Get Spirit-filled content delivered right to your inbox! Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. It's in those places that we need hope and God's perspective. He doesn't leave us in our pain. He redeems us right in the midst of it. God still moves, still cares and will do something in our situations that we never expected if we will dare to lift our eyes and trust Him, and if we'll determine to contend for the promise He's put before us.
A Christian Lesbian Journey: A Continuation of Long Road to Love by Darlene Bogle (2007-02-12)
God's promises are as potent as they've ever been. If you're willing, let's embark on a journey and explore Jesus' desire to see us flourish, to heal our soul and to make us whole. Sometimes we'll get an immediate miracle, but I'd say more often, our healing-wholeness journey is more of a process. No matter what ails us—be it emotionally, physically or circumstantially—God has more for us. We're not meant to stay stuck here.
My recent heartbreak and health battle compelled me to dig deeper into God's promises regarding health, healing, and wholeness. I don't know that I'd say my faith has changed as a result of my most recent battle, but it certainly has deepened. I'm convinced—like never before—that God intends to do miracles in our day. I believe—with all my heart—that we'd see far more miracles on the earth today if there were more faith in our hearts. May God stir up a fresh gift of faith in us!
But I also firmly believe that there's a mystery to God's ways and that we don't dictate to Him; instead, we serve Him, honor Him, revere Him and trust Him. Godly people get sick and die.
I look at men like my dear brother-in-law Donny, or Nabeel Qureshi, the Christian apologist and author. Both of them died of cancer—far too young. But I now see that they won their battle. They didn't lose it. Cancer no longer grips them in its ugly, devastating clutches or robs them of health and peace. They're with Jesus—full, healed and free. And our time with them will far exceed our short time without them. And there are those whose lot involves life with a disability. But God is with them, and He'll either miraculously heal them, or He'll miraculously use them in a way that allows them to flourish and reflect the Father's heart right in the midst of their vulnerability.
Life on earth is short. God's promises are true. And if you follow Jesus through the Gospels, you'll find a Savior who cares deeply about the human condition. That fact—our Savior's heart for the human condition—is what brings us the assurance that God wants us to thrive, and He's with us every step of the way. You and I need to make some adjustments amidst the craziness of this world and the toxicity of our times.
God offers us wisdom from above, wisdom that's unique to us and to our situation. But in order for us to know the fullness and the restoration that are possible for us as heirs of God, we have some things to learn. We cannot and must not keep grinding our gears through life while ignoring the physical and emotional toll that our hardships have had on us. I can't prove this, but I believe there's a trapdoor in our hearts that drops things into our souls. Our soul is the place where our emotions brew and our hurts collide, and the turmoil of it all can put the squeeze on our hopes, our dreams and our perspective.
Jesus wants peace to rule and reign in our hearts so that we can prosper in our soul. He wants us to flourish in every way possible. We're going to ask God for a fresh vision of what flourishing can look like for us, and then we're going to position ourselves on the path of healing—whatever it takes. Some of this will be hard.
But you're no stranger to hard. You've done it before. We can do hard if it leads us to a better life, right? Elijah positioned himself to be thankful, for not only did he hear the word of the Lord, but he responded to it like it was true. This is what compelled him to not accept no as an answer from his servant.
So many of us abandon breakthrough or step away from our miracle because at the first, second or even third prayer, we appear to see no results. Elijah heard the word of the Lord and responded like it was true. This caused him to keep pressing in until what he heard became what he saw. Elijah celebrated the small cloud like it was the abundance of rain. A vital key to walking in the supernatural power of God is to increase our awareness of what God is doing. We must remember that the harvest is in the small seed and the outpouring is in the small cloud.
Contemporary leaders who practice this perspective are the ones who are experiencing some of the greatest measures of breakthrough in their ministries. One notable example is healing evangelist Randy Clark, from Global Awakening. In his gatherings, as people receive prayer for healing, Randy encourages those who experience any kind of improvement in their physical conditions to wave their hands around and celebrate the progress.
It reorients their perspective to what God is doing and builds corporate faith through thanksgiving. Focusing on what God is doing causes us to be thankful. Instead of being disappointed that we did not receive percent restoration of hearing, sight or removal of pain, we celebrate the 30 percent improvement. As a result, our faith is strengthened to keep on believing for the 60 percent and 80 percent and, ultimately, the percent.
Thanksgiving builds our faith, and that faith sustains us while we continue to believe for the complete miracle—for ourselves and for others. I encourage you—this season and always—to be thankful for all of the little signs of blessing and breakthrough. Elijah focused on the small cloud, not the empty sky. All progress, improvement and change is worth thanksgiving and celebration. Why the shout and urgency?
Elijah knew that contained in that cloud was the massive outpouring he heard about and saw in the spirit. In the same way, I encourage you to give thanks for every sign of improvement, healing, restoration and progress in your situation.
theranchhands.com: Darlene Bogle: Books, Biography, Blogs, Audiobooks, Kindle
Remember, the seed contains the harvest. And every step forward is a step toward complete breakthrough! He lives in Florida with his wife and daughter.
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