In the same way, when you are going through that narrow path, that uncomfortable position, you feel like you are pushing through something. You don't like it, you don't understand it, you wish you could go back to before. But you can't. The only way out is to keep moving forward. Pain is a sign that something is about to be birthed. God has new levels of growth for you, that's why He needed to bring you out. Like a baby in a womb, he is healthy and growing inside the mummy's body for a season. But when his due date approaches, the womb will become a curse, not a blessing if he stays too long in it. It will not only stunt his growth but become a hazard to the baby. He has to come out of the birth canal.
Friday, July 31, 2015
PUSHED INTO YOUR DESTINY
Pastor Joel preached this sermon 'Pushed into Your Destiny' in Mar. He said that many of us wouldn't move out of our comfort zone if we are not pushed out of it. So don't get bitter, don't keep asking why, just recognize that it is all a part of His plan. The good news is God would not have pushed you out of the nest, closed the door behind you if He hadn't already opened the door ahead of you. Like a woman about to give birth who experiences contractions, the doctor doesn't tell her to push as and when she feels like it. He will only tell her to push when the time is right for the baby to come out. If she expends her energy too early, she may not have the energy to push at the end.
In the same way, when you are going through that narrow path, that uncomfortable position, you feel like you are pushing through something. You don't like it, you don't understand it, you wish you could go back to before. But you can't. The only way out is to keep moving forward. Pain is a sign that something is about to be birthed. God has new levels of growth for you, that's why He needed to bring you out. Like a baby in a womb, he is healthy and growing inside the mummy's body for a season. But when his due date approaches, the womb will become a curse, not a blessing if he stays too long in it. It will not only stunt his growth but become a hazard to the baby. He has to come out of the birth canal.
When I was tempted to be discouraged, thinking that there is still some way more to go before I cross the finish line, God pointed me to the 38-year old paralysed man at the Pool of Bethesda. This man was in a kairos moment, close to fullness but hopelessness had set in. When Jesus asked 'Do you want to be healed?' he gave excuses. Physically he was there waiting but in his mind, he had lost all hope of getting healed. Somewhere along the long process of time, he lost his expectation. If you are like that man, stop giving excuses as to why you couldn't be healed or why you shouldn't receive your breakthrough now! Jesus has already paid it all for you at the cross. All you have to do is to possess your inheritance and give God all the glory!
In the same way, when you are going through that narrow path, that uncomfortable position, you feel like you are pushing through something. You don't like it, you don't understand it, you wish you could go back to before. But you can't. The only way out is to keep moving forward. Pain is a sign that something is about to be birthed. God has new levels of growth for you, that's why He needed to bring you out. Like a baby in a womb, he is healthy and growing inside the mummy's body for a season. But when his due date approaches, the womb will become a curse, not a blessing if he stays too long in it. It will not only stunt his growth but become a hazard to the baby. He has to come out of the birth canal.
Thursday, July 30, 2015
DESTINY DOORS
I watched this sermon called 'Destiny Doors' by John Gray in this Feb but I only felt the urge to share now. The key verse was Revelation 3:8 'I have set before you an open door that no one can shut.' How apt this message was! I had just closed a chapter, a door of ministry behind me. I was telling God that I have done His will and implored Him not to delay the open door ahead. The next thing I saw was this answer. I know I have seen this verse many times before but somehow seeing it again after a door was completely closed behind me bears great significance.
John Gray shared about how destiny is about details. A process whereby God is building up your character. How you would have to go through some doors of opportunity before you come to this destiny door. How you respond at each door will determine if there is more work to be done in your character or that you are ready to graduate. Oftentimes there are areas the Lord wants you to address which you are unwilling to. Like jealousy, bitterness, comparison with others, pride, fear of failure, self-preoccupation etc.
No wonder I had those three tests last July. God was allowing me to face my worst enemies to see if I could overcome them. If I hadn't passed, then He wouldn't have moved me on. But thank God I passed so He has graduated me from the last season. Some time ago I was just thinking about how I had to go through some seasons before I come to this season of childbearing. I totally didn't expect it. But I trust that God had to let me go through those seasons in order to prepare me for what is to come. It's a season of training, stretching and character development.
It was like how my muscles ached after I started exercising recently. At one point they hurt so badly that I almost regretted exercising. I felt the pain and wondered if I was getting too unhealthy. Even a little housework would cause my arms to ache like that. During the past few weeks, I was often plagued by aches and pains in my body. But Heng told me that was normal. My muscles were growing. When that process was over, my muscles wouldn't hurt that much after I exercised. All I needed to do is to press on. Don't give up. Just press through the pains.
The analogy to spiritual growth could be made through this experience. Growth is always not easy. Stretching causes pain. Whenever God is doing a work of stretching you, growing your character, the process may not always be easy or effortless. It requires you to die to your flesh a lot. And the flesh doesn't want to die so there is often a fight and it could be painful. But the end result is always good. When the process of stretching is over and you look back, you realize that you have grown much stronger and more mature.
Things that used to bother you and cause you heartaches could not do so anymore. Your circumstances may not have changed but you have changed. That is why you can rejoice and be expectant in areas where you once felt hopeless. God has turned your sorrows into joy. Your spirit of heaviness has been exchanged for a garment of praise. That's why you can rest and be at peace, trusting that God has not forgotten His promise to you. Where you once weren't sure if your appointed time has come, now you are totally convinced that the fullness of time is here. And you can continue to enjoy your life while waiting expectantly for your manifestation.
John Gray also said that you don't have to worry you will miss that door of opportunity. You don't have to rush through the door. You are not escaping from a storm. God wants you to savor the walking through the door, like walking through the red carpet. You can probably take a selfie since you have waited so long to walk through that door of destiny. This reminded me of what He told me years ago. About savoring the moment when God finally answered my dream. God is so good to me.
John Gray shared about how destiny is about details. A process whereby God is building up your character. How you would have to go through some doors of opportunity before you come to this destiny door. How you respond at each door will determine if there is more work to be done in your character or that you are ready to graduate. Oftentimes there are areas the Lord wants you to address which you are unwilling to. Like jealousy, bitterness, comparison with others, pride, fear of failure, self-preoccupation etc.
No wonder I had those three tests last July. God was allowing me to face my worst enemies to see if I could overcome them. If I hadn't passed, then He wouldn't have moved me on. But thank God I passed so He has graduated me from the last season. Some time ago I was just thinking about how I had to go through some seasons before I come to this season of childbearing. I totally didn't expect it. But I trust that God had to let me go through those seasons in order to prepare me for what is to come. It's a season of training, stretching and character development.
It was like how my muscles ached after I started exercising recently. At one point they hurt so badly that I almost regretted exercising. I felt the pain and wondered if I was getting too unhealthy. Even a little housework would cause my arms to ache like that. During the past few weeks, I was often plagued by aches and pains in my body. But Heng told me that was normal. My muscles were growing. When that process was over, my muscles wouldn't hurt that much after I exercised. All I needed to do is to press on. Don't give up. Just press through the pains.
The analogy to spiritual growth could be made through this experience. Growth is always not easy. Stretching causes pain. Whenever God is doing a work of stretching you, growing your character, the process may not always be easy or effortless. It requires you to die to your flesh a lot. And the flesh doesn't want to die so there is often a fight and it could be painful. But the end result is always good. When the process of stretching is over and you look back, you realize that you have grown much stronger and more mature.
Things that used to bother you and cause you heartaches could not do so anymore. Your circumstances may not have changed but you have changed. That is why you can rejoice and be expectant in areas where you once felt hopeless. God has turned your sorrows into joy. Your spirit of heaviness has been exchanged for a garment of praise. That's why you can rest and be at peace, trusting that God has not forgotten His promise to you. Where you once weren't sure if your appointed time has come, now you are totally convinced that the fullness of time is here. And you can continue to enjoy your life while waiting expectantly for your manifestation.
John Gray also said that you don't have to worry you will miss that door of opportunity. You don't have to rush through the door. You are not escaping from a storm. God wants you to savor the walking through the door, like walking through the red carpet. You can probably take a selfie since you have waited so long to walk through that door of destiny. This reminded me of what He told me years ago. About savoring the moment when God finally answered my dream. God is so good to me.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
TOO MANY CHOICES
I was reading this book about praying for your child and I really could identify myself with this mum. She felt that life is moving too fast and she is racing from one event to another. There are just so many options for ways in which the kids can spend their time! Is the best mum the one whose kids are the busiest? Most of the time the choices are all good so it makes decision-making even more difficult. There is a subtle pressure that seems to imply whose child is the most involved is the best parent.
Of course this isn't true! Yet it's so easy to fall into the trap of overcommitting our time. And it just makes parents feel more stressed. In the long run, it may be better to say no to many of these things. It's our job to help our kids draw the line and make good decisions. All these activities only earn us trophies that will one day collect dust on shelves. God will want us to focus our energies on things that will last a lifetime like family relationships.
We need God's help in making such decisions. Show us what activities to say yes to and what to say no to. Speak Your will about all my options so that I may know what is good and right for our family. Free us from the burden of all the 'shoulds' and 'coulds'. Sometimes we feel 'kiasu' or that we will lose out if we do not enrol our kids in this enrichment class or that school activity. But I am always unwilling to trade our precious family time in the weekends for such activities. Hence I will pray and ask God if we really should sign up for this activity or that.
Like the other time we were seeking God for direction to enrol Joshua in Chinese tuition class. I was very selective about such tuition classes and it was really out of necessity that I considered this last resort. Whenever possible I would try to coach him in his studies but I totally was helpless when it came to Chinese! Eventually God led us to a good tuition centre and Joshua seemed to enjoy these classes. God also worked things out for our good as Heng and I were able to do our couple quiet time during the two hours. It was something we have done before we had Joshua but didn't quite have the opportunity after.
I thank God for showing me that there are seasons in life. We don't have to do it all in one season. We could save certain things for other seasons. I thank God for giving us a long range perspective as we make difficult decisions. We want to hear from God rather than to follow the crowd or join the rat race. I want to be intentional about how I live my life and how our family live our lives. God cares about small things like activities and opportunities. He also gives us wisdom to decide when we ask Him. God is so good to us.
Of course this isn't true! Yet it's so easy to fall into the trap of overcommitting our time. And it just makes parents feel more stressed. In the long run, it may be better to say no to many of these things. It's our job to help our kids draw the line and make good decisions. All these activities only earn us trophies that will one day collect dust on shelves. God will want us to focus our energies on things that will last a lifetime like family relationships.
We need God's help in making such decisions. Show us what activities to say yes to and what to say no to. Speak Your will about all my options so that I may know what is good and right for our family. Free us from the burden of all the 'shoulds' and 'coulds'. Sometimes we feel 'kiasu' or that we will lose out if we do not enrol our kids in this enrichment class or that school activity. But I am always unwilling to trade our precious family time in the weekends for such activities. Hence I will pray and ask God if we really should sign up for this activity or that.
Like the other time we were seeking God for direction to enrol Joshua in Chinese tuition class. I was very selective about such tuition classes and it was really out of necessity that I considered this last resort. Whenever possible I would try to coach him in his studies but I totally was helpless when it came to Chinese! Eventually God led us to a good tuition centre and Joshua seemed to enjoy these classes. God also worked things out for our good as Heng and I were able to do our couple quiet time during the two hours. It was something we have done before we had Joshua but didn't quite have the opportunity after.
I thank God for showing me that there are seasons in life. We don't have to do it all in one season. We could save certain things for other seasons. I thank God for giving us a long range perspective as we make difficult decisions. We want to hear from God rather than to follow the crowd or join the rat race. I want to be intentional about how I live my life and how our family live our lives. God cares about small things like activities and opportunities. He also gives us wisdom to decide when we ask Him. God is so good to us.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
HALF-YEARLY REVIEW
My care leader reminded us the other day that we have already gone past half of our year of His restoration. We should take stock of the thanksgiving items for this half year. Well, it's always good to give thanks to the Lord. Here's my thanksgiving list:
1) I have handed over the baton to my current care leader and members have transitioned well
2) Evidences of care group members' spiritual growth: God showed me that this was the fruit of my labour as I plowed into their lives in the past few years
3) I have published two e-books, blogging more regularly and almost finished writing my third book
4) I have also been relieved of my obligations in the healing ministry
5) Joshua has grown to be bolder and more talkative nowadays
6) I am having the time of my life now: nice holidays, camping, chalet, family activities
7) Restoration in many areas: relationship with my mum, foregone benefits etc
8) Many longings fulfilled and surprises: branded bag, bouquets of flowers, handphone
9) More strongholds destroyed as I came out of my valleys and God caused me to overcome the giants
1) I have handed over the baton to my current care leader and members have transitioned well
2) Evidences of care group members' spiritual growth: God showed me that this was the fruit of my labour as I plowed into their lives in the past few years
3) I have published two e-books, blogging more regularly and almost finished writing my third book
4) I have also been relieved of my obligations in the healing ministry
5) Joshua has grown to be bolder and more talkative nowadays
6) I am having the time of my life now: nice holidays, camping, chalet, family activities
7) Restoration in many areas: relationship with my mum, foregone benefits etc
8) Many longings fulfilled and surprises: branded bag, bouquets of flowers, handphone
9) More strongholds destroyed as I came out of my valleys and God caused me to overcome the giants
All glory to Jesus! It's time for you to take stock of your blessings too. And get ready for more blessings to come as the second half of this year would be more exciting than the first half. Like Pastor Joel declared: Your second half of 2015 can be one of the greatest seasons of your life!
Monday, July 27, 2015
VALLEY OF BREAKTHROUGH
Yesterday I read in Journals of the Heart that the reason all evil schemes and plans are now made manifest in my life is so that they will be destroyed. The enemy's works are manifest to be destroyed in order to bring about the fulfillment of all God has called me to be. With the destruction of all that hinders there will be an increase in my ability to behold Jesus. Line upon line God reveals them…incident by incident He uncovers them enabling me to overcome and walk in freedom.
This message was similar to the message on Valley of Baal Perazim in Pastor Joel's blog. He was talking about how David conquered an entire valley of giants and renamed it as Valley of Perazim or breakthrough in 1 Chronicles 14:11. David boasted that His God has broken through the waters for him. It was an amazing breakthrough. Why was this place renamed after Baal a god of the Philistines and not after the Lord? Because at this place the enemy thought he was the strongest – so David called it Baal Perazim meaning that God broke through in the strongest place of the enemy - God wants to give you a breakthrough in those areas of your life that the enemy is the strongest.
I thought I had crossed my Jordan and overcame the giants last July. But it was only recently that I realised God was revealing those evil schemes and plans in my life in order to destroy them. Line upon line, incident upon incident like the fear over seeing Psalms 23:4, the misconception about Habbakuk 2:3, about God's appointed time. He uncovered all these so that I could overcome them and walk in freedom. Not only that, God also restored the lost peace and joy over my exit from ministry work. With the destruction of all these evil works, and all that hinders, I am set free to behold Jesus.
Yesterday Heng and I talked about the valley of breakthrough. We reflected upon our valley experiences in the past year. For Heng, it was the uncertainty of his finance portfolio. For me, it was mainly my ministry experiences as the Lord told me to lay it down and also the negative experiences in healing ministry. I also had other valley experiences like attacks on my body, struggles with bitterness etc. It wasn't pleasant at that time but it was necessary. Besides we were only passing through the valley, not camping there. It was only temporary.
Heng said that such valley experiences served to build up our faith and make us grow. Actually the valley was a set up for God's blessings. So we need not be afraid of the valleys. Pastor Prince also mentioned in his sermon yesterday that many times a person went through certain valley experiences because of his calling or destiny. The purpose of such valley experiences was to enrich and bless the body of Christ after the person came out of the valley. He would be a better and stronger person.
Recently I had many mentions of the valley: be it the valley of shadow of death or valley of blessing or valley of breakthrough. Through it all, the message is consistent: God is with me through the valley so I don't need to fear. Besides I am not going to camp in that valley. I am only passing through. However intense my experiences are, they are only temporary. And after I have passed through the valley, I would have come out a much better person. Besides, there would be spoils and rewards from coming out of the valley.
This message was similar to the message on Valley of Baal Perazim in Pastor Joel's blog. He was talking about how David conquered an entire valley of giants and renamed it as Valley of Perazim or breakthrough in 1 Chronicles 14:11. David boasted that His God has broken through the waters for him. It was an amazing breakthrough. Why was this place renamed after Baal a god of the Philistines and not after the Lord? Because at this place the enemy thought he was the strongest – so David called it Baal Perazim meaning that God broke through in the strongest place of the enemy - God wants to give you a breakthrough in those areas of your life that the enemy is the strongest.
I thought I had crossed my Jordan and overcame the giants last July. But it was only recently that I realised God was revealing those evil schemes and plans in my life in order to destroy them. Line upon line, incident upon incident like the fear over seeing Psalms 23:4, the misconception about Habbakuk 2:3, about God's appointed time. He uncovered all these so that I could overcome them and walk in freedom. Not only that, God also restored the lost peace and joy over my exit from ministry work. With the destruction of all these evil works, and all that hinders, I am set free to behold Jesus.
Yesterday Heng and I talked about the valley of breakthrough. We reflected upon our valley experiences in the past year. For Heng, it was the uncertainty of his finance portfolio. For me, it was mainly my ministry experiences as the Lord told me to lay it down and also the negative experiences in healing ministry. I also had other valley experiences like attacks on my body, struggles with bitterness etc. It wasn't pleasant at that time but it was necessary. Besides we were only passing through the valley, not camping there. It was only temporary.
Heng said that such valley experiences served to build up our faith and make us grow. Actually the valley was a set up for God's blessings. So we need not be afraid of the valleys. Pastor Prince also mentioned in his sermon yesterday that many times a person went through certain valley experiences because of his calling or destiny. The purpose of such valley experiences was to enrich and bless the body of Christ after the person came out of the valley. He would be a better and stronger person.
Recently I had many mentions of the valley: be it the valley of shadow of death or valley of blessing or valley of breakthrough. Through it all, the message is consistent: God is with me through the valley so I don't need to fear. Besides I am not going to camp in that valley. I am only passing through. However intense my experiences are, they are only temporary. And after I have passed through the valley, I would have come out a much better person. Besides, there would be spoils and rewards from coming out of the valley.
Friday, July 24, 2015
DON'T LOOK BACK II
This blog post is a continuation of yesterday's sharing, taken from TD Jakes book 'When power meets potential'.
In the new season you're going to start out knowing nothing and I rather know nothing in the new than keep on knowing everything in the old. Yet it is not exactly starting from scratch. You're carrying what you learnt in the old season into the new. God is not erasing your memory. The key is, you are stepping into the unfamiliar and unknown. Celebrate it. Every step you take toward where you don't know where you are going, be confident that you are progressing toward your purpose. You are taking significant steps towards fulfilling your destiny.
The key to breaking the old cycles associated with the old season is simply to start new ones. Too many of us get stuck in old cycles because we put limits on God. We limit what He can do. We think that the old life is as good as it gets. But you haven't dreamed of what God can do. You cannot comprehend what is up ahead. Your mind cannot imagine what God has on the other side of your new season. I believe the Lord is saying to you: The cycle has been broken over your life! It's completely broken. You're never going to be the same! How you used to do things will not define how you do them in your next dimension. Everything's different because it's a new dimension!
Even though we have been born, and we have become a new person at a new level, we can get distracted by old level stuff. Old level situations. Old level places. Old level people. Old level activities. We try to participate but they hurt. Why? It's like a two year old trying to go back to the mother's womb. It's just painful. It doesn't work. It doesn't look right, it makes no sense. The baby doesn't belong there. Are there things in your life squeezing you back into your former level? It won't work. It can't.
In the past, the Lord fed you manna falling down into your tent but now you are coming into your promised land. Prepare yourself, for in three days you will cross this Jordan. You are coming into another dimension. You have got to feed on another level. Learn on another level. Read on another level. Interact with people on another level. Parent on another level, run a household on another level. Everything is upgraded.
The last test to pass before moving forward is the test of discouragement. You cannot earn the right to lead until you pass the test of discouragement. If anyone can talk you out of it, you are not the one for the new level. Would you keep moving forward if things do not unfold the way you expect? Will you keep following even if you get misunderstood? Will you keep moving forward if you forget why you were doing this to start with?
At some point you may be confused. What's got into me? Why am I going in this direction? I can't see clearly in this new level. It's all alien and unfamiliar. At least in the old level I knew where everything was. Everything made sense. Those thoughts are normal. They are the common assault upon everyone who is invited into a new dimension.
The truth is these thoughts couldn't hold you back, it's what you do with them that determines where you go. The next level has to be real to you. It has got to be so real to you that you cannot live without it. When you want purpose badly enough to do whatever it takes to get there, to control your passions, that is when you are ready to step into it. Purpose awaits the ready. You have to be trained to operate in the next dimension, and after you have suffered for a while, after you have faced all kinds of discouragement, come through them and say 'I still want it.' Then God says 'I'm going to release another wave of glory in your life.'
Because of the purpose you have been marked for, God didn't let the waters drown you. He is with you, He will never leave you. He has invested too much in you to give up on you. Anyone would have drowned, lost their sanity, gave up hoping but you kept fighting your way back up to the top. And now there is a glory that God is going to release on your life. It has to be released on the extraordinary. No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind can imagine what God is bringing you into. It will blow your mind.
Thursday, July 23, 2015
DON'T LOOK BACK
This sharing is again taken from the book by TD Jakes on 'When power meets potential'. I read this book some time ago but I only felt impressed to share this portion now. There is a time for everything.
When power meets potential, it is a moment that is absolutely pregnant with purpose. The mere notion of going back to bondage is repulsive. There is nothing back there. The very thing that positioned you for promotion can actually rob you of the blessing of promotion if you look back. Maybe you thought you could enjoy the best of both worlds, the old and the new. But you are in bondage to your old life.
When your potential has been awakened it will never rest again. Potential says: I know this is what I have been waiting for all of my life. This is my moment, and I cannot ignore the power to which I have been exposed. God is going to make firewood out of your former position! There are things you might be laying down but there are things being upgraded within you. There is stuff inside of you that is changing its very structure and makeup as you embrace transition.
God doesn't want to snatch your plough or rod away. He's not on some quest to make your life miserable and take all your stuff away. He wants to ignite what you have. The key is yielding it to Him. If He sets the plough on fire while you are holding it, it's going to hurt. God doesn't set it on fire while it's still being held by the plow man. If we are unwilling to submit these things to God we are unable to see what He wants to release through them. Sometimes potential is coming out in a way we didn't know it was there, it shocks us, we are scared and we want to run away. The whole thing is too glorious and a bit too much. But you can't go back.
I cannot stay in my position for the traditions of men will make the Word of God of no effect. If I continue to stay in the circle, making the acceptable motions, trying to live up to the status quo, I am going to miss my moment. It's not that it was bad. It was good for me at one time but a shift has occurred. In the same way Abraham received a divine name change, Elisha experienced a similar transformation. It was time for a new thing, a new name. Similarly it is your time to come into a shift, are you ready?
When power meets potential, it is a moment that is absolutely pregnant with purpose. The mere notion of going back to bondage is repulsive. There is nothing back there. The very thing that positioned you for promotion can actually rob you of the blessing of promotion if you look back. Maybe you thought you could enjoy the best of both worlds, the old and the new. But you are in bondage to your old life.
The prospect of stepping into something new might have been overwhelming. God is calling you out of what you have known and inviting you to cast your net into the deep waters. Are you able to leave the familiar, comfortable and safe and step out on a new dimension of living? Sadly, many never take this step because the familiar and comfortable kept them back.
Sometimes the comfort of an old season tries to keep us from embracing the new thing God wants to launch us into. There's comfort in being ordinary. Some people are even content to stay in painful discomfort or in the darkness rather than stepping into God's purpose. Purpose is only unknown because we have not stepped in yet. But God has already gone before us to prepare the way for us. He has been there before. Yet some people prefer to identify themselves with their pain.
On the other side of each power-filled moment is a release of unlocked potential that changes every life. In your moment of power, you probably won't see the entire plan. Every detail, every stop along the way, every blessing, every meeting, every breakthrough. Your mind wouldn't be able to handle it all right there in a single encounter of power. You don't need to know it all. All you need to understand is that the moment of power activates potential to do things you cannot even imagine.
In the stepping out process there is mystery. Elisha didn't have all the answers. Yet he just knew something was shifting. He was ready, willing and in turn he responded. Don't settle for the old and worn out season when God is calling you to new levels. The problem for some of us is that the old season is something we are familiar with and by continuing to live in that season, we prevent ourselves from entering into the new season of unfamiliar purpose. Somewhere along the line we identified ourselves with a season.
Good or bad, we cannot identify ourselves by a season, for when the season changes, we get nervous. We start shaking and get nervous. Why? Because who we were is changing. On the contrary, we don't have to be afraid. We need to celebrate. There is good news. God is moving you on. Embrace the shift. When power meets potential, God wants to break that false identity and build a fresh one. Promotion was a byproduct of faithfulness in the previous season but when the moment comes, you need to have a paradigm shift.
Everything that will keep you moving forward will endure the mantle. Everything from yesterday that will help you progress will continue into your new dimension. At the same time, the stuff that holds you back cannot endure. It cannot go through. It has no place. Your moment with power exposes you to what can continue and what cannot. Your glimpse of the next dimension gives you vision for what you can take with you and what you can't. Things aren't going to be like they used to be.
After your meeting with power, you will not be the same person because God has done a fresh thing in your life. You might try to go back but nothing fits. You will go back and look at what you used to call good and say: What in the world was I thinking about? Whenever God elevates you to the next level, you look at things that you used to call excellent and ask: Whatever happened to them? They didn't change. You did. You've been exposed to the next level of glory and it's time for you to step on it.
Sometimes the comfort of an old season tries to keep us from embracing the new thing God wants to launch us into. There's comfort in being ordinary. Some people are even content to stay in painful discomfort or in the darkness rather than stepping into God's purpose. Purpose is only unknown because we have not stepped in yet. But God has already gone before us to prepare the way for us. He has been there before. Yet some people prefer to identify themselves with their pain.
On the other side of each power-filled moment is a release of unlocked potential that changes every life. In your moment of power, you probably won't see the entire plan. Every detail, every stop along the way, every blessing, every meeting, every breakthrough. Your mind wouldn't be able to handle it all right there in a single encounter of power. You don't need to know it all. All you need to understand is that the moment of power activates potential to do things you cannot even imagine.
In the stepping out process there is mystery. Elisha didn't have all the answers. Yet he just knew something was shifting. He was ready, willing and in turn he responded. Don't settle for the old and worn out season when God is calling you to new levels. The problem for some of us is that the old season is something we are familiar with and by continuing to live in that season, we prevent ourselves from entering into the new season of unfamiliar purpose. Somewhere along the line we identified ourselves with a season.
Good or bad, we cannot identify ourselves by a season, for when the season changes, we get nervous. We start shaking and get nervous. Why? Because who we were is changing. On the contrary, we don't have to be afraid. We need to celebrate. There is good news. God is moving you on. Embrace the shift. When power meets potential, God wants to break that false identity and build a fresh one. Promotion was a byproduct of faithfulness in the previous season but when the moment comes, you need to have a paradigm shift.
Everything that will keep you moving forward will endure the mantle. Everything from yesterday that will help you progress will continue into your new dimension. At the same time, the stuff that holds you back cannot endure. It cannot go through. It has no place. Your moment with power exposes you to what can continue and what cannot. Your glimpse of the next dimension gives you vision for what you can take with you and what you can't. Things aren't going to be like they used to be.
After your meeting with power, you will not be the same person because God has done a fresh thing in your life. You might try to go back but nothing fits. You will go back and look at what you used to call good and say: What in the world was I thinking about? Whenever God elevates you to the next level, you look at things that you used to call excellent and ask: Whatever happened to them? They didn't change. You did. You've been exposed to the next level of glory and it's time for you to step on it.
When your potential has been awakened it will never rest again. Potential says: I know this is what I have been waiting for all of my life. This is my moment, and I cannot ignore the power to which I have been exposed. God is going to make firewood out of your former position! There are things you might be laying down but there are things being upgraded within you. There is stuff inside of you that is changing its very structure and makeup as you embrace transition.
God doesn't want to snatch your plough or rod away. He's not on some quest to make your life miserable and take all your stuff away. He wants to ignite what you have. The key is yielding it to Him. If He sets the plough on fire while you are holding it, it's going to hurt. God doesn't set it on fire while it's still being held by the plow man. If we are unwilling to submit these things to God we are unable to see what He wants to release through them. Sometimes potential is coming out in a way we didn't know it was there, it shocks us, we are scared and we want to run away. The whole thing is too glorious and a bit too much. But you can't go back.
I cannot stay in my position for the traditions of men will make the Word of God of no effect. If I continue to stay in the circle, making the acceptable motions, trying to live up to the status quo, I am going to miss my moment. It's not that it was bad. It was good for me at one time but a shift has occurred. In the same way Abraham received a divine name change, Elisha experienced a similar transformation. It was time for a new thing, a new name. Similarly it is your time to come into a shift, are you ready?
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
DISTRACTIONS
Have you wondered why every time you decided to be still before the Lord and hear His voice, there will be many distractions? This is actually quite common. That is because the enemy doesn't want you to spend uninterrupted time with the Lord. He knows when you are connected to the Most High God, supernatural things happen. You are plugged to the power from on high.
Recently I also faced many frustrating distractions. I knew these are smoke screens trying to steer my focus away from Jesus but somehow I would still get affected. But thank God that in a short time, He would have restored me back to the place of peace. These distractions could come from any direction. It could be family, friends, something you saw, your dog or a phone call or even meaningful activities etc.
I find that sometimes ignoring these distractions didn't help much. Some could persist as niggling doubts eating away at my joy and peace. That was when I knew I had to take it to the Lord. In other words, complain to Him. I would pour out my grouses and greviances to Him in my journal, very much like how David poured out his heart to God in the psalms. After doing that I would feel a release and God never fails to speak to me. Then I know I am good to go on with my daily business.
Distraction is a big weapon used by the enemy. Sometimes it may even come under the guise of wonderful things like serving the Lord. The enemy wouldn't care if you are overburdened by activities. So long as you are kept busy doing instead of seeking to be who God has made you, this will keep you from intimacy with the Lord. Once distraction takes place, the enemy tries to get you to do things in your own strength.
God wants us to come to a place of rest and put an end to the striving. He wants us to come and rest, come into His intimacy, come and be with Him. You have to choose to close your eyes to all the distractions around you and rest in Him. And then you will receive all the help you need to resolve your issues or better still, after a time of fellowship with God, you will discover to your pleasant surprise that all your issues have been resolved! Praise the Lord!
Recently I also faced many frustrating distractions. I knew these are smoke screens trying to steer my focus away from Jesus but somehow I would still get affected. But thank God that in a short time, He would have restored me back to the place of peace. These distractions could come from any direction. It could be family, friends, something you saw, your dog or a phone call or even meaningful activities etc.
I find that sometimes ignoring these distractions didn't help much. Some could persist as niggling doubts eating away at my joy and peace. That was when I knew I had to take it to the Lord. In other words, complain to Him. I would pour out my grouses and greviances to Him in my journal, very much like how David poured out his heart to God in the psalms. After doing that I would feel a release and God never fails to speak to me. Then I know I am good to go on with my daily business.
Distraction is a big weapon used by the enemy. Sometimes it may even come under the guise of wonderful things like serving the Lord. The enemy wouldn't care if you are overburdened by activities. So long as you are kept busy doing instead of seeking to be who God has made you, this will keep you from intimacy with the Lord. Once distraction takes place, the enemy tries to get you to do things in your own strength.
God wants us to come to a place of rest and put an end to the striving. He wants us to come and rest, come into His intimacy, come and be with Him. You have to choose to close your eyes to all the distractions around you and rest in Him. And then you will receive all the help you need to resolve your issues or better still, after a time of fellowship with God, you will discover to your pleasant surprise that all your issues have been resolved! Praise the Lord!
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD
I read this book 'Entrusting the Key' by Ali Smith. It took me two days to finish reading it. I couldn't help but wanted to continue to read on because much of what the author wrote ministered so much to me. Even though she was a single lady waiting to get married, her waiting journey was just so similar to mine, and many of the verses or word that she mentioned were exactly the one God gave me during this wait.
Through a third person perspective, I could see clearly what God was doing in her life. In doing so, I could then see clearly what He was doing in my life. Like when God gave her Psalms 46:10, it was because God wanted to connect with her. He wanted her to learn to be still before Him, to learn about Him and His ways. Then He would reveal to her the plans, visions, desires and dreams He had for her. It was needful to learn to seek the Lord and receive directions on our life.
For me, when He gave me this verse in Jan 2008, all I knew was He was taking me on a journey of trusting Him. It was a journey of faith, like Abraham. I didn't know what it entailed then. Later when I stayed home, I had more time to spend with the Lord. Slowly I also learnt how to keep still, do nothing but just be like Mary, sitting at Jesus' feet while the world passed me by. For most people, being busy and involved in activities was easy but keeping still was the hardest thing to do.
The Lord had to address this part of my flesh, always wanting to see some action, getting things done before I considered myself productive. This included my response to ministry work, always jumping in to help others. He was teaching me an object lesson about waiting. How waiting is not passive but active. I discovered that when I waited until God gave the directive, it would mean that the person has come to the end of himself and herself. So when I gave them the word at this point, I would usually see the results. This prevented me from running around like a headless chicken and suffering burnout.
It was also this time of keeping still before the Lord, shutting myself out from the hustle and bustle of the world that I learnt to hear His voice clearly. That I understood His heart of love more and knew about Him, having the mind of Christ. Being connected to Him, being able to hear His voice was the top priority and a discipline which is a must for all who sought to do His will. Even though I had been listening to His voice without much distraction from the world at home, I know He is preparing me for a time when He will release me back to the world. That will be the test of the pudding, whether I could be still and discern His voice in the midst of busyness, in the midst of many voices.
In the course of waiting, He was teaching me to rest and relax on green pastures and besides still waters. This is a luxury not available to many believers but not impossible. In future, when I go back to ministry work, I have to learn to seek rest and refreshment from the Lord on a regular basis so that I wouldn't be easily burnt out for ministry work is for the long haul. The Lord is transitioning me from a season when I could afford to spend lots of time with Him to a season when I would be busier. In this season, God would be teaching me to connect with Him throughout the entire day, not just restricted to the uninterrupted time of fellowship with Him in the mornings.
Through a third person perspective, I could see clearly what God was doing in her life. In doing so, I could then see clearly what He was doing in my life. Like when God gave her Psalms 46:10, it was because God wanted to connect with her. He wanted her to learn to be still before Him, to learn about Him and His ways. Then He would reveal to her the plans, visions, desires and dreams He had for her. It was needful to learn to seek the Lord and receive directions on our life.
For me, when He gave me this verse in Jan 2008, all I knew was He was taking me on a journey of trusting Him. It was a journey of faith, like Abraham. I didn't know what it entailed then. Later when I stayed home, I had more time to spend with the Lord. Slowly I also learnt how to keep still, do nothing but just be like Mary, sitting at Jesus' feet while the world passed me by. For most people, being busy and involved in activities was easy but keeping still was the hardest thing to do.
The Lord had to address this part of my flesh, always wanting to see some action, getting things done before I considered myself productive. This included my response to ministry work, always jumping in to help others. He was teaching me an object lesson about waiting. How waiting is not passive but active. I discovered that when I waited until God gave the directive, it would mean that the person has come to the end of himself and herself. So when I gave them the word at this point, I would usually see the results. This prevented me from running around like a headless chicken and suffering burnout.
It was also this time of keeping still before the Lord, shutting myself out from the hustle and bustle of the world that I learnt to hear His voice clearly. That I understood His heart of love more and knew about Him, having the mind of Christ. Being connected to Him, being able to hear His voice was the top priority and a discipline which is a must for all who sought to do His will. Even though I had been listening to His voice without much distraction from the world at home, I know He is preparing me for a time when He will release me back to the world. That will be the test of the pudding, whether I could be still and discern His voice in the midst of busyness, in the midst of many voices.
In the course of waiting, He was teaching me to rest and relax on green pastures and besides still waters. This is a luxury not available to many believers but not impossible. In future, when I go back to ministry work, I have to learn to seek rest and refreshment from the Lord on a regular basis so that I wouldn't be easily burnt out for ministry work is for the long haul. The Lord is transitioning me from a season when I could afford to spend lots of time with Him to a season when I would be busier. In this season, God would be teaching me to connect with Him throughout the entire day, not just restricted to the uninterrupted time of fellowship with Him in the mornings.
Monday, July 20, 2015
HEARING FROM GOD
It is my joy and honour to have this article contributed by my dear sister-in-Christ, Gena Lee. Gena was miraculously healed of stage 4 cancer in 2013. She is someone who has simple faith and very hungry for God's presence. Recently she even received full restoration of her saliva glands during her trip to Hillsong Conference 2015. All glory to Jesus!
Hearing Pastor Prince’s sermon every Sunday, I marveled every time when Pastor shared how God would talk to him. I wished very much to have such conversations with God on a regular basis. I asked God. I asked my Care Group leader. I asked people that I knew how they conversed with God. Not that God has not spoken to me before. It was like a short message of assurance.
Before going for my MRI scan, He said “Do not fear, I am with you”. While worrying over my daughter’s upcoming Primary School Leaving Exam, He said “Do not worry”. However, I would love to continue a long conversation where He would answer me in a continuous flow of conversation. I asked God to show me. There began a desire to go to Hillsong Conference in June 2015. And this year, Hillsong’s theme was about hearing God speaks. I surrendered myself again to Him during the conference and God did speak a lot to me.
While in the conference, one of the Pastors mentioned that he was impacted by Bill Hybels' book on 'The Power of a Whisper' which I managed to borrow from the library recently. The author's whole life has been full of God’s whispers and this impacted on his personality, ministry, his parenting and I believe in all aspects of his life. He shared many examples in each chapter for each subject matter. Here’s what I have learnt from the book and from the conference.
God is a communicator. He is a God of words. God is a transformational God. He transforms us inside out. To be in this position, we have to open our heart and surrender ourselves to Him. After which, we are to ask him. We have to increase our awareness and attentiveness to any small way He might want to communicate with us. When He prompts us to do something, listen carefully and do it.
God’s whisper may be in the form of assurance, admonition or action. I have received His whisper of assurance most of the time in my short walk with Him. There was once a whisper of admonition where I prayed there would be no summon notice issued for my car while I ran some errands quickly. However when I got back to the car, there was that little summon notice snugly tug under the wiper. I started to grumble to God. And the Holy Spirit impressed upon me Matthew 22 in the bible where Jesus said “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar…” Oops, I was admonished gently by God.
When receiving prompting from God, we might wonder if it is from Him. Here are some filters that the author shared. Does it align with what I know the character of God revealed in the bible? God is love. He is our Abba Father. Is it scriptural? The scripture is full of examples of how Jesus would have behaved in any situation. Is it wise? Read the book of Proverbs and hear what wisdom has to say. Is it in tune with our own character? If is something totally different from our character, there will be affirmation in other ways. Last but not least, what do the people you most trust think about it? Proverbs 11:14 says that 'Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors, there is safety.'
From his experience, the author also shared that our spiritual growth will plateau at certain stage. When that happens, it is time to immense ourselves in God’s word until you are saturated with it. He could spend many months in the same chapter. He would read one verse at least once each day and journal his observations and thoughts. The next day he would go through the next verse and 'pray back' various truths to God. On some days he would read the whole chapter. On other days he was able to recite from memory how much of the chapter he read. If he does not understand the concept, he will google and spend some time reviewing other people ideas. It is a process of saturation and reflection of God’s words.
What if you do not hear from God when it is a dry season? In his book, Bill suggested that we could ask God to improve our hearing, reduce the noise of our life and again immerse ourselves in his Words. The Holy Spirit will remind us of scriptures we already know. We will hear whispers that reinforce biblical truths. We have to be willing to spend time with our Lord reading His words for He communicates to us via his Word.
When we are saturated with His Word and if we are caught off guard by life’s circumstances, His wisdom is whispered through His Words that dwell within us. When we go through the valley of darkness, God’s Word will see us through. God is always near us because He promises that He will never forsake us. Romans 8:28 says that 'We know in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.'
As the author also pointed out, Jesus also has his favourite places alone with his Father to pray. He would usually withdraw from crowds to devote time with God to pray. God tends to speak to people who want to hear from Him. I think this is obvious even with our conversation with people. We would usually talk to people who want to hear from us.
As we walk with the Lord, I have learnt this: We have to be still – that is a quiet time with Him whether in the morning or night or during the day. Put away the noise of our life. Worship or speak in tongues and talk to Him. We have to pray to God. As Pastor Prince shared in one of his sermons, we cannot just assume that God knows. Even though God knows what we are going to say before we say it, He still longs for us to speak to Him. He longs to communicate with us and fellowship with us. Prayer is a relationship with God. It is a lifelong and eternal relationship.
Hearing Pastor Prince’s sermon every Sunday, I marveled every time when Pastor shared how God would talk to him. I wished very much to have such conversations with God on a regular basis. I asked God. I asked my Care Group leader. I asked people that I knew how they conversed with God. Not that God has not spoken to me before. It was like a short message of assurance.
Before going for my MRI scan, He said “Do not fear, I am with you”. While worrying over my daughter’s upcoming Primary School Leaving Exam, He said “Do not worry”. However, I would love to continue a long conversation where He would answer me in a continuous flow of conversation. I asked God to show me. There began a desire to go to Hillsong Conference in June 2015. And this year, Hillsong’s theme was about hearing God speaks. I surrendered myself again to Him during the conference and God did speak a lot to me.
While in the conference, one of the Pastors mentioned that he was impacted by Bill Hybels' book on 'The Power of a Whisper' which I managed to borrow from the library recently. The author's whole life has been full of God’s whispers and this impacted on his personality, ministry, his parenting and I believe in all aspects of his life. He shared many examples in each chapter for each subject matter. Here’s what I have learnt from the book and from the conference.
God is a communicator. He is a God of words. God is a transformational God. He transforms us inside out. To be in this position, we have to open our heart and surrender ourselves to Him. After which, we are to ask him. We have to increase our awareness and attentiveness to any small way He might want to communicate with us. When He prompts us to do something, listen carefully and do it.
God’s whisper may be in the form of assurance, admonition or action. I have received His whisper of assurance most of the time in my short walk with Him. There was once a whisper of admonition where I prayed there would be no summon notice issued for my car while I ran some errands quickly. However when I got back to the car, there was that little summon notice snugly tug under the wiper. I started to grumble to God. And the Holy Spirit impressed upon me Matthew 22 in the bible where Jesus said “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar…” Oops, I was admonished gently by God.
When receiving prompting from God, we might wonder if it is from Him. Here are some filters that the author shared. Does it align with what I know the character of God revealed in the bible? God is love. He is our Abba Father. Is it scriptural? The scripture is full of examples of how Jesus would have behaved in any situation. Is it wise? Read the book of Proverbs and hear what wisdom has to say. Is it in tune with our own character? If is something totally different from our character, there will be affirmation in other ways. Last but not least, what do the people you most trust think about it? Proverbs 11:14 says that 'Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors, there is safety.'
From his experience, the author also shared that our spiritual growth will plateau at certain stage. When that happens, it is time to immense ourselves in God’s word until you are saturated with it. He could spend many months in the same chapter. He would read one verse at least once each day and journal his observations and thoughts. The next day he would go through the next verse and 'pray back' various truths to God. On some days he would read the whole chapter. On other days he was able to recite from memory how much of the chapter he read. If he does not understand the concept, he will google and spend some time reviewing other people ideas. It is a process of saturation and reflection of God’s words.
What if you do not hear from God when it is a dry season? In his book, Bill suggested that we could ask God to improve our hearing, reduce the noise of our life and again immerse ourselves in his Words. The Holy Spirit will remind us of scriptures we already know. We will hear whispers that reinforce biblical truths. We have to be willing to spend time with our Lord reading His words for He communicates to us via his Word.
When we are saturated with His Word and if we are caught off guard by life’s circumstances, His wisdom is whispered through His Words that dwell within us. When we go through the valley of darkness, God’s Word will see us through. God is always near us because He promises that He will never forsake us. Romans 8:28 says that 'We know in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.'
As the author also pointed out, Jesus also has his favourite places alone with his Father to pray. He would usually withdraw from crowds to devote time with God to pray. God tends to speak to people who want to hear from Him. I think this is obvious even with our conversation with people. We would usually talk to people who want to hear from us.
As we walk with the Lord, I have learnt this: We have to be still – that is a quiet time with Him whether in the morning or night or during the day. Put away the noise of our life. Worship or speak in tongues and talk to Him. We have to pray to God. As Pastor Prince shared in one of his sermons, we cannot just assume that God knows. Even though God knows what we are going to say before we say it, He still longs for us to speak to Him. He longs to communicate with us and fellowship with us. Prayer is a relationship with God. It is a lifelong and eternal relationship.
Friday, July 17, 2015
GOING CAMPING
Today is a public holiday in Singapore. So our family is going camping overnight with my brother-in-law's family at the beach. We have been planning and looking forward to this trip for a long while. The last time we went for fishing trips was also with my brother-in-law and his wife, before we had Joshua. I still remembered in the middle of the night it was raining cats and dogs so we had to pack our tents quickly and rush all the way back to our cars. It was quite hilarious. But we pray for God to bless us with good weather this time round so we would all enjoy the camping experience.
Well, you would think it was just a simple camping trip but you wouldn't imagine the amount of things we bought and prepared just for this trip. We bought a four-men tent, an inflatable double mattress, camp lights, small portable fans (in case it gets hot at night), air pillows, picnic mats, snacks and lots of other stuff. We would be having a barbecue there for the kids to enjoy, as part of the package of camping. My brother-in-law even bought Bunsen burners and mess tins as he intended to cook instant noodles for us later.
Joshua was excited and has been counting down to this day, especially after all the preparations were made. He even wrote down a list of things to buy and to bring there. And two days before this trip, he already started parking these stuff into boxes. He was really looking forward to having a great time with his cousins there. Herein lies the intrinsic satisfaction of planning an event and preparing for it. The anticipation is part of the fun. Whether the actual experience is as good as we imagined, the point is the preparation process was enjoyable. God is good. Indeed through many experiences, I learnt that having planned and prepared for an event often gave me a better desired outcome because I was able to enjoy it more.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
WHO YOU ASSOCIATE WITH
This sharing is taken from 'Destiny is within you' by Musa Bako. I thought it is food for thought for some of us...
You make choices by your associations, the people with whom you connect or form alliances. These people can impact you whether you know it or not. Knowing the right people to form alliances with and the ones to keep at arm's length is a decision you must make routinely throughout your life. Your associations say much about you, your values, the dreams you have and how high you want to rise in life. The people you associate with have influence over you in some way. He who moves with the wise will be wise.
Please understand that there are people you cannot bond or form deep relationships with because of the negative impact they can have on you. You may have something to do with everybody you come into contact with but please don't be deeply and intimately involved with just anybody. If you connect with great thinkers, people of high standards in life, people with a passion for success and live positively, you are likely to start to think highly of yourself and expect great things in you.
You can associate with people in different ways. You can make associations by reading books. Books are powerful ways we connect with the spirit in the author. People write books to communicate their values, their understanding and whatever they have in them, with the intention of impacting the readers. Usually people choose a book because they want to know more about specific subject areas and those type of books can change lives.
There is an unspoken relationship that develops between a reader and the author and when the reader finds the author's experiences interesting, the book starts to influence the reader's worldview and behaviour. That's why not every book should be read, only those you desire to impact you. Books written by Kenneth E. Hagin, E.W. Kenyon, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland and TD Jakes have helped release many people into their destiny. You can connect with people by admiring their style and by watching them closely, even from a distance.
Many football stars, singers and movie stars have become models to millions of people they have not even met or know. We do not have to physically meet someone before he or she starts to influence us. When people admire others and desire to be like them, an association develops and as they watch closely and learn more, they start to be influenced in some way.
You can also form associations by fellowshipping directly with someone, which is very powerful. Who do you spend most of your time with? Who are your close confidants? They can all help to shape your life and destiny in one way or another. But there are also people who will hinder your progress and you have to disconnect with them to be able to think straight. There are people surrounding you that you have to disconnect from to overcome a habit. On the other hand, there are people you need to connect with in order to succeed in life. Your values, dreams and life goals should determine the people to align with and those to keep at arm's length.
You make choices by your associations, the people with whom you connect or form alliances. These people can impact you whether you know it or not. Knowing the right people to form alliances with and the ones to keep at arm's length is a decision you must make routinely throughout your life. Your associations say much about you, your values, the dreams you have and how high you want to rise in life. The people you associate with have influence over you in some way. He who moves with the wise will be wise.
Please understand that there are people you cannot bond or form deep relationships with because of the negative impact they can have on you. You may have something to do with everybody you come into contact with but please don't be deeply and intimately involved with just anybody. If you connect with great thinkers, people of high standards in life, people with a passion for success and live positively, you are likely to start to think highly of yourself and expect great things in you.
You can associate with people in different ways. You can make associations by reading books. Books are powerful ways we connect with the spirit in the author. People write books to communicate their values, their understanding and whatever they have in them, with the intention of impacting the readers. Usually people choose a book because they want to know more about specific subject areas and those type of books can change lives.
There is an unspoken relationship that develops between a reader and the author and when the reader finds the author's experiences interesting, the book starts to influence the reader's worldview and behaviour. That's why not every book should be read, only those you desire to impact you. Books written by Kenneth E. Hagin, E.W. Kenyon, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland and TD Jakes have helped release many people into their destiny. You can connect with people by admiring their style and by watching them closely, even from a distance.
Many football stars, singers and movie stars have become models to millions of people they have not even met or know. We do not have to physically meet someone before he or she starts to influence us. When people admire others and desire to be like them, an association develops and as they watch closely and learn more, they start to be influenced in some way.
You can also form associations by fellowshipping directly with someone, which is very powerful. Who do you spend most of your time with? Who are your close confidants? They can all help to shape your life and destiny in one way or another. But there are also people who will hinder your progress and you have to disconnect with them to be able to think straight. There are people surrounding you that you have to disconnect from to overcome a habit. On the other hand, there are people you need to connect with in order to succeed in life. Your values, dreams and life goals should determine the people to align with and those to keep at arm's length.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
VALLEY OF SHADOW OF DEATH
Recently I came across a verse that troubled me a bit. It was Psalms 23:4 'Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.' This verse came up a few times last week, in devotionals, in books I read and even in Pastor Prince's sermon. To be frank I was a bit concerned. It all dated back to the time when this verse first came up to me in 2004 before I discovered my pregnancy. After that I was caught up with fear when complications arose in that pregnancy. Eventually it ended up in a miscarriage. Later on God restored my loss through the pregnancy and birth of Joshua.
But during that time I didn't have the revelation of God like I do now. So when I saw this verse then, my heart became extremely fearful. I thought the Lord was trying to alert me that something bad was going to happen to me. That I was going to walk through the valley of the shadow of death soon, so be prepared. Later I learnt that God's ways are not like that. He doesn't instil fear in my heart, causing it to fail. That was a different spirit talking to me. It's the spirit of fear, with the source from the devil.
Well, through the years I learnt how important it was to discern God's voice. Because if I couldn't do that, then I would be prey to other spirits trying to speak to me. It would be dangerous for when I listen to them, all kinds of fear and confusion would enter my mind, causing me to lose faith in God and His word. In the previous case, that was what happened. After fear came into my heart when I received that word, the enemy had an inroad into my life. Later on the unfortunate events that followed seemed to 'confirm' that this word was true. I was even more convinced that this had to be from God. This thing then became a stronghold in my life for many years.
As I grew closer to the Lord these few years, I realised that even if God showed you something that is not so good, He will always provide you with the way to avert it. After all that is His whole purpose of telling you...so that you can pray against it and bind it in Jesus' name! Having said that, God often comes to me and tells me about good things happening in my life, not bad stuff. And even if I miss His message and something 'bad' happened, He will still turn that thing around for my good eventually. I am always the winner.
Even so, the same old fear resurfaced again when I saw this verse recently. Is God trying to tell me that something bad is happening? A small niggling thought is born in my mind and unless I kill it at its roots, it will hinder me from receiving my miracle and make me restless. For many days I chose to ignore this thought and dismiss it as a distraction. But I realised it was subconsciously eating up my joy and peace. It was affecting my confidence in God and His power.
Today God spoke to me through Musa Bako's book, praise the Lord! He was talking about the killers of success and one of them is fear. Joshua needed to show himself strong and courageous for him to occupy his new position and lead Israel. He had to engage in warfare with the enemy to bring the people into the Promised Land. However to achieve that, he had to overcome his fears.
Fear was one of the things God was challenging in Joshua; He promised He was going to be with Joshua as with Moses. God promised to be with Joshua wherever he went because He wanted Joshua to be aware and conscious of His presence. The consciousness of God's presence in any person drives out fear. That was what the psalmist understood when he said 'Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me.'
Fear will stand in your way of destiny. The believer must kill fear. Fear is a spirit and God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. You need to kill every fear so it does not have power over you. If not, it will influence your actions. Your actions will always determine what you are going to get or where you are going to arrive in life.
Yesterday I also read in his book that just knowing the promise of God for you is not enough to make you walk in it, you will have to fight the giants in life and overcome them so you can walk in God's promises. Having faith doesn't mean everything will go smoothly. At some point everyone will have to face a giant in his life. A giant is something that stands before you as a threat or obstacle and seeks to make your life miserable. The enemy will try to stand in your way to fulfilling God's purpose and he will attack you wherever you are. He will attack you to make you defy your God.
Earlier I was wondering why I am revisiting this whole notion of facing my giants and possessing my promised land when I came through this way last year this time. I thought I had conquered my giants and gained victory. Why is God still talking about giants and fears? Is it even relevant in my life? Yes, God showed me that indeed I have gotten a breakthrough last July and obtained victory over my giants last year. So this one is a hoax. Notice that it is not the real thing. It is just a shadow of death, not death itself. Even so, Jesus has conquered over death. Nobody dies from an attack by a shadow unless he is gripped by fear.
The truth is the devil is a defeated foe and victory belongs to me in Christ. The devil cannot sustain an attack for too long. He has tried to stop this promise from manifesting for the past seven years and he is coming to his wits' end. He is running out of arsenal to attack me for he tried so many different ways over the years. But God always brought me out victorious each time. Now he is desperate and has to resort to using the word of God to strike fear in my heart with this same verse.
But during that time I didn't have the revelation of God like I do now. So when I saw this verse then, my heart became extremely fearful. I thought the Lord was trying to alert me that something bad was going to happen to me. That I was going to walk through the valley of the shadow of death soon, so be prepared. Later I learnt that God's ways are not like that. He doesn't instil fear in my heart, causing it to fail. That was a different spirit talking to me. It's the spirit of fear, with the source from the devil.
Well, through the years I learnt how important it was to discern God's voice. Because if I couldn't do that, then I would be prey to other spirits trying to speak to me. It would be dangerous for when I listen to them, all kinds of fear and confusion would enter my mind, causing me to lose faith in God and His word. In the previous case, that was what happened. After fear came into my heart when I received that word, the enemy had an inroad into my life. Later on the unfortunate events that followed seemed to 'confirm' that this word was true. I was even more convinced that this had to be from God. This thing then became a stronghold in my life for many years.
As I grew closer to the Lord these few years, I realised that even if God showed you something that is not so good, He will always provide you with the way to avert it. After all that is His whole purpose of telling you...so that you can pray against it and bind it in Jesus' name! Having said that, God often comes to me and tells me about good things happening in my life, not bad stuff. And even if I miss His message and something 'bad' happened, He will still turn that thing around for my good eventually. I am always the winner.
Even so, the same old fear resurfaced again when I saw this verse recently. Is God trying to tell me that something bad is happening? A small niggling thought is born in my mind and unless I kill it at its roots, it will hinder me from receiving my miracle and make me restless. For many days I chose to ignore this thought and dismiss it as a distraction. But I realised it was subconsciously eating up my joy and peace. It was affecting my confidence in God and His power.
Today God spoke to me through Musa Bako's book, praise the Lord! He was talking about the killers of success and one of them is fear. Joshua needed to show himself strong and courageous for him to occupy his new position and lead Israel. He had to engage in warfare with the enemy to bring the people into the Promised Land. However to achieve that, he had to overcome his fears.
Fear was one of the things God was challenging in Joshua; He promised He was going to be with Joshua as with Moses. God promised to be with Joshua wherever he went because He wanted Joshua to be aware and conscious of His presence. The consciousness of God's presence in any person drives out fear. That was what the psalmist understood when he said 'Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me.'
Fear will stand in your way of destiny. The believer must kill fear. Fear is a spirit and God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. You need to kill every fear so it does not have power over you. If not, it will influence your actions. Your actions will always determine what you are going to get or where you are going to arrive in life.
Yesterday I also read in his book that just knowing the promise of God for you is not enough to make you walk in it, you will have to fight the giants in life and overcome them so you can walk in God's promises. Having faith doesn't mean everything will go smoothly. At some point everyone will have to face a giant in his life. A giant is something that stands before you as a threat or obstacle and seeks to make your life miserable. The enemy will try to stand in your way to fulfilling God's purpose and he will attack you wherever you are. He will attack you to make you defy your God.
Now I fully understand what the Lord was trying to tell me about the enemy's tactics. The enemy is using the word of God to instil fear in my heart. Ironical, isn't it? How can the word of God be used as a weapon against believers? The answer is yes, it can. If the word is pulled out of context or if the word is given in a way that emphasises the judgement part of God instead of His grace, then it can strike fear or cause people to feel condemned. That has been the devil's tactic - using God's word to immobilise His people. How despicable!
Earlier I was wondering why I am revisiting this whole notion of facing my giants and possessing my promised land when I came through this way last year this time. I thought I had conquered my giants and gained victory. Why is God still talking about giants and fears? Is it even relevant in my life? Yes, God showed me that indeed I have gotten a breakthrough last July and obtained victory over my giants last year. So this one is a hoax. Notice that it is not the real thing. It is just a shadow of death, not death itself. Even so, Jesus has conquered over death. Nobody dies from an attack by a shadow unless he is gripped by fear.
The truth is the devil is a defeated foe and victory belongs to me in Christ. The devil cannot sustain an attack for too long. He has tried to stop this promise from manifesting for the past seven years and he is coming to his wits' end. He is running out of arsenal to attack me for he tried so many different ways over the years. But God always brought me out victorious each time. Now he is desperate and has to resort to using the word of God to strike fear in my heart with this same verse.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
DIVINE APPOINTMENTS
Today I wanted to share on the topic of divine appointments. From the beginning of the year, I have been impressed about how God is going to send people into our lives to help us achieve our divine destinies. And as I read TD Jakes' book and Musa Bako's book about destiny, I came across this topic which I believe will bless you.
One thing to remember is that other people play crucial roles in helping you achieve your destiny. There are people you will need to look out for and identify as part of your journey to destiny, those who are assigned to you by God as helpers of destiny. God has ordained people as your helpers, you must find them. The devil will want to separate you from your helpers. He wants you to think you can do it all on your own. But the truth is there are things you may never have until somebody gives them to you, places you may never go until somebody takes you there and things you may never know until somebody shows up, people relevant to your destiny you may never meet until somebody introduces them to you.
Some helpers may be people who have gone ahead of you on the same road, they have experienced and conquered the very things you might be struggling with right now. You can learn a lot from their experiences. There are people out there who are blessed, empowered by God to inspire you, encourage and get you through situations in life. It is your duty to find these people. There are people of like passions, people who have been tried and proven, people who have been thorough summer and winter and still standing with Him. God will bring them your way and when you find them, stick with them. Make them your close associates and be ready to learn from them.
On the other hand, God sends people in and out of your life to exercise your faith and develop your character. Some helpers are there for a season. When they are gone, they leave you with the enriched reality that your God is with you to deliver you wherever you go. Moses died and left Joshua in charge but God told him '...as I was with Moses, so I will be with you...' Joshua would never have learned that when Moses was there. You learn this kind of thing when 'Moses' is gone. Power is developed in the absence of human assistance. Then we can test the limits of our resourcefulness and the magnitude of the favour of God.
One thing to remember is that other people play crucial roles in helping you achieve your destiny. There are people you will need to look out for and identify as part of your journey to destiny, those who are assigned to you by God as helpers of destiny. God has ordained people as your helpers, you must find them. The devil will want to separate you from your helpers. He wants you to think you can do it all on your own. But the truth is there are things you may never have until somebody gives them to you, places you may never go until somebody takes you there and things you may never know until somebody shows up, people relevant to your destiny you may never meet until somebody introduces them to you.
Some helpers may be people who have gone ahead of you on the same road, they have experienced and conquered the very things you might be struggling with right now. You can learn a lot from their experiences. There are people out there who are blessed, empowered by God to inspire you, encourage and get you through situations in life. It is your duty to find these people. There are people of like passions, people who have been tried and proven, people who have been thorough summer and winter and still standing with Him. God will bring them your way and when you find them, stick with them. Make them your close associates and be ready to learn from them.
There are people you must learn from: you need a fatherly figure and a mentor - helpers. Some people push away their helpers and walk out on them. When they do, these people find life tougher than it needs to be. You may at times quarrel with people you care about but because he or she is a helper toward reaching your destiny, you must learn to make up and stick with them, otherwise you will ruin what you have together and may have to spend ten years on what you could achieve in one year.
On the other hand, God sends people in and out of your life to exercise your faith and develop your character. Some helpers are there for a season. When they are gone, they leave you with the enriched reality that your God is with you to deliver you wherever you go. Moses died and left Joshua in charge but God told him '...as I was with Moses, so I will be with you...' Joshua would never have learned that when Moses was there. You learn this kind of thing when 'Moses' is gone. Power is developed in the absence of human assistance. Then we can test the limits of our resourcefulness and the magnitude of the favour of God.
I used to resist the idea of helpers coming into my life, not because I think I can do it all by myself but I have been disappointed time and again by these close acquaintances. Perhaps I was relying too much on my mentors instead of relying on God, which was no good. Or perhaps God was teaching me that my help comes from the mountain where He dwells. He doesn't want me to be too reliant on man because man can fail me but God cannot. He wants me to look to Jesus for help instead of trusting in human chariots. But that was in the past. Recently I felt that as I embark on what He has called me to do in the next season, I really needed help. I cannot do it alone. And God has promised that He is sending me help and resources to achieve what He has called me to do. I am still waiting on Him to show me the helpers. I trust that He will.
Monday, July 13, 2015
MORE EVIDENCES OF HIS RESTORATION
Recently we discovered that Joshua has been getting more talkative. Although we didn't know exactly what triggered it, we were happy with this development. Initially I thought it was due to the positive influence of my friend's son in Club Med, as Joshua began to talk more after our Club Med trip. But later I realised maybe it was due to the bully in his class, who acted like a Goliath bringing out the champion in David.
I started noticing this during our outing with his cousin. I saw that between the two, Joshua was the one doing most of the talking. This was unusual because his cousin was always the more chatty one since young. But in recent months I found him getting a bit withdrawn, maybe he was affected by some issues at home. At the dinner table with my in-laws, Joshua became the one talking more, instead of his cousin.
Recently Joshua seems to be blossoming. In the past he wasn't so chatty and animated. He was shy and quiet most of the time. In fact, even though he was a happy baby, there wasn't much noise coming from him. He was a quiet baby. But he became quieter during the time when he fell ill and took to watching TV instead of interacting with us. Oh how my heart broke during that time!
But God has restored to us double for what the devil stole from us. It has been our prayer all these years that Joshua become bolder and learn to speak up more. This has always been the feedback from his teachers. That Joshua is a good boy but he should learn to speak up more. He is too quiet in class. Just as he was warming up to his primary 2 classmates, there was a reshuffling of the classes and he took some time to open up to his current classmates again.
My staying home did help him to open up a bit as he became much happier after I personally took care of him. But it still took some time for him to learn to be more vocal. Every time I wrestled over this issue, God always assured me that the day will come when he opens up. And thank God that I didn't have to wait so long to see this prayer answered.
Nowadays I begin to hear him talk more. In the past when we were travelling in the car, he would conveniently ask for the handphone. Then he would be in a world of his own playing games. But thank God recently we became firm in getting him weaned off the phone and that effort paid off! When he wasn't playing the phone, he naturally talked more to us. I guess it was also because he is bigger now, so he understands more things. He also can relate to the topics we talked about. Sometimes he will contribute especially if we are talking about his cousin.
The other day during CG meeting, there was a five-year old girl who came to visit with her mum. Initially Joshua was quite shy and didn't interact much with the girl. But somewhere during the meeting, the three of them including Odelia started laughing as they played hide and seek. There was so much joy as we heard the children playing and laughing. Though it was a bit loud and distracting, my CGL said it was okay because this was the scene which occurred when Jesus was preaching in those days. In fact the CG observed that this was the first time the children were mingling happily. I was relieved that Joshua was no longer shy and reserved but stepped out to play with the girls. He had so much fun.
This was really a breakthrough for Joshua. As his mum, I really feel so happy when I see him coming out of his shell. I knew all along that this was how God made him. It was just waiting to come out. Nowadays I don't say that he is a shy or quiet boy, I say that he is talkative. And the more we say this, the better he gets. I thank God that Joshua is less self conscious and more confident of himself now. I also don't worry about him being too shy and quiet now.
God showed me that it was a restoration for the joy and peace the devil has stolen years ago. That time I worried about his speech development and for many years I worried about his shyness. Now Joshua is so different. He is such a great source of energy and he is infecting people around him with his cheerfulness. God showed me that the positive energy He deposited in me is infectious and has infected my son. This is really such a restoration, an answered prayer and an unexpected fruit coming out during my harvest time. Really thank God!
I started noticing this during our outing with his cousin. I saw that between the two, Joshua was the one doing most of the talking. This was unusual because his cousin was always the more chatty one since young. But in recent months I found him getting a bit withdrawn, maybe he was affected by some issues at home. At the dinner table with my in-laws, Joshua became the one talking more, instead of his cousin.
Recently Joshua seems to be blossoming. In the past he wasn't so chatty and animated. He was shy and quiet most of the time. In fact, even though he was a happy baby, there wasn't much noise coming from him. He was a quiet baby. But he became quieter during the time when he fell ill and took to watching TV instead of interacting with us. Oh how my heart broke during that time!
But God has restored to us double for what the devil stole from us. It has been our prayer all these years that Joshua become bolder and learn to speak up more. This has always been the feedback from his teachers. That Joshua is a good boy but he should learn to speak up more. He is too quiet in class. Just as he was warming up to his primary 2 classmates, there was a reshuffling of the classes and he took some time to open up to his current classmates again.
My staying home did help him to open up a bit as he became much happier after I personally took care of him. But it still took some time for him to learn to be more vocal. Every time I wrestled over this issue, God always assured me that the day will come when he opens up. And thank God that I didn't have to wait so long to see this prayer answered.
Nowadays I begin to hear him talk more. In the past when we were travelling in the car, he would conveniently ask for the handphone. Then he would be in a world of his own playing games. But thank God recently we became firm in getting him weaned off the phone and that effort paid off! When he wasn't playing the phone, he naturally talked more to us. I guess it was also because he is bigger now, so he understands more things. He also can relate to the topics we talked about. Sometimes he will contribute especially if we are talking about his cousin.
The other day during CG meeting, there was a five-year old girl who came to visit with her mum. Initially Joshua was quite shy and didn't interact much with the girl. But somewhere during the meeting, the three of them including Odelia started laughing as they played hide and seek. There was so much joy as we heard the children playing and laughing. Though it was a bit loud and distracting, my CGL said it was okay because this was the scene which occurred when Jesus was preaching in those days. In fact the CG observed that this was the first time the children were mingling happily. I was relieved that Joshua was no longer shy and reserved but stepped out to play with the girls. He had so much fun.
This was really a breakthrough for Joshua. As his mum, I really feel so happy when I see him coming out of his shell. I knew all along that this was how God made him. It was just waiting to come out. Nowadays I don't say that he is a shy or quiet boy, I say that he is talkative. And the more we say this, the better he gets. I thank God that Joshua is less self conscious and more confident of himself now. I also don't worry about him being too shy and quiet now.
God showed me that it was a restoration for the joy and peace the devil has stolen years ago. That time I worried about his speech development and for many years I worried about his shyness. Now Joshua is so different. He is such a great source of energy and he is infecting people around him with his cheerfulness. God showed me that the positive energy He deposited in me is infectious and has infected my son. This is really such a restoration, an answered prayer and an unexpected fruit coming out during my harvest time. Really thank God!
Friday, July 10, 2015
DESTINY IS WITHIN YOU II
To know for sure what is in your heart is of the spirit and not the flesh, you will need to develop your spirit. To develop your spirit you need to spend more time in prayer, studying and meditating on the word of God. By this, you grow your spirit to a level where it can understand and discern the voice of God - where it can easily receive from God and rule over logic. Until your spirit starts to rule over your senses, until you clearly know the voice of the spirit, you are going to get it wrong. If your spirit is not developed, you will follow your emotional drives and mistake it for your spirit. When you are driven by emotions, which are unstable and easily swayed, you will follow shadows.
God can reveal your future through prophecy. Prophesies are given for direction. However, know that God will not speak to you first through a prophet because every child of God has direct access to Him. God likes to deal with you directly; He wants you to personally know Him and develop a relationship with Him. God likes to interact with you and walk with you. He will speak to you through prophecy only when He needs to clarify or confirm what He has told you before.
He will speak to you about something you have not known or heard before through prophecy only when He has tried to get that message across to you directly but He couldn't get your attention. Perhaps you had distractions or you had yet to grow to discern and understand His voice. In this light, the prophecy could trigger something in you. Know that all prophecies must line up with God's word and must resonate with your spirit for them to be the word of God for you.
How you look or feel at the moment is immaterial. It doesn't matter where you are right now for the challenges you face do not have the power over your destiny. What is important is what God is saying about you and what you believe. You may be stagnant right now, but it is not the end of your story. You may not have the right contacts at present, but God can still make a way where you see no way. You may not be in the right location but He can reorder your steps.
We know that destiny won't arrive in one day so there will be a space of time between now and then. In the meanwhile, things may not go as we have planned. Things may appear as tough and impossible. But no matter what happens, we must maintain our trust in the Lord. Don't allow the enemy to make you accept the present circumstance as your fate and cause you to settle where you are. This is not where you belong. If you stay the course and keep holding on and on, it's only a matter of time that the thing God says will happen will happen.
In our pursuit of destiny, we sometimes fail and need to try again. Sometimes we need to make a fresh start in order to break through and make headway. Starting all over is not a sign of defeat but of courage and determination. Sometimes making a fresh start is needful to gain control. Making a fresh start simply means you are back where you were before, with a new chance to start all over again. It is an opportunity to do what you have done before in a different way. It could mean the start of something new, something you haven't experienced before. You might find that until you start to make a move into the unknown, you might never make meaningful progress.
When your due season is upon you, things will come together. You must realise that your destiny will mature and manifest in an appointed time. God has appointed times and seasons for everything under the sun. To reach your destiny, you will need to wait for it. What you expect may not materialise in the timeline you wanted but don't be discouraged nor start to think and speak as though you no longer believed God's promise. You need to keep trusting, keep waiting and keep expecting.
Know that God doesn't change His mind after He said yes. When you have to wait for something, it is needful. The waiting period is to prepare and equip you for it, to get the place ready for you before you arrive there or to get the people you are going to deal with ready to receive you. Delay is not denial. If you can wait, and keep waiting, your destiny will break forth like the sun in its strength at the dawn.
God can reveal your future through prophecy. Prophesies are given for direction. However, know that God will not speak to you first through a prophet because every child of God has direct access to Him. God likes to deal with you directly; He wants you to personally know Him and develop a relationship with Him. God likes to interact with you and walk with you. He will speak to you through prophecy only when He needs to clarify or confirm what He has told you before.
He will speak to you about something you have not known or heard before through prophecy only when He has tried to get that message across to you directly but He couldn't get your attention. Perhaps you had distractions or you had yet to grow to discern and understand His voice. In this light, the prophecy could trigger something in you. Know that all prophecies must line up with God's word and must resonate with your spirit for them to be the word of God for you.
How you look or feel at the moment is immaterial. It doesn't matter where you are right now for the challenges you face do not have the power over your destiny. What is important is what God is saying about you and what you believe. You may be stagnant right now, but it is not the end of your story. You may not have the right contacts at present, but God can still make a way where you see no way. You may not be in the right location but He can reorder your steps.
We know that destiny won't arrive in one day so there will be a space of time between now and then. In the meanwhile, things may not go as we have planned. Things may appear as tough and impossible. But no matter what happens, we must maintain our trust in the Lord. Don't allow the enemy to make you accept the present circumstance as your fate and cause you to settle where you are. This is not where you belong. If you stay the course and keep holding on and on, it's only a matter of time that the thing God says will happen will happen.
In our pursuit of destiny, we sometimes fail and need to try again. Sometimes we need to make a fresh start in order to break through and make headway. Starting all over is not a sign of defeat but of courage and determination. Sometimes making a fresh start is needful to gain control. Making a fresh start simply means you are back where you were before, with a new chance to start all over again. It is an opportunity to do what you have done before in a different way. It could mean the start of something new, something you haven't experienced before. You might find that until you start to make a move into the unknown, you might never make meaningful progress.
When your due season is upon you, things will come together. You must realise that your destiny will mature and manifest in an appointed time. God has appointed times and seasons for everything under the sun. To reach your destiny, you will need to wait for it. What you expect may not materialise in the timeline you wanted but don't be discouraged nor start to think and speak as though you no longer believed God's promise. You need to keep trusting, keep waiting and keep expecting.
Know that God doesn't change His mind after He said yes. When you have to wait for something, it is needful. The waiting period is to prepare and equip you for it, to get the place ready for you before you arrive there or to get the people you are going to deal with ready to receive you. Delay is not denial. If you can wait, and keep waiting, your destiny will break forth like the sun in its strength at the dawn.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
DESTINY IS WITHIN YOU
Recently I am reading another book about destiny. The book is titled 'Destiny is within you' by Musa Bako. My sharing is taken from highlights of the book.
Every person is created for a purpose and every individual has a mission here on earth to accomplish something. We all have great destinies within us; we have been endowed with great potential. We can all accomplish something great and enjoy the best of life. Jesus' primary mission to the earth was not just so that we can be saved and go to heaven after we pass on. He has come to give everyone the power and ability to enjoy living, succeed on this earth and to fulfil God's purpose for creating them.
The desire within you to be successful and achieve something significant in life is put inside you by God for His own pleasure and purpose. No desire or ambition is evil in itself except if it was solely for our self-gratification or if it harmed humanity. If that desire is channeled towards God and to help humanity, then it is a noble thing. The quest to achieve great success, find joy and fulfilment, be wealthy, have a great marriage, great family, accomplished career, and to be influential is a noble quest.
As a child of Most High God, He has raised you up and you are not under. You are blessed to be a blessing, to be God's vessel. As a result of your union with God, He is going to give you specific ideas, desires, visions, dreams and passions to achieve certain things in life for His glory. There is so much potential in you that is not fully maximised yet. The anointing on your life will not fail.
Everything that God has planned for you is achievable but it is crucial that you have a good understanding of what His plan is for you. Otherwise you may spend your whole life trying to be somebody else and not the person He created you to be. That would be a tragedy. It would also frustrate the grace of God on your life. If there is anything worth investing in your life, it must be something that you are persuaded in your heart that it's the original plan of God for your life. It must be something that will not only make you happy, but impact your generation, achieve greatness and bring glory to Him.
Your understanding of destiny will invigorate your strength when you need to keep holding on in challenging times and it will be your motivation when your world seems to be turned upside down. When the odds are against you, the knowledge of your destiny will keep you focused and keep you going. Walking in ignorance of who you are meant to be will cause you to give up too soon or cause you to go around in circles, wasting precious time and opportunities.
Creating an ideal picture of your tomorrow is what will empower you through your journey to tomorrow. What you can see in tomorrow is what you can become. What do you see? Having a vision doesn't mean you are not going to encounter challenges. You may experience delays, encounter opposition and experience attacks but no matter what obstacles you face, remind yourself of the future you see and if you can keep your focus unbroken, you are going to reach your destiny. You will be tried and tested as you go along. When the going gets tough, your enemy will make you stop believing your destiny and going after it, but if you keep your vision in focus, you will get there.
Every person is created for a purpose and every individual has a mission here on earth to accomplish something. We all have great destinies within us; we have been endowed with great potential. We can all accomplish something great and enjoy the best of life. Jesus' primary mission to the earth was not just so that we can be saved and go to heaven after we pass on. He has come to give everyone the power and ability to enjoy living, succeed on this earth and to fulfil God's purpose for creating them.
The desire within you to be successful and achieve something significant in life is put inside you by God for His own pleasure and purpose. No desire or ambition is evil in itself except if it was solely for our self-gratification or if it harmed humanity. If that desire is channeled towards God and to help humanity, then it is a noble thing. The quest to achieve great success, find joy and fulfilment, be wealthy, have a great marriage, great family, accomplished career, and to be influential is a noble quest.
As a child of Most High God, He has raised you up and you are not under. You are blessed to be a blessing, to be God's vessel. As a result of your union with God, He is going to give you specific ideas, desires, visions, dreams and passions to achieve certain things in life for His glory. There is so much potential in you that is not fully maximised yet. The anointing on your life will not fail.
Everything that God has planned for you is achievable but it is crucial that you have a good understanding of what His plan is for you. Otherwise you may spend your whole life trying to be somebody else and not the person He created you to be. That would be a tragedy. It would also frustrate the grace of God on your life. If there is anything worth investing in your life, it must be something that you are persuaded in your heart that it's the original plan of God for your life. It must be something that will not only make you happy, but impact your generation, achieve greatness and bring glory to Him.
Your understanding of destiny will invigorate your strength when you need to keep holding on in challenging times and it will be your motivation when your world seems to be turned upside down. When the odds are against you, the knowledge of your destiny will keep you focused and keep you going. Walking in ignorance of who you are meant to be will cause you to give up too soon or cause you to go around in circles, wasting precious time and opportunities.
Creating an ideal picture of your tomorrow is what will empower you through your journey to tomorrow. What you can see in tomorrow is what you can become. What do you see? Having a vision doesn't mean you are not going to encounter challenges. You may experience delays, encounter opposition and experience attacks but no matter what obstacles you face, remind yourself of the future you see and if you can keep your focus unbroken, you are going to reach your destiny. You will be tried and tested as you go along. When the going gets tough, your enemy will make you stop believing your destiny and going after it, but if you keep your vision in focus, you will get there.
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
PURPOSE AND POWER
This sharing is also from the book by TD Jakes on 'When Power Meets Potential'. This chapter is about knowing your purpose and calling. When we look at the course of our lives, it sometimes appears to be a chaotic path. The course seems to have no certain direction, haphazard. But with God that is not the case. There is an answer to the question, clarity to the confusion and calmness in the chaos. A bright new day dawns after the dark night. There is a time and purpose to everything under the sun.
Knowing your purpose and calling would help in the midst of confusion. When you are assured of your purpose, you are not fearful of men or external conflicts that attempt to hinder you. Because you know with confidence that sooner or later, every trial, every hindering situation and every opposition in your life will have to bow down to God's plan and purpose. It's just a matter of time and circumstances.
When you know your purpose, you won't sit and passively allow things to occur that are contrary to God's purpose and vision for your life. Neither will you be so quick to get discouraged when situations bring conflict and disorder to your life. You know that all things are working together for your good. You don't become frustrated or overwhelmed by things you can't pray away, rebuke away, confess away etc. Because you know that if it's in your life, then God has allowed it and He wants to use it to transform you into the image of Christ. He will bring you into the purpose for which you were created.
Therefore if you are confused, ready to give up, wondering what's going on and what all the turmoil and chaos you're experiencing is about, ask God why. He might just say 'It's all about purpose.' Maybe He's building a foundation of character in your life. Perhaps it will enable you to obtain the success and blessing that is to be poured into your life. Maybe it is a prelude to the powerful anointing that is about to come upon you.
God said He is declaring the end from the beginning. That's backward, out of sequence, out of order. But God starts with the end, then He goes back and works on the beginning. He established purpose then He builds procedure. While you are struggling, groping, growling, trying to get it together, and wondering if you will make it, God knows you are going to make it because He has already set your end!
God works out purpose the way you would design and construct a house. You must have a vision for the house, put it in blueprint then the contractor comes in and makes the vision a reality. Whenever the builder is confused, he refers back to the blueprint. When God builds something, He builds it for maximum efficiency and optimal performance. We get confused and doubt the outcome. Discouraged, we often find ourselves asking God 'Why did You make me wait while others go forth? Why does it take so long for my breakthrough to come?' God responds, 'What does the blueprint say? What do the specifications call for?'
Many times we wonder why we go through so much persecution and difficulties. God says 'I am building a solid foundation so you will better understand pressure and be able to go through the storms of life without being moved or shaken.' God's response is simple. Anything that is made well is made slowly. Quality must go in before the name goes on. Anything that is worth having is worth fighting for and worth working hard for.
Proverbs say that where there is no vision, the people perish. Vision not only gives meaning and understanding of one's purpose in life, it also gives you wisdom about how to bring it to pass. Vision gives understanding and reveals meaning to the trials you may experience at any given time. When God imparts to you a revelation of His plans for your life, that is how vision begins. Then in some cases, God confirms that word through a prophecy given to you by another man or woman of God.
Knowing your purpose and calling would help in the midst of confusion. When you are assured of your purpose, you are not fearful of men or external conflicts that attempt to hinder you. Because you know with confidence that sooner or later, every trial, every hindering situation and every opposition in your life will have to bow down to God's plan and purpose. It's just a matter of time and circumstances.
When you know your purpose, you won't sit and passively allow things to occur that are contrary to God's purpose and vision for your life. Neither will you be so quick to get discouraged when situations bring conflict and disorder to your life. You know that all things are working together for your good. You don't become frustrated or overwhelmed by things you can't pray away, rebuke away, confess away etc. Because you know that if it's in your life, then God has allowed it and He wants to use it to transform you into the image of Christ. He will bring you into the purpose for which you were created.
Therefore if you are confused, ready to give up, wondering what's going on and what all the turmoil and chaos you're experiencing is about, ask God why. He might just say 'It's all about purpose.' Maybe He's building a foundation of character in your life. Perhaps it will enable you to obtain the success and blessing that is to be poured into your life. Maybe it is a prelude to the powerful anointing that is about to come upon you.
God said He is declaring the end from the beginning. That's backward, out of sequence, out of order. But God starts with the end, then He goes back and works on the beginning. He established purpose then He builds procedure. While you are struggling, groping, growling, trying to get it together, and wondering if you will make it, God knows you are going to make it because He has already set your end!
God works out purpose the way you would design and construct a house. You must have a vision for the house, put it in blueprint then the contractor comes in and makes the vision a reality. Whenever the builder is confused, he refers back to the blueprint. When God builds something, He builds it for maximum efficiency and optimal performance. We get confused and doubt the outcome. Discouraged, we often find ourselves asking God 'Why did You make me wait while others go forth? Why does it take so long for my breakthrough to come?' God responds, 'What does the blueprint say? What do the specifications call for?'
Many times we wonder why we go through so much persecution and difficulties. God says 'I am building a solid foundation so you will better understand pressure and be able to go through the storms of life without being moved or shaken.' God's response is simple. Anything that is made well is made slowly. Quality must go in before the name goes on. Anything that is worth having is worth fighting for and worth working hard for.
Proverbs say that where there is no vision, the people perish. Vision not only gives meaning and understanding of one's purpose in life, it also gives you wisdom about how to bring it to pass. Vision gives understanding and reveals meaning to the trials you may experience at any given time. When God imparts to you a revelation of His plans for your life, that is how vision begins. Then in some cases, God confirms that word through a prophecy given to you by another man or woman of God.
Dear friends, if you have not discovered the calling and purpose which God made you, I strongly encourage you to seek Him. It is when you know your destiny that you can cooperate with God to take steps towards fulfilling it. Besides, you will no longer be sidetracked easily or confused about the things happening to you once you know your calling, because you understand that is all part of God's blueprint in creating a masterpiece, which is you.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
DELIVERANCE AND OVERCOMING FAITH
Recently I was thinking about the difference between God's deliverance and our overcoming faith. Sometimes God delivers us from a situation but as we grow in faith, He prefers that we exercise our faith to overcome a certain situation. I believe that though God promises deliverance, His ideal is for us to learn how to overcome our strongholds and obtain victory. Just like the children of Israel had no power to stand up to their Egyptian taskmasters, God knows when we are powerless to stand up to our slave taskmasters. These were times when He had to intervene to deliver us from bondage, like how He miraculously brought the Israelties out of Egypt.
However, once the Israelites saw the mighty acts of God, their faith in a living and powerful God rose up. God was building their faith in the desert during all those years of wandering. In fact, it wasn't His plan for them to wander so long. It was only an eleven day journey but God knew they weren't ready to face the giants, so He took them on a longer route to better prepare them. However, they were still not ready to enter the Promised Land when the time came. They saw themselves as grasshoppers and were fearful of the giants living there.
This time round, the Lord didn't deliver them from the giants living in the Promised Land. He didn't destroy all the giants so that the Israelites could possess the land easily. The land was already given to them by God but they still had to take possession of it. Notice it was something active whenever we have to exercise our faith to face our giants, overcome our strongholds and obtain victory. Sure, God is backing us up but we have to cooperate with Him to possess our inheritance. It was a necessary process because God wants us to build our faith muscles. 1 John 5:4 says that it is our faith that overcomes the world.
Fear is a spirit. Fear comes to torment you, so you got to resist those thoughts immediately. Say no to that thought, resist it in Jesus' name, for you have authority in that name. The enemy is already a defeated foe, so don't let him bully you. Get victory in that area and you will be freed. Sometimes the enemy will come and threaten you again in that same area to see if you really believe in the power of Jesus' name. Stand firm in your faith for victory belongs to you. Then the enemy will try to put fear in another area but you continue to resist him and get victory in the other area. That's how you grow in faith and become stronger in the Lord. That's how you progress and gain ground.
I know it's easy for God to deliver me from bondage anytime but He wants me to conquer my fears in this area. He didn't want to deliver me from this stronghold, He wants me to overcome it. There is a difference between deliverance from and overcoming a stronghold. When God deems that you have no power to come out from the bondage, He will use His power to deliver you from it. But that is not His ideal. He wants you to grow strong enough to overcome that bondage so you will be forever set free.
Once I obtain victory in this area where I had been constantly bullied, God will bring me on to greater exploits in His kingdom. I can then show others how to obtain victory in the area of their bondage. Like how God has proven me time and again that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. All I had to do is to cooperate with His Spirit and success is guaranteed. God is patient with me...He can take as long as is required for this work to be completed in my life. This is more crucial than the manifestation because then I would be truly set free from the age old strongholds.
However, once the Israelites saw the mighty acts of God, their faith in a living and powerful God rose up. God was building their faith in the desert during all those years of wandering. In fact, it wasn't His plan for them to wander so long. It was only an eleven day journey but God knew they weren't ready to face the giants, so He took them on a longer route to better prepare them. However, they were still not ready to enter the Promised Land when the time came. They saw themselves as grasshoppers and were fearful of the giants living there.
This time round, the Lord didn't deliver them from the giants living in the Promised Land. He didn't destroy all the giants so that the Israelites could possess the land easily. The land was already given to them by God but they still had to take possession of it. Notice it was something active whenever we have to exercise our faith to face our giants, overcome our strongholds and obtain victory. Sure, God is backing us up but we have to cooperate with Him to possess our inheritance. It was a necessary process because God wants us to build our faith muscles. 1 John 5:4 says that it is our faith that overcomes the world.
Fear is a spirit. Fear comes to torment you, so you got to resist those thoughts immediately. Say no to that thought, resist it in Jesus' name, for you have authority in that name. The enemy is already a defeated foe, so don't let him bully you. Get victory in that area and you will be freed. Sometimes the enemy will come and threaten you again in that same area to see if you really believe in the power of Jesus' name. Stand firm in your faith for victory belongs to you. Then the enemy will try to put fear in another area but you continue to resist him and get victory in the other area. That's how you grow in faith and become stronger in the Lord. That's how you progress and gain ground.
I know it's easy for God to deliver me from bondage anytime but He wants me to conquer my fears in this area. He didn't want to deliver me from this stronghold, He wants me to overcome it. There is a difference between deliverance from and overcoming a stronghold. When God deems that you have no power to come out from the bondage, He will use His power to deliver you from it. But that is not His ideal. He wants you to grow strong enough to overcome that bondage so you will be forever set free.
Once I obtain victory in this area where I had been constantly bullied, God will bring me on to greater exploits in His kingdom. I can then show others how to obtain victory in the area of their bondage. Like how God has proven me time and again that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. All I had to do is to cooperate with His Spirit and success is guaranteed. God is patient with me...He can take as long as is required for this work to be completed in my life. This is more crucial than the manifestation because then I would be truly set free from the age old strongholds.
Monday, July 6, 2015
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE CROSS
I just like to share this powerful animation video produced by our church. This breathtaking video was first unveiled in our church on 20 Apr 2014. Recently when Pastor Prince preached at Hillsong Conference 2015, he showed this video again. Every time I see this video, it never fails to bring me to tears when I realised what Jesus did for me at the cross.
Every time I see it, God is reminding me that after all Jesus did for me at the cross, how can I not be blessed? How can I not receive this promise? How can I not walk on favour ground? He reminded me that every promise was paid for by Jesus' death at the cross and all I have to do is claim it. I was reminded that Jesus redeemed me from all the bad things including sickness, disease, condemnation, poverty and in exchange, He gave me favour with God. I am now walking on favour grounds. How can I not be blessed?
Every time I see it, God is reminding me that after all Jesus did for me at the cross, how can I not be blessed? How can I not receive this promise? How can I not walk on favour ground? He reminded me that every promise was paid for by Jesus' death at the cross and all I have to do is claim it. I was reminded that Jesus redeemed me from all the bad things including sickness, disease, condemnation, poverty and in exchange, He gave me favour with God. I am now walking on favour grounds. How can I not be blessed?
I encourage you to take some time to watch this video. I promise that after watching it, something powerful will happen to your spirit. Your faith will arise and cause you to face your giants and possess your inheritance, everything that Christ has purchased for you at the cross. Are you ready?
Friday, July 3, 2015
THANKSGIVINGS
Thank God that I am really enjoying the good life, appreciating the blessings God has given me, having the time of my life, being happy and contented with where I am now and experiencing the joy that the moment is bringing. No longer am I pining for another season while being in this season. I am truly present in this season and can better appreciate the people, place and journey as it is. Not letting them slip past me only to realise later to have regrets later on about how I should have seized each moment.
Nowadays I take life more easy and learn to let go more. Nothing seems to be of a life and death matter so decision making is less stressful. Once I understand that everything that happened in my life is all a part of His plan, it takes the pressure off me. It's usually not a life-and-death issue to miss what God was saying once in a while, or take a wrong turn or make a mistake because God will course correct me. If it was a critical decision, God would intervene to make sure that I chose wisely. He is leading and guiding my path. And He will always work all things out for my good.
Besides, if I am meant to experience something, those opportunities will appear in my life at His right time, not on my own timing. I will never, in a sense, miss the door that He opened for me. Destiny is the event that will necessarily happen in a person's life. Even at some point if I felt like I missed that opportunity, God will still cause the door to be opened in my future for me to walk through it. That's how good God is.
Living in gratitude right now for everything in my life at the present time is a blessing because when I move on I will have no regrets. At some point I know every season has its end date. New doors will open leading to new friends, new places, new lives and new ways of doing things. I no longer fight such things because I understand that as time marches on, so must my life otherwise I will start regressing. Because God is a progressive God, He wants us to keep moving forward, pressing on for the next dream even as the current one is being fulfilled.
I thank God that He really has me where He wants me to. Now I do things to keep myself happy and I choose not to dwell on negative things that would affect me, I focus on the blessings and the good work God is doing in my life. I noticed I have come to a place where I am grateful to what He has done, I have seen His wonderful works in my life and finally I am able to enjoy my life, not putting my life on hold while waiting for a promise to come to pass.
Nowadays I take life more easy and learn to let go more. Nothing seems to be of a life and death matter so decision making is less stressful. Once I understand that everything that happened in my life is all a part of His plan, it takes the pressure off me. It's usually not a life-and-death issue to miss what God was saying once in a while, or take a wrong turn or make a mistake because God will course correct me. If it was a critical decision, God would intervene to make sure that I chose wisely. He is leading and guiding my path. And He will always work all things out for my good.
Besides, if I am meant to experience something, those opportunities will appear in my life at His right time, not on my own timing. I will never, in a sense, miss the door that He opened for me. Destiny is the event that will necessarily happen in a person's life. Even at some point if I felt like I missed that opportunity, God will still cause the door to be opened in my future for me to walk through it. That's how good God is.
Living in gratitude right now for everything in my life at the present time is a blessing because when I move on I will have no regrets. At some point I know every season has its end date. New doors will open leading to new friends, new places, new lives and new ways of doing things. I no longer fight such things because I understand that as time marches on, so must my life otherwise I will start regressing. Because God is a progressive God, He wants us to keep moving forward, pressing on for the next dream even as the current one is being fulfilled.
I thank God that He really has me where He wants me to. Now I do things to keep myself happy and I choose not to dwell on negative things that would affect me, I focus on the blessings and the good work God is doing in my life. I noticed I have come to a place where I am grateful to what He has done, I have seen His wonderful works in my life and finally I am able to enjoy my life, not putting my life on hold while waiting for a promise to come to pass.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
DESTINY SHIFTS II
You have been placed in this moment, at this hour, in this season of history to fulfill your purpose in your generation, just like King David did. It's like Esther, who has come to such a position for a time like this. Part of fulfilling your purpose is making an investment in other people and being one who is investable. Keep your eyes opened for the divine collisions, not only for those who collide with you, but the people God brings into your life to collide with. You have something to release and you have something to receive.
For the power upon someone else to awaken your potential, you must be ready. For you to step into the things that God has purposed in your life, you must be prepared and seed ready. You must be ready in season and out of season. Don't be caught before the golden calf during your season of visitation. Too many believers give up just before their moment, either because they cannot find fertile ground to release impartation or they have been patiently waiting for the mantle and are losing heart.
Be faithful and continue plowing where God has you plowing right now. You don't know how it will look like, sound like, feel like when power comes. Your supernatural setup will come in His divine timing. There were certain realities that Jesus restrained from sharing with the disciples because the soil was not ready for the impartation. He told them He has many things to say to them but they cannot bear them now. This reminded me of many things God spoke to me in 2011 that I couldn't understand. Only now I am catching a clearer glimpse of what He was trying to say at that time.
Potential needs to be ready in order for power to be recognised and have its full impact. Two of the key characteristics of readiness are not growing weary and not losing heart, as in Gal 6:9. The one who has been faithful in the former season shows the character that will sustain him in the new season. No wonder I keep thinking that this tenacity, this resilience built up through the years of waiting, trying and not giving up will prove to be useful in my future ministry.
That is why patience cannot be emphasised enough. That mantle could have killed Elisha before that divine moment. The responsibility would have been too much for him. He needed to plough some more. Elisha was not perfect when Elijah found him but he was prepared. He was ready for his moment. As you continue to faithfully plough in this season, God is preparing you for the next. Every moment you continue in the natural, something supernatural is taking place behind the veil. Every moment you stick to the ploughing process, you are becoming more and more fit for your meeting of power and moment of exposure.
You don't even know what's going on inside you. You are clueless to what the Creator is working on and weaving behind the scenes. You may feel like you are sitting in the back, unnoticed and unrecognised. You may feel like giving up if you have to continue ploughing for one more day. But something is pushing you, compelling you to keep pressing on. Keep on pressing towards the finish line. It doesn't matter if no one knows your name. Or that you have no recognition.
The truth is, you are potential ready for action. You are stationary until that one bump, one push or spark comes along and launches you right into the next dimension. Your moment is at hand. That's why you cannot be satisfied. You cannot sit back and look around. You are potential waiting for power to release you into your moment. You are just waiting for the hookup. As soon as you get the hookup, you are going to go up. You are next in line for the hookup. You are not forgotten, not sitting on the shelf somewhere. The eyes of the Lord are upon you. His favour surrounds you, His glory is within you. His power is around you.
Get ready so that you can recognise the arrival of the moment that changes everything. When that moment comes, you can't go back to who you were before, you can't. When you catch a glimpse of what you have been called into, what you are being called out of will never satisfy you again. When potential recognises its moment of power, it responds appropriately. This reveals the maturity of the one carrying potential. There is a level of maturity needed to sustain us during the period of transition into a new season.
For the power upon someone else to awaken your potential, you must be ready. For you to step into the things that God has purposed in your life, you must be prepared and seed ready. You must be ready in season and out of season. Don't be caught before the golden calf during your season of visitation. Too many believers give up just before their moment, either because they cannot find fertile ground to release impartation or they have been patiently waiting for the mantle and are losing heart.
Be faithful and continue plowing where God has you plowing right now. You don't know how it will look like, sound like, feel like when power comes. Your supernatural setup will come in His divine timing. There were certain realities that Jesus restrained from sharing with the disciples because the soil was not ready for the impartation. He told them He has many things to say to them but they cannot bear them now. This reminded me of many things God spoke to me in 2011 that I couldn't understand. Only now I am catching a clearer glimpse of what He was trying to say at that time.
Potential needs to be ready in order for power to be recognised and have its full impact. Two of the key characteristics of readiness are not growing weary and not losing heart, as in Gal 6:9. The one who has been faithful in the former season shows the character that will sustain him in the new season. No wonder I keep thinking that this tenacity, this resilience built up through the years of waiting, trying and not giving up will prove to be useful in my future ministry.
That is why patience cannot be emphasised enough. That mantle could have killed Elisha before that divine moment. The responsibility would have been too much for him. He needed to plough some more. Elisha was not perfect when Elijah found him but he was prepared. He was ready for his moment. As you continue to faithfully plough in this season, God is preparing you for the next. Every moment you continue in the natural, something supernatural is taking place behind the veil. Every moment you stick to the ploughing process, you are becoming more and more fit for your meeting of power and moment of exposure.
You don't even know what's going on inside you. You are clueless to what the Creator is working on and weaving behind the scenes. You may feel like you are sitting in the back, unnoticed and unrecognised. You may feel like giving up if you have to continue ploughing for one more day. But something is pushing you, compelling you to keep pressing on. Keep on pressing towards the finish line. It doesn't matter if no one knows your name. Or that you have no recognition.
The truth is, you are potential ready for action. You are stationary until that one bump, one push or spark comes along and launches you right into the next dimension. Your moment is at hand. That's why you cannot be satisfied. You cannot sit back and look around. You are potential waiting for power to release you into your moment. You are just waiting for the hookup. As soon as you get the hookup, you are going to go up. You are next in line for the hookup. You are not forgotten, not sitting on the shelf somewhere. The eyes of the Lord are upon you. His favour surrounds you, His glory is within you. His power is around you.
Get ready so that you can recognise the arrival of the moment that changes everything. When that moment comes, you can't go back to who you were before, you can't. When you catch a glimpse of what you have been called into, what you are being called out of will never satisfy you again. When potential recognises its moment of power, it responds appropriately. This reveals the maturity of the one carrying potential. There is a level of maturity needed to sustain us during the period of transition into a new season.
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