Do not grow weary in waiting

The Lord spoke these words:
"Do not grow weary in waiting. Do not give up while waiting. Keep your focus on Me, and remain in My peace. Having given thanks for your answer, wait on Me and receive a fresh outpouring from Me. Never limit how I am going to make it happen for you!"

People of God, have you recently been discouraged or tired of waiting for your breakthrough or answer? For some of you, it even feels like you are losing it (or losing the battle), and you are on the verge of giving it all up - be it in waiting for your complete healing, a financial breakthrough, an answer to your problem, or a God-given prophecy/dream/vision to come to pass.

Admittedly, waiting time is never easy. But take heart, because Isaiah 40:29-31 says, 'He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint'.

The words 'wait on' here is 'qavah' in Hebrew, which can mean 'to collect from, to gather from, to look patiently, to wait expectantly'. In other words, it is a confident expectation (or a divine hope) that God will do what He has promised; yet He knows best how it will happen, and when it will happen. This word 'qavah' also implies while you are waiting, He is also in the midst of building you, preparing you, and works all things together for your good.

You may have heard people say 'waiting time is never wasted time'. There is a truth in this saying, provided you allow yourself to see your 'waiting time' as God sees it. In Isaiah 40:29-31, it is clear that God doesn't see 'qavah' as a dormant or passive time, but He sees it as a time of building and preparing you for the greater things to come.

On your part, it is a time of actively receiving, collecting and gathering from Him - be it His strength, His refreshing, His renewal, His wisdom, His anointing, and even His substance (or His character), so that when your breakthrough finally comes, you'll be ready for that next level!

But be vigilant and sober, because at a time of your waiting, the enemy will not sit still. In fact, he will do just the opposite from what God does for you. After all, he is called the adversary (1 Peter 5:8). The enemy will try to do anything to discourage you, or make you think your trust in God is in vain - that God doesn't remember you anymore, and God doesn't keep His promises! The enemy's final aim is that you'll give up on all that God has spoken to you. And when that happens, he wins! And I believe that is why Isaiah 40:29 says so emphatically (for those who are in a time of waiting): 'He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength'! Indeed, people of God, this is a crucial time to keep your focus on Him, and remain in His peace. This is your time to receive a new strength from Him!

Let us not be like King Saul who grew restless and anxious when the nation of Israel were besieged by the Philistines; so much so he began to take matters into his own hands (1 Samuel 13:1-14), instead of waiting for the arrival of prophet Samuel who had spoken earlier that he would SURELY come and show the way (1 Samuel 10:8). Interestingly, the name 'Samuel' in Hebrew represents 'The Lord has heard'. In other words, King Saul failed to see that 'The Lord has heard' is a God who keeps promises, and 'The Lord has heard' will SURELY come! In the end, King Saul's impatience cost him dearly.

But let us be like King David who in a time of waiting (for his victory and breakthrough), continued looking to the Lord and trusting in the Lord, as written in Psalm 121:1-4, 'I will lift up my eyes to the hills — From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep'.

Indeed, the Lord your God shall neither slumber nor sleep, but He is very much awake and alive, whatever your situation may be at the moment. This is your time to give thanks in advance because your victory and breakthrough will SURELY come! This is your time to declare that 'The Lord has heard'! And never limit how He is going to make it happen for you, because His ways are always higher than the ways of men (Isaiah 55:8-9). In Jesus' name. Amen!

The power of giving thanks

The Lord spoke these words:
"There is power in giving thanks! This is the time to give thanks for your answer, even in the midst of your problems, challenges, or troubles! There is no problem too difficult for Me! Look to Me, and give thanks in advance for the better things ahead of you. For I am close to those who put their trust in Me!"

We have been taught to give thanks for the good things that have happened to us. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, it is a good thing to do. But the Lord wants us to take one step further, that is to give thanks for the better things that are coming! Jesus did that while He was on earth! He gave thanks in advance, and Lazarus was raised up, even after being dead for four days! (John 11:41) He gave thanks in advance, and the multitudes had more than enough to eat, even with just the initial five loaves and two fish! (John 6:11)

So, people of God, go ahead and give thanks for the better things ahead of you! You don't see it happening yet, but this is the time to thank your way to better things to come! Give thanks for His divine health, whatever your health condition is at the moment! Give thanks for His supernatural providence, whatever your financial situation is at the moment! Give thanks for His wisdom and favor, whatever project or mission He has called you to do, going forward! And begin to walk in it by faith!

The Bible says in Nahum 1:7 (NLT), 'The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in Him'. The expression 'is close to' here is 'yada' in Hebrew, which can mean 'knows, recognizes, answers, cares for'. In other words, no matter what problem or trouble you are facing at the moment, the Lord knows, recognizes, answers, and cares for you!

To put it simply, He ALREADY has an answer for you! Your part is to give thanks in advance for the answer that's coming! And never limit how He is going to work it out for you!

Let's go to the book of Nahum now. At one time, in the days of prophet Nahum, no nation had been able to stand against the Assyrians. They had great military might, and they were greatly feared by the surrounding nations. In fact, they had overthrown some nations, and they were now setting their sights on Judah!

People of God, you and I are like the 'Judah' of today, a people whose praises are to the Lord. 'Judah' in Hebrew means 'praise', whereas the 'Assyrians' speak of 'the problems, challenges, or troubles' that come against you.

But thanks be to the Lord our God, because through prophet Nahum, the Lord brought comfort to Judah, and pronounced judgement on Assyria! Nahum 1:13 (NLT) says, 'Now I will break the yoke of bondage from your neck and tear off the chains of Assyrian oppression'. By the way, the name 'Nahum' ('Nakhuwm' in Hebrew) means 'comfort'; from the word 'nakham' meaning 'to comfort, to console'.

You see, invincible as the Assyrians were, only our Lord is TRULY invincible! He is all-powerful and He rules over all the earth, and of course over all the problems, challenges, or troubles that come against us! In this, we give thanks to the Lord; for He is great, and greatly to be praised!

Nahum 1:8-9 (NLT) says, 'He will sweep away His enemies in an overwhelming flood. He will pursue His foes into the darkness of night. Why are you scheming against the Lord? He will destroy you with one blow; He won't need to strike twice!' Notice the Bible says it is the Lord who will sweep away His enemies, and it is the Lord who will pursue His foes! Not you and I! Because the battle belongs to the Lord. Our part is simply to put our trust in Him, and thank Him for the victory!

So, people of God, go ahead and give thanks for your coming victory and breakthrough! Declare it by faith upon all those areas (of your life) that have come under the 'Assyrian oppression'! The Lord loves you (His children) and will be with you; but He opposes those who attempt to hurt you. And the good news is He is never too busy for you, because He is all-present! This is your time to give thanks to the Lord, because just as He had done for Judah in Nahum's days, He will do the same for you today. Amen!

Entering a season of clarity!

The Lord spoke these words for this time and season:
"This is a season I am giving clarity to My people! This is a season My people shall be set free from whatever that limits their spiritual eyes of understanding!"

The Lord spoke further:
"When everyone else is blur, My people will be clear! For I am raising up a people who are clear in their spiritual perception and spiritual understanding. Like Joseph, even when he was surrounded by the dark prison!"

The word 'clarity' here can be defined as 'clearness as to perception/understanding; free from ambiguity (or blurriness); the state of being clear to the (spiritual) eye'; whereas 'spiritual perception' means 'the ability to see, hear or become aware of something through your spiritual senses'.

Ephesians 1:17-19 (NKJV) says, 'that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power'.

Indeed, people of God, when everyone else in the world is blur, you are clear! Let the anointing of the Holy Spirit fill you right now, and set you free from any form of 'limitation' against your spirit!

One example you can see in the Bible is Joseph. You may read Genesis chapters 39, 40 and 41, as you walk in this time and season. In Genesis 39, you'd read about Joseph being taken down to Egypt, and how Potiphar (an officer of Pharaoh) bought him from the Ishmaelites. The very word 'Egypt' in Hebrew is 'Mizraim', and this word says it all, literally meaning 'a place of bondage, a place of limitation, being besieged'. However, the Lord was with Joseph. His master saw it, and made Joseph the overseer of his house (Genesis 39:1-5).

As Joseph was good-looking in form and appearance, his master's wife began to cast longing eyes on him, and wanted to 'lie with him'. Joseph refused, and after an 'incident' which was not his doing, his master's wife reported it to her husband. And that was how Joseph ended up in the prison (Genesis 39:6-20). People talk about 'double portion', but here in Joseph's situation, he experienced 'double limitation'. As if being sold as slave in Egypt was not enough, he was now thrown into prison! In other words, he was in a 'double bondage'!

People of God, just like Joseph those days, maybe you too are in a situation where there's just no breakthrough in sight. Far from it, in fact. Not just that, you are 'bound' by the 'limitations' people put against you, and you are now 'trapped'. But take heart. Because as long as your heart draws near to the Lord, He will know how to draw near to you! In Genesis 40, you'd see in spite of all the external 'darkness', 'bondage' and 'limitation' imposed on Joseph, his spirit was never 'limited', and never 'in bondage'. In fact, his spirit was so clear that he could interpret the dreams of the butler and the baker correctly! (Genesis 40:1-14)

Two full years later, Pharaoh had a dream and a subsequent dream; but no one in Egypt could interpret those dreams. No, not the magicians, and not even the wisest men of Egypt! In Genesis 41, you'd see Pharaoh's heart was troubled because of those dreams. The butler then remembered how Joseph interpreted his dream correctly, and he said, "Now there was a young Hebrew man with us in the prison, a servant of the captain of the guard. And we told him our dreams, and he interpreted our dreams for us... And it came to pass, just as he interpreted for us." (Genesis 41:12-13) Hearing this, Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon (Genesis 41:14). And the rest is history. Joseph successfully interpreted Pharaoh's dream, and he even gave sound advice.

You see, Joseph had a spiritual understanding and perception that no one else in Egypt had. And this was acknowledged by Pharaoh, someone who did not even know the Lord! In Genesis 41:37-39, the Scripture says, 'So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?" Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you."'

People of God, if Joseph could be 'clear' in his spiritual understanding and perception even from the dark dungeon (surrounded by an atmosphere of negativity), and from a place of bondage, you too can be 'clear' wherever you are in this world! The truth is external 'darkness', 'bondage' and 'limitation' cannot get a hold of your spirit, if you don't allow it!

This is your time to declare that your spirit is set free - free to draw near to the Lord, and free to receive from the Lord! And yes, wherever you are, and in whatever situation you are in right now! May you too be raised up by the Lord to be like the 'Josephs' of today! One in whom is the Spirit of God, and one used by the Lord to change the 'world' around you - through any of the spiritual gifts He has given to you. In Jesus' name. Amen!

Dare to be different!

I heard these words from the Lord recently:
"Like Caleb who has a different spirit, will you stand firm in Me when many others do not believe? Like Caleb who has a different spirit, will you stand firm in Me when many others fall away in this end-time?"

I then heard further:
"This is a time I am raising up a people who are like Caleb, a people who will not go with the worldly flow, but the Holy Spirit flow! This is a time I am raising up a people who dare to be different!"

The key chapters to read in this time and season are Numbers chapters 13 and 14. Here, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them." So Moses sent them according to the command of the Lord... Now these were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.... the list goes on; and in total, all twelve of them.

Interestingly, the word 'Caleb' in Hebrew means 'attacking force'; whereas 'Jephunneh' in Hebrew means 'he will be prepared'. Indeed, the time has come for a people who are like the 'Calebs' of today to be prepared - a people who will stand firm in the Lord, and not go with the worldly flow, but the Holy Spirit flow!

As the people those days returned from searching out the land promised to them, ten of them gave bad report. Only Caleb and Joshua gave good report. And here's what those ten said, "We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak (giants) there." (Numbers 13:27-28)
By the way, the word 'Anak' ('anaq' in Hebrew) literally means 'like a collar (or chain) to choke or to strangle'.

It was then that Caleb quieted the people and said, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it." But the majority (the ten men) said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we... There we saw the giants; and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight." (Numbers 13:30-33) So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and said, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness!... Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" (Numbers 14:1-3) Alas, because the word 'Egypt' ('Mizraim' in Hebrew) speaks of 'bondage, besieged, distress'.

But Caleb and Joshua spoke to all the congregation, saying, "The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us... Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them." And as the congregation said to stone them with stones, the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting then and there! (Numbers 14:6-10) In other words, the glory of the Lord came as a sign from heaven, and intervened against the stoning! You know what? The Lord will back you up when you stand firm in Him, and what He says!

People of God, like Caleb, will you stand firm in the Lord even when many do not believe, or many are 'falling away' from the truth that sets free? See 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3. Or will you bow down to the 'ten spies' (i.e. the popular/majority voices against the Lord)?

In this end-time, when the spirit of anti-Christ is trying to swarm the people of the world, turning many believers away from the truth in Christ, and darkening their spiritual eyes, will you still stand firm in the Lord and say 'no' to anything that compromises you, or your God-given calling? That's exactly what Caleb and Joshua did, in spite of the 'overwhelming majority' that came against them! They dared to be different! Not because they wanted to be different for the sake of being different, or they had nothing better to do; but rather they knew the Lord had spoken!

In the end, those who disbelieved died in a plague, and could not enter the land promised to them (Numbers 14:37); but as for Caleb, the Lord said, "But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it." (Numbers 14:23-24)

People of God, the Lord is indeed raising up the 'Calebs' of today - a fearless generation, a people who will not be 'shaken' by whatever they see in the world, but a people who see with the eyes of faith! This is your time to receive the oil of the Holy Spirit on your head, and let it flow right to your robe; just as a priest was anointed those days! You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).

In 2 Thessalonians 2:15-17, the apostle Paul wrote, 'With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen you'. In Jesus' name. Amen!