How to live in an increasingly chaotic and uncertain world?

The Lord says: 

"Major shifts and major changes are coming this year! Even to the core and to the very foundation of things. This will happen more and more in the coming months. Whatever that can be shaken will be shaken. A sifting is taking place. A purifying is taking place. Even to the churches. Not just in the nations. But as for you, look to Me. Do not be afraid and do not be shaken, for I am with you, if you look to Me. Stay aligned with Me and My Word. Flow with My Spirit. Be led by My Spirit. There is safety in My presence. For where I am, there you shall be." 

The Lord says further: 

"Guard against any discouragement. Guard against any distraction. Guard against any immorality, sin, or temptation in life. Guard against any kind of pitfall set up by the enemy. I will expose the trickeries of the enemy, and I will show you My wisdom to rise above all these." 

Regarding God's plans for you: 

"Guard your calling in life. Guard what has been entrusted to you in this time and season. Continue to be faithful in what I have prepared and called you to be and to do in this season of your life. I will know how to order and establish your steps." 

Psalm 37:23 (NKJV) says, 'The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.'

The word 'ordered' here is 'kuwn' in Hebrew. It can mean 'properly erected, properly established, properly set up, properly prepared'. The Lord is doing exactly this for you this year! Yes, for you who submit to the Lord! He knows how to take it from here. He knows how to guide you step by step. He knows how to order or 'kuwn' your steps. 

Looking at the world nowadays, you can see there are a lot of uncertainties. The world has become increasingly chaotic. Many people are uncertain about their future. Many people live in anxiety and worry about what's to come. Many people are struggling. 

But as for you, beloved of God, the Lord has spoken. As long as you stay aligned with Him, you need not be afraid or need not be anxious. Take this into your heart that the Lord is ordering your steps. Step by step, every step of the way. Now, and the future. Amen! 

What's your part? Your part is to guard your heart! Guard your heart with all diligence. Guard your heart above all else. 

Proverbs 4:23 (NIV) says, 'Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.' 

Proverbs 4:23 (NLT) says, 'Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.' 

The word 'guard' here is interesting. It is 'natsar' in Hebrew. This word can mean 'to protect, to maintain, to preserve (from discouragement, disorientation, condemnation, or evil)'. 

So, beloved of God, 'natsar' your heart. Protect your heart. Maintain your heart. Preserve your heart. Guard your heart at all costs. Bind all those discouragement! Bind all those condemnation sent by the enemy! Bind all those disorientation! 

What does 'guard your heart' actually mean? To answer this, we've got to look at the Hebrew word for 'heart' here first. The word 'heart' here is 'leb' in Hebrew, literally meaning 'the center of everything'. According to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, it not only speaks of your spirit, but also your soul. It means your mind, your will, and your emotion. Back to Proverbs 4:23 here, guard your spirit and soul. Guard your mind, will, and emotions.

Everything that happens in and around you depends on what's in your heart. Remember the word 'leb' here in Hebrew. If your heart is right, everything will start to fall into place for you. But when your heart is departed from the Lord, everything will also fall apart. Now, that's what Proverbs 4:23 actually means here.

The Lord says: 

"Do not let the enemy sow seeds of discouragement, disorientation, or condemnation in you. The enemy wants to keep you small. The enemy wants to keep you miserable. The enemy wants to keep you thinking that you are good for nothing. The enemy wants to stop you before your breakthrough comes. But this is when you choose to guard your heart above all else."

As you guard your heart, also be careful who you choose to align with (or associate with). In other words, guard against aligning or associating with the wrong people who may intentionally or unintentionally pull you down. 

Temptation (or the lure of this world) is everywhere, and many have fallen into it. But if you flow with the Holy Spirit, and are led by the Holy Spirit, and you are founded firmly in God's Word, there's nothing all these temptations can do to you. That's why it's so important to stay strong in the Word and in the Spirit. God's Word and God's Spirit! These are the two pillars that you need as you walk in this chaotic world!

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Be awakened to walk into your God-given callings!

The Lord says,
"It is a time of awakening! Be awakened to walk into your God-given callings and assignments on earth! Never doubt, for I will never leave you nor forsake you! I am in the midst of exposing the plans of the enemy that comes against My people! Look to Me, for I will fight for you, and I will defend you!"

If you look at the origin of this word 'awaken', it comes from two English words, namely 'on' and 'waken'. Indeed, this is your time to 'switch on', and not 'switch off' in fulfilling all that the Lord has called you to be on earth! And this is your time to 'be awakened', and not 'slumber'; for the Lord is in the midst of raising up His people for the greater glory that's coming!

Not just that, He has even begun exposing the plans of the enemy in ways you've never seen before! Like the days of Paul when he confronted the spirit of divination! (Acts 16:16-18) The spirit of divination is in effect a satanic spirit from the forces of darkness. It is any spirit that claims to be the truth, but is not. The word 'divination' here simply means 'to be inspired by a god (it can be any god, but not the true and living God)'.

And we are now living in a time when whatever can be shaken, will be shaken! (Hebrews 12:27) Like the days of Paul when the foundations of the prison that kept him bound were shaken to the core, and everyone's chains were loosed! (Acts 16:25-34) Indeed, nothing that originates from the enemy or from the flesh can stand this shaking time! Every 'foundation' built by the enemy shall be shaken to the core! And every man-made ways (be it in the church, or in the world) shall also be shaken to the core! So, people of God, don't just listen and be easily swayed by the voices (or ideas) of this fallen world! But instead, listen to the sound of mighty waters that has already been released in the spiritual realm! Ezekiel 43:2 says, 'And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory'.

You may ask, "How do I fulfill my part in this time of greater glory?" 

In 2 Timothy 1:6-7, Paul exhorted Timothy, "Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

Now, how do you 'stir up' the gifts given to you? You 'stir up' the gifts given to you by beginning to use them wherever you are, and wherever He puts you! Don't wait until you are given a 'formal position' before you start using them, because that's not how the Lord worked in the early church! The early disciples were full of the Spirit and were led by the Spirit; and they were preaching, teaching and making disciples wherever the Lord put them, be it in the marketplace, or in every village, town, and city that the Lord led them to! And as they walked in it, the Lord will also know how to set up divine appointments for them. When Paul responded to a vision of a Macedonian man standing and pleading with him to come over, concluding that the Lord had called him to preach the gospel there, the Lord did His part by setting up a divine appointment through Lydia who opened her home! (see Acts 16:9-15)

By the way, the words 'stir up' here is 'anazopureo' in Greek, consisting of three words, namely 'zo' (bring to life), 'pureo' (kindle the fire), and 'ana' (up). In other words, 'bringing to life' and 'kindling the fire' (whatever the Lord has given to you) by using them! And you have nothing to fear, for God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind!

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus Himself said, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." You see, in Him, you too have the highest authority and mandate, and the Lord has promised that He will be with you till the end of age! Be who God has called you to be! Amen!

Little by little, one step at a time

Isaiah 28:10 (NKJV): "For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little."

The word 'precept' in this verse is 'tsav' in Hebrew, which can mean 'guidance, command, or order'. That's how God leads, teaches, and guides His people - little by little, guidance by guidance, command by command, order by order, and line upon line.

Recently, the Lord spoke these words, "Little by little, one step at a time." He also said, "Let not My people be overwhelmed!" And that's when I opened the dictionary to see what exactly 'being overwhelmed' is defined as! The Oxford Dictionary defines it this way: 'being overcome or being overpowered by force of numbers or quantity'.

How many of you are 'overwhelmed' by the enormity of your 'task' ahead? Or you are 'overwhelmed' by something 'big' that you are going to do this year. Maybe it's a 'calling', a prophecy, a dream, or a vision you have received recently, and you know it's from the Lord. Or it's a new phase in your life this year! But yet, you have no idea how it's going to happen, or how you are going to 'achieve' it. It also seems naturally impossible anyway, considering the 'limited' resources you have at the moment!

So, the big question here is:
"How in the world am I going to see all these come to pass?"

Look now at Moses, Joshua, and Paul in the Bible. All these men likewise had seemingly impossible 'tasks' and 'callings', but God somehow did it through them! And it's by His ability, not theirs.

Moses:
'He was to go to Egypt and tell the Pharaoh to let God's people go'.

But the problem was he had no idea how he's going to do it! In fact, he thought it was impossible! He said, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?" (Exodus 3:11). He also said, "... but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue." (Exodus 4:10). But then God said, "Who has made man's mouth? ... Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say." (Exodus 4:11-12)

What Moses needed to do was to listen to God's specific instruction, and then speak forth or raise the rod accordingly! And that's how the waters turned into blood, the frogs came, the lice came, etc, and all the way till the Red Sea opened! So, it really wasn't Moses' part to figure out, say, how the frogs were to come (or how was he going to get or buy that many frogs?), but the frogs did come! That was God's part! And God's ways are always beyond man's ways. Moses just needed to be a willing 'channel' for God's instructions, step by step, one step at a time!

Joshua:
'He was to face the wall of Jericho upon crossing the River Jordan and conquer the city'. 

But again, the problem was (as in Moses' case) he had no idea how the wall was going to come down! Again, it seemed quite humanly impossible for that to happen! And that's when he heard God's specific instruction to 'march around the city...' (Joshua 6:3-5). Again, 'God's specific instruction for a specific situation' was at work! Joshua didn't have to figure out how to 'knock the wall down' by his own ability or scientifically, but when he did according to what God has said, down came the wall! Again, that was God's part, not Joshua's! And that also marked the beginning of Joshua's successful conquest of Canaan, from the middle to the south, and then to the north, step by step, one step at a time!

Paul:
'He had an enormous 'calling' of reaching out to the whole Mediterranean world with the gospel of grace'.

And again, the problem was he had no idea how he's going to 'achieve' this 'calling' within the duration of his lifetime! It also seemed humanly impossible, considering there wasn't any facebook, twitter, skype, e-mail, mobile phones, telephone lines, etc, not even proper postmen at that time! But God did it through him, and amazingly within just a short twenty years!

According to Bible scholars, Paul was converted (on his way to Damascus) at about thirty, and martyred at about sixty years old. It means he only lived as a Christian for about thirty years. Within these thirty years, the first ten years was spent in preparation (with the last seven years under Barnabas) before he had his own apostolic team. So, this comes up to only about twenty years of 'real' ministry! And within these short twenty years, he wrote almost half of the books in the New Testament, went on all his missionary journeys, built disciples and churches, etc, and impacted the whole Mediterranean world! "How on earth did he do it?" Again, it's not his ability, but God's ability working through him! He's definitely a man who knew how to hear God in his spirit, and again, step by step, one step at a time!

"But pastor, you don't understand! Easier said than done. My situation is worse off!"

Now, who can be worse off than Paul? See the list in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28. It's a 'been there, done that' list. But yet, through all these testings and trials, Paul said he always remembered God's vision for him (2 Corinthians 12:1-4, Acts 26:19) and God's grace (ability) that is sufficient for him (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Point to note: It doesn't mean as a believer, there's no 'storm' in life. One cannot live in a fantasy. But when the 'storm' comes, you know He is the One who can calm the 'storm' for you. He is in you, and He cares for you (see Mark 4:35-41).

Paul also learned to let go of the past (the things behind him), and look forward (Philippians 3:13-14), and eventually, that's how he could say, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness..." (2 Timothy 4:7-8) 

More often than not, a God-given 'destiny' or 'calling' is 'bigger' than the person himself/herself, and it looks humanly impossible to 'achieve'. So, if you think your 'task' ahead is too big for you, you are not alone. Just look at Moses, Joshua, and Paul. Today, God wants to show you that it's His ability, and not yours. You just need to be a willing 'channel'. In other words, it's by His grace (i.e. His ability to do for you what you cannot do by your own ability). Paul knew this very well, and he wrote, "Yet of myself I will not boast..." (2 Corinthians 12:5).

So, cast all your cares to Him, and rest in Him. Take one step at a time. Don't expect Him to reveal to you the next ten or twenty steps at one go. You may not be able to take that whole 'chunk' if He does that! More often than not, He'll only show you the next step. After your next step, He'll show you further step. That's how He works (Isaiah 28:9-10).

If many things have been happening, or are happening in and around you at the moment (e.g. new ventures, change of job, promotion in career, expansion in business, getting married, having baby, new phase in ministry, etc), don't allow yourself to be overwhelmed. Take one step at a time, little by little, step by step. Eventually, you'll reach where you should be (Philippians 1:6). How is it going to happen? I don't know. But God knows. And I know He'll open the way for you. Believe that He is able, trust in His wisdom to get 'it' done, and of course, keep looking to Him, the author and finisher of your faith. Amen.