dailywordofdestiny

PART ONE: Clouds Can Block Vision

“For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.” (Psalm 61: 5). “The angel of the LORD encamps round about them that fear Him and delivers them. O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusts in Him. O fear the LORD, ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him…” “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivers him out of them all” (Psalm 34: 7-9, 19). “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me,” says the LORD (Isaiah 54: 17). “But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.” (Malachi 4: 2). “Create in me a PURE heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me…” “Search me, O God, and know my heart; TEST me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive ways in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 51: 10; 139: 23, 24).

This is the first message of a series. After much time in prayer, I believe Holy Spirit has given me a word (multifaceted) for all of us as we face the outcomes of our personal and corporate choices over the next several months. We are in a season of great transition and it heralds the birth of a new and different system of order as well as disorder. This is not a new revelation. Solomon, the wisest man ever known in the physical world, noted in his summation found in Ecclesiastes 1, “…there is nothing new under the sun.”

We, as believers in and disciples of Jesus Christ, are being called to take our positions and draw our swords for the battle that has always loomed on the horizon. The enemy has caused and continues to cause much fear and division within the Body of Christ. There are many holes (within individual members and THEREFORE, within the corporate Body – see 1 Corinthians 12: 14-26) that weaken our TRUST in God’s OMNIPRESENCE (Presence in all things); OMNISCIENCE (All Knowing); OMNIPOTENCE (All Powerful) in areas of our physical and spiritual world. As Nehemiah pointed out to the rulers, leaders, and the people; the work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another. While some of you are now, or soon will be called to RESTORE the breached walls of disunity; others are, or will be called to stand watch over them in faithful prayer with the “Sword of Truth” gripped tightly in their hands every moment of each day (Nehemiah 4: 15-19). Verse 20 is very significant and we need to pay heed to what it is saying; “In what place therefore ye HEAR the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our GOD SHALL FIGHT FOR US.”

I believe the Lord of Hosts is sounding the trumpet this very hour and I also believe that only those who are united in ONE SPIRIT will be given “ears to hear” it’s call.
“So, as Holy Spirit says, ‘TODAY if ye will hear His voice, DO NOT harden not your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of TESTING in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried Me and for forty years saw what I did.’ That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known My ways.’ So I declared an oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest.’ See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, UNBELIEVING heart that turns away from the LIVING God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ IF we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. As has just been said: ‘TODAY if you hear His voice, do NOT harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion'” (Hebrews 3; see also Ezekiel 22: 30).

Thick Cloud I have chosen two men of God (Abraham and Job) and their personal stories to illustrate what my spirit is hearing from the LORD and what I am hearing through readers’ prayer requests. First, I want to remind you of the time Jesus took Peter, James, and John up into the mountain to pray and while they were praying the countenance of Jesus was altered and the disciples saw His glory? Peter was excitedly telling Jesus they should begin a building program when suddenly, “…there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they FEARED (meaning: dusk; twilight) as they entered into the cloud…” (Luke 9: 34).

Many of us face suffering in some form or another, sometimes sudden and acute and sometimes ongoing (chronic). Whatever the case, I believe there is often ONE thing that will cause you to question whether God KNOWS about it, or even cares. CLOUDS can represent our sorrows, sufferings, and circumstances both within and without our personal lives. If you have traveled by plane, you can identify with the idea of being swallowed by the clouds about the plane; all you see is “white-out” through any of the windows. Yet, IF you had flown before you do not become fearful. You KNOW that the pilot and the plane’s radar will get the plane through the areas where there is no visibility. We read ALL that happened in the lives of Abraham and Job, so we actually see through the clouds that engulfed them and it’s why we don’t always immediately identify with their pain. However, both these men saw and felt exactly what each of us see and feel as we go through suffering, anxiety, fear, disillusionment, etc. in the personal problems that suddenly overshadow us.

The ONE thing that most of us fear as we begin to walk through the clouds about us is the UNKNOWN. What is going to happen? How will I cope? What can I do? Why is this happening? When will it be over? Where are You, God? Nahum says that clouds are a sign that God IS THERE; “…the clouds are the dust of His feet” (1: 3). What awesome revelation; to KNOW that all the clouds in our life are actually the clouds that come along WITH GOD! Hallelujah! It is through these times of heartache and pain that Holy Spirit teaches us how to walk by faith (we don’t see the end as we begin to walk through).

God has given us Abraham and Job as “case studies” to illustrate how we must UNLEARN some things we have accepted as important in our personal lives. Have you considered that it is the clouds in your life that simplify your beliefs until your RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM is exactly that of a child — a relationship that is only between God and your own soul? It is the place where there is absolute and total trust in Him alone; where all the clouds around you become as shadows at the revelation of His glory!

“The brightness of My glory is truly about you. Receive My peace, heart rest, and comfort amidst agitation, confusion, and suffering. My angels stand beside you to buttress, protect, and minister to you. The “unknown” is only according to your vision; Trust Me and just place one foot ahead of the other as we walk together. My blessing is rich and I add no sorrow to it.”