GOD WHERE ARE YOU?
and backward, but I cannot perceive him; On
the left hand, where he doth work,
but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see
him;
Is this the cry of
your heart? You need to hear from
the Lord, but He is silent. You�ve
prayed and prayed but there is no answer. You
begin to think back to the time when you only had to whisper His name and He was
there. You remember His words:
While they are yet speaking I will answer.
Now you can�t seem to find Him.
WELCOME TO THE WILDERNESS!
Don�t worry you�re not alone. Look around you�ll see the footprints of many others that
faced the wilderness before you. look to
your left and you will see Moses footsteps. Moses
who tried under his own power to deliver God�s people, only to flee from being
a prince in Pharaoh�s house to attending sheep. For 40 years Moses was in his
wilderness.
Look to your right and
you will see the footprints of Job. Job
called the greatest man of the east. Stripped of everything, his possessions, his health, the
support of his wife and most of all his children. Some
say his wilderness began when he was around 70 years old. Can you imagine losing
everything at the age of 70?
Watch
how you back up or you will step on the footprints of Joseph.
A man whom the Lord had shown great dreams, a man loved so much by his
father, but despised by his brothers. Joseph
cast into a pit by his brothers, sold into slavery for twenty pieces of silver,
his wilderness.
But most important
of all, look down you will see the glowing footprints of Jesus. Jesus the Son of
God, in whom the father was well pleased, His beloved son.
Was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil
40 days and 40 nights. You
see you�re in good company, be
encouraged.
WELCOME
TO THE WILDERNESS!
The wilderness is a desolate place.
Everything is dry, dusty and parched.
There is no comfort zone. No
place of rest, relief or reprieve. Your dryness may be spiritually, financially,
socially or physically. But, it is necessary; it�s a season that every child
of God must go through. It can�t
be bypassed and please don�t bother looking for a shortcut or a detour sign,
there isn�t one. It is here He will teach you to depend on Him and only Him.
The wilderness will purify you, refine you, purge you off all that is a
hindrance to your walk with God, and in the end you will come out as pure
gold.
Listen
to what He is saying: I must allow you to suffer to make you stronger.
All my disciples suffered, you are my disciples.
|
|
If you look at the wilderness journey of Jesus you�ll see that He was filled with the Holy Spirit and led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness. Now did the father send him to the wilderness because of something He did, or because He was displeased with Him? No. Remember He said, �This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased�. He sent His son into the wilderness for a reason. He sent Him there to be tested, tried and tempted. He sent Him there to fully understand what we endure in our lives. He was about to birth forth into His own ministry and fulfill the purpose for which He came. He had to preach, teach, heal and deliver and He was going to die for our sins. Yet He still had to pass through the wilderness.
God had to allow His son to experience what we experience. If you remember God�s first created son, Adam a living soul, failed the test in the beginning. Now God�s only begotten Son, Jesus, a quickening spirit, had to go through the test to defeat the enemy. Jesus had to undo Adam�s work. Adam made perfect gave into temptation and passed sin onto us.
When Jesus resisted satan He set the example for us on how to endure trials, testing times and sin. He stood on what was written. He stood on His Father�s Word. So must we!
(Scripture Reading:
Mat. 4:1-11).
When you first received the Lord, you could
call His name and He manifested Himself immediately.
You prayed and He was on the scene.
He had to; you had just given your life to Him. You were a babe in
Christ, and as a baby needs his mother 24/7, so it is with a new child in
Christ. You needed the Lord to feed
you, talk to you, and guide you 24/7.
He started off feeding you milk, but as
you mature, and get stronger in the Lord; He begins to allow you to go through
testing times. Testing times to
help develop your walk with Him. Testing times will develop your character.
The wilderness is where this takes place.
God�s children shouldn�t look upon the wilderness journey as a negative time in their lives. You are there for testing, training, purging and preparation. You are being prepared for the next move of God. The Lord won�t lead you into the wilderness and forget about you. He won�t leave you there for the enemy to have his way with you. He will not stop working in your life while you are in the wilderness, if any thing He is watching and working more closely in your life to help you through your journey. Don�t turn loose His hand, or you won�t make it through.
You may feel like you are out there with no one to talk to,
no one to encourage you, no one to lift you up when you are down.
Where are you God, where am I? You
are right where He needs you to be. You are totally dependant on Him and no one
else. Just like Jesus you have only
the word of God to see you through. Don�t die in the wilderness you will make it through.
No, you�re thinking that you have somehow I missed God. Refuse those thoughts; they are not of God, but of the enemy. God�s word says � There is no condemnation to those that are in Christ� Did you hear that? That is worth repeating,
� There is no condemnation to those that are in Christ�. (Rom 8:1) The enemy knows you are about to be blessed. He senses God is getting ready to use you, promote you, and fully bring you forth. He has become attracted to your anointing. So attracted to it, that he won�t leave you alone. He didn�t need to bother you when you were casual or lukewarm, because you were no threat to his kingdom. But now that you are in the wilderness, he knows his time is near and he must do all he can to stop you. Don�t die in the wilderness, you can�t.
Endure the hardship as a good soldier. In other words,
HOLD ON OLD SOLDIER!
The wilderness journey is a time where you
appear to be moving in the opposite direction of your dreams and visions that
the Lord gave you. You feel as
though you are regressing. Where are you God?
You begin to feel unloved, ignored, and forsaken.
Not so, He is there with you, keep on praying.
In the wilderness God supplies your daily
bread. He supplies your needs not
your wants. God knows what you need
in the wilderness, and it may not be what you think you need.
The wilderness is where you must learn to seek His face, not His hands.
If you are seeking the gifts and not the
Giver of the gifts your wilderness
journey will be much longer. If you
seek God�s face you are truly seeking to know His character, His nature, His
heart. Seeking His hands means you
only want His provisions and power. If
you seek only His hands, you may not recognize His face, but if you seek His
face, you will surely know His hands.
Let the words of Mathew 6:31-33
minister to your heart. Therefore
take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or
Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles
seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteous; and
all these things shall be added unto you.
Seeking only God�s hand is treating Him
like some of our friends treat us. You
know the ones that call you only when they need something.
Or someone seeks to be your friend only to find out that it was for his
or her benefit. Perhaps it was
because of your status or your money. They
have no genuine concern for you, but for a time you served a purpose in their
lives. Think of how you felt when
you found out that they used you. How
do you think the Lord feels when you seek only His hands, and not a relationship
with Him?
Often people want the anointing and the
blessings, but not the pain, the tears, the trials nor tests that one must
endure to to receive the blessing. There
is a price to pay, a wilderness to go through, we must endure if we want to be
highly used of the Lord. You have to be after His heart, not what His hands can
provide for you. Once you learn
this, you won�t take your blessing for granted.
You won�t forget who blessed you.
You won�t forget who fed you. You
won�t forget Jesus.
The wilderness is not a place for you to lay
down your weapons and die (spiritually). It
is not a time for you to backslide into the sinful ways of your former life,
because you have become discouraged. It�s a place for you to be strong and
bold for the Lord. A place where a
full surrender to the Lord is needed. A
place where your flesh is burned away. A
place where you trust Him completely to do what He said He would do.
You may be tempted to do it your own way
thinking you are helping God out. If you do you will only delay your wilderness
journey. He
doesn�t need you to cover for Him. If
He said he would do it then, trust Him to do it.
Remember the story of Abraham And Sarah?
Sarah decided to help God out by allowing Abraham to sleep with their
handmaiden, to fulfill God�s promise of a child in their house by Abraham.
The word hadn�t come to pass yet and Sarah wasn�t getting any younger
(neither was Abraham). And you know how we are when we have been told that God
is going to bless us. We can�t
keep our mouth shut. We have to tell everyone. Word up, everybody doesn�t want
you to be blessed. Tell it to the wrong person,
start bragging, and you may cause your blessing to be delayed. Your mouth
may cause the enemy to block your blessings.
Read Daniel 10:12-13, and see how the enemy was holding up his blessing
and he wasn�t even gossiping.
Sarah thought that
since the handmaiden stayed in the house, her sleeping with Abraham would
be like it had come to pass. Because
the child would be Abraham�s child and the child would be in the house.
Look what a mess they made. You
must read the story (Scripture Reading Gen: 16), better than any soap
opera on TV.
God doesn�t
need your help.
Keep your hands off the
situation.
If He said He is going to bless you, He is going
to bless you. Wait on it!
You must keep the promises before your spiritual eyes no matter what you natural eyes tell you. Testing times will come, you may say I need it now Lord, or everything will fall apart, and God will say nothing. You think that He isn�t saying anything, but He is. He is saying to you, it�s not time. You don�t need it now; you aren�t ready for it now. Wait for me be encouraged and it will come to pass. It�s in the wilderness where your promises will be birthed.
It�s in the wilderness you will begin to truly glorify the Lord. Listen to what He is saying to you: You�ve come to a place in your life where you can�t turn around, yet you can�t see how to go forward. Like the children of Israel you are at the Red Sea of your life. I have not brought you this far to leave you. I brought you into the wilderness and I will lead you out. Lift your head high and praise Me. Praise Me until the Red Sea in your life opens. Walk, walk on, do not be afraid. Lo I am with you always, even until the end of the earth. I am your God. Use what I have given you. Walk on, I am waiting for you.
You don�t have to worry, you don�t have to fret. All is well. Know that all is well. Haven�t I proven myself worthy? Haven�t I cared for you? Why do you fret?
When it looks like all hope is gone it�s time for you to establish a time of prayer in the wilderness. When you can�t find your way, when you feel like giving up, when people tell you what you want can�t come to pass.
PRAY, PRAY, PRAY! When they laugh at you, talk about you, walk out on you, PRAY PRAY, PRAY!
AND AFTER YOU PRAY YOU SAY TO THEM:
God is not through with me yet. I must be confident that He which has begun a good work in me
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (Phil 1:6) I know that I will be
prosperous regardless of the wilderness. God
has prosperity waiting for me. He gives
me all that I need regardless of my situations in life. (Phil 4:19)
I won�t allow the enemy to get a foothold in my life.
He has no power over me. God
has not given me a spirit of fear. I have power, I have love, and I am in
control. (2 Tim 1:7)
You tell them that you are like a tree planted by the
waters in the midst of my wilderness. I
will bring forth fruit from the wilderness, my leaves won�t dry out in the
wilderness, and whatsoever I do I will prosper.
(Psalm 1:3). If
you continue this way guess what will happen?
You got it�.
YOUR BLESSING WILL COME
Because you have to refused to die in the
wilderness. Because you know your
blessing is coming. God will cause
men to give unto you. If you will endure your wilderness journey, the Lord will
have people bless you financially. He
will open doors for you. He will
cut doors out of brick walls for you, and enable you to go through situations
that would have otherwise been impossible to handle.
God will bless you and cause all things to work for your good�when
it�s time for Him to activate certain blessings in your life.
Remember it has to be God�s time, not yours.
It is His time.
You need to hold on. Don�t�
let go of Jesus now, it won�t be much longer.
The battle will soon be over, and God will do a new thing in your life.
Isaiah 43:19-21
Behold I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not
know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to
give drink to my people, my chosen. This
people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.
Do you see what God is
doing for you now? He�s doing a
new thing in your life, He�s making a way for you while you are in the
wilderness. He is bringing you
water right in the midst of that dry desert.
Stay right there until He has completed the work in you for your next
journey. Go through it, just like
His Son did. Stand, Stand on His
word and press on! So what are you
going to do?
YOU SHOULD BEGAN TO
PRAISE HIM AND TELL HIM:
Father, I come before
You this day, I enter Your gates with thanksgiving, and into Your courts with
Praise. I give thee all the
thanksgiving, the glory, the honor and praise, and I bless Your holy name.
Father I take this time
to magnify, praise and exalt thy holy name, because You are worthy to be
praised; therefore, I will bless You, O Lord, at all times, and Your praise
shall continually be in my mouth.
I thank you Lord that I
am blessed upon my job, and blessed in my home; and I confess according to Your
word, that all my children are blessed and prosperous all the days of their
lives.
I thank you Lord that
you have opened the doors of prosperity in my life financially as well as
spiritually, and no man can close it. I
thank you that you have anointed the works of my hand and I am prosperous in all
that I do.
I thank You and praise
You for your word, and how You said that it shall not return to You void, but is
shall accomplish that in which You sent it to do, even as I pray Your word, I
thank You that it is performed and accomplished in my life, and in my family.
In the name of Jesus I pray,
AMEN!
SHARED READING FROM FRIENDS: Thanks Jackie.
As I faced my Maker at the last judgment, I knelt before the Lord along with all the other souls. Before each of us laid our lives like the squares of a quilt in many piles. An Angel sat before each of us sewing our quilt squares together into a tapestry that is our life. But as my angel took each piece of cloth off the pile, I noticed how ragged and empty each of my squares was. They were filled with giant holes. Each square was labeled with a part of my life that had been difficult, the challenges and temptations I was faced with in everyday life. I saw hardships that I endured, which were the largest holesof all.
I glanced around me. Nobody else had such squares. Other
than a tiny hole here and there, the other tapestries were filled with rich
color and the bright hues of worldly fortune. I gazed upon my own life and was
disheartened. My angel was sewing the ragged pieces of cloth together,
threadbare and empty, like binding air. Finally the time came when each life was
to be displayed, held up to the light, the scrutiny of truth. The others rose,
each in turn, holding up their tapestries. So filled their lives had been. My
angel looked upon me, and nodded for me to rise. My gaze dropped to the ground
in shame. I hadn't had all the earthly fortunes. I had love in my life, and
laughter. But there had also been trials of illness, and death, and false
accusations that took from me my world, as I knew it. I had to start over many
times. I often struggled with the temptation to quit, only to somehow muster the
strength to pick up and begin again. I spent many nights on my knees in prayer,
asking for help and guidance in my life. I had often been held up to ridicule,
which I endured painfully, each time offering it up to
the Father in hopes that I would not melt within my skin beneath the judgmental
gaze of those who unfairly judged me. And now, I had to face the truth. My life
was what it was, and I had to accept it for what it was I rose and slowly lifted
the combined squares of my life to the light. An awe-filled gasp filled the air.
I gazed around at the others who stared at me with wide eyes.
Then, I looked upon the tapestry before me. Light flooded the many holes, creating an image, the face of Christ. Then our Lord stood before me, with warmth and love in His eyes. He said, "Every time you gave over your life to Me, it became My life, My hardships, and My struggles. Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine through, until there was more of Me than there was of you." May all our quilts be threadbare and worn, allowing Christ to shine through.
Please share this with someone you love, care about or even someone who needs Jesus in their heart. They may scoff, but at least the seed has been planted, and God will do the rest.
May God bless you today and Forever.
The Lord has led me to include a section for your
testimonies
I will only include them if you tell me to.
I have received a lot of praises for the work God is doing, and I
give God all the Glory for without Him it would not exist.
This one comes from Yolanda.
Here is the message that I received for the Holy Spirit after reading your
newsletters. God bless you Mama and know that I stand with you at all
times and glorify the Lord for placing such a wonderful person in our lives.
Many of have been blessed through you and continue to be blessed. May
God's Grace and
Mercy forever be with you.
Words Of Encouragement to my Brothers and Sisters in Christ. Be
still and wait patiently on the Lord. Soon and very Soon we are going to
see the King, but for now be still. Many times we look at our situation or
circumstances and become bogged down with the things that really has no power
over our lives. My children keep your focus on me and my word. I
said (the Lord) "I will never leave you nor forsake you, that was my
promise to you. If I said I would never leave you nor forsake you
"Why do you not believe in me. Be still and listen to my voice.
There have been many times when I have spoken to you and you still say I do not
hear anything. Take a few minutes now and listen and reflect on when
someone was trying to hurt you, I was there, when you were almost killed, I was
there, when you needed a shoulder to cry on, I was there. How can you say
you do not hear me. Be still and allow me to help. You are all more
than a conqueror so exercise your Faith and my Word and see the manifestation in
your life. Be of good courage and He shall strengthen thine wait, Wait I say on
the Lord. In Jesus Name. Amen
Love ,Yolanda
