Shout of Faith

I am your God of all comfort, even as you feel so very uncomfortable. Dare to believe My "much greater" rather than your feelings, "much less". Abide in Me as you rest to wellness, and choose joy! 

Keep your eyes fixed steadfastly on Me, and not on what you can see or how you feel. Trust Me with your whole heart, Beloved. 

Give your shout of faith before you can see the outworking! Remember that I AM with you ALWAYS, in every situation! 

A New Precedent

Beloved, there is a battle raging - refuse to give up hard-won ground! When you done all you can do, stand! Fix your eyes on Me - get your eyes off your pain and onto Me. This is part of the process of Me breaking the power of fear off your life! In pain, you react out of fear - all you can think about is escaping the pain!

Beloved, I have a higher way. I want to reach through your pain and lift your eyes to Me. I want you to be so transfixed by My beauty and glory that you no longer notice your pain! I want My voice to be louder to you than the screaming of your pain! Refuse to give attention to your pain and focus all your concentration on gazing on My face and listening to My voice. Here I will unfold the mysteries that you have been longing to understand! 

 Take the issue of "on earth as it is in heaven" - the reality is, sin and sickness are on earth, and I delight in robbing the enemy of his tools and using them for My purposes! They make good teachers. You are learning deep abiding through this sickness, and conquering your feelings (not letting them boss you around), that you would not have learned this week if you had received miraculous healing. 

You are learning to contend - not necessarily for miracles at this stage - but for mastery over sin, which is more important by far at this stage of the journey. The lessons you are learning in taking and holding ground will serve you well when we move into miracles. Stand firm and refuse to give an inch of ground to fear, self-pity, discouragement, disappointment or bitterness. 

Thank and praise Me for all I am doing in you at this time. Let My joy rise in your spirit throughout this day. Your cheerful heart will be good medicine to your infected body (Prov 17:22)! Believe it, Beloved! 

You are setting a new precendent, My Precious One! A whole new approach to sickness in your home - one that leads you deeper into joy and victory in Me! While you will not look forward to sickness in the future, you will not fear and dread it like you previously did! "We know the secrets of the fireswamp...we can live there quite happily for some time, so whenever you feel like dying, feel free to visit!" (The Princess Bride movie)

via GIPHY

Your Joy Is My Reward

Your Joy Is My Reward (song by Candice Barnes, 2016)

I refuse to be discouraged by what my eyes can see
I refuse to be discouraged by what's not happening
I will trust You with my whole heart,
I will trust You, Lord!
I will trust You with my whole heart -
Your joy is my reward!

I refuse to yield to self-pity for how I feel right now
I refuse to yield to self-pity
My feelings cannot boss me around.
I will praise You with my whole heart,
I will praise You, Lord!
I will praise You with my whole heart -
Your joy is my reward!

Creative Process

When discouragement is taken out of the creative process, you are free to practise, mess up and try again in joy, without feeling as though you are the failure. Your mistakes may look hideous to you, but sometimes they are just a few tweaks away from being amazing! Refusing to let discouragement influence your creative process will release increase in creativity and joy! 

DIS-couragement

Let's talk about discouragement again. Beloved, as I told Joshua to be strong and very courageous, I speak the same to you. I, who showed enormous courage in facing the terrible suffering of the cross, dwell in you!  I AM your courage! Becoming DIS-couraged speaks of being robbed of your courage. This can only happen if you allow the enemy to steal from you. Keep that door locked, barred and guarded - do not listen to a single whisper! The discourager would rob you of the comfort I give.

Breathe Me in deeply and trust My healing and My provision. Let joy rise in you. Celebrate all that I am doing! You are taking ground in Me. We are showing the enemy that sickness is no longer an entry point in your life. We are laughing in the face of the enemy, for what he intended for harm is driving you deeper into victory! Ha ha!! Joy, Beloved! Let's dance on the head of the enemy!! 

Yielding in Joyful Confidence

In the past, you have often been confused about the issue of healing, but you have been coming at it from entirely the wrong angle. You have been trying to believe for healing without the revelation of what it truly means to be hidden with Christ in God.

Start with yielding in joyful confidence - yielding your will to My will. You will to feel better, but you are no longer a slave to your feelings. While I do not want you to be sick, I can use it. Trust Me completely and yield in joyful, confident trust. 

Stay yielded - acceptance with joy means no grumbling, murmuring, whinging, and not a hint of self-pity. Do not speak out any grumbling words, but also yield every grumbling thought immediately. This is the beginning of healing for you, Beloved! 

You have habitually whinged and moaned, rehearsed your symptom list over and over in your head, and spoken aloud about being sick or feeling miserable. Trust Me for all the details - I know what you have on your schedule - yield joyfully and completely, and trust that I will take care of every detail. 

In the past, your "sick days' have involved binge watching. But no longer! "Rest into wellness days" are days to soak in My Presence and enjoy Me. Take joy in Me, rest in the complete trust that I'm going to take care of all the details. 

Do not be afraid of troublesome thoughts that beset you - yield them to Me, renounce the enemy and praise Me as though I've already worked the healing. For I have, on the cross and breaking out of the tomb - I dealt with all sickness. Now rejoice that the work is done and rest into the outworking! 

When others in your household affect the atmosphere of your home by reintroducing fear, murmuring, blame or shame - allow Me to use you to take back your home for Love's purpose. Do not be afraid of their sin, just yield them to Me in joyful confidence, and sing out My Praise with joy. You can shift the atmosphere for Love just as easily!

Joy flows so naturally from the truly yielded heart. Celebrate this Truth - joy is not dependent on your circumstances or on you feeling good - joy is always available! 

Dance This Day Into Alignment!

Consider this intensive training, Beloved, and take heart! I am giving you a new name - "Joyful" and writing it on your forehead for all to see. No longer will you need to make sure everyone sees how much you are suffering - seeking either admiration or pity. Fear of man holds you back from wholehearted loving Me, and from single-mindedly obeying Me. Fear of man is CUT OFF! You are Mine, Beloved, and I am yours!

"I encourage you to surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship. 

Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God's will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes." (Romans 12:1-2, TPT)

"Let this hope burst forth within you, releasing a continual joy. Don't give up in a time of trouble, but commune with God at all times." (Romans 12:12, TPT)

My Power has freedom to work in you when you are aware of your own weakness and fully yield to Me. As I live My Life through you today, My Grace is enough for you. You will not be stuck in the same old trap of despair, the pit of self-pity or the dungeon of fear. 

We will move together in this Dance of Love with grace and joy, and you will see the grey, dreary circumstances be transformed into vibrant colour and light. Let's dance this day into alignment with My Kingdom! 

More Fully You!

I am making you attractive, Beloved. Attractive to your husband, to others who are searching for Me, and even to yourself. 

For so long, you have lived in fear of Pride. But Pride is part of a religious mindset. I am completely transforming your thinking into a kingdom mindset. Beloved, Pride has to do with fear of man and D-I-Y mode. I am cutting off fear of man and giving you a healthy fear of Me. 

I am building in you a joyful confidence in who you are in Me, as you continue to grow in seeing yourself as I see you. 

I love you! I do not want to get rid of you! I want to make you more fully uniquely you, to increase your "you-ness" that has been dulled and pushed down by false humility and false dignity (which are Pride). You really bought into that self-flagellating twisting of "I must decrease that He can increase". The cries of "Empty me of me so that I can be filled with You!"  

Well, Beloved, I won't! I will fill you and in doing so, enhance your you-ness, while dealing with sin in your life. No more of this "wretched woman that I am" business, because haven't you heard? I HAVE DEALT WITH THAT ALREADY!

"So if my behaviour contradicts my desires to do good, I must conclude that it is not my true identity doing it, but the unwelcome intruder of sin hindering me from being who I really am...Truly, deep within my true identity, I love to do what pleases God. But I discern another power operating in my humanity, waging a war against the moral principles of my conscience and bringing me into captivity as a prisoner to the "law" of sin - this unwelcome intruder in my humanity...So who has the power to rescue this miserable man from the unwelcome intruder of sin and death? 

I give all my thanks to God, for his mighty power has finally set me free through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One! So if left to myself, the flesh is aligned with the law of sin, but now my renewed mind is fixed on and submitted to God's righteous principles." (Romans 7:20,22-25 TPT)

"So now every righteous requirement of the law can be fulfilled through the Anointed One living his life in us. And we are free to live, not according to our flesh, but by the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit!" (Romans 8:4 TPT)

What joy, Beloved!! You are starting to see! Your flesh is not you, your spirit is truly you! And your spirit is seated with Me in the heavenly realm. You are heaven's royalty, Beloved! 

No place for pride and arrogance, false humility and false dignity in royalty - just an acceptance of who you truly are. 

"And you did not receive the "spirit of religious duty" leading you back into the fear of never being good enough. But you have received the "Spirit of Full Acceptance", enfolding you into the family of God. And you will never feel orphaned, as he rises up within us, our spirits join him in saying the words of tender affection, "Beloved Father!" For the Holy Spirit makes God's fatherhood real to us as he whispers into our innermost being, "You are God's beloved child!" (Romans 8:15-16)

The Dance of Love

My Darling, you have opened the treasure chest and seen the beauty and joy within. It is time to take out the jewels and WEAR them! Beloved, you are My Princess, but you are walking around in rags! It is time to throw off the rags. I clothe you in robes of righteousness, and it is an insult to My Name to cling to your rags.

Beloved, I have set your precious gems in settings of silver and gold, and it is time to wear these treasures for all to see. Do not keep them shut away any longer!

Let Me take you by the hand and dance with you. Come, let Me lead you around the throne room in the Dance of Love. You are wearing your royal robes and precious jewels. This dance is such a joy and a delight, is it not! Lose yourself in the joy and colour of this moment, Beloved, as I twirl you around the floor.

My Dear One, come with Me. Let Me lead you back into your life. You see it as drab and dreary, but as I dance with you, see how every scene will turn from drab and grey to joyfully brilliant and full-colour! Vibrant, beautiful, full of Life and Joy! Every activity - mundane and enjoyable - will be touched and transformed by the Joy and Life of My Presence as we dance through your day.

Because I AM

"It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes... Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: The Lord's right hand has done mighty things! The Lord's right hand is lifted high; the Lord's right hand has done mighty things!" Psalm 118:8-9,15-16

In this society where science is highly regarded, the "princes" are the scientific minds; the doctors and surgeons being amongst them.

Although I use them, the doctors should not take My place. Your hope does not rest in them. Which is just as well when they give you different, even opposite opinions of what is best for your girl.  Remember: your trust is in Me, your Refuge. Not in the doctors. Rest in this Truth - I AM Jehovah-Rapha, God your Healer. I AM the Divine Physician. I hold your tiny girl in the palm of My hand. I love her even more than you do - and you know how much that is!

As you take refuge in Me, you are agreeing with the higher Truth that I AM. Circumstances must bend to My Will. Things are not as they seem. Keep your eyes fixed on My Face, and My Reality will be MORE REAL to you than the appearance of your circumstances. You will have no fear of bad news, your heart will be steadfast, trusting in Me. Your heart is secure, you will have NO FEAR! (Psalm 112:7-8) Bad news cannot shake you when you cling to the Rock who is higher than you.  (Psalm 61:2)

Keeping your eyes fixed on Me, you can see beyond the circumstances.  Not to see a desired outcome, but to see the eternal Truth that I AM! Then you will burst forth with shouts of joy and victory! Get this, Beloved...You are not celebrating because things are going your way.  You are celebrating because I AM. You are not willing things into being, but you are rejoicing because I AM. Every step of the way, I AM. Regardless of what happens, I AM. You cannot be shaken, because I AM.

Planting Joy

"Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10

Know this: you can have JOY even in weakness, exhaustion and sorrow! Yes, it is true! This is not some kind of forced smile on your face, but joy that radiates from the inside - from our secret place, the garden of your heart where you meet with Me hourly, daily. 

I know this still confuses your rational mind. There is a lingering "martyr syndrome" buried deep in your heart. This part of you craves others' pity and sympathy for what you are going through, and admiration for how you are coping with it. This is sinful, prideful and ugly to Me. It is the part of you that tells you to put on a "brave face" - so long as it is one that shows how brave you are being. You must be serious...RUBBISH! 

I want to tear this poisonous weed out by the roots! I want to do a new work in you. I want to plant joy deep within you. Beautiful, unshakeable, abiding joy. My joy, which will give you strength for every difficulty you face, whether big or small. Joy that will grow up in you and flower over and over - petals falling and fragrance spreading into the lives of those you meet each day. 

Hasten the Sunrise!

"O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you." Psalm 84:12

Everyone trusts in something or someone. For many people, it is science, "the laws of nature" and the tangible world. For others, it is the principle of "karma", or some vague higher being. Some people trust only in themselves, others trust only in someone else. But blessed is the person who trusts in Me! 

I am the only one who is 100% trustworthy. Everything and everyone else will let you down sooner or later - but this is no reason to get bitter or shut yourself off from others. Just accept that I am the only 100% trustworthy one, and do not burden others by trying to expect from them what can only be given by Me. 

I AM completely trustworthy! This is why you can praise Me in the midst of deep distress. You can say, like David, "I am in pain and distress; may your salvation, O God, protect me. I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving." (Psalm 69:29-30)

To the world, this seems counter-intuitive and just plain crazy! It is, in fact, your best response to difficulty. Sing your way through every storm. Sing like never before. Sing with all your heart into the night. Declare the coming dawn! Your songs of joy and thanksgiving to Me will push back the darkness and hasten the sunrise!!!

Rejoice Before You See It

"How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca (weeping), they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, til each appears before God in Zion." (Psalm 84:1-2,4-7)

Make this psalm your heart's anthem - yearning and longing for My Presence! This is how your strength is in Me - by dwelling in My Presence, ever praising Me. As you dwell in My Presence praising Me, the valley of weeping you are passing through is actually transformed into a place full of LIFE!

Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning! (Psalm 30:5). Where morning dawns and evening fades I call forth songs of joy! (Psalm 65:8) Even in darkness light dawns for the upright. (Psalm 112:4) The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. (Proverbs 4:18)

I tell you Beloved, dawn is coming! So do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in My sufferings so that you may be overjoyed when My glory is revealed! (1 Peter 4:12-13) Therefore, do not lose heart...for your light and momentary troubles are achieving for you an eternal glory that far outweighs them all! So fix your eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal! (2 Corinthians 4:16-17)

Day is coming! Rejoice before you see it, dear one. Hold fast to My Promise that dawn is coming, and rejoice!

Yielded Weakness

Joy will accompany you when you are walking by My Spirit! Joy is a sign that you are walking by faith, not by sight. My joy is your strength. Whenever you lose your joy, it is a sure sign that you are walking by sight, slipping into D.I.Y. mode, giving fear control of your heart. 

When you feel weary, sick and exhausted, you very quickly let fear take the upper hand. You operate from fear-based thinking: "How can I possibly be victorious today?" But this is based on an erroneous and prideful assumption that you actually have something to do with your victory. I AM your victory. All that is required of you, dear one, is that you yield your heart to Me. 

Paul knew this secret: "For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:10) For My Grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Cor 12:9) Weakness itself does not automatically allow Me room to move - it is your yielded weakness that I require. 

Yield your weakness to Me, and live moment by moment in joyful dependence on Me.

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

Rest and Rejoice

Psalm 5

Know that I hear your cries and your sighing. Lay your requests before Me and wait in expectation! Your heart is heavy this morning. Lay down your burdens, truly release them. (Ps 5:1-3)

I know that you are disappointed in yourself - how easily the doubt creeps in. Just a few well-meaning words from a caring friend or family member and you start questioning your judgement in trusting Me. Fear looms large and intimidating. You begin to cower...STOP! Remember who I AM! Take refuge in Me, your strong tower! Refuse to allow fear to lock you up in its dark dungeon again. Speak out My Word, it is living and active and has mighty power! 

Remember the truth that seeking Me is your best preparation. No amount of medical information can better prepare you to face your daughter's future. I hold her in My hand. Do not borrow trouble from tomorrow. Trust that I will help and guide you to the right information at the right time. 

Right now, it is crucial to guard against fear - the enemy of your soul. You are no longer a slave to fear, but fear will continue to do its best to entice you back into slavery. Rest here in My perfect Love. Fear has no place here. My perfect Love is full of Light, fear is darkness that cannot stand My Light. 

As you take refuge in Me, be glad! Keep on singing for joy! I spread My protection over you. I surround you with favour as with a shield. (Ps 5:11-12) You are protected by My Love, My Presence. I cover you with My protection. Rest in this covering. Rest, dear one. Rest and rejoice. This is perfect medicine for your aching heart. Rest and sing for joy.