As the Lord impressed me to study the Word this particular morning on October 4, 2015, I was perplexed as to what part of the Word I was to study. If there's one thing I have learned in this great revelation He has given me concerning His ridiculous, radical, inexhaustible Grace, it is how to wait. Even though, as you see, I wrote this teaching in October of 2015 during a time of trials in my life, it fits perfectly into what's been going on in this world for the past 2 years.
So, to get to the teaching. I waited and kept looking out through the valley. I caught myself in a blank stare and for lack of a better word – daydreaming. Then, I saw this big banner waving in the breeze, and on it was written Isaiah 35. Now I know I didn’t see that in the physical, but in the Spirit. Those who have eyes to see, let them see, the scripture says.
I went to that scripture and here it is. It is a Word I needed to hear concerning all that has occurred over the particular previous two month period in October 2015, and even for this time we are in. I hope it encourages all of you who may be going through some difficulties, trials, testing etc. I’m using the NLT.
Isaiah 35:3-7
3 With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees.
4 Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.”
5 And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf.
6 The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland.
7 The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.
You can read the rest of the chapter on your own, because it is good also. When you study the prophets like Isaiah, you must have your prophetic mind in operation. I can see so much in this verse that deals with the things every one of us encountered recently from jobs, birth of a baby, aches and pains, infectious illnesses, operations, accidents, finances, and even sleep deprivation. Well, God is coming to destroy the enemies and in many of these situations He already has.
We believe in miracles, but become easily discouraged if we don’t get an instant breakthrough. We believe God for our miracle and then it doesn’t happen right away. We go to the healing rooms and don’t get prayed for. We have a great expectation and when it isn’t instantly fulfilled, we revert to wondering what is wrong with us. Must have done something wrong. God’s mad at me.
When something doesn’t come our way right away, we wonder what it is in our lives that is preventing it from happening. I guess I’m not reading my bible enough or praying enough. There must be some secret “sin” in my life. I’m a unique situation from everyone else. My dad was a Mason. I participated in DeMolay (basically a precursor for Masonry). We say things like, I dabbled in the occult when I was younger. I played on a Ouija board.
We go down this list of reasons why we think we have been disqualified from receiving our miracles or breakthroughs from God. Here’s what I want you to know. If we always got what we wanted immediately, we would never learn the lesson of perseverance in order to get some breakthroughs.
In a culture where we believe miracles are supposed to happen instantly, or healing should occur immediately, we get duped into thinking that when it doesn’t happen right away, it must not be God. We are not used to pressing into things and persevering for what is already ours in Christ Jesus.
We are an impatient people. We stand in front of a microwave and scream “HURRY UP”. We sit at a red light and say things like “really” or “come on”. What we don’t realize is it’s not “name it and claim it or blab it and grab it”, it’s declaring and preparing for what He has already done.
Our prayer target doesn’t necessarily break because we try doing it differently– it breaks when we hit it on the same spot consistently. You don’t chop down one tree by hitting it with an axe once and then go to another tree and hit that one to see if it will fall.
Now I know the “Faith” people will tell you that if you pray for something once and then ask again, you have little faith. Well, then I guess Jesus had little faith. Here’s a story from Mark 8, verses 23 through 25 in the NLT.
23 Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then, spitting on the man’s eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see anything now?” 24 The man looked around. “Yes,” he said, “I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around.” 25 Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly.
Not only do we see Jesus praying again, but in Luke 11:9 we see Him giving us instruction on how to pray. Here it is in the NLT – “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you”.
Now remember that the word “ask” in the Greek is the word Aiteo. It means putting a demand on what is due. So the scripture would read “And so I tell you, keep on putting a demand on what is due, and you will receive what you put a demand on. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you”.
Paul said it in a different way, but with the same logical meaning. He said STAND. In Galatians 5:1 he said “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage”.
You have been set free from all that legalistic religious double speak that says you have to be good enough for God to bless you or answer your prayers. Don’t fall back into that way of thinking. It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. Freedom from your past. Freedom from sin. Freedom from destruction.
Don't miss the second part of this teaching. We are just getting started.
“Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.” Grace and Peace.
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