"I will not keep silent because of Zion, and I will not keep still because of Jerusalem, until her righteousness shines like a bright light and her salvation, like a flaming torch." (Isaiah 62:1)
“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15)
It’s within the chaos of our world that I’m learning to find God.
Running between my home and the main gate to hand over a chunk of money that the delivery boy had mistakenly given me, I’m learning the sheer brilliance and importance of internal peace and rest.
My most recent revelation informs me that if I wait for the circumstances of my world to line up, I’ll be waiting forever.
But if I’m willing to let the Holy Spirit create and cultivate that sacred space deep within my soul that rests in the assurance that comes from knowing I’m a child of God, I have the opportunity to rest secure right where I am.
I’m guessing the same holds true for you too, dear friend.
Standing beside a rather tall palm with the sound of water running down a wall, I felt Heaven touch earth. I found myself wanting to just be still. Be still in the stillness of His Presence, amid the wonder of creation. A gentle breeze caressing my face and restoring unto me the awe of my King.
Who is ever beside me, but longs for me to be still long enough to discover that reality.
Tracing my steps back home, I was a bit changed I admit.
I left with a photo to share with my friends here, yes. But something more than that perhaps.
A yearning to know what it’s like to really be still and know that He is God.
An uncommon peace and a supernatural rest undergirding my soul through all the chaos I’m called to walk through.
A simple child like trust in Father God that is of far greater value than pure gold.
A heart that rests fully assured in the sure and certain knowledge that the Lord is in control.
A life that wants to have the privilege of knowing Him deeper and fuller.
All because if I’ve been made in the image of God and I have, then peace and rest are my portion. And that too, right here. Right now.
“Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.” (John 16:32)
In the present day, time and season that we find ourselves in the midst of, it is easy to feel sequestered, isolated and alone.
Yet, the Word of God tells us that we are never alone for our Father stands with us.
I’ve noticed that times such as these can make us feel abandoned and rejected. Almost as if God Himself had forgotten us.
But experience tells me that that is NOT the nature and character of our Father.
Our Father is a hands-on father. He is intimately involved in the details of our lives.
“So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together for good, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose.” (Romans 8:28, TPT)
Truly, it is futile to lose our peace over things we cannot control. We can not control the repercussions of a global pandemic nor can we control the reactions of those that are around us. But what we CAN CHOOSE is our response to these challenging times.
We can choose to be still, hold our peace and trust that God remains sovereign and in control. Therefore, WE can relinquish control and rest in the assurance that in all things, God works for the good of those that love Him and are called according to His Purpose.
Even seasons such as these.
What I’m learning is that these times that I find myself not able to venture forth the way I ordinarily would, actually afford me a rich opportunity to really get to know my Father.
The more I get to know Him as a Faithful Father and a Friend that sticks closer than a brother, the more I feel complete in Him.
Like I lack nothing.
Because the truth is that if we have Christ, we don’t.
“as His divine power has given to us ALL THINGS that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue..” (2 Peter 1:3-4, emphasis added)
ALL THINGS.
The Word of God says that we have access to ALL THINGS that we need to live righteous and holy – in a manner that is true to us and glorifies God. We have access to the peace of Christ, the love of God and the strength of the Holy Spirit.
So we tap into our Heavenly resources to find the grace we need in our time of need.
For the Lord is our Shepherd, we shall not want.
He goes before us, stands behind us and surrounds us like a shield.
And…
In ALL THINGS, He works for the good of those that are His Beloved.
He doesn’t waste a single thing.
He may not cause our pain, but He will redeem it and use it.
For our good and His great glory.
For what I’m learning to be true of the Lord as our Father is that He is the kinds that fights for our blessing, our favour and our future. But He doesn’t fight for victory, He fights FROM it.
He already HAS the victory.
He has gone into our tomorrows, dear friend and knows what goodness lies in store. So in His Faithfulness, He comes and meets us in the present moment and gives us His Word which is able to take us to that which He has seen and orchestrated.
Should we pay attention, we will realise that what He says is true.
He is with us, right this very moment. He has not forgotten us because our walls are ever before Him. He is as close as a whispered prayer and wants us to know that it is only in knowing HIM first and foremost, that our deepest longings are met. It is in processing our pain with Him that we are made whole. It is in intimacy with Him that we find completion.
Because we were never designed to do life alone.
Indeed, we are NEVER ALONE.
Jesus is Immanuel – God WITH us.
He is in the dirt with us; healing, restoring, transforming. We are not apart from Him, for we are a part OF Him. When we suffer, He suffers with us. And when we are blessed, He celebrates with us.
So as I draw to a gentle close, it is my prayer that should you feel alone in any way, you would call upon the Name of Jesus. That you would lift your eyes to the heavens and know that the Maker of it all is closer than your next breath. That you would place your hand on your heart and in the stillness of the moment you find yourself in, you would hear Him say,
“This is the groaning As You count every tear we have sown And we trust what those tears will become This is the stretching Making room for our hope to arrive Knowing You come to make us alive To make us alive
We wait for light, we wait for rain Behold the life born out of pain Eyes to the dawn, we’re not afraid We do not labor in vain
We will keep breathing When the burden is too much to bear We can carry it if You are there And You will deliver All Your children to freedom and joy In our sorrow, we’re lifting our voice Oh, we’re lifting our voice…”
These are some of the wonderful lyrics that I have been listening to lately.
🎼
This song first caught my attention perhaps because of its title,
“We do not labour in vain.”
Slowly but surely, I was enraptured. One song led to another and before long, I found myself worshipping the Lord as the melody in my heart found language within the songs of this project called,
“Faithful.”
Pioneered by Amy Grant and Ellie Holcomb, simply put, this project captures the heart of a God lover. It’s lyrics touch the depths of one’s being and mysteriously draw us closer in our intimacy with Jesus.
I’ve attached the link above to the song that I’ve mentioned in the beginning of my post.
Friends, I don’t know the exact details of what God has you walking through in this present day, time and season of your life. But what I DO know for sure is that we are all in this together and that you are NOT ALONE.
We can all find common threads in our own unique story and journey with Jesus and know deep down that we are all part of ONE FAMILY.
May you find this TRUTH reverberate in your heart and soul as you listen to the beautiful songs that, “Faithful” has compiled together.
And as if this wasn’t enough multivitamins for us, they have also made available a book that is an awe inspiring collection of stories from Scripture where God has clearly demonstrated His Faithfulness to women all through the pages of the Bible.
And yes!
Jesus Christ is the same; yesterday, today and forevermore.
So as I draw to a close, I pray that you would find the unction you need to pay “FAITHFUL” a visit and that you would find your spirit nourished and your strength renewed through the music, the melodies and perhaps even the book.
“Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one.” (Romans 8:33–34)
What I ❤️ the most about our God is that He is a most loving and affirmative Father.
“There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1, emphasis added)
For in Christ, we are made right with God. He has not only covered our sin, but removed it as far as the east is from the west.
He remembers it no more.
Through a relationship with Christ, we may not get an amnesia from our past, but we do receive a life beyond it. A life that is no longer manipulated by the accusing voice of the devil, but rather is a life now led by the affirming voice of a most loving and caring Father.
Make no mistake. Our Father loves to correct us. But when He speaks, it is never the voice of condemnation. Rather, it is the voice of Love. It is not shame-based which is a counterfeit echo. Rather, it is love-led which is a divine echo.
Love is our design.
So as you proceed into the rest of your week, dear friend, I hope and pray that you will be quick to discern and discard any voice of accusation in your life, choosing instead to follow the sound of Love and the still, small voice deep within.
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3)
I’m learning things about the Kingdom lifestyle, slowly but surely. And what I believe that the Lord showed me recently is that though our lives and destinies are hidden in Him, they are hidden ‘for’ us and not ‘from’ us.
I got this golden nugget of Truth from Pastor Bill Johnson and it instantly hit home.
“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.” (Proverbs 25:2)
I concur.
And I also believe that it is the Mercy of God that hides things and does not at once give us the complete blue print of our lives, but rather lets the details slowly unravel as we travel.
I think that is why the Lord delights and indulges Himself in the journey as opposed to the destination.
He likes for us to learn to walk with Him. The Bible says that the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. I believe this because He wants to encounter us as a most loving Father who takes His Child by the hand and teaches us to walk in step with Him.
We don’t want to be running ahead of Him any more than we would like to be lagging behind.
It is in our submission to the rhythm and cadence of God that we get to taste of true life because it is a rhythm and cadence that is specifically designed for our benefit.
He knows us better than we know ourselves, and has a beautiful plan to develop us bit by bit. He does this not by pushing us around, but rather doing a deep and gentle work within us.
It’s in the journey that our weakness meets His strength and our vulnerability, His love. The ache in our hearts when surrendered at the altar sees our burdens be transformed into blessings, and our problems into promises.
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
In essence, there are times and seasons to everything in the Kingdom of God. There are times of trials and testing when our faith is being developed and matured. But there are also seasons of manifestation and favour when God knows that we are whole enough to be able to sustain the very blessings we have prayed for.
This is why the wilderness makes for a rich experience because it provides us with the opportunity to encounter the Lord, develop authentic relationship with Him and let Him grow us up into the truest versions of ourselves.
The interim seasons are always seasons of preparation and growth. We may have questions from time to time, but they don’t have to remain unanswered because we have the opportunity to seek the Lord while He may be found.
Remember friend, what Pastor Bill Johnson says.
“He hides things ‘for’ us, and not ‘from’ us.”
He is a loving and faithful Father who loves to be engaged with His children. And it is His promise to us that if we seek Him, we WILL find Him.
He doesn’t play the game of ‘hide and seek.’
Rather, He invites us on a journey called,
“Seek and Find.”
Though it is the glory of God to conceal a matter, God is also glorified in revealing truth.
He is glorified when we, as His sons and daughters who belong to the household of God, seek Him. And each time that we seek, we know that we always find Him because He is Faithful.
The Word of God declares,
“The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.” (Psalm 25:14)
The Lord delights in making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure. His guidance along the way assures us that we are walking the path to eternal life.
We need only call on His Name as we cry out to Him for answers, revelations and resolutions. And as we do, we will have tapped into the privilege of seeing our possibilities be transformed into sure promises of God which are all in Christ Jesus,
“Yes and Amen.”
To the glory of God.
Because the same God who is glorified in hiding the details of our destinies is the same God who is glorified in revealing them.
And the same God who is glorified in the revelation is the same God who is glorified in the manifestation thereof.
Because He who promised is Faithful.
Friends, it is my passion and my prayer to be continued to be taught of the Lord. To let myself be developed by God, shaped by Him and moulded in His care. To remain in awe and wonder at the depths of His love and the glory of His might. To continue to ask, seek and knock in the full revelation knowledge that the door WILL be opened up.
And as He opens up the door for me to walk through, I don’t want to be walking through it alone, but rather hand-in-hand with my Father.
And perhaps, it is in my journey through the wilderness that I get to learn the rhythm of Life.
“He changes times and seasons, he deposes kings and raises up others.” (Daniel 2:21)
Lysa Terkeurst often says that we do not serve a do-nothing God.
I couldn’t agree more.
Our God is always working for us. He is active, he is not passive. He sees us and He knows us by name. He cares for us and suffers with us. He is moved by the feeling of our infirmity.
There are times when the Lord speaks a promise. He reveals His heart and strategy by the power of His Spirit. We receive the Word at once with joy, but what we perhaps need to remind ourselves consistently of is the Truth that there is always a space of time between the revelation and the manifestation of the Word of the Lord.
“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)
The space of time between the revelation and the manifestation of the promise of the Lord is the waiting period. It is a time frame that though tests us and tries us in our walk of faith, is also the strategy of Heaven to refine us.
It is in the waiting that we get to know the Lord better as He works with us, affirms us, guides us, strengthens us and purifies us.
A child meets the Father, a student finds the Teacher, a servant gets to know the Master.
Intimacy is deepened as relationship develops. Our hearts are cleansed, our spiritual muscles grow stronger and it is here that we are prepared for whatever it is that the Lord has prepared for us.
So as I encourage myself with what I believe the Lord has spoken, I encourage you too, dear friend. May you take heart in knowing that our God is Faithful to keep His covenant with us. He may not come when we would like Him to come, but He is ALWAYS on time.
So as I close, I pray that no matter where you are in your journey right now, may the light and life of Christ find you and shine on you. May His peace blanket you and His love strengthen you. And in a world that’s rife with tension and discord, may you take heart in knowing that God loves you and has good plans for your life.
After all, we walk by faith and not by sight, for He who promised is Faithful.
“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)
I believe that we are in a season where God is teaching us to have our needs met in Him and through Him.
It’s much like little children. Having their needs met has nothing to do with who they are, but EVERYTHING to do with who they belong to.
Likewise, in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus is reported to have said this while ministering to people during His time on earth,
“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3)
The mysteries and the benefits of the Kingdom of Heaven are best experienced when we remain like little children before the Lord.
Little children trust.
Still unmarred by the pain and trauma of life, little children are quite innocent. So they find it easy to trust.
They don’t doubt and question everything like we do. They are honest and vulnerable. They don’t pretend and find themselves at ease when safely and closely cradled.
Our Heavenly Father calls us to be just like that. Christ Jesus reconciles us to the Father Heart of God, and restores our child like innocence once we enter into a relationship with Him.
He is completely faithful and absolutely trustworthy. He is the best illustration of a Perfect Father. He loves us with a Perfect Love – a Love so complete that it can never be earned or deserved, but only received like a little child by a child of God who belongs to the Kingdom of Heaven.
It’s giving into this Father-child relationship that restores our soul and our lives. It’s being willing to receive His Love and His Promises with unrestrained delight and child like wonder that heals us. It’s laying our worries and insecurities at the feet of Jesus, and replacing what we don’t know about the future with the Truth of what we DO KNOW about God that redeems us.
Every single time.
Because He always comes through.
Every single time.
Whatever I have ever needed, His Hands have always faithfully provided. He hasn’t failed me yet, and He won’t start now because He never changes.
He is a Father – a Perfect Father.
And I take heart in knowing that as we too faithfully surrender to the process that He has for us where we allow ourselves to be loved, taught and provided for by Him, that we will be better prepared to handle seasons where the Lord brings to us our promised inheritance.
Times and seasons change as they belong to a never changing God.
But the degree to which we change and are authentically transformed is the degree to which we can fully step into our inheritance at the appointed time.
So I’m learning to live like a much loved child of God who delightfully receives everything that her Father wants to give her. I’m learning to let go and trust that He has got my back covered. I’m learning to understand that I don’t need to understand everything in order to walk with Someone who knows the end from the beginning. I’m learning to be loved by Him and to love in response.
I’m learning that He is Faithful and therefore, I can have faith that this is not the end of my story.
Times and seasons change, but I’m learning to acknowledge that as I let Him guide and provide in the season I’m currently in, I will have the spiritual muscles I need in the Promised Land.
Because I will know who my Father is and the family I come from.
Simply because it has nothing to do with me, but everything to do with who I belong to.
And I’m suspecting that the same holds true for you.
It was perhaps around Thursday during the Holy Week when the Lord washed the disciples feet, thereby demonstrating the full extent of His Love which finds authentic expression in what Pastor Bill Johnson often says,
“Rule with the heart of a servant, and serve with the heart of a king.”
Jesus always used His authority to build up, never tear down. He released life and light wherever He went. He healed the sick. He raised the dead. He opened blind eyes and unstopped deaf ears. He cleansed the lepers and cast out demons. He dignified women and ate with tax collectors. He taught in the synagogue and freely forgave.
And on Thursday, He stooped down to now wash the disciples feet.
“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.” (John 13:3-4)
It is astonishing and refreshing to learn that an awareness of His Identity as the Son of God did not lead Jesus to demonstrate any sort of worldly flamboyance which was not uncommon in those days for a king, but rather it led Him to serve.
He perfectly exemplified the heart of the servant-king that He was.
Not only that, He also encouraged His disciples to do the same.
And He encourages us too.
The Kingdom of God always works in paradox, sometimes too mysterious for us to comprehend. And what I’m learning is that what we can’t necessarily wrap our minds around, we certainly can choose to receive with our hearts by faith.
We may never understand the kind of Love that compelled the Lord to go to that Cross at Calvary, wilfully die a gruesome death both, ‘as’ us and ‘for’ us, and then on the third day, be raised again from the dead.
All so that we could receive a forgiveness of sin, an authentic hope for our future and life everlasting with our Father in Heaven.
We may never understand this kind of Love, but we are free to choose to receive it.
Revel in it. Bask in it. Glory in it.
He paid a most unreasonable price to ransom us and redeem us.
And there is perhaps no better way for us to honour this kind of Love, other than simply learn to receive it like little children.
Little children who belong to the family and the kingdom of God.
Sons and daughters that were on our Saviour’s mind as He breathed His last on that Cross.
So He could release a fresh breath of Heaven into us when He rose again.
Death could not hold Him. Hope could not be left buried or entombed. For He is Risen.
And He is alive.
He is breathing right now. Into you. Into me.
A new life. A resurrection life. An ascended life.
A life He paid with his own for us to receive.
Like little children.
Sons and Daughters that are marked with glorious divine destiny that have The Father’s fingerprints all over.
So as we head into the last three days that mark the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord; let us, like Him, remember whose children we are, where we come from and where we return.
For when all is said and done, He will get the Glory.
Because He paid a mighty price for it and as His Children, may we never settle for anything less than God’s best.
I love doing life with Jesus because He is always faithful to remind me of His Love.
In our lives that seem inundated with things to do and missions to accomplish, it is easy to lose perspective. But that’s when the Holy Spirit always come through as a most loyal friend, gently whispering my Identity back into the innermost recesses of my being.
He tells me to slow down. He encourages me to be still in my soul and KNOW that He is God.
Because He is.
He reminds me that I’m not defined by what I do. The Cross makes a very clear demarcation between my ‘who’ and my ‘do.’ I am no longer defined by my works any more than I am defined by my trauma or suffering.
For this Holy Week, I’m reminded of the healing power that is found in the blood of Jesus. The trauma that Jesus endured on the Cross in exchange for my peace, was more than enough.
I can now rest in His love and cherish the Truth that because I am a child of God marked by His love, I am set free from any manner of striving or any need to amass/accumulate.
Instead, I am free to simply abide in Christ and learn to receive from my Father’s heart.
His love. His peace. His joy.
May we take time, friends to commune with Jesus and let Him light our hearts on fire.
“Your difficulties have shaped you, but they will not define you.”
Trials and tribulations, in my experience, come at some really unexpected times. When we seem to finally have settled reasonably well in the season we find ourselves in and everything seems more or less in control, that’s perhaps when. Something completely unforeseen happens and our emotions tend to spiral out of control. Our soul seems to want to question,
“How can this be?”
Our need for justice seems to be greater at such times, than the desire to be gracious and patient. We want to sort out the issue at hand and if we aren’t careful, we will inevitably find ourselves indulging in what the Bible calls, ‘works of the flesh.’ Instead of taking a moment to still ourselves deep within, we seem to want only one thing,
Resolution.
But what God is teaching me is so very different. Jesus did not promise us a ‘perfect life.’ He promised us ‘perfect peace’ in the midst of our lives. He let us in on this eternal truth,
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Our Father informs us in the Word that we are called to be ‘in’ the world, but not ‘of’ it. He tells us to let our lives so shine before men that they may see our good deeds and give glory to God. He commissions us as salt and light in a lost and broken world. He tells us,
“You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14)
Clearly, the implication here is that in a world that is sin bent and fallen, we will experience trials and tribulations in some shape, way or form, from time to time. Though our instant reactions can be likened to that of the Israelites where all they did was grumble, murmur and complain; I’m so glad that by the power of the Holy Spirit we now have access to the royal privilege of being made in the likeness of Christ.
So how did Jesus handle pressure and problems?
When He was betrayed by Judas, He endured. When He was abandoned by His disciples, He endured. When He was falsely accused by the religious leaders of the time, He endured. When He was brought before Pilate, He endured. When the crowds shouted, “Crucify Him,” He endured. When He was unjustly beaten, mocked and ridiculed; He endured. When He was flogged beyond recognition, He endured.
I have been so astonished at the revelation that Jesus was so secure in His Identity as the Son of God, that He refused to take matters into His own hands. The Word of God says,
“when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.” (1 Peter 2:23, CSB)
He believed God to vindicate Him.
Jesus knew who He was and was deeply committed to seeing the Father’s purpose be fulfilled in and through His life. For the joy of seeing you and me as His Beloved, He endured the agony of the Cross and despised its shame. When mistreated in ways beyond articulation, He remained still. Instead of seeking vengeance, He trusted in the vindication of God.
“As is He, so are we in this world.” (1 John, 4:17)
Friends, I’m learning with each passing day the vital importance of one eternal truth,
“I am not an orphan. I am a child of God.”
Though Jesus was persecuted, crucified and buried in a tomb; He rose again. Death could not hold Him for He is risen and reigns forever. Consequently, I live with the awareness that my Father is alive and well. He is well able to vindicate me every single place where the enemy may threaten to come in to steal, kill or destroy. All He has to do is say the Word and it is done.
That’s my Father.
So what’s my response?
I resist the temptation to make things right in my own strength because I belong to the One whose name is Righteous. I don’t deny my hurt, pain or perhaps even the feeling of being betrayed. Instead, I acknowledge them in the Presence of the most Perfect One. I don’t bury what needs to be healed and made whole in the warmth of His love and in the light of His truth. I don’t trust my emotions to guide me. Instead, I trust in the Holy Spirit. I don’t let the enemy defile my heart with the toxic waste of unforgiveness and bitterness. I draw strength from the One who IS my Strength and graciously let go.
I open my spirit to learn whatever it is that the Lord is trying to teach me and cultivate in my soul.
Trust, forgiveness, peace, patience, surrender.
For I know that even though He doesn’t cause my pain, He wants to heal it and use it for His glory.
Allow me to repeat myself.
Somewhere I’m just so glad that we have access to the royal privilege of being transformed into His likeness.
SoulandSubstance27 