When we we’re walking through the refiner’s fire, we have the choice to be consumed or forged. If we look to Christ, our hardest trials can work together for our good and transform us into a better, purer, stronger person. Our thought today comes from Isaiah 43:2:
“When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” Isaiah 43:2
When hard things happen and you wonder if you can make it another day or even another hour, I hope you’ll take comfort in these words from Isaiah.
“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….For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” Isaiah 41:10-13
Do you want more time? More money? More friends? To achieve your dreams? The answer is found in the law of sacrifice as explained by Jesus:
“Except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it die, it brings forth much fruit.” John 12:24-25.
Today I’m exploring the blessings that come through death — the new life, the new possibilities, the new power that comes as we sacrifice time, money and resources and as we release those we love to the grave.
There is something about grief in losing a loved one that opens us up to sweet miracles, divine tender mercies and joy. It is one of the most exquisite manifestations of the duality of our universe … that within every challenge there are equal blessings. The law of divine compensation is on overdrive at these times if we have eyes to see and acknowledge it.
My heart goes out to my dear friends Martina, Luanna and Marcia with the passing of your parents. They will be near you, watching over you. They are your angels with more power to run to you and assist you than they ever had in mortality.
As Obi Wan told Darth, “If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.”
Is there is something you’ve always wanted to do, but don’t think you have the ability to do it? Where there is desire, there is power. Psalms 37:4 says
“Delight thyself in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thy heart.”
In this video, I’ll prove to you the truth of this statement by giving you an example.
I’ve always wanted to feel comfortable singing in front of people, but I was too scared to do more than sing in the car by myself. I also have wanted to be able to compose music. Today, I wrote a song and I’m going to sing it for you in this video… just to prove to you that God really can give you the desires of your heart, whether they’re ever spoken or not.
Three of my good friends have lost a parent this week. Their loss has brought back the feelings and experiences in losing my own mother. Interestingly enough, I’m staying at the house of my own friend who lost her father unexpectedly today. No one saw it coming. He was only 62 and died out of a heart attack.
It’s one of those days when I finally understand why I am where I am and it’s not why I thought you were. Obviously, the reason I felt inspired to take this trip this summer is so that I could be here with my friend Martina and offer what comfort I can.
Are there things you want to be different in your life? Have you taken the time to ask God for them specifically? Do you set clear intentions? Sometimes we feel dissatisfaction with situations, but never get clear enough to ask for a solution.
Today’s thought comes from Luke 11:9-13
“And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
Often we feel like we’re not enough. We lack the skills, the talents, the strength, the resources, the money or the time to achieve the things we feel called to do. But Jesus made it clear feeding the 4,000 that He can take our meager resources and transform them to over and above what is needed.
The story is found in Matthew 15:32-8
“Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.
And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.”
A lot of us get upset if someone else is doing something similar to what we are. We may feel like there isn’t room in the world for us and another person doing the same thing. We may feel like they’re going to steal our customers or are going to encroach on our territory. Or maybe we were first and it irritates us when someone comes along and “steals our idea.” Have you ever wondered what Jesus thinks about competition?
In this short video I talk about Luke 9:49-50
“And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.”
Have you been in a manna state where you’re just getting by day-by-day? Are you ready to enter your promised land? Are you ready to have good success? God tells us how in Joshua 1:5-9:
“There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
As we read the Bible we see that Jesus rarely healed people in exactly the same way. Healing seems to be catered to the individual. One woman suffers 12 years and then touches the hem of Jesus’ garment and is instantly healed. Another man is healed without Jesus ever coming into contact with him. Another is healed by Jesus telling Him to arise, take up his bed, and walk.
The method is rarely the same, but there seems to be the common thread of faith. But, how much faith is enough? The woman who touched His garment may have had faith those twelve long years. The man whose servant was healed from afar may have had faith for his servant’s healing, but we don’t know if the servant himself actually had any faith at all.
Healing seems to come in God’s timing and way. It seems to be an individual process. This reminds me of a verse repeated in John, Acts and Matthew
“For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their hearts, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” Matthew 13:15-16
Like conversion, healing seems to be an individual process that has to do with us listening, seeing and understanding with our hearts. Each of us comes to this place of being able to open our eyes to see or opening our hearts to understand. My friend LaurieKae Banks once told me, “broken is open.” Many times it takes brokenness to get to the point where we’re open enough to see the loving healing God is offering us.
I know in my own experience, losing my mother, husband and my family property simultaneously took me to that broken place where I looked up to God with new eyes and new ears. I asked him to create a new heart in me because the one I had was demolished. There was nothing left of it and the only solution was to ask God to create a new heart in me. This process facilitated miraculous emotional, spiritual and mental healing.
Yet, I am fully aware that my experience is mine. Your road to healing may take completely different twists and turns. All we clearly know is that faith is a requisite. So whatever it takes, whatever happens, look to God and choose faith.
