As soon as I awoke this morning I heard Dan praying in the other room.
In a little bit he came in with an opened Bible and gave me this scripture to read.
Matthew 7: 7-11
“Ask and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone, or if he ask a fish will he give him a serpent. If ye then being evil know how to give good things unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”
(This was very encouraging to Dan especially this morning because he has been doing a job he hates for another man who is starting his own business, simply because that is all that has opened up.)
Then on the way to work while meditating on that scripture God gave me a vision/revelation.
He took me up to a high mountain and showed me where we would end up, and then told me to look at the pathway down the mountain below me.
Below me in the form of stepping stones going up the side of the mountain were all the gifts, sacrifices, secret donations and offerings we had given going from many years back, of which I was accused yesterday of not having “shown up” to give. The sizes of the gifts were in direct proportion to my sacrifice, not necessarily in proportion to the tangible value of the gift !
The Lord spoke to me while holding my hand and said, “ Sometimes humanity puts himself in a position as your judge and he forgets that he should be your encourager instead of your judge. He only sees what the human eye can see and forgets he is not your all knowing God! Don’t hold it against him. He is frail and human. On the other hand I have seen your labors of love, and I am not man that looks upon you to judge you; I do not look for your face, I look directly to your heart! I am the all seeing, all knowing eye. I am the rewarder and man cannot see what I have seen. Because you have not judged another and have submitted yourself to this journey, I will exalt you to this high place in due season, and people will know, this was my plan all along. Remain steadfast, and I will make sure every sacrifice becomes another stepping stone for you and yours to reach this pinnacle I have created for you to reside at. Those who have falsely judged you will stand in awe of MY Glory, and will be astounded at the works of MY hands. I do have a plan, and it is being fulfilled! The Promise I gave you will be realized for I am not man that I can lie.”
I am so glad I laid a few stepping stones along the way! Remember every kindness you show toward another may just be your pathway out of a long and lonely road, so make every gift/ sacrifice/kindness count!
I don’t have a clue where God is taking us, but I do trust him completely. He has shown us in so many ways He has his hand upon us. He is taking us through this journey. It is not “of the devil”, nor is it of man”, It is a place that He is leading us into. When it is a “GOD” thing, I have learned from past experience, attacks will come on every angle because the enemy will try to stop God’s handiwork.
But God will make a way of escape for every attack! Every judgement he will counteract! He will send encouragement in ways you cannot imagine. Almost daily the last two weeks we have had people contact us saying that they were overwhelmingly gripped by a spirit of prayer for us and that they prayed things in the spirit that they had no control over! That is God in His most AWESOMENESS! We have had many people give us the same exact scripture to stand on! (Hebrews 10: 35-37 )
This is definitely God’s promise to us because it is the exact scripture Bro. Hollie has told us to stand on.
So if you are going through a struggle, and feel like there is no end, just allow God to take you up to the mountain and show you some things. Submit to the journey. Release the anger, and frustration, and bitterness, and be willing to take the journey. God is the all seeing, all knowing eye.
Expect the following:
• You will be tempted to hide from everyone.
• You will feel like no one understands or even cares about your demise.
• You will feel like some are celebrating in your struggle.
• You will notice attacks coming from unsuspecting places.
• Your mind will play tricks on you.
• You will feel abandoned by those who should be rallying around you.
• You will not necessarily receive encouragement from those you have been the most supportive of.
• You will feel let down, overlooked, underappreciated and even completely unloved.
Strengthen your faith by the following:
• Don’t quit the fight. No matter what! Just DON”T QUIT!
• Remind yourself that it’s a day by day struggle! At your lowest points there is only one way - Up!
• Be open to encouragement. Whether it is intelligent encouragement or not!
• Be gracious to everyone! Other people really do hurt to see your hurt.
• Don’t throw away love from anyone!
• Be more faithful than ever to encourage others.
• If possible don’t allow anything to keep you from the House of God. It is your filling station! If you cannot come to church due to illness, listen to CD’s, Internet, any preaching you can find.
• Give your tithe, and don’t forget your offerings.
• Enter into your prayer closet daily!
• Sleep with your Bible!
• Find someone you can vent to that is not in your immediate family! They are in the battle too!
• A friend who is wise and a prayer warrior!
• Don’t buy into the pity party! It is a waste of time and energy!
• Eat chocolate!
• Sing Songs, listen to uplifting music!
• Surround yourself with reminders of God’s goodness.
• Give , give, give! Send cards of encouragement to others, Reach out past yourself!
• Keep your eyes on Jesus!
• Put the song “STAND” by Donnie McClurkin on your Ipod! Or buy the CD The Essential Donnie McClurkin
• STAND!
