Here are three things the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart on this matter: 1. You Must Keep in Mind That God Is With You- Even in Your Running! God is with you during every attack of the enemy. He never leaves you nor forsakes you! Elijah was in utter despair - totally confused, fearful, wanting to give up. But God looked upon him in his despondency and sent him a private angel - to be a butler and a cook for him! Scripture says: As he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat, And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baked on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights (1 Kings 19:5-8). Have you ever been served a meal so nutritious, it lasted forty days? That had to be some meal! Here is what I believe the Lord said to the angel before sending him to Elijah: Be patient with him! Hes hurting, confused, full of questions. He thinks he wants to die, but he really wants to live. He feels useless, at the end of his rope. But I still love him! Ive got much more work for him to do in My kingdom. Soon Im going to awaken his spirit. But, meanwhile, feed him well - refresh him! And tell him the journey is too great for him. He cant make it without eating the food I supply! Thank God the angel said that to Elijah! It is true - the journey is too great for all of us! We cant handle it. That is why God has given us this Word - and its better than any angel! He says, Go to My Word - eat and drink. There you will find all the strength you need to go through this trial! Taking Back Control Requires Dealing with the Lords Still, Small Voice! The voice of the Spirit will ask you the same thing He asked Elijah: what are you doing here, Elijah? (1 Kings 19:9, NAS).God was saying to his servant, How long will you allow the devil to lie to you? When will you wake up and say, Enough of this foolishness! Its time to take a stand, to fight back - to take control! Perhaps the Lord is saying the same thing to you right now: Why are you hiding here, living in this fear and depression? How long will you let this go on? You dont need to fear - I have never left you. Get up! Your work for Me is not done. Get out of this cave of sadness and guilt! God had to put this question to Elijah twice. At first, Elijah answered that his holiness and zeal had gotten him in trouble: Lord, theyve slain all Your prophets. Im the only one left -and theyre trying to kill me! But God asked the question again - because Elijah hadnt told the whole truth! You see, God was after what was deep in Elijahs heart - the real reason his spirit and soul were down and out. It was this: God, you let the devil get to me! You let him harass me, take away my joy, put fear in me. And I did not deserve such treatment! I have been holy, obedient, doing all You told me to do, Yet after all my praying, preaching and obedience, I ended up with the biggest battle of my life! Does this describe your spirit as well? Youve tried your best to do Gods will and work, giving Jesus your whole heart and energy - and yet youve fallen under attack from the devil! The Lord is coming to you now, asking, Why are you so down - why so panicky? Lets get to the heart of this. Whats the real problem behind it all? He wants you to admit what is really in your heart: God, I didnt deserve this attack from the enemy, when I was trying so hard to please you! Perhaps you already have poured out your heart to God in this way. But have you told Him the rest of whats deep inside: Im tired of all the lessons, Lord! I dont want to learn anymore. Im here simply to do Your will - to win victories for You, to save souls. Just let me do that and then go home to glory! Beloved, this is the whole issue, the whole problem: Were tired of learning Gods ways! We think, Is there never a time when I can sit back and know the devil is defeated? Wont my battles ever end? No - God has a different plan! And it is this: When you learn how to resist the devil, he will flee from you! (see James 4:7). You may say, I already know that! But many Christians think resisting the devil means railing at him - yelling, trying to scare him away. But that is of no effect! God is talking about something entirely different here. He is saying: How can you learn how to resist Satan until I have let him come at you, roaring and threatening? He is not a figment of your imagination - he is a real devil! And you have to learn to give opposition to him! Professional snake handlers - those who draw poison from rattlesnakes for medicinal purposes - get their training by going straight into the snake pit. It is the only way they can rid themselves of fear. And it is the only way to learn snakes devices how they move and operate. Beloved, God wants to take you into the pit - to stand face to face with the devil! He wants you to hear the enemys crafty lying and roaring, so you can learn how to resist him. He - wants to teach you to stand firmly - to quietly withstand all of Satans empty rattling! Scripture says of Michael the arch angel: Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, [dared] not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee (Jude 9). Michael was saying, without fear: I dont have time to play games with you, devil I have work to do. The Lord will take care of you! 3. You Regain control When You Begin to Understand Why God Has Allowed You to Endure Such a Personal, Grievous Battle! First, God allows your trial because He wants to make you devil-proof! That doesnt mean you wont be attacked again. But you will be trained to stand! It is all part of His preparing you for greater service, greater anointing, expanded usefulness in His kingdom. Furthermore, the Lord is trying to strengthen you against the devils wiles. He is raising up a body of believers who have faced the devil, who have been strengthened against him - and who know his devices and are not afraid of him! God is saying, Once you understand why youre going through this, you will have taken back all the ground youve lost. You will be in control again - by the power of the Holy Ghost! Once Elijahs trial was over, he would never run again. He now had a sense of direction - he was reassured in his spirit. You see, God was about to send him to nations to raise up kings, leaders and prophets! God told him: Go, return on thy way... anoint Hazael to be King over Syria... and Jehu... to be king over Israel... and Elisha... to be prophet in thy [stead] (1 Kings 19:15-16). Elijah had been given fresh anointing power. He was in control again! So he departed thence (verse 19). Elijah came out of the cave to do Gods will! He didnt have to shed a river of tears. No - he simply had heard the Word of the Lord! Beloved, the only hold the devil can have on you is fear. And youve got to shake it off in faith! You have to say, Im not going down. God is going to give me a fresh anointing from heaven - Hes going to use me! Do you believe that God is not finished with you - that He is teaching and training you for better things? He wants to speak to you in your cave of despondency. He wants to tell you what to do and where to go - and He wants to bring you out! So get up out of your despair - shake off the bondage of fear and depression! Depart from your cave. Youll discover that the moment you get up and walk out, the anointing will flow! Amen! #Realtalk
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 03:47:23 +0000
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