OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH ABBA GOD

Yesterday some of us were talking about how to develop a closer relationship with the Father, how to talk to Him etc. Of all the topics this one is probably my favourite, more so than dreams and visions or prophetic. Because this relationship with my Abba is my vital connection, my life force, without which everything else is moot. One sister was saying that she could picture herself walking very closely with Jesus but somehow was distant with the Father. Previously I didn’t give much thought to it. 

 

I thought the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one so there wasn’t a need to split hairs to find out who I am speaking to. The three are interchangeable. But yesterday the Lord showed me that our relationship with God has everything to do with our inheritance. Heng also said how we see the Father has to do with how we receive from Him. It was true. 

 

I saw how when believers seemed not to have such a close relationship with the Father, they probably weren’t as emboldened to reach out for their blood-bought inheritance. Last night as I was praying to the Father, it dawned on me why most believers had no issue talking to Jesus. Though Jesus came to show us how our Father is like, it was still hard for believers who didn’t have a good relationship with their earthly fathers to imagine how good our Heavenly Father is. 

 

It was easier for us to relate to Jesus because He is our Saviour, He died for us on the cross and He is our great high priest in heaven, always making intercession on our behalf. As for the Father, some believers still had the image of the harsh and just God in the Old Testament even though we are now in a new covenant. The name that Jesus came to reveal about God is Abba, Daddy God. 

 

Well, it wasn’t difficult for me to see God as a loving Father. Whenever I am downcast or discouraged, I would imagine myself climbing onto his lap like a little girl and curl up in His presence. I would find strength and encouragement by just being in His presence, looking at His face. Nothing else in the world matters when I sit at His lap. I would feel so safe, so protected and so loved by my Father. I know I am always His beloved daughter. 

 

All this points to our identity, which God has been impressing me recently. Without being rooted in who we are in Christ, how we are God’s beloved children, we would not be able to inherit all that He has for us. Galatians 4:7 says this: ‘Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.‘ As sons of God, we are no more His servants but we are heirs of God through Christ. 

 

And we are mature sons of God, having come of age to inherit His possessions. This topic came up at this time because we are about to be launched into our ministries and about to possess our inheritance. We need to know that the Father is well pleased with us even before we did anything. His approval isn’t in our performance but we are the beloved, well accepted in Christ. It takes a David (whose name means Beloved) to kill a giant. 

 

When Jesus was baptised at River Jordan, God spoke from heaven and said: ‘This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ This was before Jesus even started his ministry on earth. God wanted Jesus to know He is well pleased with Jesus not because He was doing His will but because He was the Son. Similarly it is all about our identity in Christ, which is something the devil can never take away. It is in our blood when we are born again.

 

I understand for some believers who had harsh earthly fathers, it was hard to imagine themselves approaching God in this way. God is the righteous Judge, He is the Supreme One, so we have to approach Him with utmost reverence. That is correct but this Judge is also our loving Father. Some believers approach the Father in a solemn manner because this is how they approach their earthly fathers. But God wants us to approach the throne of grace with confidence to find help in times of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

 

I believe it is the Father’s heart to draw near to all His children at this time, more so than ever before. In the midst of the conflict and confusion happening in the world, there is a safe refuge in His presence. Everything will be ok in His presence. There is also joy in His presence. When we come to Him with tears in our eyes, He will wipe them away and replace our sorrow with joy. We will also gain His perspective after an encounter with Him. We will have the peace to know that He is still in control and all shall be well. 

 

Not only that, we will be strengthened in His presence, emboldened to do His will and stand on His word because we know His heart for His people. Many people know God’s ways but they don’t know His heart. They see His power through signs and wonders but they still don’t see His heart. But when you see the Father’s heart, even in the absence of such signs and wonders, you will know what He will do next. This is very important because you know the character of the Father, how He is like from your walk with Him. 

 

Personally I also observe that my disappointments and doubts are all directed at God, not Jesus. I know Jesus fully understands and knows what I am going through but as for whether God sees and understands, at times I couldn’t be sure. Or even if He saw how I suffered, I would then wonder why He didn’t deliver from that when it is all His power to do so. But God is so good. At times He allowed Himself to be grossly misunderstood by His people in order to achieve a greater purpose. And I saw how it was me who limited Him, not God. 

 

But at the end of it, when I looked back, I would realise that He wasn’t just standing by the side, watching me suffer. He was right there in my suffering, like the fourth men standing with the three Hebrew teenagers in the fiery furnace. He was always there even when I didn’t sense His presence or when He was silent. Even when I don’t see it, He is still working behind the scenes, causing all things to work for my good. When He finally did the great reveal, I would always be in awe and repent that I had misunderstood Him. 

 

Suffering and pain is very real. But in the midst of it, many people think God has left them alone. He has forgotten them or turned His face away from our sufferings. Or that God no longer loves them. But this is far from the truth! We should never judge God’s love for us by our circumstances but on what Christ has done on the cross. That is already the greatest demonstration of God’s love for us. If He did not withhold His only begotten Son but sent Jesus to die for us, why would He withhold anything else from us? 

 

And so, what my own journey in the wilderness taught me is this: never judge God’s love for us by our circumstances. He has not forgotten about you in the wilderness. He is there walking with you every single step of the way. Remember how He was with the Israelites through a pillar of fire by night and pillar of cloud by day in the harsh wilderness. It was only when they crossed over to the promised land that the pillar of fire and cloud was no longer there. Instead they were told to follow the small ark of the covenant, which is a representation of Jesus. 

 

Beloved, it is not surprising that the enemy will keep trying to attack our relationship with our Father because he doesn’t want us to inherit our inheritance. The enemy will always try to cause our trust in our Father to be shaken. He will cast doubts on the absolute goodness of God. He will make us think that we are forsaken, like orphans, left to fend for ourselves. But in Christ, God will never leave us or forsake. The sun is still shining even when dark clouds cover our skies. 

 

Even for me, someone who has no problem picturing God as my loving Father, at times I would still be shaken in my trust of God. But God doesn’t hold it against me. He totally understands what I went through because Jesus already walked through it. I have learnt that in times of suffering and pain, seeking an answer from the Lord didn’t help. It wasn’t what I needed to hear. What I needed most is to be assured of the Father’s great love towards me and to just hide in His presence. It was His love and presence that carried me through the tough years of wilderness. Nothing else could. 

OFFICIALLY OUT OF THE WILDERNESS!

Today is 18 Jan and it marked my official exit from the wilderness. It is a great day of celebration because an important milestone in my life had been crossed. The preparation and training had been completed. I had passed the faith test and graduated. God is not only moving me on to my new season, He is also promoting me. He has crowned me with honour and glory, restored my strength and trust in Him and given me a new mantle. 

More than just ministering to the Joseph people, I sense that God is also setting the stage for the prophetic movement. It really wasn’t a coincidence that the moment I exited my wilderness, the moment God released me from my prison, this year’s church theme was about the seer anointing! This is all part of God’s plan and His divine timing. It was perfect, just like how Joseph was brought to Pharaoh to interpret his dreams. 

 

I was so encouraged that not only am I out of the wilderness, out of that narrow and stuck place, God is catapulting me into the palace. It wasn’t something I had expected but now I see how my obedience in stepping out as He leads was bringing forth fruits. At a time when the enemy was attacking the prophets and discrediting their words, God came on the scene to mightily defend His prophets. 

 

God has affirmed that we, as a group, are moving in the right direction. We are really on the right track. Not only that, I saw the Joseph ministry has a great potential to be a blessing even to our church. Purely because it will meet a gap in equipping the people in the workplace ministry.  I am excited about where God is bringing us in the days to come.

 

But today will be my rite of celebration with the Lord. I will not be thinking of any new plans. I just want to enjoy the sense of completing this big chunk of my life, reflecting on the journey I had walked through with the Lord. I know I have been declaring the end of this season and reflected upon the journey at various points in the past. Yet I still didn’t seem to have crossed the finishing line. There was always a little more to press on. 

 

There had been so many false closings in my life until I didn’t dare to get my hopes up again. But the Lord is faithful. If He said there is an end to the stretching and tests, then there will be an end. Last Dec, God impressed upon me that the end has truly come. We had been studying the life of Joseph and saw the significance of 13 in his story. There are 13 chapters in Genesis talking about Joseph and he suffered 13 years in the wilderness. 

 

Not only that, other great men in the OT like David also wandered in the wilderness for 13 years before he was crowned king of Judah. It was significant because God has to convince me that 13 years is the finality. Else I would be wondering why not 7, 10, 12, 15 or 20 years. Besides the timing issue, God also showed me the signs of me being released from the prison. Clearly He has set me in position in this Joseph ministry while I was still in prison in 2019. But He has launched me out this year. 

 

Of course I could choose to focus on the fact that I still hadn’t seen my manifestation yet but to me, that didn’t matter anymore. The most important thing is God has moved me on to the new season. I was just very relieved that I was no longer stuck, no longer circling the same mountain year after year. The enemy could no longer taunt and torment me about that. God has restored my strength and healed my battle wounds. He has also opened my eyes to see what He has been doing in the last 13 years. 

 

Many things He said to me in those years finally made sense now. Clearly those experiences were so precious and didn’t go to waste. There is a greater anointing released in my life because God has caused me to overcome those areas that used to hold me hostage. I believe this would be used to help others get out of their bondage in future. Now He has set me free! Oh how sweet is that freedom! Only God knows how much I needed to be set free from those incumbrance than to see the manifestation. 

 

To Him, the manifestation is easy but to get me to cooperate with Him in the purification process was the tough part. Many people had given up in the midst of the crucible. But to those who overcome, a crown of rewards is awaiting them on the other side. So yes I am expectant of the rewards God has in store for me. And I know He is not holding back this dream from me. This promise will manifest very soon now that all this is finally over. My appointed time has come. 

 

I am going back in time to 18 Jan 2008. Back then I was so expectant of a promise coming to pass but got discouraged when I looked at my external circumstances. I felt my work in my previous company was meaningless and I was restless again, hoping to move on. Then I went for a company’s strategic planning exercise and it got worse. Hence I sought the Lord and asked Him what is His will for me in the next season of my life.

 

God said: ‘Can I not show you now? I want you to trust me. It is a faith test for you.’ Then I asked if He could give me a verse to hang on to in the meantime. ‘Be still and know that I am God’ was His answer. I was satisfied with an encounter of God even though I didn’t have an clue about His will for my next season. I totally had no idea what He has planned for me. I thought it was only about my baby plan. There was so much more at stake. 

 

He was bringing me through a personal journey with Jesus. I thought I already had a history with God in my waiting for a previous promise which came to pass in 2005. But obviously that history wasn’t going to take me where God is taking me to in my future. I needed to know the Lord in a much deeper way and He needed to root me in my identity. The entire wilderness process served to bring me closer to Him and for me to know my identity. 

 

My identity in Christ and my personal history with the Lord are things that the enemy can never take away from me. Because these are not based on my performance. The devil can never steal my identity. It is who I am in Christ. He may strip away my ministry, my role as a mum or a wife but He can never take away the truth that I am always a beloved daughter of God. Even if I do nothing, the Lord is pleased to have me by His side. 

If God has shown me His will for me in that season, I would have said no to Him right there and then! No wonder God, in His wisdom hid His will for me. God wanted me to trust Him to reveal bit by bit, and to take one step at a time. How does one eat an elephant? One bite at a time. And now as I look back, I would have it no other way. I saw how God caused all things (even the painful and senseless things) to work for my good. 

Through it all I saw His faithfulness even when I was faithless. His love for me and His faithfulness were the only things I could hold on to during the tough and challenging seasons. In the toughest times, I held dearly on to this verse Psalms 27:13 ‘I would have despaired of heart had I not believed I would see the goodness of God in the land of the living.’ Now I can say that the Lord has shown me His goodness in my life. God is really so good. 

 

REJOICE AND CELEBRATE NOW!

https://www.facebook.com/TheVictoryChannel/videos/421275119184623

After I watched the latest victory channel video (in the above link) I was so encouraged. So fired up and so filled with expectancy! Yesterday when I wrote the post on encouragement for Trump before watching this video, I didn’t realise what I wrote was in line with what many of them said! It was really inspired by the Holy Spirit! I was most encouraged by Kat Kerr, who imparted such a spirit of faith to me. She said now is the time to celebrate, praise and worship!

 

Indeed I had such joy rising up inside of me because I really sensed victory coming. In fact I understand why God kept saying we should rejoice now because we have come to the end. I was also reminded of the story that David’s greatest victory occurred just 72 hours before his greatest defeat at Ziklag (1 Chronicles 30). We probably thought it was the end on 6 Jan but actually we are in the kairos moment when God is just about to act. 

 

We are at the defining moment when we are about to see God part the Red Sea for US and drown the enemies in the waters so that the enemy we see today we will see no more! No wonder God told Moses in Exodus 14:15: ‘Why do you cry out to Me? Tell your people to move forward.’ Truly this is not the time to cry or to be discouraged to the point of giving up hope. This is the time to stand on God’s word and continue to press forward. 

 

For those who have eyes of faith to see, we should know that nothing caught God by surprise. Things had to get worse before they get better. It was always the darkest before dawn breaks. This is really the final exam for many of us. At a point when we saw death and all seemed lost, will we still stand on God’s side and believe Him or will we give up. If we continue to stand on His word, we will pass the test and be promoted. 

 

We will also see the glory of God when He resurrects the dead situation. Even though there seemed to be a delay now, this too shall pass and we shall see God come on the scene in a powerful manner. The angels are being dispatched to complete the assignment of God’s word spoken through His prophets. The appointed time has truly come. This is why we should start rejoicing and celebrating now! The best show is coming on!

 

AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO TRUMP SUPPORTERS

Yesterday wasn’t a good day for many of us. The US Congress has certified and confirmed Biden’s win. It was sad that Mike Pence didn’t object or stand up for Trump. It was also sad that the riots at Capitol Hill was turned into an act of violence though I believe it wasn’t started by Trump supporters. We saw thousands and thousands of people travelling to Washington DC to support Trump but in the end there was such an anti climax for them to go home without seeing the outcome they wanted. 

Even though we knew this wasn’t the end, there was still two more weeks to Presidential Inauguration but still, this wasn’t the outcome we expected. Trump went through all the possible routes like Supreme Court and Congress. He did all that he knew to do. It was all an act to flush out the people who are not for him and not for God. It was amazing how many people, including notable ministers who had turned away from what they initially declared that Trump is God’s choice. 

 

All this just taught me to put my eyes on Jesus rather than on man. At this point all of us are totally powerless. We really didn’t know what else we could do but to look to God. We had prayed, bound, declared and stood on our faith. There is nothing else to do but to continue to stand on what God told us. This is like another test that we have to pass before promotion. 

 

God didn’t tell us to win the election for Trump. That wasn’t the reason why He got us to pray for US. He told us to do our part and He will do His part. I believe we are at this place where all hopes seemed to be gone, everything seemed to be hopeless and dead. Just like the time when Lazarus died. Yet Jesus told Mary in John 11:40 that ‘If only you believed, you would see the glory of God!’ 

 

God is still asking us whether we can believe when all seemed to be lost. Like the defeat seemed to be imminent. Can we still stand on what He said? Can we trust that even though things don’t turn out the way we expected, God’s will is still going to prevail? Eventually God will work all things out for our good. Besides victory is already assured at the cross. It is only a matter of time that He comes on the scene in power and glory.

 

The world, the media, the people behind all these lies and injustices act as though God is dead. But God is very much alive! And He is laughing in heaven at the plans of the evil doers (Psalm 2:4). Though it didn’t seem like victory is on our side in the natural, we ask God to open our eyes to see that more is with us than against us! God is on our side and angels are being dispatched to turn things around now.

 

I don’t believe that God has turned a deaf ear to the millions of His people crying out to Him and praying for truth and justice to prevail in US, even all around the world. I don’t believe His hands are too short to save. I believe there is more than meets the eyes. Right now, God is planning a comeback. The greatest turnaround that no one could imagine. So that when it happens, all the world will know it can only be through the hand of God. 

 

And so this is my response to what happened yesterday at the Congress. I am not giving up on God’s word. I still stand for justice and truth. And I still believe Trump is God’s choice. I believe God is still looking for a group of people, perhaps a remnant who doesn’t give up, who continue to stand and pray. I don’t need to justify my faith to others. I also don’t believe that God needs me to safeguard His reputation or His name. He alone is powerful to defend Himself. He is God. 

 

On the contrary I will praise and worship. I will rejoice in the Lord for victory belongs to us! I ask for eyes of faith to see what God is doing and not what I am watching from the media. This is my encouragement to those who are weary and losing hope right now. This is not over yet! It cannot end on a defeated note. This is not God’s ways. It will always end in victory. We continue to rest in His faithfulness. Watch and see how God comes on the scene! God will turn our sorrow into joy! Those who trust in the Lord will never be disappointed! 

TWO STRONG THEMES FOR 2021

I was just thinking about the initial impressions I had for 2021. This was what I wrote in Dec. 

• Year of giving birth to new things (John 16:21), sorrow turned into great joy
• Acceleration, things moving fast all at once (Amos 9:13)
• This is when harvest time comes, hundredfold return (Mark 4:20)
• Avalanche of blessings began, floodgates of heaven open over us (Acts 10:11)
• Time of restoration and repayment (Joel 2:25)
• Good days ahead because we have been through the fire and water (Psalm 66:12), enemy overplayed his hand 

 

Recently I realised two very strong themes coming out from the messages I had been receiving. The first one was about victory. How we had won the battle. The walls of Jericho came down, the angels marching on the mulberry trees. The attack and battle is over. We shall have rest in our land. We have won. Victory will manifest itself this year. It is time to take the spoils. 

 

The other recurring theme was about harvest. Now is the set time for harvest. We can expect the hundredfold this year. There will be an avalanche of blessings because the heavens are open over us now. The time of waiting for our harvest is finally over. And when the blessings start pouring, they would all happen around the same time. 

 

These are years of pent up blessings so when they start coming, it would seem like a fury. Acceleration because God is making up for the lost time. It would seem like a time of great restoration and repayment for all the pain and trouble we had gone through. The sense that our joy will be turned into sorrow because we had sowed with tears, now we reap with joy.

 

God is also rewarding us for our labour of love and faithfulness to Him. In this new season we shall see much fruit coming out of our lives. The barrenness is over, replaced by fruitfulness and abundance. The drought-stricken areas of our lives will suddenly become fruitful. We shall see that we are like trees planted by the rivers of water. We bear fruit in every season. 

 

This year we shall testify to the goodness of the Lord and His faithfulness. We will say that we have seen the goodness of God in the land of the living. We will acknowledge that His word never returns to Him void. That He is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man who should change His mind. He has spoken so He would act. 

2020 WAS ONE BIG TEST; SENSING ABOUT 2021

Blessed new year to all and welcome to 2021! I had been asking the Lord about the new year for the past week. The only strong sensing about 2021 was about acceleration and a time of being launched out. In 2020 many people seemed to be put on a pause button but once the pause was released, there would be a pent-up acceleration of God’s plans. 

When God pressed the GO button, just like when He showed me the green light, things cannot be held back anymore. It would be released with a fury, a vengeance of sorts. There would be such a momentum to launch us into our new season. Enough of waiting around. It is going to be action time all the way, from now onwards. We have been in a holding pattern for a long while but get ready to take off. We are no longer stuck.

 

Another sensing about 2021 is that there will be an avalanche of blessings. Like the floodgates of heaven open. A heavy downpour is coming. Also the era of signs and wonders and miracles. Like all the pent-up blessings all these years suddenly released in 2021. And when the miracles reached flood stage, we have to be grounded in His word in order not to be swept away. Keep our focus on Jesus and stay close to Him at all times. Especially during harvest times when things get much busier and hectic.  

 

It just occurred to me that 2020 is one big test. It is like the final exam before promotion or graduation. It is the culmination of what I had learnt in the past 13 years. God prepared this final test before launching me into my new season. So if I passed this test I am positioned to step into my calling. Step into all that God has prepared for me in the next season. It was a big massive test because it was the final one. Along the way I had mini tests to assess my progress but this one would determine if I could graduate. 

 

No wonder God was so pleased that He kept saying well done since Nov. Passing this test was no small feat. It was crucial for God to see if we are truly ready to run with Him in the new season. Also for us to know if we are truly ready. Because we would have known if we passed the test by how we responded during the storm this year. The manifestation is really secondary to Him because that is the easy part. The difficult part is to pass the test and now that we have graduated we really don't have to worry about being released to our new season.