My bride, I rejoice over you. My delight is in you. I have adorned you with My jewels of righteousness. O rejoice My bride. Rejoice and lift your eyes up to the heavens. Behold your God who adores you, who brings you into His Kingdom and clothes you with the garment of salvation. You, My love, My bride, My chosen one. You are royalty and you reign in the midst of your enemies. Take comfort in the fact that you are safe and secure in the shelter of My wings and you will overcome. Glory in the fact that I purchased you with My blood and when the enemy sees you, he sees My Protective Hand on you. Take courage My bride. Rejoice. Look to Me. I am your Bridegroom. I am your covering. I am and there is no other. Isaiah 61.
Understanding and Embracing Suffering
Because suffering plays such a vital role in God’s destiny for us, we can’t just sweep it under the rug. It’s tremendously helpful not only to understand suffering, but to embrace it as well. God wants us to experience joy and fulfillment, and even lots of pleasure as we live our lives for Him. But He did not create us for earthly happiness alone, no matter how bountiful life here might turn out to be.
It doesn’t matter what wealth or prestige we gain in life, or even how wonderful our relationships might be. Mature Christians know that none of this holds a candle to what we’ve really been designed for. None of us are exempt from the challenges and hardships that inevitably come our way. Trials are common to all believers. But it’s certainly not due to lack of interest on God’s part. Just the opposite, actually: He allows suffering because He deeply cares about us.
From Free from the Power of Sin: the Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself
Look Up
My child, I love you even in your failures. When you feel like you are in a freefall into sin or despair, I love you. I never take My eyes off of you. You only need to look up and reach out and I will be there to catch you. This is the time to praise Me. This is the time to worship Me. This is the time to be thankful. Oh how the enemy hates it when you do these things when he thinks he has you in his clutches. I have overcome the evil one and when you are secure in Me so have you. So, pray-praise-worship and be thankful. The battle is won. I have the victory and you are victorious in Me. Rejoice-Shout-Proclaim! The Mighty Hand of the Lord has gone before you and secured the victory. Do not wallow in the pit of despair for I have rescued you and you are MIne. You are Chosen. You are My pure and spotless bride.
God Designed Life in Him to be Tough
Why does God allow us to encounter so much conflict and hardship in life? How does it all fit in with His plan to bring us into union with Him? Choice is the answer!
Our redemption does not merely rest on our initial decision to make Jesus Lord of our life. It’s true that receiving Christ as Lord is the bedrock of our salvation, but our relationship with Him is built on a series of decisions we make over the course of a lifetime. And because life’s circumstances are tough, these choices are rarely easy. God allowed sin to exist for this very reason.
If God had designed things so that it would be easy to follow Him, our choices would have little meaning. Our pursuit of Jesus, while forsaking our own selfish desires, is what He wants. And He’s created the ideal system to measure our progress—life here on earth.
From Free from the Power of Sin: the Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself
Distractions
My child, you worry about what other people think too much. What about what I think? I am the one you should concentrate on pleasing. I created you for the purpose of an intimate love relationship with Me. I long for your whole heart to be Mine. So many distractions pull you away from that place of full devotion. I have great plans for you. I am going to accomplish them through you. Won’t you come and lay down every desire and dream, plan and purpose at the foot of My cross and let Me do through you what I have purposed from the beginning of time?
My Shiny Thing
There was this shiny thing—actually two shiny things (one bigger than the other)—I saw it in my mind’s eye a few minutes after requesting the Lord to speak to me as I laid awake in the middle of the night. This probably sounds a bit arrogant on my part. Speak to me—just because I ask?
Imagine me, a speck of a person existing on a speck of a planet careening through the immensity of this vast universe, personally interacting with the Creator of it all! What could be more egotistical? And yet, He will do just that for those who belong to Him.
But what about that shiny thing? I saw it in a flash of a moment—not physically, but like it might have appeared in a dream. It was somewhat like a Christmas ornament, only bigger, pointed at the top and bottom, like highly polished silver, with a pendant of the purest gold in the middle.
This was the point where the Holy Spirit began to explain. This shiny thing is not a matter of physical existence, but a matter of the heart. That is, what do I set my mind on, what am I doggedly pursuing in my life, what do I value most? Pleasure? Honor, respect, recognition? Status, prestige, or even celebrity? All of which can be had through wealth, educational degrees, physical prowess, beauty, sex, corporate or political power, even relationships (family or otherwise). You name it. It’s the way of the world—and so easy to set one’s heart on. It’s our shiny thing (or things)!
Now a very important question arises here: are they all that bad? They may, or may not be. God has created us with an inborn drive to reach for things. Keeping it all in balance is basically the issue. In Matthew 6: 31 – 33 Jesus taught:
“Do not worry then, saying, “what will we eat? or what will we drink? or what will we wear for clothing? For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
At first glance this seems to be speaking to basic human needs. But if we consider the context of the entire chapter, it’s easy to see that our desires are essentially in play here. It’s human nature at its core. We tend to hold God at arm’s length, hoping we can avoid Him interfering with our plans!
Back to that shiny thing—or I should say, those two shiny things I saw. Why one bigger than the other, as if more important? Of course it’s more important! The larger one is a representation God Himself.
And there is good reason that the Lord allowed me to see it this way. After all, the whole creation revolves around those who are to be His children (Romans 8:19 – 25). If we have been called to Jesus in this manner, how could the pursuit of Him not eclipse all other desires and motivations? He designed us with a colossal need to honor Him above all as our shiny thing!
So, we need to get our priorities straight. Only when we pursue God with all our heart will He ever be able fulfill all He has planned and promised for us. We must not sell His purpose short!
You are mine, says the Lord, and I want to be yours—your Shiny Thing! Jeremiah 9:23, 24
Sharing in Christ as Siblings
Scripture says that God “conforms us to the image of His Son, so that Jesus would be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). Think about the implications of this incredible statement. Considered to be His brothers and sisters? Really? We like to describe our faith as a relationship rather than a religion. So we talk about having a personal relationship with Jesus (sometimes kind of flippantly). How often do we stop to think about what that really means?
Well, I wholeheartedly agree with the concept of personal relationship with Christ, but I’d like to add something. What Jesus has going with us is not merely relationship: it’s RELATIONSHIP—a powerful, intimate, living relationship in which we are welcomed to share in the very life of God Himself. But this raises a question: given the magnitude of the glory set before us, why would God create us like He did? Why this flesh with its countless problems?
Let Love Be Your Guide
When you serve do it unto Me. Every act of kindness, every encouraging word, will be as though you are giving them directly to Me. This is a blessing to Me. When I see My children blessing others it blesses Me. Oh, I desire you to see with My eyes. To hear with My ears. To see through the veil and enter into My realty. Let love overtake you and be your guide. Look on every face with My love. Listen intently to what I am saying through every person you encounter. Love changes lives. So serve with love and let thanksgiving be in your heart and on your tongue. Be thankful in everything.
Life: Glorifying and Enjoying God
Millions of Christians have been lulled into thinking that God’s purpose for us boils down to little more than a fulfilling life on earth with the added bonus of a heavenly reward later. With this mindset, it’s only natural to focus on what God can do for us here and now. While this belief fits in neatly with our human appetites and ambitions, it merely serves to derail our spiritual growth. This clever deception of the enemy has always been a blight on believers—all the more so in this age of prosperity.
Life is really all about glorifying and enjoying God. And He also wants to enjoy us. In His infinite wisdom, He’s engineered a program to accomplish both goals. In what way might God enjoy us as fully as we enjoy Him? By making us His very own sons and daughters. God fashioned us the way He has, frailties and all, to accomplish this very purpose.
From Free from the Power of Sin: the Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself
Give Me your desires
My child, keep your eyes fixed on Me. Walk in a manner worthy of Me and I will give you the desires of your heart. Give Me all of your desires. Give Me all of your thoughts. I will in turn give you My mind and My thoughts in every matter. My desire is to flow through you in such a way that people will be drawn to Me. They will experience Me when they encounter you. My love, My power and My light will flow through you when you give over every part, every desire, every bit of your will to Me. Do you want a powerful life? Die to self. Be awakened to live in the Spirit. This is the life I have called you to.