Yesterday, our youngest daughter came home from college for a visit. She sat down in the living room and shared the following testimony. Apparently, a beautiful yellow bird was injured and in pain, with a broken wing, on her college campus. The bird was afraid, clearly panicking in the street, while people walked right past, hurrying on toward their destinations. No one seemed to notice or care. Hour after hour it was struggling and in pain, probably close to death.
"Don't be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself" (Phil. 1:28, NIV). Before getting up to minister recently, my wife sensed that I was battling intimidation. She leaned over to me and whispered, "Your new name is 'Confidence!" Immediately, a lion roared inside me, and an alarm went off in hell. I rose up to minister, and the Lion of the Tribe of Judah took over the meeting. The Lord is renaming you today also. Your new name is "Confidence!"
I got into my car to drive home after a long day at work. I remembered what I'd heard earlier in the week about a simple prayer: "whatever" (palms up) in the morning and "enough" (palms down) in the evening. I took a deep breathe, felt "whatever" was still an appropriate posture, and turned my palms upward. That one gesture set in motion the next few minutes. I began driving home, feeling tired, a little uncertain, the desire to escape from my emotions, and randomly my Grandmother came to mind. She was likely at home and available to talk.
They say you're never supposed to start a story with "The phone rang," but the phone did ring, waking me from an exhausted sleep at 2:00 a.m. My husband's son had stayed with him at the hospital to allow me a few hours at home. Now I heard this voice say, "You need to come to the hospital." And after three hours, I returned home a widow. Nothing can fully prepare you for the experience of grief. Even if your loved one's death was not a complete surprise, your world has shockingly changed forever. Your life, your thoughts, your time, your belongings, your emotions, your daily routine, your faith—suddenly they all feel foreign. It can be difficult to even recognize yourself. What do you do now?
I hear the Spirit of the Lord saying, "You are coming into a season where suddenly you will see the manifestations of all that you have been praying for. It will be one breakthrough after another. There is a grace present to overcome the delays that you have experienced over the last six months." I see a green light in the Spirit.
Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like (James 1:23–24 NIV). During ancient time periods, and across many cultures it was a widespread belief that dreams were divine messages from the invisible realm. Dreams ignite the conscious awareness of our physical, emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual well-being. Dream symbols come from different areas including our present life, our past memories, and our subconscious and conscious mind.
I recently read an article about a pastor who said he was leaving Christianity because it didn't work for him. The article was about how God didn't work in his marriage and how Christians were mean. I think it also mentioned how God didn't seem to bless him with material things. While reading it I discovered that he was really upset that his congregation didn't approve of the affair he was having with a married woman. While I can't relate to having affairs with married women I can relate to how sometimes it seems as if Christianity isn't working.
Angels are a very real part of the spirit realm. They are constantly functioning on your behalf fighting and warring for you to be victorious and overcome. I want you to have a full comprehensive understanding of what they do. Below is a list of 24 functions of angels found in the bible! I remember there was a time in Bible College when I was going through a hard time. I was in the cafeteria and turned to a friend and said, "I'm sinking down. I don't know if I'm going to be able to break through this." They said, "Let's pray." So we grabbed hands and began to pray. The moment we began to pray I felt a glorious presence on all four sides of me.
The Spirit of God says, "There are many who are about to pass through the waters of healing, but in order to get there, you must enter through the valley. Yes, there is a valley, in the lowland, that holds the healing waters I speak of, so do not be afraid, and do not worry, for I will go with you; I will direct and comfort you; I will show you the way. At first, it may feel like you have gone this way before, but I assure you, you have not. This is an entirely new place for you. This is the place that will cause you to see what you could not see before.
What's your favorite story in the Bible? Have you noticed there's a little bit of everything? We have stories of adventure and romance, betrayal and friendship, the supernatural and the natural. Then we have the books of poetry and psalms, and the book of Proverbs where we receive practical, life advice from a king. These stories went on to change the world! But there are still stories yet to be told—like your own! Here are a few reasons why your story matters in the big picture. I love that God knew it would be a good idea to tell His story in a variety of ways. There's a message here for us—when it comes to communicating our stories, there's no "right way" to do it! Many of you believe you're called to write a book, but you feel like your book couldn't possibly be as great as "all those other people's."
Follow Up
