Positioning for Breakthroughs!

Sometimes we can feel beaten by life and we shelve all our dreams and aspirations especially if they did not eventuate according to our timeline and even lose our faith in God for a breakthrough. How can we position ourselves for a breakthrough and enter into the things that God has planned and purposed for us even in times of adversity. 

The story of the Shunammite woman who lived in Elisha's time from 2 Kings 4:8-37 gives us some keys on how to plough through in faith. The story starts with this woman creating a room for Elisha, a man of God to come and stay in her home. She said to her husband, "I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us.” On one of the visits of Elisha, he asked his servant Gehazi on what can be done for this woman in return for her hospitality.

2 Kings 4: 14 - 17
“What can be done for her?” Elisha asked. Gehazi said, “She has no son, and her husband is old.” Then Elisha said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. “About this time next year,” Elisha said, “you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord!” she objected. “Please, man of God, don’t mislead your servant!”  But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.
This Shunammite woman positioned herself to receive her blessing by “Creating Room" for God in her life. Though her dream had not eventuated according to her timeline, she continued to make space for God and this positioned her for Elisha to proclaim prophetically that her dream of being a mother would be realised in a year's time, even when she dared not believe in her dreams anymore because she did not want to be disappointed.

The story does not end here. This precious son of the Shunammite woman grows up and suddenly dies. Sometimes, we may start well on a dream or vision and then we run into roadblocks like this woman does. We can wallow in self pity, discuss our problems with everyone and be paralysed in our situation and give up again when we are faced with the impossible. But that's what this Shunammite woman did not do when faced with the impossible. 

2 Kings 4: 18 - 24 
The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers. He said to his father, “My head! My head!” His father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died. She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out. She called her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return.” “Why go to him today?” he asked. “It’s not the New Moon or the Sabbath.” “That’s all right,” she said. She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Lead on; don’t slow down for me unless I tell you.” So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.
Wow, what a response! She did not waste time in even telling her husband that their son was dead. She fled to have God intervene in her situation through Elisha. God honored her faith - Elisha prayed to God and stretched himself on the boy and he came to life after sneezing seven times. The woman received her son back again!

The story does not even end here. God's favour was with her when she again faced adversity again (2 Kings 8: 1- 6). When she left her home and lands to escape the famine in the land, her property was repossessed and she went to appeal to the king. 

2 Kings 8: 3-6
At the end of the seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to appeal to the king for her house and land. The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, “Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done.” Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to appeal to the king for her house and land. Gehazi said, “This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” The king asked the woman about it, and she told him. Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, “Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now.”
Wow, what favor, what a restoration! If we are faithful in following God no matter what adversity we face and persevere, God will honor us just like he did to this Shunammite woman.

Yes life may have been hard on you lately - what is your response? Do you feel like shutting God out of our life or do you want to continue to create room for God and persevere in faith when faced with the impossible like this Shunammite woman did? If you do, God will provide a breakthrough for you and you will find favor and restoration - not according to your timeline but according to His for His glory!

This is How I Fight my Battles!

I love the song by Michael W. Smith "This is how I fight my battles".

It may look like I'm surrounded but I'm surrounded by You!
Nothing is as strong as Your blood
This is how I fight my battle
Right here at the table
Your blood and Your body has overcome!
How powerful to sing this in worship and make it our battle song!

However when troubles and problems may surround us on every side, we tend to feel we are alone and we are overcome by the enemy. We forget that God is for us and on our side and is fighting the battles we face and He will bring us victory! A good story that illustrates this is from 2 Kings chapter 6. The nation of Aram was at war with the nation of Israel.  Every time that Aram attacked the nation of Israel, Israel was prepared and escaped the Aramean strategy. This was because God was revealing the war plans of the enemy to Elisha and he would duly inform the king of Israel. When the king of Aram got wind that Elisha was the one helping Israel to win, he sent an army to get Elisha.

So you can imagine the shock and panic that Elisha's servant felt when he woke up one morning, surrounded by the enemy and totally outnumbered. Let's pick up the story here.
2 Kings 6: 5 - 17
When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.What an experience for Elisha's servant when his eyes were opened by the Lord and actually saw the Lord's army!

In the natural it felt that Elisha and his servant were far outnumbered and without any hope. In reality, it was the opposite – those who were for Elisha and his servant far outnumbered the enemy and there was definite victory! Yes, this is how we fight our battles, by standing on the victory that Christ has won for us by the shedding of His blood.
Romans 8: 37 - 39
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What is your reality today – do you feel outnumbered and defeated or do you know beyond a shadow of doubt that Christ is for you and with you, no matter what you have to go through. Ask the Lord to open your eyes and your heart to the truth and then stand on it! This is how we fight our battles! We are more than conquerors!

Facing the Giants...

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. It can help us achieve great things and overcome challenges that we never thought was possible, or it can limit everything we do. The story of the twelve spies in the Bible is one that highlights this. Moses sent twelve spies to spy the promised land Canaan and to come back with a report.

Only two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb came with a report that they can indeed conquer and possess the land. The other ten spies came back with the report that they would not be able to conquer the land and that they seemed like grasshoppers in their own eyes. What a great difference in perspective on the very same situation!
Numbers 13:30-33
Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

What makes Joshua and Caleb press forward in faith while the other ten spies shrink back in fear and are unable to take hold of their destiny and promises of God?
Numbers 14: 24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.
Revelations 12:11 gives us keys on how to be an overcomer and triumph over the enemy who constantly belittles and undermines us and wants to rob, steal and destroy our destiny in God. Revelations 12:11
They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

Joshua and Caleb fixed their eyes on God and had complete trust and faith that God would take them to the promised land as He had promised. Given we are people of the new covenant, how much more faith we should have in Jesus Christ who has overcome the enemy by His victory on the cross by the shedding of His innocent blood! The second thing is that Joshua and Caleb did not speak negatively and their confession was in line with their belief. The third key was that Joshua and Caleb were bold and realised God was in control and did not fear for their lives.

How do you see yourself in comparison to the challenges and obstacles in front of you? Do you feel like a grasshopper like the ten spies did or is your attitude like that of an overcomer like Joshua and Caleb? Let's not give in to the tactics of the enemy who constantly undermines and intimidates us to make us feel like grasshoppers. We are more than conquerors through Christ and we are not alone in the battles of life we face as Christ is right with us! Let's confess God's truth and promises and know that God has a plan, purpose and destiny for us and He is in control. Choosing to give in means embracing stagnancy and limiting ourselves while choosing to fight the battle means that we embrace and possess all that God has for us like Joshua and Caleb did!

He is All We Need

When times are tough, sometimes we can feel that God has abandoned us. Have you ever wondered why God puts us in such situations - situations when the odds are stacked against us and it looks like a losing battle. Sometimes we don't recognise that God may be the author of that very difficult situation. He sets us up in difficult circumstances so that He can show us that He is all that we really need and that we don't need to rely on ourselves. We see this in the life of Gideon.

The Israelite army of 32,000 men led by Gideon was getting ready to fight the Midianites when the Lord intervened and reduced the size of the army to a mere 300!
Judges 7:2-4
The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, 'My own strength has saved me.' Now announce to the army, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.' So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained. But the LORD said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go."
When God was done with the sifting, Gideon's army was reduced to 300, less than 1% of the original size of 32,000.

Undoubtedly, Gideon was shaken and wondering whether God had abandoned him and was even against him. But God gave Gideon encouragement to make him realise that He was in control and He was with them! God woke Gideon at night and enabled him to overhear a Midianite soldier recounting a terrifying dream - a vision of Israelite victory! This dream assured Gideon that the Lord was at work even in his seemingly imposible situation. And we know that Gideon went on to win the battle against the Midianites (Judges 7). Like Gideon, sometimes God may put us in a challenging, hopeless situation with the odds stacked against us. We need to realise that God never abandons us and that we can boldly rely on His faithfulness and His strength. He will make a way out for us so that His name is glorified!
John 16:33
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
Matthew 28:20
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

What are the challenges that you are facing? In this life, we will face heartache, difficulties, and seemingly insurmountable obstacles. As a child of God, are you relying on your strength and abilities or instead are you relying on God's strength and His abilities. Realise that sometimes God wants us to know that He is sufficient for us. Yes, He is all that we need. Stand firm and be encouraged because our God is faithful and He leads us to definite victory!

Desire....

Have you wondered why Jesus would ask the invalid man who was lying by the pool of Bethesda whether he wanted to get well? Does it not seem rather callous? To understand, we need to step into this man's shoes. When you are an invalid for 38 years, you can sort of get used to where you are at, kill your desire to get well and resign to your situation and rely on others to help you get by. Jesus by asking him whether he wanted to get well, opens up in him a desire that he has long given up on.
John 5:1-6:
Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"

Desire is often looked down as a bad thing or something to be supressed and overcome. We need to realise that the ability to desire is a God given gift placed in us. To connect with God and to live in His will, we need to develop Godly desires. God is not interested in soul killing spirituality, a life lived by duty and obligations. Instead God is looking for mankind to live to its fullest, in total surrender, in total desire of Him alone. This is perhaps the secret to King David's full life, as he constantly declares his desires for God alone and that God will fulfill his desires.
Psalm 42:1-2
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Sometimes, we are fearful of getting in touch with our desires because we are afraid of what might be lurking in our hearts. However, we need to believe that we are children of the new covenant, and though we struggle with sin and have a tendency to go after false desires, we are really a new creation with a new heart given by God and empowered by the Spirit to desire and live in a way that brings glory to Him!
Ezekiel 36:25-27
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

This season how do you want to live? Do you want to live just the way you always have - just going about the same motions of life and doing things out of duty and obligation or do you want to awaken the desires in you that God has placed in your heart alone and live a rich abundant life? What do you really desire? Saint Iraneus said that "The glory of God is man fully alive". Blessed indeed are the ones who hunger and thirst after God!

Prepare Him Room

Christmas is the celebration of the good news that the amazing, all powerful, omniscient God, the creator of the universe chose to come in human likeness so that we may have an abundant eternal life.
Philippians 2:5b-7
..Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
Jesus could have chosen to come to earth as a popular rich King but He chose to come in a humble way as an unknown to let us all know that He identifies with all of humanity. There was no room for the King of Kings anywhere that He had to be born in a lowly manger.
Luke 2:6-7
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The life of Jesus even from His birth was one of sorrow - people rejected Him or crowded Him out of their lives.
Isaiah 53:3
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Could it be that even we who have embraced Him sometimes live our lives not esteeming Him who gave up all the joys and comforts of heaven for our sake? There are many things that possibly crowd out Jesus from our hearts and lives and leave Him with little or no room. These things could include busyness, anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, disappointment, doubt, self pity, selfishness.. When Jesus is not in the centre of our hearts, we create room for entanglements.

This Christmas, its time to clean up our hearts and lives and prepare Him room! Its time to get rid of all entanglements that draw us away from having Him at the centre and whole of our hearts and minds and lives. When we are entangled and things of this world crowd our heart, we are violating the first and greatest commandment that the Lord gave us.
Matthew 22:36-38
Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.
The heart is the centre and core of our being and if we honor God with all our heart and mind, then we will have true joy! We can get rid of all entanglements and get Jesus to fill our whole hearts by reading and obeying His word, confessing sin, examining our heart, guarding what we set our affections on and living according to truth rather than feeling.
Proverbs 4:23
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

How is your heart this season? Is it crowded with the busyness or worry or doubt or pain or anger.. that Christ is moved to the periphery? An old medieval Christmas poem says "Though Christ a thousand times in Bethlehem be born, if He's not born in you, your heart is still forlorn". Prepare Him room in your heart this season by getting rid of all entanglements and crown Him the King of your whole heart and experience the joy of knowing and living for Him!
John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.