Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!

When I see this word ‘wait’, I don’t see it like most would.  Being a former waitress, I see it as serving the Lord, waiting on Him and seeing to His need for worship and relationship.  I don’t do it for  a generous tip, but rather for the peace, strength and joy He brings to my process.

The other kind of waiting is pure torture for me. I’m a mover, a doer and anyone who knows me, understands that waiting, for me is a big waste of time. While others use it as a time to relax and rest, I’m looking for something to do to fill up the space. I’ll rearrange things, clean, talk, read, but to just sit and do nothing isn’t my style.

To wait in the presence of the Lord though, is a totally different thing. After a time of intense warfare, proclaiming and decreeing the Word over various situations and people as the Spirit leads, there is absolutely nothing like being still, feeling the wind blow in and bring with it a refreshing. The peace, the calm, joy and assurance that He hears and watches over you.

Father, I give you my worship, the offering of my praise and adoration. It’s in Your presence I find fullness of joy. The unmistakeable, uncontainable peace that surpasses anything this world can give. Oh how I love You! Rush in like a river and sweep me away, for I long to be with You, to know You , to carry Your oil. May my life overflow with what You bring to me so that others may know You as I do. It’s in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Are you wondering where your victory is? Does there seem to be a glass ceiling over your head keeping the blessings of the Lord from manifesting in your life? My dear friend, it’s time to stop beating your head against the wall and change the way you see yourself and your situation. That ceiling isn’t just holding you back as much as it’s holding back the blessing of the Lord.

Over the past few days, this verse has been looping over and over in my head; “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” Revelation 12:11

Let’s take a look at the word ‘overcame’. First I’d like to point out that it’s used in a past tense, not future tense. Because of what Jesus DID in the shedding of His blood, it’s a done deal. Overcame is defined as to have gotten the better of in a struggle or conflict; conquered; defeated; to have prevailed over (opposition, a debility, oppression, temptations, etc.); surmounted; overpowered or overwhelmed; to have gained victory.

My friend, you don’t need to struggle to win a victory, it’s already been done for you. You simply need to rest in the finished work of Jesus. When you’re facing a giant, you must see that giant on the ground before you. Look him square in the eyes and say, “You’re already a defeated foe!”

Now this is when the 2nd part of that verse comes into play; the word of their testimony.  Battle weary warrior, you’re fighting a battle that’s been won! Stop struggling, lift up your hands and shout, “He has given me the victory!” Begin to recall what David said to Goliath;

 “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.” I Samuel 17:45-47

Insert your situation, what you face into this proclamation. Talk to your enemy the way David did. See him for who he is, a thief and a liar. If he can get you to believe his lies and agree with him, you’ve given him the power that was given to you. Use your mouth to defeat him, not to agree with him. If the Word say’s you are healed, believe the Word not the symptoms. It’s time to take a stand and become immovable.

Now for the final part of that verse; “they did not love their lives to the death.” When you know your life isn’t your own and you’ve already yielded it to someone else, than the only thing that really matters is His agenda and purpose. I’m so in love with God that I’d gladly trade this life for eternal life with Him. But I’m not so focused on heaven that I’m not doing what He needs me to do in the here and now.  I’ve just decided that a surrendered life to His purpose holds more than a life of my own. If I die I die, but while I live, I’m His.

Victory belongs to the King and You oh Lord are my King. You rule over all of Your kings who are on the earth, doing Your bidding, for You have called us kings and priests, anointed to be victorious over all the earth. I stand with arms raised. I sing a song to You, a song of celebration and I see myself walking with You and talking with You as kings would converse together. You have shown me in Your Word that we win so I will not see myself defeated for I stand with You. It’s in the name of Jesus and by His blood, Amen.

I love telling stories of Gods faithfulness. Love seeing it in our lives and the lives of our friends and loved ones. I was thinking of the meaning of that word, faithful and found this: true to ones word, dependable, loyal, steadfast fidelity. God has connections! He can bring people together to meet a specific need in someones life, give a perfect word of encouragement at just the right moment, it doesn’t matter where you are, He is forever faithful.

I remember an episode of Gods faithfulness when living in Haiti many years ago. We were down to our last bit of food and doing what we always did, pray. A knock on the door would bring a little old Haitian farmer with a basket of food to the only whites in the village who had made his wife well. A letter would arrive from the states written 3 months earlier with a check for the exact amount we needed.

Whether in a remote region or a crowded metropolis, God is faithful. Sometimes when we’re down to our last dollar and aren’t sure if we’re going to make it to the next paycheck (come on somebody!),  God will show us a need and we’ll go through our own pantry to scrape together enough to plant a seed in someone else. Fasting never hurts anyone, if ya know what I mean! When you see the smiles on their faces, the tears of joy, and know you were a part of that God connection, it makes it all worth it somehow.

I sang a song 30 years ago by Debbie Boone that fits so well here; “Find a hurt then heal it, show His love, let them feel it, be a vessel of compassion to your neighbor day by day. Find a hurt then heal it then don’t be surprised to see that while you’re helping your neighbor, your own hurt has gone away. Put your love into action, don’t just talk about it. Reach out and touch your brother, don’t just walk on by. Well I doubt that one person can change the whole world, but you can change the world for someone if you try.”

God, use our seed today. You don’t ask us at convenient times, but You always ask and we’re always willing. Time and time again You are faithful. We want to be faithful to You in tangible ways today, Lord. Faithful to give, to sow good words, good deeds, a smile, a touch. Help us be less focused on ‘me’ and more focused on others. Use us for your good pleasure. We choose to be faithful! It’s in Jesus’ name, Amen.

I Peter 5:8-9, Control yourselves and be careful! The devil is your enemy, and he goes around like a roaring lion looking for someone to attack and eat.  Refuse to follow the devil. Stand strong in your faith. You know that your brothers and sisters all over the world are having the same sufferings that you have.

Another translation says, Be sober-minded and vigilent! In other words, take control of your thought life which bounces all over the place with every opinion and can be based on anything you see in the natural. Fact or fiction? Who knows! Sometimes you just have to keep seeking the Father, reading His word until He sorts it all out. The point here is this; where your mind goes, you will soon follow in that direction.

To discern right from wrong, you must stay rooted in the Word of God, praying in the Spirit and in your understanding, knowing His voice and obeying, regardless of what others say or dictate you must do. If you’re confused, you are listening to far too many people and far too little to God.

He clearly says that the devil is our enemy and compares him with a lion.  We know that lions stalk their prey, looking for opportunity, vulnerabilities, weaknesses, an opening to pounce, kill and eat. That’s exactly what the devil does with us. He looks for weak Christians, those who have separated themselves from the herd, those who are listening more to others than to God. By the time the strike is over, they’re left reeling, wondering what just happened.

Stand strong in your faith. The amplified bible says, be firm in faith [against his onset—rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined]. Know this, Satan will come, he will attack, you will suffer, but the difference is this; We overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. Keep reminding yourself who lives in you. Keep telling the devil he’s a defeated foe. When the wind ceases and others are laying out defeated, you will still be standing.

Father, I thank You for the blood of Jesus! That blood removed the stain of sin and washed me completely. It’s Christ in me that gives me hope and assurance of my victory. He gave me power and authority over all the power of the enemy so that nothing will by any means hurt me or bring harm to my family. I hear Your voice deep inside of me, wooing me, speaking to me, telling me, “This is the way, come walk over here!” You never lead me astray. You never leave me or forsake me. You have plans that I don’t know about and You’re at work whether I see it now or not. I completely trust You and give You the glory forever. It’s in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Psalm 62:8 Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.

There’s some good advise in those words! Trust in God at all times; always; forever; in good times; in bad times; in attack; in darkness and in light. That word trust means reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence. Also the confident expectation of something; hope.

I’ve heard people say that they trust God, but it’s very clear that worry, fear, doubt and unbelief are a much larger part. “What will we do?” “America is in trouble!” “Did you hear about….?” “I don’t know what to do!” Seems we still place our trust in others to do what only God can do.

Please note that the second point to this verse says, “Pour out your heart before HIM!” Not on Facebook, over coffee or your favorite gathering place. When you pour your heart out to God, it’s in PRIVATE where only HE can hear. It’s handing it off to Him with confidence that He hears and will take care of it, maybe not the way you want Him to, but He indeed will take care of it.

“God is a refuge for us.” Ah, that word refuge means a shelter, protection from danger or trouble. But this, this is my favorite definition; anything to which one has recourse for aid, relief, or escape. Isn’t that good? God is our recourse for aid, relief and escape! David spoke these words from experience. Every battle he faced, he ran to God. He knew God was well able to deliver Him from any battle, any enemy, any circumstance he faced. His trust was not on his ability or the ability of those around him. His trust was in God.

Oh Father, help me to make that transition today. I cast all my cares, worries, concerns over into Your capable and confident hands. You are well able to win this battle I face. The giant of fear, sickness, disease and poverty has been in my face for far too long. I’ve resisted long enough, now I’m calling in reinforcements! I call angels to war on my behalf and I claim victory in Jesus’ name.  You gave me all power and authority over ALL the power of the enemy so that nothing will hurt me. I take up my Word of faith and I speak against fear, GO! I speak against pain, GO! I speak against lack, GO! Symptoms in my body, line up with the spoken word of God, “By His stripes I am healed!” You have made me a king and priest to rule the earth and I use my authority in Jesus’ name, AMEN!

Thank You Lord! Hallelujah! Glory be to God! I praise and worship You for victory belongs to the king. You are worthy of all praise, honor and glory.

There are few things that get people to pay attention, at least thats the way it is in our house. One are the words, ‘Come and get it!’ Those words always brought the kids running toward the smell of food. 2nd is, ‘Tables ready!’ because even if there was no smell of food they’d all gather around. 3rd thing, the sound of water overflowing. You know, like the coffee pot when someone doesn’t empty out the old or someone forgets to turn off the tub and it spills over. Yeah, we’ve all heard those sounds.

These were the three things the Lord spoke to me this morning. Table is ready; Come and get it!; Overflow! I’m thinking, awesome, here I come! When you’ve waited long for a good meal, you’re hungry, hungry for the goodness of the Lord, hungry for his presence, hungry for his Word. You can’t think of anything else, your hunger is driving you to the table.

The Lord would say to you, “It’s time! You’ve finally got your eyes off your problems long enough to see that I am all you need. Let me satisfy your mouth with good things. There is an unending supply of my goodness and mercy. Let me lavish you with my love till it overflows. Let me feed you with my own hand as a lover offers himself to his bride. Let me be enough for you.”

Joel 2:26-27 “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame. Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the Lord your God and there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame.”

Father, here I am, feasting on the things You’ve prepared for me this morning. How wonderful and pleasant the taste of Your Word. How beautiful the table You’ve prepared for my enjoyment. If I’d been too busy, I might have missed this, but You patiently waited. Fresh and filled with love, joy, hope and peace. I’ll take more please! I have a little room left right here. Oh look, You’ve wrapped up more for later. You spoil me with Your goodness, grace and mercy, but I’ll enjoy more of it just the same. It’s because of Your great love I ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

I Corinthians 2:9-12 “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

For too long now, Christians have been kept in the dark about all the things God has freely given them. I remember being raised in a church that taught that speaking in tongues was done with the disciples, but that was not true. When I was 15 years of age, I went to the altar because I wanted all I could get of God. I was worshipping, loving on Him when all of the sudden I began speaking in an unknown tongue. I knew it was of God because it was accompanied by a powerful presence and unspeakable joy.

I didn’t want to stop because I didn’t know how it worked. What if I stopped and couldn’t get it back again? 3 hours later, my cousin who was with us said, “It’s ok, I stopped and started again!” What a relief to know that we had the ability to pray in the spirit at will. That experience changed my entire life’s course. I became hungry to read the Word and the Spirit gave me understanding of what I read. It was more revelation than I’d ever had before.

It makes sense why our enemy doesn’t want us to know and experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit because once we do, it’s the power of God made manifest in our lives. It shows us all the free stuff God has given us. But just as with a power company who furnishes the power to our home, unless we flip the switch, we won’t enjoy the light.

Paul said that he prayed in the spirit more than anyone. Jude 20 says, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.” It’s ok! You can control it. You’re not just going to blurt out in the middle of the mall and embarrass yourself. But it is for your benefit and so that God can reveal more and more to you of all He has give you by the blood of Jesus.

So pray in the spirit, my friends. Get your own words out of the way and begin to speak in the Spirit. You are praying the perfect will of God into your life when you do. Practice doing it just 10 minutes a day. Trust me when I say it’s the best habit you’ll ever have.

Father, thank You that You not only sent Your son Jesus to die for us, but You gave us Your Holy Spirit to fill us, lead us into all truth and give us power to do what You told us to do. What a great gift! You told us that if we ask, You would give us what we ask for. So I ask that You fill us with Your Holy Spirit and give us the evidence. Now we lift our hands to you in worship and pour out our praise to You. There is no one like You in all the earth. Glory be to Your holy name. Might God. Awesome God. Holy, Holy, Holy……

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. I John 1:7

Oh how I love the multi-faceted Word of God. Each time I look at it, I find hidden treasure. Every part of it works to change me, bringing be closer to the Father of Light. As I read the Word, His light exposes the darkness in me and since I know that darkness cannot stay in the light, I attempt each day to be in the Light.

How can we turn on the light today? Psalm 119:105 says; Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. So if you don’t know what to do, go to the Word. Ask the Lord to show you what He has to say about what you’re facing. No one can do that for you. YOU must open your Bible and read. Read one chapter a day, but read! Start with Matthew and go through the New Testament. You may not understand it all, but as you think on it, God will reveal more and more to you.

Father, today as I come before You, I ask for light. Reveal Yourself as the Light of life to me. If there be any wrong thinking, any wrong doing, open the eyes of my understanding that I may see the path you’ve placed in front of me. May I not rely on others to know Your truth, but may I read it and ask You for understanding. In the day I’m living, I cannot survive without You. I trust in Your truth to lead and guide me. It’s in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Have you ever faced a battle that was so big, you knew there was absolutely no way to win? Perhaps it was in court, or maybe a doctors report, a wayward child. I’ve faced all of these and although the battle was intense, I placed my trust in the Lord, did what He said to do and came out victorious. I’m not bragging, I’m stating a fact. The Word says that those who put their hope and trust in the Lord will not be ashamed nor will their enemies triumph over them.

In 2 Chronicles 20:1-30, King Jehoshaphat was faced with a battle he knew he couldn’t win. There were so many armies of his enemies rising against the nation of Judah and Jerusalem that the bible says he was afraid. That’s the first thing the enemy does to you, he brings fear. ‘What are we going to do? What’s going to happen to us?’ If we’re not careful, we’ll have our funeral planned and paid for before anything materializes.

But King Jehoshaphat did the right thing, he went to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast. He knew that focus needed to be on the spirit, not the flesh, so he got everyone involved in this fast. There are times when the attack is so severe, you have to get your family involved, call a fast and set apart time to seek the Lord together. And when they all gathered together, he prayed this before the Lord:

“O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You?  Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’ And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them—here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

Whatever you’re going through right now, I want you to read this prayer and put your name and your situation in it before the Lord. Remind Him of His great power and faithfulness. Expect to hear from Him and don’t leave until you do. See what happened next:

“Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.” And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.

Ok, now worship the Lord! Sing songs to Him, bless His holy name. Dance before Him! Lift up your hands, give a shout of victory! Say the name of Jesus over and over. You will sense His presence rush in, because He always comes when invited.

If you read the remaining verses, you will find that they did indeed win the battle and didn’t even have to fight. God set ambushes up and their enemies destroyed each other. It took Israel 3 days to collect all the spoils. So not only did they stand still and allow God to fight the battle, God lavished them with riches in the process. They had peace for years because everyone was afraid to attack Israel because God was with them.

Father, I’m so thankful for victory in Jesus, my savior forever! Everything I need, You’ve provided. There is nothing too hard for You, nothing You are incapable of. My reasoning is silly compared to Your great wisdom. I trust in You and You alone. I rejoice in Your great love. You are well able to keep what I’ve committed to You. There will always be naysayers, but You always keep Your Word. You are my Rock and my Fortress and my soul finds rest in You. It’s in Jesus’ name and for Your glory that we walk in victory. Amen!