In the Shadow of His Hand

Oswald Chambers:  "Whenever God gives a vision to a saint, He puts him in the shadow of His hand and the saint's duty is to be still and listen. There is a darkness which comes from excess of light and that is the time to LISTEN. Never try and help God fulfill His word."

Wow. That timely word deeply spoke to me; perhaps it speaks also to you. I feel that I cannot see and I cannot hear right now in the spirit realm. I feel blind and deaf like a person groping in the dark. Yet I had not considered that it is dark in a shadow!  

Psalm 91: "He who dwells in the shelter of El Elyon (the Most High) will rest in the shadow of El Shaddai.

Is that why it has felt so dark in these past few months? Because I am in His shadow?  God gave me a vision exactly a year ago; a vision for a new ministry He wanted to birth. Since then I've been looking at properties, trying to "feel my way in the dark." The vision seems stalled and the provision has not come forth. Perhaps I've been trying to help God fulfill his word!  Is it really stalled on HIS timetable? His plan? His blueprint? No, it's me...trying to shorten the process I have to go through to be ready. Oswald Chambers went on: "Abraham went through 13 years of silence, but in those years all self-sufficiency was destroyed." No more helping God to get the job done! No more thinking that I know more about the fulfillment of this vision than He does!

What if I set aside all thought of this future vision and decided to be content and joyful in the present? What if I learned to accept the silence of this darkness as the shadow, the shelter of El Shaddai - the dark, quiet place of the womb where I wait for Him to bring birth?

You have me in the shadow of Your hand, Father and it is my duty to be still - and listen - and know that You are God.

Waiting, Watching, Trembling

On the last day of 2017 I sat before the LORD and asked Him to speak to me a Word about 2018. I waited a long while in the quiet, making sure my own mind was uncluttered and able to hear and receive what was on HIS mind.  Eventually I heard the Spirit speak:

"WAR. Many wars will break out. You will see much death - but also great signs and wonders. These times will cause you to tremble with fear; but do not be afraid. Wear my Word like armor. Use the Sword (the Word) as your weapon.

"Israel, My beloved, My delight, will suffer. Pray! Pray and believe! My Word will be accomplished.

"The fall of the wicked is a foreshadow of the fall of governments. Chaos comes and unless one is in the Strong Tower of My Name, they will crumble.

"Things will happen suddenly - and the changes will be almost too fast to follow. Not all will be as it seems. Seek Me. Seek My Word. It is Truth. The deceivers shall be many and you must pray for discernment. 

"The fall of the wicked, the greedy and the corrupt this year is written: 'Woe to him who builds his realm by unjust gain to set his nest on high; to escape the clutches of ruin.' (Hab. 2:9) For the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea! You (Lord) came out to deliver your people, to save your Anointed One. You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness, you stripped him from hand to foot!' (Hab. 2:14, 3:13)

This was the end of the Word God gave to me and so I inscribed it in my journal and wrote below it, "Abba Father, my tiny frame stands at the window, my nose and fingers pressed against the glass, waiting, watching, trembling...."

It is a time, as never before, when we must be a people who are watching and waiting on God, undistracted by the world and all its noise. He made it clear that His Word is our safe place. He will do battle, as we remain in Him. And this morning, January 7, 2018, He took me to these passages and asked me - and all of us, His people - to pray them earnestly in the days ahead, for this is a prayer for this hour.

Isaiah 64:1-4
Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before You! As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your Name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before You! For when You did awesome things that we did not expect, You came down and the mountains trembled before You. Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.

"Abba Father, our tiny frames stand at the window, our noses and fingers pressed against the glass, waiting, watching, trembling...."

Believe That You Have Received

Mark 11:24-25:  "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours. And when you stand praying if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive your sins."

This past weekend, as we all peered into the new year of 2018, the Lord God illustrated both of these verses for John and me in very powerful ways. I know it's important that I share and bear witness to what He did and what He has taught me, so that others will receive these words of Yeshua and understand them in the context of our own daily lives.

On Saturday morning John's right leg was swollen and walking around was causing him great pain. Given his past heart attacks and known vascular issues, we both began suspecting a blood clot (Deep Vein Thrombosis). Knowing how serious this could be, I told him we needed to go to the Emergency Room. John refused and said, "No, let's pray." My husband's faith! It always emerges so strong in the face of adversity! I placed my hands upon the affected calf area and began to decree over the clot, that it was crushed, destroyed, loosed and demolished in the name of Yeshua! I spoke authority over it in His Name and commanded it to be destroyed by the power of His Blood. Then I spent the morning make tea for John, filled with tumeric, ginger and cayenne pepper, knowing that these good herbs open up the blood vessels. Within about two hours the swelling went down, pink color returned to feet and toes, and the pain completely left him! "Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours." John believed and John received. Yet, I was reading a commentary on this verse and I think his caution is important: 
“We should not interpret verse 24 to mean, ‘If you pray hard enough and really believe, God is obligated to answer your prayer no matter what you ask.’ That kind of faith is not faith in God; rather it is nothing but faith in faith, or faith in feelings.” (Wiersbe)

He makes a good point. Faith in God means we trust God to give us what He knows is best for us. I am rejoicing that He answered John with complete healing and our part is to share the testimony!

The Holy Spirit has been illustrating Verse 25 to me over the past few days regarding the story of my son. I just shared in another blog about our conversation where he asked me not to speak of my faith again, and SO many of you responded with similar stories! It is amazing how many of us are struggling with prodigal sons and daughters. What a blessing it is for us to share our pain and pray for one another! But the Spirit is teaching me something vital from this verse: "And when you stand praying if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive your sins." Holy Spirit is speaking to me that this means we are never to place our "ministry" ahead of good relationships with people. As in Romans 12:18 "If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men." And so, in response to this counsel, I have been reaching back in to my son instead of withdrawing from him (which is probably what he expected me to do). I have made the promise that, weather permitting, we will drive out to Pennsylvania next month to spend some time with him and his family over President's Day holiday weekend. That means we will be there for our seventh wedding anniversary. Delighted, he promised that he and his 11-year-old son would cook us an Italian dinner! He and his wife both called last week and we had positive, joyful conversations. In the midst of writing this blog, just now, he texted me, "Happy New Year, Mom!" 

It is all as if the Lord is showing me that sometimes we must forego preaching and our righteous airs and keep meeting people right where they are, with that love that Yeshua must have shown when he ate with the tax collectors. Maybe the tax collector's wife made him a nice Italian dinner and maybe He smiled with gratitude and showed such a love that they came to really KNOW Him.

This is not really new to me. I've reached out to this family for many, many years now. I spent an entire month there when my grandson was born, and did my best to fill the house with the fragrance of the Spirit and the deep love of the Lord. But I can't give up. You can't give up. When we stand praying, we must forgive them of their sins - and when we pray, we must believe that we have received it.