Lord, I depend on Your strength to flow through me at all times.

ORAL ROBERT MINISTRIES sermon by Bob Yandian, Pastor Grace Fellowship © 2007. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

A Broken Spirit

 

"The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit." (Psa. 34:18)

I have heard that there is a monastery in Greece perched high on a cliff, several hundred feet in the air. The only way to reach the monastery is to be suspended in a basket which is pulled to the top by several monks who pull and tug with all their strength. Obviously the ride up the steep cliff in that basket is terrifying.

One tourist got exceedingly nervous about half-way up as he noticed that the rope by which he was suspended was old and frayed. With a trembling voice he asked the monk who was riding with him in the basket how often they changed the rope. The monk thought for a moment and answered serenely: "Whenever it breaks."

We are shocked that someone would wait that long before changing the rope. It only makes sense that the rope ought to be changed long before reaching that point. But it dawned on me that God operates the same way in our lives. If we were to ask God when He will change our lives, His answer might well be, "Whenever you break!"

You see, our lives can only change once we have what the Bible refers to as a "broken spirit". As long as we remain arrogant and determined to do things our way, God can't shape us and mold us.

 

Like a wild stallion, we remain useless until we are "broken".

THOUGHT FOR THE TODAY by Alan Smith © 2007. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

Just Wait

 

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

Jairus was a well-known, powerful, wealthy individual who was the head of the local synagogue. When his 12-year-old daughter, his only child, was in great need, he sought out Jesus to heal her.

We don't know whether Jairus was a believer in Jesus. As the head of the synagogue, he would have been a religious man. He probably had heard about Jesus. Maybe he had already put his faith in Him. The Scripture doesn't say. But Jairus believed that Jesus could save his daughter's life. So he went and found the Lord and begged Him to heal his daughter. He placed his complete trust in Jesus.

But as they were on the way to his house, the news came that his daughter had died. The reason they did not get to his daughter more quickly was because a woman in need of healing came along and touched Jesus, and He stopped and demanded to know who it was that touched Him.

Yet Jairus did not complain. Rather, he committed himself to Jesus, believing that God knew what He was doing. His faith was dramatic, especially because at this particular time in Jesus' ministry, He had not raised anyone from the dead. Granted, He had healed people. But there had been no resurrections.

Jairus had to wait, and we have to wait. A lot of us grow impatient with God, and in our impatience, we can foolishly take things into our own hands and make them far worse. Know this: God's delays are not necessarily His denials. We need to wait on the Lord. God's timing is just as important as His will. He doesn't ask for us to understand. He just asks us to trust.

HARVEST MINISTRIES by Pastor Greg Laurie © 2007. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

WHY GOD uses problem

 

The problems you face will either defeat you or develop you - depending on how you respond to them. Unfortunately, most people fail to see how God wants to use problems for good in their lives. They react foolishly and resent their problems rather than pausing to consider what benefit they might bring. 

Here are five ways God wants to use the problems in your life:

God Uses Problems To DIRECT U
Sometimes God must light a fire under you to get you moving. Problems often point us in a new direction and motivate us to change. Is God trying to get your attention? Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways." 

God Uses Problems To INSPECT U  

People are like tea bags...if you want to know what's inside them, just drop them into hot ever water! Has God tested your faith with a problem What do problems reveal about you? "When you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience."

God Uses Problems To CORRECT U
Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure. It's likely that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove. But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn the value of something... health, money, a relationship by losing it. "It was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws." 

 

God Uses Problems To PROTECT U A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious. Last year a friend was fired for refusing to do something unethical that his boss had asked him to do. His unemployment was a problem - but it saved him from being convicted and sent to prison a year later when management's actions were eventually discovered. "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good...

God Uses Problems To PERFECT U
Problems, when responded to correctly, are character builders. God is far more interested in your character than your comfort. Your relationship to God and your character are the only two things you're going to take with you into eternity. "We can rejoice when we run into problems... they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady."

Here's the point Ad:

God is at WORK in your life - even when you do not recognize it or understand it. But it's much easier and profitable when you cooperate with Him.

"Success can be measured not only in achievements, but in lessons learned, lives touched and moments shared along the way"

Shared by Fichte Penaloza

While You're Waiting

 

God tells His people "I know the plans I have for you… plans to prosper you… plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV). But hope needs a nurturing environment. God didn't give them permission to take that hope, then just sit back and do nothing. No, He told them exactly what He wanted them to do while He was working out some of the details for their future: "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce… Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you… Pray unto the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper" (Jeremiah 29:5-7 NIV). In other words, while you're waiting for God to turn things around, seize the moment. Become as productive as you possibly can. Maximise your potential. A lot of us, while we wait for God to work, think we can do nothing when there's plenty around to do.

God said, "Pray for the prosperity of those around you, because when they prosper you will too." A lot of us don't understand this. We've become concerned about one person only - ourselves. When we mess up, the only person we tend to see is ourselves. But God says "While you're waiting on Me to do something good for you, begin doing something good for others." That's what Paul meant, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35 NAS). Then he added: "The Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does" (Ephesians 6:8 NIV). You see, by blessing others you literally open up a channel for God to come through when He blesses you.

THE VINE by Bob Gass © 2000 - 2007. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

Are you in the wilderness?

 

So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. (Exodus 15:22)

Moving from HERE to THERE
Most of us are using every ounce of faith and energy attempting to leave a place called "HERE" to get to that Promised Land of "THERE!" When we are traveling to "THERE," a season of transition and change is required. Transition, simply stated, is moving from one place to another. This implies that in order to fully arrive "THERE," we must be willing to let go of the old nature. Our destiny and fulfillment in God requires us to shift out of an old place and enter into a new place.

For many of us, we have experienced a wilderness while fulfilling destiny. Let's examine what the wilderness in your life might entail or what you might have recently experienced. According to Webster's Dictionary, the word "wilderness" is described as: 1) a desert (sandy-filled area); 2) uncultivated and uninhabited territory, wild; living in the "wild;" 3) A state of disorder

The book of Exodus documents the wilderness as the region where the children of Israel wandered for forty years. Their wilderness consisted of many tests and challenges as God measured their faith and obedience. It is interesting to note that the word wilderness in Hebrew is described as desolate, barren, and lonely. So by comparing both of these definitions, we can easily summarize a wilderness experience as:

1) very lonely (uninhabited)

2) unfruitful and barren (uncultivated and desolate)

3) dry (little or no water; thirsty)

4) wild (WILDerness) (roving, wandering and untamed like a wild animal)

5) Disorder

Can you relate to this? Have you felt lonely, barren, and unfruitful? Have you been so dry and thirsty that you found yourself crying out to God in desperation? Is your life in disorder, and at times are you confused and irritated? Have you responded to your circumstances with WILD behavior while in your WILDerness? If you can relate, then read on.... Don't remain discouraged! God has a purpose for your wilderness, but He does NOT plan for you to stay there! God brought them out of Egypt for the purpose of not only proving their hearts, but also to give them opportunity to be delivered from a slavery mentality!

Slavery Mentality: Captivity, Bondage, and Surrender to Sin
Though you might not immediately recognize slavery behavior, let me first explain what the term "slave" actually means. In the spiritual sense, it is described as bondage, where one is experiencing a form of imprisonment and captivity. It is also a type of restraint of one's liberty where one is not empowered to become free. A slave is also described as a person who has no will of his own and is wholly under the control of another. Another definition describes a slave as one who surrenders himself to any power whatever; as a slave to passion, lust, or ambition! Does this sound like where you are right now? Is there any sin that controls you? Do you suffer with any type of bondage from which you cannot break free? God desires to set you free, and therefore He will sometimes allow a wilderness to provoke you into activating your faith to break free from your situation!

The Israelites, while they were in the wilderness, had many opportunities to activate their faith for their breakthroughs, but instead they remained in their slavery mentality of the past. Many times, their response was to blame Moses for their circumstances rather than trust God at greater levels! The wilderness was chosen by God to be their road to deliverance yet, because of their incorrect responses, they remained in their wilderness! The Israelites could never break free from a lack of trust in God, and from their lack of trust in Moses, and they remained in a place of total surrender to old thoughts and behavior patterns.

Old Cycles
Most all of the modern prophets are in agreement that we are in a spiritual season when God is exposing old cycles. Most likely you or someone near you have recently stated it seems as if you are continuing to "go around the same mountain again." This phrase implies that we are confronting the same past issues over, and over, and over again. Some of these are generational patterns of behavior. In fact, the word "generation" implies a continuing cycle or circle. Another implication for generational patterns is the use of the word "always." Have you ever stated a thought, "Well, I've always been this way. I can't change! It will always be as it is now!" God is declaring that it is time to "cycle-out" of our old patterns and old generational behavior.

The reason that the Israelites remained in the wilderness is because they never cycled out of a slavery mentality. The Israelites were tested many times in their faith and motives. Because they could not totally trust God, they remained in their wilderness...and DIED there! God allowed the old generation to die in the wilderness, and He raised up an entirely new generation to go into the Promised Land. I want to go into my Promised Land, don't you? In order to do so, we must be determined to cycle out of our doubt and unbelief, religious mindsets, generational strongholds, and WHATEVER so easily besets us.

No one ASKS for a wilderness experience, and we most likely don't pray to God to send us to the wilderness. So WHY do we find ourselves IN the wilderness? Once we are there; HOW do we get OUT? Well, when it is GOD who sends us there, we must embrace the season in humility and faith. By this I mean that we are to submit to His purpose as He proves us, and then allow our faith to be developed while in the wilderness.

I know it might mess up someone's theology when I say that many times it is GOD who sends us into a dry, desolate place. Though there are seasons when satan, will attempt to illegally cover us with darkness and cause us to experience desolation and hopelessness. We cannot always blame a wilderness experience on the devil! After all, Jesus was led by the Spirit to His wilderness (See Luke 4) to be tempted by satan. Know this for sure, the Tempter WILL come with his evil seductions, but if our responses are right we will overcome evil temptations and be stronger after we have endured the fire.

Our Faith and Character are Tested in the Wilderness
When we closely examine the word "tempted", it translates as "to try, to prove, and to examine." It also is translated to imply that Jesus was actually "on trial" to actually prove what He believed! It was a time when Jesus' faith was tested, and His virtue and character were tested to prove His character and steadfastness of faith. It is the same with us. When we go through wilderness times, our virtue, faith, and character are tested. It is through these times of testing that we truly recognize our responses. Our responses are responses of faith, or [they are responses of] doubt, unbelief, hidden motives of the heart, and hidden attitudes. If there are any hidden and selfish motives, ungodly beliefs, attitudes, and impure responses, they need to be exposed and addressed so that we receive the next level of breakthrough!

Remember now, it was not the devil that led Him; it was God that led Jesus to the dry place. It was Jesus' victory over the demonic temptations which helped empower Him for the miraculous. In His desert experience, Jesus grew even stronger in His faith and gave the devil a black-eye at the same time. Also, in the wilderness Jesus developed what I refer to as a "proceeding word!"

God is Expecting "The Proceeding Word"
An example of using a "proceeding word" is when Jesus proclaimed to satan that "…man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God!" (Matthew 4:4) A proceeding word is the Word of God which becomes proclaimed to the enemy when we are tempted to come into a negative agreement with the devil. Proceeding words are God-given declarations (based on the Word of God) which begin to flow from our inner-most being. Like a mighty river, there should be an outflow of God's Word that gushes forth whenever we are in a wilderness, and the enemy is tempting us. God is seeking a people that are allowing themselves to be developed in a wilderness, so that they are also empowered with these proceeding words. Rather than feeling sorry for ourselves because we experience dry places, realize that God has a much greater plan. He is empowering us for the miraculous and "greater things!"

Tests for Promotion: Moving into the Miraculous!
I believe that we are in a season where God is testing our hearts, motives, and responses because He desires to promote us! There are tests of promotion whenever we desire to grow, have a more effective ministry, and desire to extend the kingdom of God. Though there are many different types of tests that we pass while in the "School of the Holy Spirit", a test of promotion is one of the most difficult tests to pass. When we examine what Jesus endured, the forty days of fasting and the temptations that He faced, we also notice that He went forth in victory with power and might.

We might look at our tests of the past and notice that once we were on the other side of that test, there was an arrival at a greater spiritual level. This is what I commonly refer to as "promotion in the Spirit."

I have observed, in my own life, that whenever God is planning to move me to a higher spiritual level, I go through a dark, dry season. I feel that I am going through a dark tunnel; I can't see clearly, I am spiritually dry and therefore crying out for a breakthrough. In other words, I GET DESPERATE FOR GOD! In the midst of all of this, God is watching and listening to all of my responses! How did I respond? As a result of not having all of the "right" responses, I would find myself repenting, and repenting, and repenting MORE! To my amazement, though I felt that I didn't really deserve it, God would promote me. (Thank God for His amazing grace!) Once I was out of that wilderness and flowing again in the Spirit, I would look back and thank the Lord for that lesson in spiritual maturity. Then I would realize that I began to "come out" of that wilderness when I had firmly developed that "proceeding word!" In other words, the Word of God was firm and solid in my spirit and my response to the devil was to quote the Word of God and my prophetic promises.

Our Season for Miracles
Most all of the prophets are declaring that we are entering into a season of apostolic signs and wonders. In order for us to "believe and receive" miracles for ourselves and for others, we must have a developed proceeding word. We must know and understand the Word of God. Also, we must rid ourselves of religious mindsets concerning the miraculous. We must flow by His Spirit, and allow Him to move WHEN He desires. Timing is very important when following the Holy Spirit. He moves in His own timing, and we must develop a hearing ear to hear Him when He directs us. Developing a spiritual sensitivity is crucial as we fully embrace the Kingdom Message.

The Truths of the Kingdom of God
God is going to begin to reveal many hidden truths concerning the Kingdom. Many of us feel that we already know the message of the Kingdom...but there are hidden things of the gospel that He wants to reveal. These are truths from the Bible that will have a fresh breath of life upon them. Also, there will be a fresh, steady fire to burn away the old mindsets, and set us on fire to seek the Kingdom as never before!

Your Time in the Wilderness
Some of you are in the wilderness, and God is cycling you OUT. The way to come out is to realize that God is seeking a proceeding word. He wants to promote you and use you in a mighty way. You might come out for a while, and then find yourself back in another test. If so, it's ok! Just begin to cycle out again with another proceeding word! The main thing is that we learn that we are to grow and mature and have His Word so impregnated in our spirit that we come forth in power and might!

Breaking Free of a Slavery Mentality
This is one way that you will cycle out of your slavery mentality! Begin to speak what God says about you. Find all of your prophetic promises that concern your future and begin to proclaim what God has said. At every test, use a proceeding word to break you out of your captivity. A slave mentality says that God will not fulfill His word. The proceeding word is that He promises to perform His Word! A slave mentality says that you will not find your place in ministry, but a proceeding word says that God has firmly planted you into your destiny, and you will not be plucked up!

Closely examine every ungodly belief and replace it with God's Word, and then you will experience your deliverance. When you begin to respond to every wilderness test with a proceeding word spoken in faith, you will cycle out of your captivity!

ZION MINISTRIES by Sandie Freed © 2006. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

God's Will Is Not A Crisis

I am so glad to share with you what God has put on my heart. Please be encouraged to share this with your friends and loved ones as well. Over the past couple of weeks, I have been studying God's spiritual truths and He has revealed so much to me. If He did that for me, I know He can do the same thing for you if you allow Him to.
 
The most important thing I have learned over this summer is that you can't rush God. I had always known that simple truth, but when it came time to act with faith, I didn't think twice about it. I had wanted a "drive-thru" blessing. You all know what that is: I had given God my order and expected Him to get it exactly right before I lost my cool and drove off. It's no small wonder why I was disappointed and mad. After all, I had expected Him to handle my problems with express speed. But one thing that He taught me was that His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9) and His timing is measured with instruments that we know nothing about. So while I expected God to do great things "on the double", I didn't think that perhaps He had other plans for my life. Plans that promised to bring me a good future and much hope (Jeremiah 29:11). I was so stuck on what I wanted and needed so much that I believed what I wanted was more important than what God wanted. But just like the patient and loving God that I serve, He gently took me to His secret place and whispered, "I knows the plans I have for you."  After that moment, I realized how prideful I had been in thinking I knew better than God what was right for me.
 
I tell you that because many of us are going through similar situations where we want one thing (or several things), but God is taking us in another direction. And we are sitting with our arms crossed and mouth poked out like, "No way, God. That's not what I want. I want it this way" But you know what? We must continue on in absolute faith even when nothing about the situation makes sense. Remember that God has a perfect plan for your life. And even though you may not be able to understand it then, we can trust Him to be with us always and He makes no mistake. God's will is not a crisis. Before I go, I want to share with you a quote from Andrew Murray's Humility that may help you in a current situation or a future situation where you need courage and strength to stand. I pray that this will minister to each of your hearts.

In time of trouble say,
First, He brought me here.
It is by His will I am in this place, in that I will rest.
Next, He will keep me in His love

and give me grace in this trial to behave as His child.
Then, He will make the trial a blessing,
teaching me the lessons He means me to learn,
and working in me the grace He intends for me.
Last, in His good time,

He can bring me out again, how and when
Only He knows.
Say I am here:
By God's appointment,
In God's keeping,
Under His training,
For His time.
---from Humility by Andrew Murray (1993)

  
This week remember to give God thanks for who He is and what He has done, is doing and will do for His chosen people. Be encouraged, dear friends, "we walk by faith and not by sight." (2 Corinthians 5:7) Trust God totally with your situation and burdens. Hebrew 10:37 promises, "He who is coming will come and will not delay." We can take God at His Word to do what He says He will do.

 

Written by Antoinette Clarington. (Please include this line to forward the message).

The Trial of Your Faith (Part 7)

 

Eternal Purposes

Trials are not games. They have ETERNAL purposes. That is why we must learn to seek first the kingdom of God – for that is eternal. As long as we limit the purpose of trials to something in our lives now, rather than something eternal, we are going to miss the boat. We will never be on the same page as God.

 

Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom – seek first God's purpose IN YOU – and everything else will be taken care of, and fall into place, as God's plan for you will allow." This establishes God's priority for us, and until this becomes our priority, we are going to be working at odds with God. Part of the trial of faith is to adjust us over to this purpose.

 

When you die, all that God will take is the REAL person you are – and that will be defined only by your relationship to Him. Thus, faith, which speaks directly to who we are in relationship to God, is an ETERNAL characteristic. Our faith is only a seed of something eternally greater.

 

Trials will all pass away into history. But what we BECOME through those trials will be eternal. These are the stakes involved – eternal stakes. It is therefore terrifying that so few Christian are taught these Truths.

 

God is Faithful

The irony of the trial of faith is that God uses that which seems to contradict Himself to prove that He is faithful. The more our faith is questioned and ridiculed, the stronger it becomes, if we will stand by faith. And the greatest surprise of all is that even before we are delivered from our trial, we have the victory. Nothing of contradiction is able to move us.

 

God will indeed be proven faithful, even before He delivers us. How? He will be proven faithful IN US. God wants to bring us to the place where, despite the fact that circumstances have NOT changed, that WE HAVE CHANGED. There may continue to be nothing to, "prove," to us that God is faithful. But the proof is in us. Our faith is the evidence and substance of the faithfulness of God.

 

There is no victory in Jesus Christ except through the working out in us of His death and resurrection. If you want to live by faith, then you can no longer live by your understanding, your emotions, or by faith in anything but God. These must go the way of the Cross. Then, all will become based in Truth.

 

Excerpted from : THE TRIAL OF YOUR FAITH by David A. DePra at THE GOOD NEWS  © 1998-2005. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

The Trial of Your Faith (Part 6)

 

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Cor 10:13)

 

The Way of Escape

What is the purpose of this, "way of escape," promised by Paul? To GET OUT of the trial? No. "That you might be able to bear it." In other words, God's way of escape has to do with escaping defeat in a trial. Not escaping the trial itself. The, "escape," is whatever enables you TO BEAR THE TRIAL.

 

If you don't believe that, then good luck trying to figure out how to escape your trial. You will find that if it is OF GOD that you cannot escape unless you compromise with the Truth. God doesn't want you to escape the trial. The trial is OF HIM. He wants you to overcome BY FAITH.

 

"The way of escape," out of a trial is death and resurrection in Christ. But make no question about it, we can always choose another way – that will spare us the Cross. This is not a matter of losing our salvation. It is a matter of losing the freedom and revelation God had for us through the trial. Christian people today are encouraged all the time to escape the hand of God, calling His hand the Devil.

 

Natural thinking suggests that the issue in a trial of faith is how to end the trial. We ask, "God, what do you want me to DO?" Or we say, "What do I need to do to get God to end this trial?" Indeed, many of us think that ending the trial is the victory over the trial. But God never works from that angle. Ending a trial is never the victory.

 

Ending unbelief is the victory. Again – faith IS the victory.

 

Excerpted from : THE TRIAL OF YOUR FAITH by David A. DePra at THE GOOD NEWS  © 1998-2005. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

The Trial of Your Faith (Part 5)

 

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. (Proverbs 3:5-7)

 

God is not a liar. The reason it sometimes seems as if He is a liar is that we do not recognize the Truth. Thus, the problem is not with God, it is with US. We need a great deal of spiritual adjustment and freedom. We place more trust in our understanding that we can imagine. Indeed, many of us put our faith in our understanding, or our faith in our ability to believe, rather than put our faith in God Himself.

 

A fundamental trait of any trial of faith is that you will not be able to understand God in it, and He won't explain Himself to you. It should be encouraging to know that such a condition is normal, because then when it happens, we will be less apt to think that it is abnormal, or that something is wrong. No. Everything is right. You CANNOT understand, and God CANNOT explain. Get that. This isn't a matter of God refusing to explain. He can't.

 

The goal of any trial of faith is never to obtain some piece of information. No. Rather than information, what we need is a REVELATION -- of God Himself. The way in which I finally come to receive this revelation is by standing in faith unto death if necessary.

 

Again – God is doing a work IN ME through this trial of faith. He is doing a work of the Cross, so that I can BECOME someone who is able to better live and move with Him. Information will NOT accomplish this – not even a correct teaching about the Cross. No. I must pick up the Cross – not just seek teaching about it.

 

There will comes occasions in any trial of faith where you will face the choice to surrender to God – and you will not have any proof or assurance that He is even there to receive you. You will have to put aside your complete lack of understanding, and trust that it is sufficient that HE understands. If you do this, something in the realm of self-ownership will DIE in you. But there will burst forth LIFE – and with that life faith and eventual understanding will come.

 

Just as spiritual life comes through death, so does understanding come with that life. You cannot separate the two. You will never truly know the Truth until you die to the error in yourself, and have the Truth Himself revealed to you through resurrection life. Try to replace this with theology and academics, and you may convince yourself you are very smart. But you will be deceived.

 

If God explained Himself to us, we might have INFORMATION. But that would change nothing about us. It would do nothing to adjust us to God. In fact, the information would harm us, because we would settle for it. And we'd never go on to find God Himself.

 

I have uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not…..I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye sees thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. (Job 42:3-6)

 

Job knew a lot of true facts about God. He spoke those true facts – but finally admitted that he had no clue as to the God behind all those very true facts and doctrines. Job repented. But of what? Of thinking he knew God simply because he knew true facts about God. Oh, that we might see this today!

 

God wants us to know true doctrines and facts. But Christianity is not a list of doctrines, facts, and Bible teachings. It is a RELATIONSHIP with God through Jesus Christ – Jesus Christ who is IN US. Thus, what we need is more than information about God, or information about our trial. We need a REVELATION of God Himself.

 

If we will hang in during our trials and continue to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, God will reveal Himself to us in a way we will never regret. Do we want explanations from God, or God Himself?

 

Get it settled once and for all: God is NOT going to explain Himself to you. Ever. Forget it. But He will reveal Himself to you -- and with that there will come much understanding. But this revelation and understanding is always a by-product of a process of death and resurrection – not of study.

 

Excerpted from : THE TRIAL OF YOUR FAITH by David A. DePra at THE GOOD NEWS  © 1998-2005. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

The Trial of Your Faith (Part 4)

 

For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. (1 John 5:4)

 

Death and Resurrection

The trial of faith will bring us to where we may say, with Christ, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me." But we must follow with, "Into your hands I commit my spirit." The fact that we cannot know what is to become of us through such a surrender is part of the trial of faith. It comes with the package. It is what it means to have your faith tried and proven.

 

Can we see that our trial of faith may be a signal, not that there is something wrong, but that God is bringing us onto something bigger in Himself?

 

Thus, we see that the trial of faith really doesn't try a THING called faith. It tries US. God is never on trial. WE are being tried – whether we will be faithful to Him, because we believe He is faithful to us.

 

Faith is Relationship

If we continue to turn to God and stand by faith, all that contradicts God IN US will be proven a lie, and God will be proven true. Can we see that unless we were required to face these things, we would not grow in Truth? Would not be set free?

 

Again -- never think that our problem is that we don't understand doctrine. Or that what we need is an academic list of Bible information. No. Those things have their place, but aren't the root issue. It is entirely possible to memorize the Bible and have NO faith at all. And it is entirely possible to know little about the Bible, but to have faith. Read Hebrews 11. Rahab is in that list of the faithful.

 

What we need is an inner knowledge of God Himself. But this is impossible as long as we are governed by error. Thus, the trial of faith uproots the error, and forces us to push through to the Truth.

 

Faith is a RELATIONSHIP word. It is not an academic word. All faith goes back to my relationship to God – and finds its root in whether I believe He is really there for me, and is responding to me. (see Heb. 11:6) Thus, never think of faith as a THING we have. No. Faith is not a THING – it is based in a PERSON – in my relationship to God. Faith is based on whether I believe God is faithful, and whether I am therefore free to live like it.

 

The purpose of the trial of faith is to bring about a practical freedom and victory over that which would contradict the Truth of God in Jesus Christ. But this is not an academic or theological concept. The freedom and victory occurs IN ME. In the end, all trials come down to on question: Do I believe God is faithful? Enough to risk everything on Him?

 

The victory in a trial does NOT come when the trial ends.

The victory comes when the trial no longer moves me from faith.

Faith is the victory.

 

Excerpted from : THE TRIAL OF YOUR FAITH by David A. DePra at THE GOOD NEWS  © 1998-2005. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

The Trial of Your Faith (Part 3)

 

Seek First His Kingdom
God says that we are to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. We can therefore be sure that HE is seeking that for us in His dealings with us. This means that God wants to bring His rule and His order and His will into our lives, and not only adjust our lives in accordance with Himself, but more importantly, God wants to adjust US. We are to seek HIS kingdom IN US first – in our thinking, perception, attitudes, and motivation. And ultimately, the kingdom of God means God is in charge. Not us. But God. He is in charge, through Jesus Christ, of everything about us.

 

Do you and I actually believe that we are easily geared to that? You might think you are, if again -- you assume that all I am talking about are doctrines and following the right list of rules and laws. But I'm talking about more. I'm talking about a COMPLETE RECONSTITUTION of what makes you tick – your self-life and your motivation – even with regards to the things of God.

 

We must get this settled: What God wants to do in us through the Holy Spirit is OTHER THAN what we have ever experienced. Indeed, in the beginning, we have absolutely NO FRAME OF REFERENCE for it. We can't. It is NOT of the natural man, and he can know nothing of it. Thus, when God begins this work, it is going to seem strange. In fact, it is going to seem as if God is tearing us down, not building us up. It will seem like things are getting worse, not better.

 

Well, they should seem like that. God is tearing us down. But this is good. Our control of our own lives is something that God is going to tear down, and our control is going to get worse as to it's effectiveness. For a time, possibly a long time, it may seem as if we are LESS obedient, and LESS holy, and LESS a Christian. That is because God is tearing apart the FAÇADE of Christianity we have constructed, so that He has replace it with reality in Jesus Christ. And because we don't, at first, know that, it is going to seem as if we are falling apart, not being built up in Christ.

 

The trial of faith is geared to dismantling every bit of confidence we have in our selves – our RELIGIOUS SELVES – so that our faith will shift over to Jesus Christ. Thus, we see that a trial of faith will not only PROVE the faith we already have, but if we will hang in there, all of our false faith in false things will be exposed, and we will be able to be adjusted over to Jesus Christ.

 

You and I have no clue as to just how self-righteous we are, nor a clue as to just how much faith we have in things other than Jesus Christ. In fact, we are so used to living by faith in other things, and this is so normal to us, that the moment God puts His hand to those things, we are terrified. We are terrified because we see ONLY the thing God is touching and trying to pry loose from us – and those things are ALL we have known. To us, the loss of such things is negative and something BAD that is happening. Indeed, some of us even think that what we are losing IS THE REAL THING, and IS OF GOD.

 

The key therefore, is to come to the place where we see the OTHER SIDE of things – to see, not only what God is taking us FROM, but to see WHERE God is taking us to. He is drawing us into a relationship with Christ that we could not have imagined.

 

Excerpted from : THE TRIAL OF YOUR FAITH by David A. DePra at THE GOOD NEWS  © 1998-2005. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

The Trial of Your Faith (Part 2)

 

The Comfort Zone
Jesus said, "You will know the Truth, and the Truth shall set you free." This promise is predicated on the fact that we don't START OUT in Truth. We start out in error. Otherwise we would have no need to know the Truth, or get set free, and His promise would be nonsense.

 

The average Christian knows very little about God. Indeed, we are so blind to the reality of God that we don't know that we don't know! Some of us read the Bible and catalog doctrine and think we have it. But that is not knowing God. It is knowing what the Bible says about Him. To know God requires a relationship with Him that is real. It really requires BELONGING to Him, and living like it.

 

The trial of faith is geared to bringing us into a greater knowledge of God Himself, and to adjusting us so that we might live in harmony with Him. And what does it mean to live in harmony with God? To simply obey Him? Yes, but more. To live in harmony with God means that my entire life – both inward and outward – is so constituted that it is NORMAL for me to walk in harmony with Him. I belong to Him.

 

But of course, if I take these descriptions and think that merely knowing them AS descriptions equals BEING in the relationship with God which they describe, I will never get it. The fact is, none us of have a clue as to what any of this means by experience until we go through many trials of faith, and surrender ourselves to God. You cannot build a relationship with God by reading books about a relationship with God. You have to actually identify with Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection – and that takes the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit.

 

If you and I want to experience such an identification, we must say goodbye to our comfort zone – whatever that is for us. For when God takes people who are normal and comfortable in the dark, and brings us into some light, we will not be comfortable at first. In fact, there will arise CONTRADICTION IN US to the Truth. Not just in our thinking and understanding. But the Truth of God will, at first, contradict everything that makes us tick as religious people.

 

In this we see that the contradiction which arises in us during a trial of faith isn't something God, "does to us." No. Rather, it is the natural order of things. It is what happens when the REALITY of God meets this natural realm, and our natural thinking. This realm contradicts God, and we are geared to it – even if we are born again. Thus, when God begins to unfold to us the new realm into which we are born, we are going to get uncomfortable in a hurry. There will be, we might say, an, "spiritual disturbance." There will be a STORM. A trial of faith.

 

We must see this. WE – our thinking, our attitudes, our perception – already contradict God. Perhaps not deliberately or consciously. But they are not in harmony with God, for there is little about us that has any clue what it means to live and walk with God. Thus, when God begins to draw us into the relationship He wants with us, we will continue to try to operate on the old basis, in the old patterns – not sinful or rebellious patterns – but in our, "good and religious," patterns that we have walked in with God!! But these won't do. Thus, since God is drawing us to something new, and we are holding to that which is old, we are going to immediately meet contradiction. Often this is the reason for our trial of faith.

 

Excerpted from : THE TRIAL OF YOUR FAITH by David A. DePra at THE GOOD NEWS  © 1998-2005. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

The Trial of Your Faith (Part 1)

 

A trial of faith is, well, whatever tries your faith! For faith to be TRIED, faith must be contradicted. Contradiction is whatever questions – TO ME -- the faithfulness of God, and thus, the sanity of my faith in Him.

 

Now, don't misunderstand. God doesn't say, "I need to test your faith, so I'm going to do all kinds of things in your life to see if I can trick you into thinking I am a liar. But if you believe Me anyways, then I will know you really trust me." No. God isn't trying to figure out whether we have faith. A trial of faith is intended to BUILD our faith. It is intended to more firmly establish us in an eternal relationship with God.

 

But why must our faith be questioned and contradicted? Well, it wouldn't have to be if we started out free of unbelief, sin, darkness, and error. But we don't. In fact, we start out thoroughly entrenched in all of those things. The trial of faith is necessary to bring us OUT.

 

If I am reasonably comfortable living in error and darkness, and God begins to bring me into the Truth, I am going to panic. I won't understand. I will initially think that my error is right, and that the Truth must be wrong. That will be my perception and my reaction – because it is the only frame of reference I have ever had. God's dealings with me will therefore appear to me to CONTRADICT what ought to be if God is faithful. The trial is whether I will trust God despite all of this.

 

Now, if you limit Truth to doctrines and laws and rules to live by, then you won't understand what I'm talking about. I'm not so much talking about those things, although in the end, they will be affected. I'm talking about your inner constitution – your inner relationship with God. It is there that the trial of faith comes. The trial of faith will involve outward circumstances, but in the final analysis, the trial of faith isn't happening OUT HERE. It is happen IN YOU.

 

The trial of faith speaks to your personal relationship to God

– what you are to HIM, and what HE is to YOU.

The rest of what is going on is simply what is being used to deal with that relationship.

 

Excerpted from : THE TRIAL OF YOUR FAITH by David A. DePra at THE GOOD NEWS  © 1998-2005. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

Seeing a Greater Purpose in Adversity

Paul and Silas had just been thrown into prison. An earthquake erupted and the jail cell was opened. It's Paul and Silas' opportunity. "Deliverance! Praise God!" might be the appropriate response. But this is not what Paul and Silas did. In fact, rather than leave, they sat quietly in their cell area. The guard, in fear of his life, knew that it would be automatic death if prisoners escaped. Paul and Silas did not leave because they saw a higher purpose for which they were in prison. They were not looking at their circumstance; they were much more concerned about the unsaved guard. The story goes on to explain how Paul and Silas went home with the guard and his family. Not only did the guard get saved, but his entire household as well.

What a lesson this is for us. How often we are so busy looking for deliverance from our circumstance that we miss God completely. God is looking to do miracles in our circumstances if we will only look for them. Sometimes as workplace believers we become so obsessed with our goals we miss the process that God involves us in, which may be where the miracle lies. What if that bill collector who has been hounding you is unsaved and he is there for you to speak to? What if a problem account has arisen due to something God is doing beyond what you might see at this time? Our adverse situations can often be the door of spiritual opportunity for those who need it.

I saw this personally when God allowed me to go through a number of adversities. It took some time, but I saw some great miracles as a result of those adversities. When God said that "all things work together for good for those who are called according to His purposes" (see Rom. 8:28), He meant all things. It is up to us to find the "work together for good" part by being faithful to the process. In the next adversity you face, tune your spiritual antennae and ask God for discernment to see the real purpose for the adversity.

 

TODAY GOD IS FIRST by Os Hillman © 2001 - 2007. All rights reserved. Click here for personal prayer and counsel. (Please include this line to forward the message).

Avoiding Burnout

 

Hurdles - they are not simply found on the asphalt of track and field but also in the great race called life. Our flame of enthusiasm begins do diminish when we are doing more than God intended or when we are doing what God intended, but on our own strength rather than His.

 

In the Bible we see many who experienced times of burnout.  After Jonah's miraculous delivery from the big fish and prophetic announcement to the people on Nineveh , he sank into a depression and wanted to die (Jonah 4:3). After Elijah called down fire from heaven that miraculously burned up the sacrifices of Baal, the fire in his own life went dim. (1 Kings 18-19). Elijah prayed, "I have had enough, LORD.  Take my life" (1 Kings 19:4). Both of these men wanted to quit.

 

How do we avoid those same feelings of emptiness and despair?  The first step is to realize that it can happen and does happen to the best of us.

 

What was God's response to Elijah?  Let's take a look at 1 Kings Chapter 19.
He allowed Elijah to sleep (19:5) – REST.
He sent an angel to provide food for him to eat (19:5) – REFRESMENT.
He allowed Elijah to sleep again (19:6)– MORE REST.
He sent an angel to provide food for him to eat again (19:7) – REFRESMENT.
He caused Elijah to ponder what he was doing "What are you doing here?" (19:9) – REFLECTION.
He spoke to Elijah personally (19:11) – RESPONSE.
He caused Elijah to ponder what he was doing, again. "What are you doing here?" (19:13)– REFLECTION.
He told Elijah what to do next (19:15)- REDIRECTION.
He showed Elijah who He had appointed to help him (19:16) - REINFORCEMENT.

                                              
Exhaustion is epidemic among us.  For today, just rest in knowing that God has a plan for your life and that He loves you dearly!

 

Let's Pray
Dear Lord, I'll admit, I'm tired today.  I need the refreshment that only You can give.  Send the Holy Spirit to reinforce my spirit today!  I am expecting His energizing force!  Help me to reflect on You and Your goodness all day long. In Jesus' name, Amen

 

Excerpted from: BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE WOMEN'S MINISTRY by Sharon Jaynes at GIRLFRIENDS IN GOD  © 2006. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

Only God is not a season

This article really made me smile ... had to read it twice before it really struck me ... THAT'S RIGHT! :-)  There are seasons for everything just like it says in Eccelsiastes.  As we grow more mature in our faith, we start to relax a little bit more with the ebb and flow of life.  One pastor described it this way ... It's like God opens and closes a valve.  If the valve closes we know it will open again.  If it's open we might ought to expect it will close some time.  Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this little story. 

---

 

Five years ago, I decided to live without a salary. Just because I felt... well, I felt God wanted me to do it. I didn't care if people called me cookoo, or screwball, or ding-a-ling. But I wanted to try living in trust, waiting on Heaven for my next meal, my next ride, and my next haircut. Even just for a season. So I told my organizations NOT to give me a paycheck.

So there were days when I, Chairman of the Board, went past a McDonald's hungry, because my pockets were empty. There were days when I walked home because I didn't have enough fare.  There were weeks when I was tempted to don a ponytail because I couldn't afford a haircut.  (I recall that this ponytail ordeal came to an abrupt end when I received ten thousand bucks from a total stranger. I quickly ran to the barbershop and asked for the most expensive haircut they had, telling them, "You can dye my hair purple!")

My season of comfortable poverty lasted for almost three years. But Ironically, in those same years, I also traveled to three cities in the U.S., five cities in Canada, one city in Africa, four cities in Europe, two trips to Israel, and four cities in Asia.  All for free, because I was invited to preach and to guide people in pilgrimages.  (I remember leaving for my foreign trips with a nice coat and tie, so no one would think I only had twenty dollars in my wallet.)

 

But like the way it began, I felt a surging inspiration within me that my season of happy poverty was to end.  So three years after, I allowed my organizations to pay me a salary again.  (Would you believe? I have a savings account now -- something I had to look at the dictionary to find out what the word meant.)
I have no regrets entering into that season.

Because I believe I've learned one great lesson of life: That seasons of famine are permitted by God to give us deepened trust.

If we have everything - and everything goes on smoothly in our lives – we will never know what it means to really, really, reeeeally trust.

It's easy to say "I trust God" when you're vacationing in a Luxury Love Boat, dining in one of it's classy restaurants, napkin on your chest, munching on shark meat dipped in wasabe and soy sauce.  But it's not so easy to say, "I trust God" when your Love Boat has just capsized, and you're now in the open sea, surrounded by giant sharks with napkin on their chests, bringing with them their own wasabe and soy sauce.

But that's the point!  There's really no difference between those two scenes! 
You need to trust God fully, whatever the season you're in!

Two Questions.
Are you going through a season of abundance?
Being paid a nice salary, huh? Don't trust it. Employed by a large multi-national company? I don't care how secure you think it is, I'm telling you: it's not.  In the end, you know who will never fail.
Or are you going through a season of poverty or hardship or trial?
Believe me. That will end.  Because they are simply that: seasons. 

Only God is not a season.  Only He will never end.

 

~author : Bo Sanchez~

 

Taken from : FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Waiting on God (Part 5)

 

THE FOURTH meaning of wait, is TO SERVE OR MINISTER, and closely follows the third meaning, to watch.

The meaning is dearly taught in 2 Sam. 23. David had many mighty men, but three among them were chief. What special service made them chief? One day when David was being hunted, as he said, "like a partridge, on the mountains of Israel," when he was very far from the throne, and only faith could see him as King, the garrison of the Philistines was in Bethlehem, and he longed and said: "Oh, that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!" It was not a command, but three men heard the wish breathed out of David's heart, and risking their lives, they broke through the host of Philistines and drew water out of the well by the gate, etc., and fought their way hack again and brought the water to David. They were near enough and still enough to hear David's sigh, and that sigh was to them a command.

Such wonderful blessings hang upon this one condition--to wait. Do we wait ? Are we silent unto God? Is our expectation from Him or from ourselves, friends or circumstances? Do we watch for His movements that we may serve?

Shall we gather up the meanings of this word wait, and weave them into a Scriptural definition?

 

TO WAIT UPON GOD IS TO HAVE THE HEART HUSHED OR SILENT IN AN EXPECTANT ATTITUDE, TO HEAR WHAT HE MIGHT SAY THAT WE MIGHT DO HIS BIDDING.

 

Excerpted from the book : BROKEN BREAD by John Wright Follette at THE GOOD NEWS  © 1998-2005. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

Waiting on God (Part 4)

 

THE THIRD meaning of wait is TO WATCH, OBSERVE, TAKE NOTICE.

This means that all our spiritual senses must be alive, alert and expectant. To wait means that we are to be near to Him and still that we may catch the slightest intimation on His part. Our hearts are to be sensitive enough to catch the faintest reflection and be able to discern quickly His voice.

 

The meaning is clearly shown in Proverbs 8:34, "Blessed is the man that heareth me; watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors." and in Proverbs 27:18, "Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit threreof; so he that waiteth on his master shall be honored."

Here we have a man, maybe a servant or soldier waiting at a door or gate. He does not know the moment his master may open the door to require his service, or maybe to give him a gift. Be it one or the other it matters not to the waiting man. His duty is to wait (to watch or take notice). It is not the waiting of an idler; it is not the waiting of a dreamer. It is the quiet waiting of one who is girt and ready.

 

We do not long watch or observe keenly the movements of God before He has some word for us. He bids us go or come on some mission, or speak, write, pray, visit, or sing for Him. Why? Because we were near enough to feel what is on His heart, and thus we were able to enter into fellowship with Him in service.

 

Many today do not understand the movement of God in the world as He is speaking to us in present conditions because they are not near enough or still enough to observe Him. As Christians today our faith is not wrecked because of the conditions about us, nor are we deluded and led into world wide Church reform movements, because we know what the conditions mean.

 

We have seen and do see God's hand in it all and because of a peculiar and holy response in our hearts we know that God has risen up and that our redemption draweth nigh.

 

Excerpted from the book : BROKEN BREAD by John Wright Follette at THE GOOD NEWS  © 1998-2005. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).