Each time he
said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So
now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can
work through me" 2 Corinthians 12:9
This past
weekend there was an Art's Festival in the little town close to where I live.
My husband had a couple of his photographs for sale, and so we went into the
store where they were, to see if they had sold yet.
It blows my
husband's mind that complete strangers will come up to me and start telling me,
within a few minutes, intimate details of their lives. His anointing is in a
different area. My anointing, however, will draw people to me for
encouragement.
A woman who
has a prestigious job in this community came over to talk to us regarding the
photographs. My husband left to go talk to another woman who is an officer in
the Arts community.
Suddenly, the
other woman began to pour her heart out to me, without even knowing that I have
a Shepherd's calling on my life. She is in her early fifties and she talked about
the fact that her mother died within the last few months and how hard it was on
her. She said that her dad is not doing well, and when he dies she is afraid of
feeling like an orphan. She said, "I will simply have no support system,
as I can't depend on my brother and sister for help."
Does, God
know what he is doing or what? Here is where my anointing lies, as I told you
yesterday, whatever you are doing when you are set free is the ministry in
which God will use you.
I lost both
of my parents at an earlier age then most folks do. I was an only child. I am
an orphan. So I understand her concerns as I too have walked that path. My
first inclination was to blurt out, "You will be fine, I made it through
with the help of God and so can you."
But you know,
sometimes God puts a check on my spirit. He simply said, "Not now, develop
a relationship with her, let her SEE that you made it through just fine. Then
she will want to know what's different and THEN you can share Me with
her." The longer we walk in the anointing of the Holy Spirit we learn to
obey those gentle nudges, for we learn when we don't things don't work well for
us.
I believe
that all of us, you and I, get into fear about losing certain people in our
lives who we believe are there for us, either emotionally, financially, or
both. We lean on them as props. They are our "back up" plan in
emergencies.
Through life
circumstances I have learned that no one is there for me on a consistent basis
in my life but GOD. I therefore
know about his GRACE. I have found that in the worst circumstances you can
imagine God's grace has covered me and sustained me. It's because of HIM that
we can make it through any situations.
Lots of
times, prior to my journey in having God renew my mind; I would toss and turn
at night wondering what I was going to do regarding one problem or the other. I
couldn't sleep. I might go over some unpleasant situation in my mind. I might
remember the mean and cruel, and undeserved things, someone had said to me. I
might worry about bill collectors calling, or what people might be saying about
me behind my back. I would then start imagining all sorts of things and FEAR
would set in.
I will cut to
the chase here; lots of you who have counseled with me know that I do that.
Sure, I could waste your time and money coddling you along each week, but
that's what the secular psychologist does. They have a vested interest in
dragging out therapy because it puts money in their pockets to have you come
back week after week.
My goal is to
help others renew their mind and walk victoriously through life no matter what
situation presents itself. So in order to do that, when God gives me
discernment of a situation and how to change it I tell you.
So to walk
free from worry, you have to know that God's grace is going to cover every
situation you go through, if you belong to him. When you face an ugly place in your life, you will feel the
supernatural grace of God come over you, and you will look back later and say,
"I can't believe I felt such peace, I should have fallen apart but I
didn't because the GRACE of God covered me."
God has
delivered me from the Spirit of Imaginations. That's the chase I wanted to cut
to, with a lot of you. The reason is because I can "read" that in a
lot of your emails, or hear that on the phone when we counsel.
One day I was at my desk typing away and
my husband was gone longer then I had expected him to be. I started to imagine
all sorts of things. It went from bad to worse until I was agitated beyond
belief. This was several years ago. I believe that God had put up with that in
me for years. He wanted me delivered from it. He wants some of you delivered
from it also.
That day, as
clear as a bell, I heard the Lord speak to my heart the following, "You
need to get delivered from the spirit of imaginations. Satan uses your
imagination to stir you up and put you in a state of anxiety. This worry is not
from me, it's from Satan."
That was the
first day of a wake-up call for me. I went on a three-day liquid fast, and I
prayed and bound the spirit of imagination that had been at work in me for
years and years. Let me state here and now, if God reveals to you that you need
deliverance, you can do it yourself with the help of God.
Then, for a
few years when thoughts came into my mind that were lies from Satan, I would
rebuke the devil of imaginations and tell him to "Get out, you are on
God's territory."
We don't need
to fear anything or anyone. God is on the scene. He will come against those
that hurt us, use us and abuse us in anyway. God will never allow anything done
revengefully to one of His children go without punishment. His Grace covers us, and evidentially
we come out victoriously.
I no longer
worry about what any man or woman can say or do to me. I am covered by His
Grace, and so are you. I don't care what anyone says about me, or thinks about
me, or does to me. I am His daughter. I care what He thinks. In Romans 8:31 we
read the following; "If God is for us, who can be
against us?"
We
all are going to have problems and difficulties. We will have things happen to
us, that in the natural seem to be unbearable. We can make it through these
things because of his Grace. That Grace is always available. When we get to
tomorrow, that Grace sustains us. When we lose loved ones, that Grace sustains
us.
“And the
peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:7
I have
experienced that peace in some really hard situations. God just pours out His
peace. I have gotten to the point in life that I know that NO MATTER WHAT
HAPPENS God will give me the grace to withstand it. I also know that God will
turn it around, if I am innocent, and he will go after my accusers. I don't
have to.
Living in
peace means to get rid of false imaginations. Get rid of the "what
ifs." So no matter what happens we know that we know, God is with us. He
will hold us up by His strong right arm.
In the
Christian's daily walk with Christ we need to be laying our burdens on Him. We
don't need to obsess with "fear." If we lose our job, God will
provide another. If a friend betrays us, God will bring another to comfort us.
If our children get into trouble, God will send a "helper"
evidentially to bring them back to Him.
If we were
the answer to our problems we would not need a Savior. We are mere mortals. God
is God. He loves us, He will bring us through any storm of life, when we refuse
to worry and lay it at his feet.
But grow in
grace (undeserved favor, spiritual strength) and recognition and knowledge and
understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (the Messiah). To Him [be]
glory (honor, majesty, and splendor) both now and to the day of eternity. Amen
(so be it)! 2 Peter 3: 18
We are to be
growing in Grace each and everyday. We are to be a light in a dark world. We
don't need to sink to the level of worry and despair that the world does. God
has given us favor, even when we don't deserve it. He gives us strength, in
supernatural abundance each day to meet that day's problem.
Don't be hard
on yourself if you tend to worry. We are humans. It isn't going to change
overnight, but it can change for the better if you are willing to do the work
to overcome the fear that Satan likes to use to "stir" up trouble.
When I went
in for my exploratory surgery in January, for one brief moment as they were
starting the anesthesia I thought, "What if I don't wake up?" Then I
immediately turned that thought around and said to myself, "If I don't wake up, I will be
going immediately to meet the Lord, and what could be better than
that?" Immediately the peace
returned and I was covered by His unmerited favor and calm.
So, it's not
to say that we won't get the fear thoughts, Satan will try to bring disruption,
fear and mistrust to us until the day we die. The lesson is to release them,
and know that as we do, God's peace will surround us and sustain us.
Father, Thank
you for your Grace. Thank you that whatever we are looking at in fear is not
for us to worry about. We believe you when you tell us that your Grace is
abundant and will cover all situations in our lives. We simply have to rest
today and always in that thought. In Your Name, The Name above all names we
pray. Amen and Amen