I must pass this sign I placed beside the entry of my home no less than fifty times a day, if not more.
But today as I passed it, God spoke to my heart:
What do you believe is following you, Daylene?
What does the way you are l•i•v•i•n•g,
speaking,
thinking,
indicate that you deep-down believe
about what’s following you?
My love?
My favor?
Opportunities?
Or the enemy’s hate?
Challenges?
Bad “luck”?
Obstacles?
Which are you focusing on more, Daylene?
Because the truth is,
that BOTH exist, in this world, for my people.
The enemy does hate you.
He will send challenges your way.
He will place obstacles in your path to discourage you.
I’ve warned you of this, in my Word, because I don’t sugarcoat things. I love you enough to be honest.
There is no such thing as luck,
either bad or good.
There are blessings and curses,
And there are also
both sunshine and storms,
that rest and fall upon the good and the bad alike.
But I am ALWAYS here,
for my people-
for the ones who have chosen me,
chosen Jesus.
That doesn’t exempt you
from this world’s challenges,
{even though the enemy wants you to believe that, so you’ll think poorly of me.}
I’ve made it clear in my Word that this world can be brutal.
I’ve also made it clear in my Word that I have made my Spirit available to you-
wherever you are-
so that you can be comforted.
So that you can be strengthened,
restored,
recharged,
given peace,
be relit with passion 🔥
in the “secret place”,
until I bring you to your forever home, with me,
in heaven!
I’ve already shown you this new way,
but now I want you to keep practicing.
Just as I turned water into wine,
I want you to practice
turning every obstacle
that makes you want to whine,
into an opportunity to worship instead.
Car troubles?
Use them to thank me for conveniences you once took for granted.
And then PRE-thank me, in faith,
for how I’m going to provide for your needs
for the repairs or a different vehicle.
Overtime cut off?
Money you expected didn’t come through?
Does it look like you’ll struggle to put food on the table this month?
Use this to recall my past goodness and provision,
for all the times it looked just as impossible, or even MORE impossible, and yet you watched me part the waters!
And PRE-thank me for doing it again,
while remembering- I may choose to work it out way differently than you’d expect.
Did you know even hunger, on occasion, serves a purpose?
And you’re blessed enough to live in a country and a position where you’ve never truly been starving.
But you know that ALL your unsatisfied “hungers”
-for things
-and for trips (“getaways”)
-and for whatever it is-
-invitations from friends, even,
have all taught you SO many valuable things about me,
and the satisfaction that I provide
which is so much more filling than all of these?
I don’t want you to buy into the prosperity gospel, believing that I’m a genie, here to only bring you comfort and the world’s brand of peace.
But I also don’t want you to resign yourself to lack, to a poverty mindset.
I want you to believe in my ability to bless you and to bless others through you!
There are different seasons for everything!
In seasons of wealth, I want you to give lavishly.
In seasons of lack, I want you to dig deep and see that I have given you SO MUCH MORE than money!
Sometimes it’s not until your money dries up,
but your desire to bless and give remains
as strong as ever,
that you truly discover the greater gifts I’ve placed in you.
Both the specialized ones-
the talents and skills,
And the “general” ones that everyone has-
time
a smile
a mouth to speak kind words into someone’s life…
I want you to learn to see
and be thankful for
and be eager to share-
ALL the gifts I’ve given you!
Stop focusing on and grinding for
what you don’t have
and what you can’t give,
and dwell in gratitude
for what you have been given!
Give enthusiastically out of what you do have!
{I promise it’s more than you think!}
{And I promise it’s more valuable to me and to others than you even know!}
And when you have more or you receive a different kind of blessing-
give eagerly from that too!
Let go of religion and obligation,
and embrace relationship and the new kind of offering I desire- not a legalistic fee, but a joyful, “take-my-life-and-everything-I-have-because-you-have-already-given-me-Yours!”
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From Matthew 12:6-8 MSG-
“There is far more at stake here than religion. If you had any idea what this Scripture meant- ‘I prefer a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual’- you wouldn’t be nitpicking like this….”
Hosea 6:6 NLT-
“I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices.
I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.”
2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV-
“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
〰️〰️〰️
What He is showing to me in my spirit, though,
is that we don’t have to wait for him to bless us abundantly in the ways that we prefer
or think to be necessary.
Sometimes he wants us to SEE with eyes of faith, how he has already blessed us,
and BELIEVE that we already have all we need,
to do all he has called us to do
in this particular moment.
Sometimes he wants us to dig deep
and discover the greater gifts he has given us-
even if it takes missing out on some of the lesser blessings that FEEL important,
to motivate us to do so.
And the greatest of these?
That’s available to everyone?
Without work or without cost?
Him.
We can ALWAYS share that message!
And we always should, no matter what else we have to share!
This is the Good News!
The gospel!
John 3:16-18
The Message
“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son.
And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed;
by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.
God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was.
He came to help, to put the world right again.
Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted;
anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it.
And why?
Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.”
〰️〰️〰️
God can take all of our other failures, all our other shortcomings, and use them. He can help us get through all the challenges of this world that test our souls.
But the ONE true test, believing in Jesus, determines whether or not we will receive the gift everyone is deep-down looking and wishing for: life, eternal. Hope beyond the few years we have in this world.
Answer that one question correctly, “Yes, I believe in you, Jesus, and I will follow you!” and He will help us get through the rest, and get past all the obstacles, turning them into opportunities, with flying colors!
From Full 