Encouragement – Page 3 – A Woman Standing

In The Gap

Recently, in my alone time with the Lord, I’ve been telling Him I am in need of prayer and encouragement. There have been several things on my heart I couldn’t quite talk about with other Christians, so these matters have been mulling around in my head and I found I could only put them into words while in the presence of God.

Have you ever been there? As if you have a whole list of prayer requests, yet you find yourself unable to bring them up with other believers?

Well, last Friday, the Lord took my list and went through them one by one, and all I had to do was sit on the couch and listen.

Love Thy Neighbor

Since day one, I have been very outspoken regarding my views on how the body of Christ, as a whole, has handled COVID. We have not dealt with this situation, the fear, the confusion, the anxiety and the chaos, the way Jesus would have dealt with it, and if anyone disagrees with that, I would be very interested to see what biblical verse they are standing on.

Now, as things somehow continue to become stricter, even as COVID deaths rapidly decline, we are seeing many churches, again, close and lock their doors.

Since nowhere in the Word does it say we should react to fear and pandemics by shutting ourselves off from one another, most pastors are using a verse they feel gives them the authority to close the House of God: “Love thy neighbor” Mark 12:31.

I find it interesting, and a bit hypocritical, this is the verse pastors are standing on in regards to keeping people from congregating and worshiping. Suicide, alcoholism, drug addiction, domestic and child abuse, violence, anger and confusion are at an all-time high, but closing the House of God, the place people typically run to in times of difficulty, is somehow “loving” them.

For The Remnant

At the end of June, while writing to the Lord about the confusion and chaos in the world, which has not left a single person untouched, He gave me a Word for the Remnant.

I am often hesitant to share publicly what He shares with me personally, but with so many weary, downtrodden and confused, I hope and pray the following Word is encouraging.

To all of you who are growing weary in your well doing, hold on just a little while longer, your God is on His way.

America Is Still Standing

Although she may be scarred, wounded, bleeding and abused, America is still standing.

Although others have mocked, belittled, harmed and hurt her, America is still standing.

Though the enemy has attempted to tear her down time and time again, America is still standing.

Though her friends have turned their backs on her, have placed knives within her when she was not looking, America is still standing.

VIDEO-Pastors Rise Up

I’m not one for videos and pictures, but some statements are just best given verbally.

Pastors and churches, this one is for you.

“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.“
-Mark 16:17-18

Symbol Of Submission

To preface this post, I would like to say that anyone who does not believe the Word is a living document and just as powerful today as it was when Jesus and the apostles walked the earth, will not agree, or understand, what I have to say.

Last week, while putting a mask on for the first time since the coronavirus fiasco began, I felt my stomach drop. To fly you now must wear a face covering, but that didn’t change my feelings of defeat when I positioned the mask over my mouth before boarding the plane.

When I placed the mask upon my face, I felt small, belittled, obedient to something other than my King.

God created me, us, to speak, to sing, to pray, so to mute and muddle that ability seems wrong, almost sinful.

Our Promised Land Moment

I believe we are stepping into a new season with the Lord. Things we used to get away with will no longer be acceptable. Flippant words we speak without thinking will not be tolerated and saying you follow the Lord will no longer mean you actually know who He is and what He stands for.

I think we have been in a “safe zone” with God. By this I mean He tolerated so much simply because we, His children, didn’t know better. He tolerated our laziness, our unwillingness to submit to His authority. He tolerated our acceptance of “being a Christian” one day a week, of walking with Him a few hours a month and turning from Him far more than turning towards. He allowed us to make mistakes because we were in an innocent dwelling with Him, a place of learning and growing and finding Him in a world that has abandoned Him.

But, I no longer believe we are in the safe zone anymore. Like the Israelites at the outskirts of their land of milk and honey, we have approached new territory and now is the deciding moment where we either walk into the promised land or continue to wander.

My Prayer For You

I pray that today is a good day, that you feel the Lord’s presence press in upon you like never before

I pray you know who you are within the Lord, that you are strong, mighty, brave, bold, relentless, persistent, accomplished and prepared because you were hand created by the Creator of the world

I pray you hand your life over to Him, fully and completely, that you let go of the reigns and let Him steer you through life, let Him lead you to the mountaintop

PASTORS RISE UP!

Politicians will not save us.

The famous and the proud cannot lead us.

It is time for the pastors to arise, to stand on the platform the Lord is giving them an opportunity to take and to speak the words He places in their mouths.

For, we are here, in this place of quarantine, fear and uncertainty, not because of the words spoken by the media, the masses and the representatives, but rather because of the words NOT spoken by the men and women placed in positions of authority in God’s House.

Freedom Over Fear And Faith Over Doubt

Before I step onto my soapbox, I want to start this post with a couple statistics and thoughts before I begin my “rant”.

~~~

The original U.S. coronavirus death toll prediction was 2.2 million, that number later changed to 240,000 and is now around 70,000. During the 2017-2018 flu season, according to the CDC, an estimated 80,000 people died.

I am not making light of death in any way. It is terrible so many died from the flu and it is terrible so many have died from the coronavirus, BUT, where was the mass hysteria during the 2017/2018 flu season? Why did politicians and medical experts not blanket the airways with panic, stating the CDC declared the 2017/2018 season as the, “first season to be classified as a high severity across all age groups”?

Why did we react so differently to that health threat then we have to COVID-19?

~~~

I’m now stepping onto my soapbox.

What we are witnessing in today’s society are the masses believing in and acting upon a lie.

Rejoice And Be Glad

God your Remnant is in need of you, desperate to hear from you, see you, be with you. We need you like we have never needed you before.

I believe this time of desperation is going to usher in a great awakening of God’s people, for we have been asleep too long. A heavy slumbering spirit has weighed down upon God’s children, but no more. We are awake! This attack of the enemy has roused us, forced us out of our comfortable caves and pushed us to grab our swards, take up our shields and stand guard at our doors.

The Lord is about to issue a call to His people, get ready for it. He is about to blow the trumpet, release the roar. It will spread about this country, this world, like wildfire. Be careful to not get caught in its blaze without your armor on, your helmet fit snugly in place.

There Is Freedom

This time of quarantine has been difficult. I don’t believe there is a person in the world unimpacted by what is happening around the globe right now. Although it seems as if our world has been flipped upside down and our norms are now abnormal, I believe the greatest difficulty many are struggling with is the heaviness that accompanies depression.

The spirit of despair is wreaking havoc on our population. Men, women and children all around the globe are struggling with thoughts of uncertainty, pointlessness, sadness and, worst of all, suicide.

This spirit is a heavy and aggressive one. It creeps into your mind like a silent predator and over time becomes bigger and bigger, often getting to a point where the spirit is greater than the circumstance. Things that once seemed small become monsters in our minds. Issues that were manageable become uncontrollable and daily matters that accompany life are suddenly too heavy to carry.

Peace Be Still

Those are the words ringing in my ears.

As the waves crash around us, our Lord says Be Still

As the wind howls against us, our Lord says Be Still

As the rain beats upon us, our Lord says Be Still

God’s Got Us

Over the past several days I’ve been battling the things the devil is so clearly trying to attack humanity with.

Every time I coughed, he’d whisper, “uh oh, are you getting sick?”

If I sneezed, he’d say, “this is the beginning of the symptoms.”

If I was cold, he’d laugh, “maybe you should stay away from everyone.”

Although I am not fearful of this virus, I’ve been continually declaring healing verses over myself and constantly rebuking the enemy. Frankly, it’s been pretty exhausting.

Yesterday afternoon, I read Psalm 91. Although the entire Psalm is powerful, 9-10 heavily hit my spirit;

“because though hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall you, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.”

Do We Know Who Our God Is?

Throughout the past two weeks, I have found myself becoming ever-increasingly frustrated with the way humanity is handling the coronavirus. My frustration, for days, has been so intense there are times I have to excuse myself from conversations focused on the virus due to my concern of sounding angry towards whoever is obsessing about it.

So, as sat down with the Lord this morning, I asked Him for one thing, “DIRECTION”. I thought He would give me some sort of clarity on what the next step is or how to go about handling this new era of panic and dread, but instead, the Lord showed me where my frustration stemmed from.

We, the body, the believers, the church, do not know who our God is.