By Mary Lindow through the Holy Spirit

Jeremiah was known as the 'weeping prophet’. 

Some say he was called at the age of 17. 

He was called to reprove a crumbling nation. The Israelite nation. 

Unfortunately for them they didn’t  listen to him. But during his day, people were so hardened by sin that they neither believed God nor feared him. They seem to find Jeremiah's constant warning of judgment overbearing and frankly, annoying.

It's the same with us now. 

Those that hear our warning find us obnoxious! 

But as believers we are supposed to follow God's instructions to warn a lost and dying world of upcoming judgment. Even though most are not listening, we still have to persevere in courageously speaking truth in order to rescue some from the terrible judgment that will inevitably come. If we are so easily discouraged at fighting the rude behavior of our peers what are we going to do, when we are confronted by demons? 

The LORD rebukes Jeremiah for his impatience, in Jeremiah 12:5 saying, 

“If you have raced with men on foot and they have tired you out, Then how can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a land of peace [where you feel secure], Then how will you do among the lions in the flooded jungle thicket beside the Jordan?”

If we are distraught when we can't make a car payment, what will we do when we lose our job?

If the footmen weary you what will the horses do?

If we are distressed at the terrorism going on overseas, what will we do when it’s in our own neighborhoods? Because it already is!

If the footmen weary you what will the horses do?

If we are overwhelmed with the work we have now, what will we do when a double or triple portion is required of us? 

If the footmen weary you what will the horses do?

God is reminding Jeremiah (and us) that there is much more to be concerned about than what we’re complaining about . 

There is something ahead of us in this season my friends that is of more concern than petty grievances against those who seem to be better off or live easier than we do. 

God is telling Jeremiah “ If you are not able to encounter lesser dangers, how will you be able to overcome greater ones?” 

Jesus said to us in John 16: 33 “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! Take Courage! I have overcome the world.”

It’s natural that our hardest days and most difficult trials are ahead of us, not behind us. If you are worried and in great upset about these things, what are you going to do when you are forced to face extremely difficult trials and troubles that are most certainly just around the bend?

Matthew Henry said, “The faith even of strong believers may sometimes be sorely shaken and ready to fail them. There will be storms that will try the firmest anchors.”

Now, Isn’t that the truth? 

Jeremiah was consumed with grief about the prosperity of the wicked in Anathoth when just in a short time He would be beaten in Jerusalem by order of the priest Pashhur (instead of worrying about the prosperity of heathens in Anathoth, he was about to be severely punished by a priest in Jerusalem). 

Let's take a sneak peek of what is in store for Jeremiah:

“He had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper gate of Benjamin at the LORD's temple.” Jer. 20:2

God saw this coming when Jeremiah was crying about the prosperity of the wicked!

If Jeremiah had known what was going to happen ahead of him, He wouldn't have wasted time complaining about the men of Anathoth. Jeremiah was concerned about something insignificant when something greater needed his attention. 

And, His own family was secretly conspiring against him — they spoke well of him to his face but were trying to incite a mob against him behind his back. They seemed to be friendly but they were really his enemies.

God's faithful servants shouldn't think it's strange that their enemies are in their own family, some living under their own roof.

Jesus told us in Matthew 10:34-35 

“For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man's enemies will be the members of his own household.”

So friends, If the footmen weary you what will the horses do? 

I know I keep repeating the statement because it’s what the Holy Spirit would have me consistently say so that you hear the challenge and that you are strengthened to stand up and be courageous, now!

God's answer to Jeremiah was to be absolutely determined to stay solid and immovable in his walk with God, because there were bigger trials ahead of him that needed his attention. But God does let him know what will happen to Israel and her enemies. Although God punishes Israel by allowing her enemies to overtake the land, God would not let her enemies sacrilegiously use that land which belongs to Israel. Even their land is blessed!

“But after I uproot them, I WILL AGAIN HAVE COMPASSION and will bring each of them back to his own inheritance and his own country.” (Jeremiah 12:15)

God will again deliver his people from their enemies by uprooting them just as he did when they were suffering in Egypt. 

God shows that even his enemies may receive compassion and grace.

“And if they learn well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, 'As surely as the LORD lives' even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal – then they will be established among my people.” (v.16)

God's Expectation Is Plain. 

If Israel's enemies would pay homage to God the way they did for Baal, (a dead and dumb idol) if they could humble themselves to follow the God of Israel instead of teaching Israel to follow idols they would be rewarded, but if not...

“'But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it,' declares the LORD” (v. 17)

God's call and Plan and Instructions for us can be summed up in 

I Corinthians 16:13 “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” 

Our greatest difficulties are ahead of us, not behind us.

(If our troubles were always behind us, we would never grow as a Christian.) 

We mustn’t waste time complaining about petty things. 

Quickly put on your helmet, take up your sword and shield, tighten your armor and get ready! Get ready to run with the horses!

God offers Jeremiah a beautifully wise word picture for him to consider. 

He essentially asks Jeremiah, “If footmen weary you, what will the horses do?” 

Paul referred to life as a race. 

Makes sense, after all, it has a beginning, a middle, and a strong determination to finish strong. It requires endurance, patience, devotion and a resolution to finish strong. At the end of his life Paul said, “I have finished the race.” And referring to Jeremiah's race God is saying: If running with others on foot, when everything is equal, what are you going to do when they are given horses?

In this verse the prophet Jeremiah has been complaining about his persecutors. God Divinely answers, and warns Jeremiah about his impatience, and then tells him that harder trials are in store for him. 

What? More distressing times? 

We all have had the experience of how in our lives, there are long stretches of uneventful days, and then, generally without warning, some crisis is sprung on us, which demands quite a different set of gifts to cope with it. Our monsoons in Colorado, generally come without any warning from a falling barometer.

We can at any moment be confronted with some hard duty which will exhaust our energy. We may at any moment be plunged in some huge calamity and the quiet course of our lives for years suddenly is interrupted with fierce storms and devastating fallout. 

We won’t always have the easy foot race with footmen; there will some times come a call to strain our muscles to keep up with the gallop of the cavalry. We will have to struggle to keep our feet in the rising waters of difficultly, and must not expect to have a continual leisurely life in ‘a land of peace.’

With the power of Jesus in our spirits we shall never have to attempt

a duty that we are not first strengthened by Him to take on. 

And we never have to face a danger in which He won’t defend us. 

With His life in us we will be ready for the long hours of uneventful, unexciting duties, and for the short spurts that make precise calls on each of us to respond to. We ‘WILL run and not be weary; we will walk and not faint.’ 

As I finish this podcast I’d like to share what Oswald Chambers said about patience during the time of great difficulty and when the world is filled with uprising.  It is so powerful and quite comforting.

The Duty of Patience

"Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth" (Rev. 3:10).

Jesus says we are to keep the word of His patience. There are so many things in this life that it seems much better to be impatient about. 

The best picture to explain this is that of an archer: 

He pulls the bow string further and further away from his bow with the arrow solidly fixed in its slot, then, when it is adjusted, with his eye on the target he lets it fly. 

The Christian's life is like that. God is the archer. 

He takes the saint like a bow which He stretches, and we get to a certain point and say,"I can't stand any more, I can't stand this test of patience any longer," but God goes on stretching. 

He is not aiming at OUR TARGET mark, but at His own, and the patience of the saints is that we hold on until He lets the arrow fly straight to His goal.

Are you ready for a time of strengthening to come into your life? 

The Lord promises that a dramatic transformation will take place in us when we abandon our agenda and open ourselves to His plan for us. 

We can see this so clearly in the life of Saul before he had become the Apostle Paul. Saul had been intent upon his own evil strategy to persecute Christians. Then came his life-changing encounter with Jesus, when he asked the most important question of all in Acts 9:6: 

“Lord, what do YOU want me to do?”

Are you ready to ask the Lord that same question? 

Are you ready to give up your own fruitless designs in return for God’s better plan?

Let’s pray that together now.

Lord Jesus, I have been moving forward persistently with my own thoughts and plans. I have been intent upon seeing those accomplished. Now I see that despite my good intentions, my plans may not be in line with Yours.

Right now, I humble myself before You. 

I take this moment to ask, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” 

In Your presence, I place my agenda on the shelf, and I open my heart and my hands to Your plans and purposes.

I belong to You, Lord. Please forgive me for any stubbornness that may have captivated me. 

I pull down that stronghold right now—any thought that needs to be taken captive to the obedience of Christ. 

I place my future in Your hands, Lord Jesus. 

Have Your way—and only Your way—in my life. Amen.

Duplication and sharing of this writing is welcomed, as long as the complete message, website podcast link and information for Mary Lindow is included.

Thank You! 2022

"THE MESSENGER"  - Mary Lindow

www.marylindow.com

www.marylindow.podbean.com

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By Mary Lindow 

I am by far not an expert on the subject of plumblines and righteousness, so take what I say in the light of one who at time gropes like a child in the dark, ever reaching for the hand of the ONE to lead me into a safe place filled with His Hope, His Mercy, His Light and Life.

 
WE LIVE IN A CORRUPT WORLD and therefore, have the “effects and affects” of that corruption ever influencing, ever tainting and ever wooing the flesh. 

Plumbline: a tool that consists of a small, heavy object attached to a string or rope and that is used especially to see if something (such as a wall) is perfectly vertical or in alignment)  

A plumbline is a simple but accurate tool used for determining whether or not something is perfectly vertical or upright. The Lord also used, and uses, a "plumbline," His Word, to determine how upright His people truly are in His sight.

How upright they think they are, or how upright they proclaim themselves to be, means nothing to God.

 "Behold, I WILL set a plumbline in the midst of My people". 

-Amos 7:7 

A PLUMBLINE SET OUT BY THE HAND OF GOD IS ONE THAT WE CAN ANCHOR OUR HEARTS TO.

It will always, always, ALWAYS, direct us to the truth in a matter; even if it requires pain, loss, persecution and perhaps death in areas we feel we may well have rights to. 

It will also be a shield, a balm, a comfort and a teacher to those who will yield to the directive positioning of the Master. 

“I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumbline.” -Isaiah 28:17 

LIFE – DISTRESS - AND PERSECUTION 

I have found that in my life, distress and persecution do not feel like God’s care being poured out on me. My heart is not immediately drawn to thanksgiving and gratefulness for the faithfulness of God on display as I cling to the battered pieces that look like potential “rafts” of hope, only to find out that many of them have gaping holes or slow leaks in them. 

Rather, it feels like yet another hurt is being permanently woven into my tattered and war-torn soul. It seems as if another mound of questions are piling up and just waiting for an answer and a true solid REAL anchor of hope. 

I CAN REALLY CONNECT TO THE WRITER OF PSALM 42 

He said “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” It’s at those very times that the words of the Savior are so important. When we are down and in turmoil. 

But, how do we connect the dots between what we know is true about God’s faithfulness and what our hearts feel? When flipped and flung around by the waves, weary from crying and when no answer seems at hand, what is the answer? 

When my circumstances show many foes and tyrants rising up against me and my heart is prone to wander and fear, what hope is there of peace? 

When my feelings start controlling my thoughts, how can I rest in God’s promises? 

AT THIS POINT… I HEAR THE “GASPS” … 

…And perhaps shocked comments of a few who are amazed that someone who appears to walk so fervently and intimately with the Lord would have such difficulties! 

Well! Guess what?

I do struggle, I do hurt, and yes I do doubt when I have been side swiped or “rammed” by skilled cons and those who, although may have the appearance of godliness and offered friendship or fellowship, end up having private and evil agendas behind their well placed and planned schemes.

And boy oh boy! Those skilled players know the wicked art of wounding the heart and causing people to reel in pain! 

BUT, THERE IS ONE WHO FULLY SEES IT ALL 

The main skill in the issue of dealing with life as a spiritual person, is to know how to handle yourself when things not only crush and grind your heart, but what to do with the anguish and toll of their aftermath. 

We have to get ourselves into a place where we hear clearly again. 

We need have to address ourselves, preach to ourselves, and ask questions about ourselves. 

We must say to our soul: "Why are you cast down –Why are you so anxious and lacking in peace?" 

We must urge ourselves, and say ‘Hope in God’–instead of remaining in this paralyzed, aching state!” 

AND THEN WE MUST TAKE IT A STEP FURTHER

We must go on to remind ourselves just “Who “God is, and what God is and what God has done, and what God has promised that he Himself said that He would do. 

Having done that we can stand up and sing out strongly, defying the torment of the soul, and resist other people’s wicked tongues and arrogance, and refuse to go along with the devil and the whole world, and say: ‘Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” 

The hope and promise of the fairness of God’s justice when dealing with the hurtful things and presumptions of others gives me the confidence to know that God will never turn away from me in my need. No matter how they seem to prosper in the short term, wicked men and women will ultimately pay for their sins, in this life or the next. Jesus died to meet my greatest hardships and sorrows for me, and I need to preach this to myself every day.

His power is greater than my weariness and suffering. 

The comforting and instruction that comes from simply running to feed upon His word instead of the toxic poison of the replaying of trauma reminds me that what Jesus has done is strong enough for my soul to rejoice in and to be set into a place where it can rest and regroup, gaining a healthy perspective about what to give out to others and what is simply…

…. To be enjoyed by the Lord Himself. 

THE NATURAL IMPULSES OF MANKIND ARE SINFUL AND DECEITFUL! 

Human willpower alone will never be able to change this. 

We need God's help to truly change our hearts. 

REMEMBER. You cannot change the heart of anyone else either. 

If you try to, you will feel the bite of stinging venom or be laughed out of a room. Only the power of the conviction of the Holy Spirit can permeate and get around the jam-packed hardhearted egos of the self sufficient and bitter. 

Jeremiah 17:9 says that the human heart is deceitful in all things and is even beyond cure!

We must be cautious and wise in reproving and warning such types of people about their bad behaviors and wicked actions where there seems to be no appearance or hope of change and where there is danger of experiencing great and heart wrecking retaliation and slander. 

These types trample the warnings and urging for repentance and humbling of the heart under their feet, and turn again and slash at you, despising the warnings that are “tearfully and fearfully” given, and often hurt the persons who give them, either by words or deeds. 

"Don't waste what is holy on people who are unholy. 

Don't throw your pearls to pigs! 

They will trample the pearls, 

then turn and attack you.” 

-Matthew 7:6 

"GIVE ME THE FACTS MA’AM JUST THE FACTS” 

I remember that phrase from a TV show called “Dragnet”. The detective would not allow the details of the case to be skewed by any assumptions or pontificating from those he interviewed. He stoically and firmly demanded only the facts. 

And so, here are the “facts” about the heart of a good man or woman.

1.) The good man or woman: Brings good things out of the good stored up in his/her heart. And the facts about an evil man or woman. 

2.) The evil man/woman brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his/her heart. For out of the overflow of his or her heart his or her mouth speaks. Luke 6:45 

THE FRAILTY, BRIEFNESS, AND INSECURITY OF LIFE 

The frailty, briefness, and insecurity of life should hold down the vanity and presumptuous confidence of all of our projects and boasting about future greatness and bragging rights! We are always to depend on the will and leading of God. 

OUR TIMES ARE NOT IN OUR OWN HANDS, BUT ARE INSTEAD IN THE TIMING OF GOD. Our heads may be filled with cares and plans for ourselves, or our families, or our friends; but Divine intervention often throws our plans into bewilderment. All we have in mind, and all we do, should be with a humble and deep dependence on God.

It is foolish, and it is hurtful, to boast of trendy “latest happening” things and prospective projects, and it will bring great disappointment and will prove destructive to relationships and meaningful help to others in the end. 

“For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.” 

-1 John 2:16

LISTEN KINDLY - BEFORE SPEAKING YOUR THOUGHTS 

People don't need a lecture on the meaning of suffering or to have a barrage of scriptures “machine-gunned” at them as a reprimand for sharing their moment of grief or struggle! (Especially when their hearts are breaking, weary of the battle and if they are fatigued.)

Job could have done without some of the self-righteous answers that came from his “well-meaning” friends. All of the answers could have even been true, but Job didn't need to hear any of them. 

He needed their love, not their value judgments. 

In fact, it appears as if God judged THEM for trying to offer simple solutions to things that were beyond their comprehension. They had never walked in the loss he was in anguish over. 

WHEN WE SUFFER UNJUSTLY WE HAVE A MAJOR CHOICE TO MAKE

How will we respond? We can feel sorry for ourselves (and understandably so, for a while), become bitter and cynical, get drawn into a war of words, or even become mixed up in a major conflict.

On the other hand, we can take our suffering to the cross and allow our pain to draw us into a deeper place of understanding of what Jesus went though in his sufferings. This does not remove the pain, but does help us to know what to do with our hurt. 

This is the 'fellowship of his sufferings' (Philippians 3:10), one of the gateways to closeness with God and the release of his power in our lives. The weight of heartbreak shared with a loving friend cuts it in half. When the burden is shared with many friends, we can cope with almost anything.

We never feel more revitalized than when a friend loves us enough to walk with us in our pain. Not lecture us. 

The apostle Paul wrote these words to the church in Corinth: 

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God". -1 Corinthians 1.3-4 

SOMETIMES GOD GETS INVOLVED WITH DIRECT MIRACLES, Giving supernatural strength to those in need. But for the most part, he depends on us, his people, to do his work in the world. We love each other, work for healing, and suffer with those who suffer. 

The next time you see a friend who is suffering, Jesus may just invite you to be the warm embrace! We comfort each other with the comfort we have received in Christ. And when we do, we become the Body of Christ and he receives the glory! 

THE BIBLE IS CLEAR! 

We are to bear one another's burdens. 

We are to comfort others as Christ has given comfort to us. 

Your hard time becomes my hard time. 

We join hands in the journey. 

When you succeed, I succeed. 

When you suffer, I suffer. But we do it together. We share it together. 

And we do it, not so much in our wisdom or our words, but in our availability, our understanding, and through our presence. 

THAT'S WHAT FELLOWSHIP IS ALL ABOUT! 

But not “bland” fellowship.

It is CHRISTIAN fellowship. It is the business of burden bearing.

Authentic CHRISTIAN fellowship says that when you need me . . . I'll be there.

Support in suffering is at the core of what it means to share life together in Christ. The word for "comfort” is the same root word as the name Jesus used to describe one of the functions of the Holy Spirit in our lives (Paraclete). “I will be a comforter, one who comes alongside to give help.” And so as God comes alongside you, now you are able to come alongside another. As the Comforter is at work within you, so you also can be of comfort to those around you. 

WE ARE CALLED TO BEAR ONE ANOTHER'S BURDENS. 

To mourn with those who mourn.

To be a follower of Jesus means to come alongside people who are hurting and find ways to help them walk even through the valley of the shadow of death. We are called to do this, as the word of God and care of God is shared with the intention of stirring, plowing up hardened hearts, creating a place for repentance and challenging saints to hope again, I know and believe that as we learn again as believers, to care, to truly listen and to hope fully again, that the sweet and heavy weight of HIS Glory will be made known and will manifest in unfettered and uncontrolled waves of worship and spontaneous adoration of the King of Heaven. 

HE REALLY DOES KNOW WHAT HE WANTS

Let's focus on bowing low and seeking His heart and plans in what matters to Him.

Indeed, HE is the Plumbline. 

Prayer 

God, I ask in Jesus' name, that you comfort, strengthen and encourage all who are hurting deeply right now and are going through so much pain and heartache. 

Don't allow them to give up in the heat of the battle. 

Let them feel your arms wrapping around them and your love overflowing and filling them up. Lord, I will pray often and I know that you will hear my voice, even when I speak to You in my silent thoughts. 

To You, I am crying out and my prayers are now before You. 

Father, I give to You my problems, I do not want them. 

Father, please restore them to You. I know that you have compassion for your children. Father, show them your ways and teach them your paths. Lead them in your truth and teach them you are the God of our salvation and on you we will wait. 

Protect them from the evils of this life and guide them through all of their days. Father, thank You for hearing my prayer Father and for considering and for having compassion on all who hear and read these words, and all who hurt, in this troubled world we live in. 

Keep them in the center of Your love. 

In Jesus’ Name

~ Amen 

Duplication and sharing of this message is welcomed provided that complete article, podcast link and website information for Mary Lindow is included. 

Thank You Copyright © 2022 " THE MESSENGER "

~ Mary Lindow www.marylindow.com

https://marylindow.podbean.com

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I KNOW SUFFERING IS EXHAUSTING AND PAIN HURTS! That is why it is called pain and suffering. If there were an escape a person of great wisdom and insight would have done it already!

By Mary Lindow

SUFFERING AND SORROW ARE A PART OF LIFE

Knowing this, however, doesn’t make it any easier to cope when you find yourself in the midst of the deepest, darkest trials of faith, and mentally anguish and strain.

Don’t you wish Christianity could make you exempt from suffering? That would be great, but as most of us have learned, following our faith doesn’t give us a free ride.

We catch as much trouble as unbelievers—often more.

The difference, of course, is that we can turn to Jesus when things go wrong. Unbelievers might argue that we’re only turning to our imagination, but we know better.

At some time in your life, however, suffering will hit you so hard that you won’t be able to do any of those things, and that dark time will probably visit you more than once.

“Even in darkness, light dawns for the upright,

for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.”

Psalm 112:4

WE ALL WANT THINGS WE DON’T GET.

Maybe it’s a person you’re sure would make a perfect spouse, and the relationship crumbles apart. Maybe it’s a better job or promotion, and you don’t make the cut. Or it might be a goal you poured your time and energy into, and it doesn’t come to pass or others sabotage it all.
All of us have prayed for the recovery of loved ones who were ill, but they died anyway.

It takes real spiritual maturity to stay faithful when things go wrong, but severing our relationship with God punishes us, not him. It’s self-destructive behavior that can put us on the path to a miserable life. The parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) teaches us that God always wants us to come back to him.

Whether your problem is discouragement, illness or aging, sometimes all you have left is Jesus.

When you’re angry and bitter, you can still cling to Jesus in the midst of your tears. You can grab onto him and refuse to let go until he brings you through it. You’ll find, to your surprise that he holds on to you even tighter than you hold on to him.

JESUS UNDERSTANDS SORROW

He knows about being hurt. He remembers the terrible moment on the cross when his Father was forced to abandon him, because he was filthy from taking on our sins. Jesus won’t let you go.

And as you age and start down the path from this life to the next, Jesus will take your hand to guide you. He appreciates all that you have done for him through the years, but what he has always wanted most is your love.

So there you are in the middle of one of life’s train-wrecks-dazed, wounded, wondering what shoe-or bomb-will be dropping next, and up walks Job’s comforters.

We all remember Job from the Bible. A rich, powerful man, a great father and good in every way was Job.

Then, in a series of overlapping upheavals, he lost everything and everybody except his wife-who turned out to be a whole lot less than sympathetic in her changed status.

Battered Job ends up sitting alone on a pile of dirt, scratching his boil-covered body with some broken pottery.

WE CAN IDENTIFY WITH POOR JOB.

Life drags us through some tough times of loss that make us feel every bit like Job. Caught in a vortex of pain, and wondering if we’ll ever make it to safety.

And, boy, do we recognize Job’s so-called friends who showed up to by all accounts offer support and comfort. As they sat with Job in his misery, they took turns playing a self-centered, self-righteous, can-you-top-this game of knowing for certain that every bit of Job ‘s disaster had to be his own fault or a lack of trust in God. They weren’t sure how or why because Job seemed so decent, but deep down, they insisted, he just couldn’t be all he pretended to be.

THIS IS FAMILIAR TERRITORY

You get fired, and friends smirk knowingly when you try to explain the political nature of the event. Your child gets into difficulty-well; you know the kind of comfort you’ll get from friends about that. (It probably started sometime during potty training.)

Yet others try to “help” you with what I call “prayer lecturing.” While praying “for and with you” they let you (and God) know just how lucky you should be to even have running water, had a meal that day and more! Not really comforting in any way, and very very short on compassion.

Yet, from the story, it’s clear that Job was completely innocent.

Dreadful things do happen to completely innocent people, good people.
Because of their opinion of Job’s guilt, history has bestowed his friends- (and their current replicas) – the label, “Job’s comforters.”
So-called friends who add to a suffering person’s anguish by piling on false charges of blame and guilt and harsh reprimand for daring to show sadness or agony.

You may never have met anybody like Job, but you’ve met his comforters on more than one occasion. They seem to be everywhere.

WE CAN CHARGE SOME OF IT OFF TO JEALOUSY

Job had everything a person could dream of wanting-and then some-so jealousy was never more than a stone’s throw away. The green-eyed monster is a little more subtle with people living everyday, typical lives, but jealousy doesn’t need much ground to take root and grow with vigor.

WE DON’T WANT TO ADMIT BAD THINGS MAY HAPPEN TO US!

If bad things happen to people who don’t deserve them, they could happen to anybody, including me. If I don’t want bad things to happen to me, (who does?), I have to persuade myself and everybody around me that the victim’s actions caused the problem. If blame can be assigned, then I’ll be safe as long as I’m good.

In other words, if I can claim that the cause of your problem is something you do that I don’t do, then what happened to you can’t happen to me. There is, of course, no logic to this, but it brings some shaky comfort to frightened hearts.
We see this thinking at work when people stare numbly at adversity and ask, “What did I do to deserve this?” Sometimes the answer is, “nothing.”

HAVE YOU EVER ASKED YOURSELF "WHY ME?"

And it doesn’t have to be bad; you could be excited from something wonderful. Most often then not, I ask myself this after something I am looking forward to goes wrong.

Even at times when something goes wrong I lay awake at night and my thoughts wonder to what previously occurred. I am sure everyone does it at times, wishing for another try or chance.

You may lay awake thinking about your suffering, part of life’s suffering is misery’s shadow persisting/hanging on; not only do you suffer but you have to think about suffering.

I can’t prove this with statistics or find it any book I know of, yet I would say that more people either come to the faith or fall away because of this reason above all; the disturbance of suffering.

YOU SEE GOD USES TIMES OF SUFFERING…

...TO TEACH AND GROW US.

If you allow yourself to recount your sufferings, did you not learn more about faith while suffering then any other time?
 It has been said that; “Blessings are God’s whispers, he speaks in our conscience, but shouts to us in our suffering.”

“O my Comforter in sorrow,

My heart is faint within me.”

Jeremiah 8:18

Suffering becomes the only way to realize our hollow spiritual self. Pain is unmasked, and every person knows when something is not right when they are hurting. Pain insists upon being attended to.

So when you travel down this line of thought you come to the idea, why do I or someone else suffer when others don’t?

I KNOW SUFFERING IS EXHAUSTING AND PAIN HURTS

That is why it is called pain and suffering. If there were an escape a person of great wisdom and insight would have done it already. Yet Discipleship demands such trials to compel us towards renewal.

Read Hebrews 2:10

“God, for whom and through whom everything was made,

chose to bring many children into glory.

And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering,

a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation.”

The real question is what to do when life has just punched us a good one, and Job’s comforters show up at our door.

Nobody says we have to let them in.

And certainly nobody says we have to entertain them.

And, most positively, nobody says we have to believe them.

“For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives,

So also through Christ our comfort overflows.”
2 Corinthians 1:5

We can sort out the who’s-to-blame-for-what after we get some solid ground under our feet and a little energy back into our lives.

But we still won’t want Job’s comforters anywhere around us…

...We will want people who care.

"Compassion"

To me not to be kind
 is evil of the mind.

No need to pray or preach,

Let us our children teach
 with every fond caress,

Pity and gentleness:

So in the end may we
God’s Kingdom cause to be.

Author - R.W. Service

Duplication and sharing of this message is welcomed provided that complete article, podcast link and website information for Mary Lindow is included. 

Thank You Copyright © 2021 " THE MESSENGER "

Your Gracious Support and Donations Are So Very Helpful And Assist Mary In Publishing Her Teaching Podcasts and Blog Materials.

THANK YOU!

Please go to PAYPAL to donate 

or support this ministry; 

Donate to the tax deductible ministry name of: 

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UTTERLY HOPELESS UPSIDE DOWN WORLD?

F E A R   IS   A   L I A R !   HOPE IS A FORTRESS!

Mary Lindow

DO YOU FEEL AS IF THINGS ARE UTTERLY HOPELESS

AND COMPLETELY UPSIDE DOWN RIGHT NOW?

Maybe you have you been in that scary place before. Most people, if they are being transparent and honest will admit to times of experiencing hopelessness and feeling alone and afraid.

Friend.

You aren’t without hope,

You aren’t hopeless,

But you ARE helpless!

God has allowed this time and position of helplessness and complete dependency on Him, and you are helpless to help yourself.

We struggle to gain back some measure of control over our lives when this pressure is upon us, but our personal pride (that we didn’t even know that we had) is being crushed, and the only thing for us to do is to surrender!

NOW YOU MAY FEEL HOPELESS, BUT REALLY…

…IT’S THE CONDITION OF HELPLESSNESS THAT IS CAUSING YOU PAIN.

God wants you completely dependent on Him, and He will keep you a “prisoner of hope” until you are.

OH HOW WEARY YOU ARE OF THE AWFUL REFINER’S FLAME AND THAT SEEMINGLY ENDLESS TWEAKING OF YOUR ATTITUDE!

“Okay, God, you can stop now!" you scream.

But He doesn't stop.

You're caught in a prison of hope and He will not let you out until He is finished with what He began in you.

There are times during the process of pursuing heartfelt dreams and callings in life that you might feel that your "hope" seems to have been locked up in a prison. You can't seem to make your dreams come true, and yet, you find it impossible to stop believing in them!

YOU CAN'T GO FORWARD ANY FASTER THAN GOD WILL LET YOU,

and yet, you sure don't want to return to where you once were before you were overshadowed and given a "life vision" with a promise from God!

GOD JUST WILL NOT LET YOU GIVE UP!

During this time you might feel like saying,

"Okay God, this is enough! I don't want to hope anymore!

I am tired of being like an egg in an incubator with this promise!

I want out of this prison of hope!"

IT'S DURING THIS TIME THAT YOUR DREAMS FEEL SO VERY REAL TO YOU,

YET TO OTHERS THEY DON'T!

There is a big conflict between what you discern in the Spirit and what appears to be moving so slowly in the natural, and that grates at our souls!

We feel like we are on a Ferris wheel.

You have your “up times” when you can see your dream's fulfillment far into the future, but you also have your “down times” when you can't see anything and everything seems to have crashed into a messy heap.

YOU THINK TO YOURSELF,

“AM I CRAZY TO THINK THAT GOD COULD USE ME? NOW?

IN THIS TIME?"

The enemy comes in like a rushing flood and you begin to doubt, causing anguish to your soul.

THIS IS THE TIME WHEN GOD IS DOING HIS GREATEST WORK IN YOU!

This is when the refining process REALLY hurts, because He is getting down to the very core of your soul, to the deep regions of your heart.

HE IS DEVELOPING THINGS IN YOU

THAT YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT YOU LACKED.

THINGS THAT YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT YOU NEEDED.

You think, "Okey Dokey God, this is deep enough!"

But, every builder knows you must dig down deep to lay a proper foundation first, before you start to build upward. And the greater the height of the structure, the deeper the foundation must be.

YOUR FORTRESS OR PLACE OF REFUGE IS TRUSTING IN A LOVING GOD.

Trusting Him in spite of all the reasoning of your mind, in spite of the circumstances that surround you.

YOU WERE CONTENT TO GIVE GOD CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE UNTIL HE DECIDED TO DO SOMETHING WITH YOUR LIFE, YOU DIDN’T LIKE.

You were happy to surrender all to Him, until He decided to give your promotion to someone else.

You believe in His sovereignty, until His sovereign will conflicts with, your will.

Then you are sure He has made a mistake!

You want to run from Him, but He is your refuge.

How do you run from your refuge? How do you run from the only one who really loves you or understands you?

The answer is . . . you don't.

SO, RETURN, MY FRIEND, TO YOUR FORTRESS,

AND REMAIN A PRISONER UNTIL HE IS DONE WITH YOU - UNTIL HE DECIDES THAT YOU ARE READY FOR ALL THAT HE HAS FOR YOU.

Zechariah 9:12 says,

“Return to your fortress! Yes!

You prisoners who have hope!

Today I declare that I will return double what has been taken from you."

PROPHETIC WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT

The Spirit of God says,

“Even now I announce to you that not only will I restore to you all that has been taken from you, but I will give you double for all the trouble you have endured."

He says, "Don't stop now . . .

…Keep trusting me, because I can see your future and it is very blessed.

Keep walking with me and keep trusting in me and I will give you rest."

“Come to me all who are weary and burdened,

And I will give you rest." -Matthew 11:28

Duplication and sharing of this message is welcomed as long as the complete message, podcast location and website information for Mary Lindow is included.


Thank You!

Copyright © 2021

"THE MESSENGER " ~ Mary Lindow


www.marylindow.podbean.com

  www.marylindow.com

www.globalprayerrooms.com

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I HAVE AN UNUSUAL STIRRING IN MY SPIRIT FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT AS I WRITE THIS MESSAGE.

The Lord is revealing a sound in the earth coming from the hearts and deep cries of so many of His people right now. 

By Mary Lindow

I HAVE AN UNUSUAL STIRRING IN MY SPIRIT FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT AS I WRITE THIS MESSAGE.

The Lord is revealing a sound in the earth coming from the hearts and deep cries of so many of His people right now.  Perhaps it might even be yours as you read. There is a cry of hunger for His sure, safe presence in difficult times and in changing times.

A NEED FOR “QUIET”

The world and it's voices of influence, humanistic subtleties, and constant technology and it's sounds bring about an overload of weariness to all people, and there is a greater need for a place of rest for the warriors of truth who are very aware of the pressures that have not stopped mounting for many years now.  

THERE IS MUCH TREACHERY OCCURRING IN THE EVIL PLANS OF DARKNESS AND THE PEOPLE HELD CAPTIVE BY IT THESE DAYS!

It can bring a real sense of despair, broken-heartedness and shock when you encounter this type of thing and when it attempts to destroy your hope and confidence in what the Lord Jesus has set you apart for to express in His Power and in His name.

WHY OH WHY ALL THE DELAYS?

I don't know fully why it seems as if good people who are sincere and pure hearted seem to go through more persecution and repeated difficulty than those who seem to be the ones perpetuating the majority of it!!

SO MANY RIGHT NOW ARE NEARLY AT THEIR WITS END WAITING FOR GOD TO RELIEVE THEM OF SORROW, DISILLUSIONMENT AND BATTLE FATIGUE!

“My soul faints with longing for your rescue,

But I have put my hope in your word.”

Psalm 119:81

FEAR NOT! THE ENCOURAGER HEARS YOU!

“You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted;

You encourage them, and you listen to their cry.”

Psalm 10:17

WHAT IS THIS VERSE SAYING TO YOU AND I RIGHT NOW?

It is saying that the Lord Himself will encourage us!

That is why we must continue to fight for that place of Divine “refuge!”

That “get away from it all” place of craving and longing for His comfort.

He knows our hurt, our loneliness, our scorched and heart torn issues! He understands how agonizing and bled out we can get when it seems as if battle after battle we begin to wonder if something might be wrong with us!

“Hope delayed makes the heart sick,

But when dreams come true, there is life and joy.”

Proverbs 13:12 (NAT)

NOTHING CAN SATISFY DRY LIPS LIKE WATER!

We are in a time where no persons opinions, no one’s books, no one’s TV shows are going to satisfy that craving, that need for a thirst quenching drink of companionship with God.

We long to hear words from someone that tell us everything is going to be all right! That our children will be safe, our homes protected, our basic needs provided! And yet! Nothing “out there” satisfies us fully!

YOU SEE DEAR BELOVED ONE… 

…The season of great hunger for the simple walk with Jesus has blossomed!

Only time spent with him like a dear, dear friend will fill the gaping ache you have.  He will speak, He will comfort and He will show you what is true and what is false in the days ahead if you will return to that PLACE of companionship with Him. Away from the opinions of men and the noise of this life. 

“Every word you give me is a miracle word-how could I help but obey? Break open your words, let the light shine out, and let ordinary people see the meaning.

Mouth open and panting, I wanted your commands more than anything.

Turn my way, look kindly on me, as you always do to those who personally love you.”

Psalm 119:129-131 (The Message)

~ A PROPHETIC WHISPER TO YOUR HEART FROM THE SAVIOR ~

“ To know of my ways, you must know ME!

To Know Me, you must spend time with ME.

To spend time with Me, you must purpose, to put aside the lists of things you have to do, before you can spend time with Me.”

“Order you days first in My Presence, and watch the desires of your heart be fulfilled.  Man and his counsel will always fall short of the full truth of My Wisdom. I have blueprints and a Master plan for so many things yet to build upon in your life.” 

“Come. Let us talk again together.”

“You are the temple, the house of My Holy Spirit. I desire to build you up in spiritual strength as you walk in prayer conversations with me. “I will fulfill your longing for peace and direction as you step up again into a heavenly trust and rest.”

“People will change, man will fail you, friends will turn, if they are not seeking My Voice above the clamor of the day. And you My child will fail others, if you listen to your own voice of reason and intelligence.  As you turn to Me, you will see My compassion poured out upon you and you will then have My power of pure godly compassion and Wisdom driven grace to pour out on others.”

“I too, long for you as well!  Seek Me-with all of your heart, your longings, your heartaches, your dreams. And I will be there with arms of strength to rescue you from Despair.”

“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

-Jeremiah 29:13

“The LORD is good to those, whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him.”

-Lamentations 3:25

Duplication and sharing of this message is welcomed as long as the complete message, podcast location and website information

for Mary Lindow is included.


Thank You!

Copyright © 2021

"THE MESSENGER " ~ Mary Lindow


www.marylindow.podbean.com

  www.marylindow.com

www.globalprayerrooms.com

Do you or a loved one need prayer?

There are faithful intercessors around the world who are
ready and who are prepared to pray for you.

 Please send your Requests to:

GlobalPrayerRooms@protonmail.com

If you have been impressed by the Holy Spirit bless Mary by helping her to meet other administrative needs such as web site and podcast costs, 
or desire to bless her service with Spirit-led Love gifts or regular support:  

Please JOYFULLY send your gift in the form of: 

 Personal Checks

 Business Checks

 Money Orders

 Cashiers Checks 

To: His Beloved Ministries Inc. 
PO Box 1253
Denver  Colorado 80614
USA

Or feel free to use our send a tax deductible gift with 

Pay Pal   paypal.me/mlindow

Under the name of - His Beloved Ministries Inc.

ALL gifts are tax deductible under
His Beloved Ministries 5013c non-profit status.

We are financially accountable and have been in full compliance since 1985 with Clergy Financial Advantage.

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The World is in an absolute Turmoil!! Lives are in shattered grief! 

Sound familiar?

By Mary Lindow

MY HUSBAND STEVE AND I HAVE MORE OFTEN AS OF LATE HAD SUCH A STIRRING AND AN ACHING IN OUR HEARTS.

We've had a need, to talk over and deeply ponder many “questions of the heart” and have spent hours in dialog then crying out in messy prayers to the Father, shedding many tears, much of them in unintelligible sobs and choked out words.

The World is in an absolute Turmoil!! Lives are in shattered grief!

Sound familiar?

WE’VE WEPT AND PRAYED...

...For those who are forever stirring up and demanding others to “push, to give, sacrifice” —serve "me", do for "ME", give more at the job! And yet, many of these individuals who push others so terribly hard, hide internal rage and insecurities, not heeding the warnings about their own home life and poor social practices, nor dealing with the seething anger and strife boiling within their souls.  And, all too often they project shame onto others, bullying them, then demand respect regardless of what needs to be addressed in their own behaviors.

THIS IS WHERE TRAVAILING PRAYER COMES IN.

Where you "gut it out with God", standing before Him in what is called supplication.

Or, in more clear words, it's an appeal, a request for help.

"HELP OH GOD! HELP! Only YOU can address this person, this situation"!

OH THE TONGUE! IT IS A FIRE!

The tongue represents the world of wrongdoing among the parts of our bodies.

It pollutes the entire body and sets fire to the course of human existence

-- And it is set on fire by hell.

-James 3:6

Steve's and my little piece of trying to warn about and address these things as we minister in various places and gatherings, and also meeting people for ministry advice, comfort in child rearing in a nasty digital age, and in pastoral counseling, well, we are seeing a massive escalation of many families fighting (young and old).

A STEADY STREAM OF PEOPLE RESISTING THE TAKING OF “HUMBLE STEPS” towards the change that would spare others deep wounds.

We are also learning to be even more careful about our own words.

WE LIVE IN A WORLD THAT IS PASSING AWAY.

Every day this occurs and it edges us closer to the time of choosing whom we serve....

...Not whom we "casually have knowledge of" or a limited commitment to.

I’M EVER SO AWARE OF THE NEED TO LIVE, LIMP, TO EXSIST,

EACH MOMENT OF THE DAY IN "THE PRESENCE",

IN FULL EXPOSURE TO THE PROBING EYE AND HEART OF GOD.

I WHISPER REPEATEDLY,

“Have your way Father.

Have your freedom to do your work in me.

Have your way.”

ARE YOU BEING DRAWN INTO A PLACE OF DESPERATE ABANDON TO SEPARATE YOURSELF AND RE-EXAMINE THE PATH UP AHEAD?

Friend, yield to the tears, the examination and probing of your heart, and speak out to the Father about all of it.

ALL OF IT.

THESE ARE THE DAYS WHERE YOU AND I CAN “CHOOSE.”

Chose to grow, move forward, and live simpler and choose to travel along narrower paths.

OR

Draw back and remain dull, returning to the familiar and comfortable settings where WE “choose” to steer the course of our hearts.

There’s no humility there friend.

None.

Just self-protection, empty of any real mature, repentance.

WHEN THIS HAPPENS, RELATIONSHIPS DRASTICALLY CHANGE.

People go into hiding, isolation, numb living, compartmentalization, and they “shut out” help.

CHOOSE THE WAY WHERE "PEACE LEADS YOU".

Even when torrents of tears and unanswered longings are prevalent.

Keep letting go of “fears within and fears without” until your stride is firm and has consistent sweet conversation with the one called alongside to help.

THE VERY HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD IS A WONDERFUL TRAVELING COMPANION!

The heavy judgments of those who rarely risk authenticity and carefully orchestrate their control over what they allow to penetrate past their insecurities and pride, are fully engaged in denial and can absolutely be ruthless and punishing.

Let them be surrendered to God my friends.

Hand the entire setting over to Him and then, go about the humble work of digging new wells for those who value the effort that it takes. They will so appreciate the cool cup of water that you serve them in the loving name of our Redeemer Jesus.

Samuel Chadwick was a deep man of prayer, and learned how to not only stay "in it", but was know for "sticking to it".

He said:

"There is no way of learning to pray but by praying.

No reasoned philosophy of prayer ever taught a soul to pray.

We know not what we should pray for as we ought ot, and if prayer waits for understanding it will never begin.

We discover by using. We learn by practice.

Though a man should have all knowledge about prayer, and though he should understand all mysteries about prayer, unless he prays he will never learn to pray."

JESUS HIMSELF GAVE US A KEY MESSAGE ABOUT THIS!

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to walk alongside with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” - John 14:16-17

OH DEAR ACHING HEARTS!

PRAYER! Let's stay at it! Stay in it!

Let's Stay in it until we are saturated in His Peace, His Presence and His Strength to Stand in Courage, and then...

...To Continue!

Duplication and sharing of this message is welcomed provided that complete source and website and podcast information for Mary Lindow is included.

Thank you!

The Messenger " ~ Mary Lindow

Copyright  ©2021

www.marylindow.com

www.globalprayerrooms.com

www. marylindow.podbean.com

Do you or a loved one need prayer?

There are faithful intercessors around the world who are
ready and who are prepared to pray for you.

Please send your Requests to:

www.globalprayerrooms.com

If you have been impressed by the Holy Spirit to assist and bless the needs that Mary has, helping her to meet other administrative needs such as web site and podcast costs, or desire to bless her service with Spirit-led Love gifts or regular support:

Please JOYFULLY send your gift in the form of:

► Personal Checks

► Business Checks

► Money Orders

► Cashiers Checks

To: His Beloved Ministries Inc. 
PO Box 1253
Denver  Colorado 80614
USA

Or feel free to use our send a tax deductible gift with

Pay Pal   paypal.me/mlindow

Under the name of - His Beloved Ministries Inc.

ALL gifts are tax deductible under
His Beloved Ministries 5013c non-profit status.

We are financially accountable and have been in full compliance

since 1985 with Clergy Financial Advantage.

Read Full Post »

By Mary Lindow through the Holy Spirit

If you ask the true "heart determined" believers in Christ today just what it is that they need now more than ever, it would be totally answered by the very raw words;

“I am in a state of real Desperation For God's Help!”

HERE IS THE SPIRITUAL INSIGHT THAT THE LORD WOULD HAVE ME SHARE WITH YOU.

In the past few years many have seemingly "gotten" all that they thought they wanted. Lots of new stuff, bigger houses, hefty stock increases, and for some, that "greatly awaited moment" of climbing the mountain to the top of the heap to be "up there with the big dogs." Their inner thoughts exclaimed, "I am now someone that folks finally appreciate and take notice of!"

AND NOW... SUDDENLY!
THE BOTTOM HAS FALLEN OUT OF MANY OF THESE EXCITING MOMENTS!

Friends are scattering, you struggle to get your bearings. Telephones and emails and fax machines fall silent. NOBODY wants to identify with YOUR pain or loss. It just MIGHT rub off on them! Or better yet, it might even expose their slippery slope at the moment!

WE ARE IN THE HOTTEST REFINERS FIRE TO DATE!

People are winding up in anger, disbelief and frustration over this "unfair" season the Bride of Christ is in! It just isn't fair! We have been so good! We have laid down everything! 

Read Full Post »

By Reverend Mary Lindow

HELLO DEAR CHILD OF GOD,

TONIGHT AFTER SPENDING THE EVENING WITH A VERY DEAR FRIEND IN FELLOWSHIP, COUNSEL, AND A TIME OF HEARTFELT PRAYER, I WAS PROMPTED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT TO WRITE AND ENCOURAGE MYSELF WITH THIS MESSAGE! AS I DID, I WAS ALSO MOVED BY THE LORD TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU AS WELL! 

MAY HE “IMPRINT” UPON OUR HEARTS THE MESSAGE OF HOPE, HELP AND THE CLARITY OF THE MIND OF CHRIST, IN SUCH DIFFICULT TIMES OF TRANSITION AND MATURING IN HIM!

SACRIFICIAL THANK OFFERINGS!

He who sacrifices thank-offerings, Honors me, And he prepares the way, 

So that I may show him the salvation of God

Psalm 50:23

The soul part of our human make-up will never really fully understand what the Spirit of God can easily explain to those who know the intimate and true heart of the Father.

When the tiring and crushing difficulties in life occur, people often run to the massage therapist, the chamomile tea and so on, in order to obtain a calmness and sense of “sane rest” to help them unload anxiety, heartache or fear.

But here in the verse above, the Lord so clearly shows us something that actually prepares the way, a pathway for our deliverance from all of the crushing blows life on planet earth can bring! 

He tells us that if we offer up to Him in the times when we are feeling parched, weary, and just plain scared, - “sacrifices of thankfulness,”  - these words choked out through hot tears and anguish, do something to honor God in a way that actually “prepares the way” for the Dear King of Heaven to use as a path or portal to bring us much needed relief, freedom and deliverance!

HAVE YOU EVEN BEEN IN PLACE WHERE EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE IMPOSSIBLE?

(Many of you are there now) - and you have cried yourself to sleep begging God for help and mercy. It is then when you will truly understand why it is a sacrificial offering to God to begin to praise Him, thank him, for what is unseen and needed!

The Mercy of God is much deeper and more mature and rich than any mercy man tries to administer.  Sometimes it’s a “mercy” to just not receive it from men! (Joke!)

I HEAR THE HOLY SPIRIT BRINGING A CLEAR WORD OF COMFORT AND HELP, to His people who have ears to hear what He is saying to them. Those that are determined to follow the voice of the Good Shepherd and not strange voices.

"And a stranger they will not follow, But will flee from him:

For they know not the voice of strangers."  -John 10:5

"Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down,

But a good word makes it glad." -Proverbs 12:25

SACRIFICIAL THANKS IS AN OFFERING?

Look at what the word Sacrifice means!

Giving up of something valued:

A giving up of something valuable or important for somebody or something else considered to be of more value or importance. Something valuable or important given up as a sacrifice

Now let’s look at what Offering means.

: To present something as an act of worship

: Something offered as a sacrifice to a deity

 To declare one's readiness or willingness

 To utter (as a prayer) in devotion

THERE IS A POWER THAT WORKS IN THE SUPERNATURAL REALM of a man or woman’s heart and the Heart of God that only the act of worshipping, cried out in agonizing surrender and yielding, that tears away the veil of darkness holding back the Fair Face of Heaven.

JESUS HIMSELF CRIED OUT IN SACRIFICIAL OFFERING.

"Not My Will, but Your will be done," and this opened a pathway for the Salvation of our souls forever!

Oh Dear Pilgrim and anxious child of God! Don’t listen to all of the heavy-handed advice of men when the anguish is so deep and the loneliness tries to consume you with the fear of abandonment! 

THE LORD IS SHOWING US A PATHWAY TO A GREATER STRENGTH AND MIGHT IN HIM. 

 Shouting at God isn’t going to bring a cure or answer to your aching need. He can certainly handle us shouting at Him for He is a Father who understands human frailty! But oh! When we begin to lift up our weary hearts and hands to God and begin to thank Him sacrificially, willingly, telling Him how only He can be the Redeemer of our situations, our hurts, our betrayals, our abandonment…something of a "Dynamic release" beings to occur in the realm of God that man will only fully comprehend when he finally and eternally arrives in the Home of Heaven.

NO! IT IS NOT EASY TO DO! 

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, 

It produces a harvest of righteousness and peace, 

For those who have been trained by it.

Therefore, lift up those arms than are hanging down,  Your feeble arms and weak knees! Make level paths for your feet,  So that the lame may not be disabled,  But rather be healed.”      

 Hebrews 12:11-13 

OUR FLESH CANNOT "REASON OUT" HOW THIS WOULD DO ANY GOOD IN OUR PRESENT DISTRESS! 

 We want to do something, go somewhere, help the situation, pace the floor...make a phone call!

 But Heaven is calling. 

Hear what that Divine communication is saying to us!

"Sacrifice offerings to God! Fulfill your promise to the Most High!

Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you,

And you will honor Me." -Psalm 50:14-15 

WE MUST FULFILL OUR PROMISE TO GOD!

 Did you see that? Our promise to serve Him, to love Him, to think of ourselves as obedient children, who heed his voice quickly and remain honest in a corrupt and frenzied world!

He tells us to call upon Him.  Call Him...in the day of trouble! He says He will deliver us.

THAT'S WHERE IT GETS TOUGH!!

We ask in pain, "WHEN? HOW? IT SEEMS SO IMPOSSIBLE!"

Well…it is impossible. We will all too quickly find out that we are not "Superman or Wonder Woman!" 

All of our gifts, talents, wit and braininess can’t deliver us! 

But. Through simple loving, surrendered in sacrificial offerings of thanks to the Master for the joy of being one of His very own, He brings a way of relief and… Release.

WHAT TO DO?

Although we are not to be totally ignorant of what is occurring around us and live in hermit mentalities, the Lord does have a greater plan and focus for us during such tough times.

You and I as children of God will never really feel at home here on planet earth.

We have been Divinely implanted with a homing device deep in our spirits that longs for the Home of Heaven. No more tears, no more night, no more longing to fully belong! We have been walking a pathway of preparation, each of us in different stages of our lives, to transition from this decaying world and body into a heavenly place of resurrection and eternal abundant life.

PRESCRIPTION FOR LIBERATION

It will take repeated “doses” of Sacrificial Thank Offerings unto God, 50 times a day if needed, until the rest and mind-clearing presence of God holds you in the Shadow of the Wing of Safety.

You see dear one, It is the total cure for us! His Peace passes all understanding. And can rule and reign in our hearts, even when the storm is chewing the shutters and shingles off of your house! 

WE ARE BEING TRAINED TO TRUST Like never before!

The Father can speak to a boss, a teacher, a doctor, and a tyrant and bring them to a place of peace with you and, a place of favor in the swift blink of a moment in time.

He can move on the hearts of others with such raw compassion that they are compelled by Him to come alongside you and share what they have in prayer, comfort, monetary relief, and counsel, (which by the way…is also often done as a thank offering, offered sacrificially up to the Lord.)

WE MUST START RELINQUISHING OUR JUDGMENTS AND OPINIONS ABOUT THE STRAINS OTHERS ARE UNDER, As well as our presumptions that we “know” what they need or what we project that God wants to do in their lives, and instead, begin to offer up...  sacrificially. 

Offering up unto God in Thanks for their deliverance…where we again… prepare the way for God to manifest something of magnificent proportions in our own place of need!

A SAFE HAVEN

"For You have been a safe haven, and a place of safety for me,  A solid tower against the adversary." -Psalm 61:3

The Spirit of the Lord is calling out to His People in this very, very, serious and crucial moment, to allow Him to bring us to a place of learning what kind of sacrifice pleases Him and bring the Anointing grace of deliverance to our lives, cities and nations. 

The Lord is calling out to you and I!

“Come to Me! Run to Me! I know that you are heavily burdened by all of the concentrated pressures mounting around you.

A DWELLING PLACE OF DIVINE REST AND PROTECTION.

 It will require you laying down the things that so easily set you off and get you weighed down with concern and anxiety. 

Casting the whole of your cares. All your anxieties. All your worries. All your concerns.

Once and for all on Him. 

For He cares for you affectionately, and cares about you watchfully.  -1 Peter 5:7

THE LORD URGES  - "COME INTO A LIFE OF SIMPLICITY."

"Come together into the shadow of My Wings for I AM the Shelter and Refuge for the child that heeds My voice and runs to Me, abandoning self made plans for protection and self-preservation.

I AM your Armor, I AM your Defense.

But you must come with no agenda in your heart or strategy on your lips. You come to the Resting Place of Safety from the Storm to WAIT, Ponder, Rest and rethink your Life call.”

THE NEED FOR DIRECTIONAL ADJUSTMENT

We are in much need of a directional adjustment as believers right now as the world turns itself upside down with malice, dictatorships, and political posturing. We need to be certain that nothing of the world and its behaviors are hidden in our own hearts. We must hear that Vigorous pulling voice of the Holy Spirit, and obey it without turning left or right.

"So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you;

Do not turn aside to the right or to the left." -Deuteronomy 5:32

FAITHFUL SECURITY. When we walk in the way of surrender and tenderness with our ears attuned to the still small voice of God, we actually walk in the Overshadowing Security of the Presence of God. Training our spiritual ears to hear the voice of the Father is a lifetime guarantee of knowing that when storms or troubles arise, there is a promise for direction to a place of Divine Protection whenever needed.

"Therefore my heart is glad, And my tongue rejoices; My body also will rest secure."

-Psalm 16:9

HAVE A REST CHILD OF GOD. It is the hardest thing the mind and body to do! Learning to rest when the world is screaming at a fevered pitch, "WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NOW”  is a hard learned yet reachable discipline if we will lean into it and ask for God’s help.

Hear the Voice of God calling you to enter into His rest. 

It is a place of pleasant simplicity and uncluttered doctrine. 

His Presence silences all of the noise of the day and noise of the Head.

HIS PRESENCE - HIS SHELTER, IS A PLACE OF SAFETY FOR THE WEARY

Dear Child of God! There is no criticism or shame there.

It is a restful place of learning and a place to lift up to him the heavy weight of sorrow and to take up an easy yoke and light cargo.

Let’s Pause. Right now...

...And let's begin to offer a sacrifice of thanks to the Lord together. 

It is just as if the smell of a fresh bouquet of flowers has released it’s perfumed fragrance into the room we are sitting in and floats up to the heart and face of God.

He breathes these offerings of ours into His Great heart and sees the portal being formed by these offerings where in He can reach down to our pain-filled hearts and give us hope, healing and miraculous direction and freedom form all forms of bondage.

Duplication and sharing of this message is welcomed provided that complete article, podcast  and website information for  Mary Lindow is included.

 Thank You! Copyright © 2020 " THE MESSENGER " ~ Mary Lindow

www.marylindow.com

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By Mary Lindow through the Holy Spirit

If you would ask the true "heart determined" believer in Christ today just what it is that they need now more than ever, it would be totally answered by the very raw words;

“I am need to have full clarity of mind and a fearless trust in the knowledge of how much God loves me.”

WE ARE IN ONE HOT REFINERS FIRE!

People are winding up in anger, disbelief and frustration over this "Unfair" season the Bride of Christ is in! It just isn't fair! We have been so good! We have laid down everything!

Why oh why are WE being singled out?

“I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched;

My eyes fail while I wait for my God.”

~ Psalm. 69:3

“ I am weary with my sighing; every night I make my bed swim,

I dissolve my couch with my tears.

~ Psalm. 6:6

Does this sound like you right now?

EVERYONE IS GOING TO BE TESTED SOMETIME!

The strongest impression I have received from the Father about the condition of His Bride is this. When things are going "fabulously" for her, when all of heaven is blessing, she wants to keep it that way! If she is not in a place of great humility and thankfulness for what the Lord is doing, she tends to assume that, “It’s about time folks knew just how long I've been waiting for them to see just how great this church, or ministry or intellectual skill I've been soooo blessed with is!”

Then comes the attitude that we have to keep it allotted to only a few “real winners” like ourselves, and we become exclusive and look for only high rollers to run with.

And then. AGAIN comes the TEST.

Persecution comes, mug slinging, attacks on personal integrity, character assassination, and again the fiery trial.........of our soul.

TO REMOVE IMPURITIES - GOD USES A HOT OVEN!

These trials as if by fire are only to test our faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold-- and our faith is far more precious to God than mere gold.

“So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” ~ I Peter chapter 1: 7

HOW ARE YOU DOING?

The Lord is working the Bride overtime right now to deal with selfish ambition, personal comfort, and any other areas of personal agenda or presumption.

YES! Presumption.

We as Christians have often presumed that because we are Christians…

…we should never experience severe sorrow, grief, loss, or devastation.

This “fairy tale” stems from a huge level of denial and total self focus. It is also a very Western culture mindset.

A dear friend of mine who went to China and who was visiting a Chinese underground church group, had a reality check that shook her to the core of her faith.

She thought that she was coming to this group to “help and bless them.”

When they asked her what could they pray for the church in American about in order to bless them she was flummoxed! Her reply was, “We came to see how we might help you! ” How can we pray for you?”

The response back was, “Pray that we would not be fearful or silent about the gospel of Jesus we share when the authorities beat us or imprison us. Pray that we remain strong enough physically to endure the persecution we receive and not fear what man may do to us.”

SOBERING ISN’T IT!

When others around us are going through loss, trauma, or heart breaking circumstances, sadly, many believers turn away in disgust or even more disturbing, display an arrogant attitude of thinking they are more blessed by God because their lives are not so complex or “shattered” as those around them who must have done SOMETHING wrong to bring these things upon themselves.

Regrettably, some of the pain some saints are experiencing is due to the disobedience of those in the Body of Christ around them! They resist the hand of God and react against others in retaliation toward God bringing correction or exposure to their secret lifestyle of personal gain or need for power!

WE ARE NOT ALONE!

“For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners

against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart.”

Heb. 12:3

Admit it! It is hard to not lose heart right now!

The world is in a tailspin and lukewarm Christians are showing their true colors! It's time to deal with this! It is NOT going to go away!

AGONY IS MORE SEVERE WHEN IT IS "ENHANCED" BY BETRAYAL!

Jesus went through it. Stephen went through it and so did hundreds of others! AND it hurts, and disillusions, and causes us to be so very very weary!

“You will be delivered up and betrayed even by parents and

brothers and relatives and friends, and [some] of you they will

put to death.

Luke 21:16

THE TRANSFORMATION FROM FRAGILE …

…TO FERVENT IS COMING!

“When?” You may ask…..

For my determined purpose is that I may know Him. That I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly, and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection which it exerts over believers, and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed in spirit into His likeness even to His death, in the hope…

… That if possible I may attain to the spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead even while in the body.

Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.

I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do, it is my one aspiration, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the supreme and heavenly prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.

_Philippians 3:10-14 (Amplified Bible)

HERE ARE A FEW THINGS THE LORD WOULD REQUIRE:

1.) To gain HIS strength, we must relinquish our power or control

over what we think of others. We will be judged by the way we

judge others when they struggle. Pious and lofty lectures are not

the Kingdom language of healing and restoration. Loving-

kindness and Mercy reveal the heart of godly maturity in a

believer when dealing with the sorrows and anguish of others.

“Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day,

Or like vinegar poured on soda, is one who sings songs

To a heavy heart.”

Proverbs 25:20

2.) Reach out in kindness to those under fire.

Encourage them to stand. Encourage them to seek the Lord.

Bless them and don't talk about them when they struggle!

"The Lord God has given me the tongue of disciples,

That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word.

He awakens me morning by morning,

He awakens my ear to listen as a disciple."

Isaiah 50:4 3

3.) Get still. Stop organizing, planning, and pushing ahead into

oblivion! God really does have a plan!

“Though youths grow weary and tired,

And vigorous young men stumble badly,

Yet those who wait for the Lord, Will gain new strength;

They will mount up with wings like eagles,

They will run and not get tired,

They will walk and not become cynical. “

Is. 40:30 -31

4.) TRUST FOR A MOMENT!

It's all about trusting God in the end. Oh yes it is!

Will He REALLY refresh us in this time of struggle?

His Loving Word says so.

“For I satisfy the weary ones,

And refresh everyone who languishes."

Jer. 31:25 5

THE LORD IS PRODUCING ENDURANCE WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT!

“Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial;

For once he has been approved,

He will receive the crown of life,

Which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

James 1:12

THE FATHER IS URGING US TO RUN TO HIM.

He is there! Even in the fog of struggle, loss, anxiety, and also in seeming success.

He wants us to be desperate for Him and rely wholly on His voice.

To make all of our decisions based on His plan for the whole earth!

Seek Him.

Lean into His Voice.

Elevate Grace and Mercy…

…And lower your own opinion of yourself and your abilities to

“lecture” others into healing or restoration.

WALK SOBERLY IF YOU ARE LIVING IN ABUNDANCE AT THIS TIME, ON ANY LEVEL.

Keep the vigil of prayer you are keeping for others well lit by the reflecting memories of past times when you yourself needed the Merciful Hand of God to lift you from agony and redeem your life from the pit.

Let us be so devoted to the “One” who lavished and spilled out all He had, that we might repeat His actions, and in so doing, bring His Glory to it’s fullest measure and depth.

His Mercy….

…Endures.

Forever.

“Then will the lame leap like a deer,  And the mute tongue shout for joy.

Water will gush forth in the wilderness,  And streams in the desert.”

Isaiah 35:6

*****************************************

Duplication and sharing of this writing is welcomed provided that complete source, podcast and website information for Mary Lindow is included.

Thank You

Copyright © 2019 " THE MESSENGER " ~ Mary Lindow

www.marylindow.com

www.globalprayerrooms.com

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By Mary Lindow

Beloved. 

The Lord has prepared us for this season. 

He wants us to focus on the path ahead of us. 

The refining is painful but brings correction and is beautiful at the end.

Psalm 16: 11 says
You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 17:3
You have tried my heart;
You have visited me by night;
You have tested me and You find nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.

THE LORD WANTS US TO KNEEL
...Before him in repentance, for it rids us of our self-focus. Light comes when we are delivered from ourselves!

Psalm 36:9
For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light

THE LORD WANTS US TO PAY ATTENTION
...To our “eye gates.” What we look at.
Our hearts need to be locked into His gates.
He says, “Look to me!”
And His arms are the gates that are holding us.

Psalm 118 Vs 19
Open for me the gates of righteousness;
I will enter and give thanks to the LORD


HE WANTS US TO STAY IN THE INNER COURT
...And minister Him. He is wanting us to get to “Ground Zero.”
Go into it and let all things of the flesh melt.

Psalm 101:6
My eyes shall [look with favor]
upon the faithful of the land,
that they may dwell with me;
He/she who walks blamelessly,
He/she shall minister to me.

HE WANTS US TO BE DELIVERED
...From disappointments or the feeling of being unworthy

Psalm 34:4
I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
He delivered me from all my fears.

You see, it is fear that holds us back and fear that causes us to to feel paralyzed or paranoid and so we are not able to move ahead in:

Wisdom
Advancement
and
Reconciliation.

THE LORD IS CALLING US OUT TO RISK.
He will not fail us!
He will not cause us to stumble, but He will cause us to grow and mature into the saint that will cause people out in the world to want to listen to what we have to share.

If we act ashamed of the Gospel and we act religious, then people are not interested in what we have to say. Whatever “fresh thing” we think that we are bringing.

But when we have the sweet presence of God flowing out of our lives, when we have His grace and abundance, and mercy and kindness is expressed in actions and deeds of tremendous forgiveness, then the world is drawn to something tender and sweet. And it answers the hollowness of their own lives.

THE LORD WANTS US TO BE RESTING
...And praying.

He is using His “holy sandpaper” to get down to the beauty of the true wood in our lives.

Psalm 62:1
My soul finds rest in God alone;
My salvation comes from him.

Psalm 62: 5
Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
My hope comes from him.

Dear Child of God.
I encourage you to understand that the pressure that you are under or perhaps even the sorrow or suffering that seems so unbearable, is not something that you need to consider as a punishment from the Lord.

It is He, driving us into a place where we are dependent upon Him only.
He allows the sorrows in order for us to find out just how weak we are in our own abilities, and how strong He is to deliver us.

I encourage you today to move into today what is known as WAR.

Wisdom

Knowing just what really is the Wisdom of God.
To seek it out and find it.

Advancement

What does it mean to move ahead into the deeper things of God? Usually, it means dying to our own pleasure, our own self, which seems to be a bit of a paradox compared to what we like to do. Thinking that if we produce more, we move ahead more. But the Lord says, “ He that humbles himself in My sight, I WILL raise up at the right time.

Reconciliation

The Lord desires for each of us that we would have a season of reconciliation. He desires that we would be brought back to a place of rest with those whom we may have been in strife with.

I encourage you that if there is anyone that you need to reconcile with or ask if you have in anyway offended them, go to them.

If they do not receive you well, know that the Lord will continue to work on your behalf deep within their heart.

LET US COME INTO A HOLY PLACE
...As this season of the Lord moves across the earth.
He is drawing His saints together to lay down their religious strongholds and opinions as well as judgments of one another. Choosing instead, to bend their knees humbly and cry out to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords to reveal Himself in all of His grace and Mercy to them.

Let us, be some of the very first people to bow our knees, to pray for one another, to ask the Father that He would again touch the planet Earth one more time with a great fiery move of His Spirit. That those that are lost, broken and deceived would have their eyes opened and their understanding made clear that the Son of God has come and redeemed them from the curse.

Duplication and sharing of this message is welcomed provided that complete message and website information for Mary Lindow is included. Thank you.
Copyright © 2013 "
THE MESSENGER " ~ Mary Lindow
www.marylindow.com 
www.globalprayerrooms.com

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IT’S A STRANGE AND TWISTED WORLD THAT WE LIVE IN

Many well meaning people try hard to give pep talks, cheery texts and even send emails with profound  topics or inspirational contents all in the hope of giving a bit of relief from the ever increasing “noises” of an uncertain world.

“ I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."

John 16:33

WHAT DO YOU FEAR?

This is not always an easy question to answer right away. Emotions and physical reactions to the question begin to swirl and elevate stress levels when anxiety creeps in.

And, fear is a terror that can paralyze anyone if enough of it is allowed to enter our minds. And that is exactly where it first penetrates our peace. In the Mind.

Fear

noun

Fright, fearfulness, horror, alarm, panic, agitation, trepidation, dread, consternation, dismay, distress; anxiety, worry, angst, unease, uneasiness, apprehension, nervousness, foreboding;

WHEN WE FEAR WE MAKE POOR CHOICES

If you are afraid or “fear” being misled by someone, you will limit your intimacy or openness with him or her. Many believers in need of healing emotionally from harsh or indifferent parenting tend to keep deep relationships or friendship at arm’s length in order to maintain a sense of control or privacy for themselves.

This can become a form of “selective hearing or selective listening” if the individual feels that they need to remain aloof and frosty in order to gain the respect or validation that they feel that they need to exist.

The problem with this cycle is that is creates a private  “terror” of not having a solid place of safety with a few dear and treasured people, flawed people… but those willing to also be vulnerable and open.

Psalm 27:1

“The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?”

Every situation, location, and relationship of our everyday lives is in some way broken. As fallen creatures, the best we can ever do in this life is to know how to live in this broken-down house/earth suit that’s our current address. And, nothing and no one but God himself, in the fullness of his time, can change where we live. So as we experience the reality of life in this house, sometimes it will leave us confused and overwhelmed.

Sometimes it will leave us hurt and angry. Sometimes people will give way to envy because the house or “life” of someone living nearby seems far less broken. Sometimes we just get weary of the stress of it all and long for a house in perfect repair.

YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE

In those moments, those days, those seasons, remember that you are never on your own. The Master Builder has given us a copy of his renovation manual, the Bible. It will help us to understand why things are as broken as they are. It teaches us how to live well even in the midst of the brokenness. And it will explain the only way in which repair can ever happen.

Just never forget that the Designer himself has moved into the house with you. You’ve not been left alone. You can rest assured of his presence and his wisdom. His grace has blessed you with both of these.

However, He must be fully welcomed and invited into all of the “locked and hidden access areas” that others are not often trusted to enter into.

He who offers you such grace and guidance will never ask you to do what you are not fully capable of doing by God’s grace and ever present Spirit. He will not demand things of you that are beyond your abilities. Our Lord is tender and kind. He knows who you are and he knows where you’re living. He knows how hard it is to live in your broken-down house because in the flesh he lived here himself.

The Lord invites you to walk away from trying to figure it out on your own and he welcomes you to sit at his feet and learn the simplicities of living; things so full of meaning that you will see your world in a completely new way; things so practical that you will never live the same way again.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.”

Philippians 2:3

TAKE A LOOK IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR FOR ONE MOMENT

Have you recently made decisions about who you will share with on any level such as giving, talking of dreams, sorrows, losses, major life events, and then afterward - pulled back only to run to either another source for additional validation or to agree with your choices or decisions? Or, have you reacted to some of the counsel or responses you have received by testing those whom you have shared with by removing your favor, kindness or former warmth from them?

These actions are often made rapidly when we are fearful or fear being wounded, and shift us into a place of survival and self-protection.

They can also isolate us from a loving, safe and healthy “corrective course” or direction away from fear and its tentacles.

FINDING THE PLACE OF SAFETY AND ACCEPTANCE

When we step into the hand of God we find the place of acceptance, and safety and an opportunity for service. It is the place of real authority, as well as of hiddenness.

God only works with those who are in His hand and those who do not keep jumping out of it, attempting to either control their own fears, but instead, often try to control others around them due to being fearful of the choices others make possibly affecting them.

Both greatly hinder the ability to trust other godly people and above all, to trust the safety of letting God do His job, while we rest in His hand.

The more we lie sheltered there, the more surely will He use us down the road. And it will be alongside others who freely share all that they have, without fear. Just as you will learn as you let go, and allow the Father to build a “Safe House” out of your life in His presence.

May the Lord do for us according to His word.

He said, "I have put My words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of My hand."

Charles Spurgeon spoke such a beautiful statement and I want to share it with you here.

“The shadow of God is not the occasional resort,

but the constant abiding- place, of the saint.

Under His shadow we are to feel that we are at home,

and then He will make Himself at home to us by becoming food unto our souls,

and giving spiritual refreshment to us while we rest.”

NO MORE HOOPS TO JUMP

When this is learned and treasured, you will then not withhold from or test others with rules or regulations set up to certainly fail them. We ruin great friendships or opportunities when we expect from others total vulnerability and openness and then only give part of what we have and who we are back in return.

Colossians 3:12

“Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

Perhaps you are waiting on Christ, desiring His company, and while you are thinking these thoughts you are asking, "Will He ever direct His full gaze upon me? Will He ever speak loving words to me? Will He ever let me sit at His feet? Will He ever permit me to lean my head upon His shoulder?"

COME AND STEP BACK INTO THE SHELTER OF HIS HAND.

Though you might shake like a leaf in a strong wind. Come! Sometimes those who come trembling are those who are aware that they are the lowest and the Creator the highest. When finally admit that our own self-esteem is less than nothing and is total vanity, then Jesus is the more good and lovely in our eyes.

Let your humility of heart, and your sense of hollowness, as a replacement for disqualifying you, be a sweet instrument for leading you to receive more of Christ.

“Before his downfall a man's heart is proud,

But humility comes before honor.”

Proverbs 18:12

The emptier I am, the more room is there for the Lord

The more I lack, the more He will give me.

The more I feel my weakness, the more shall I adore and bless Him when He makes me whole.

You’re never in a better place than when you give up on you and begin to trust in what is certain.

The life-shaping wisdom of the One who created you - in the first place.

“After all, every house has a builder,

But the builder of everything is God.”

Hebrews 3:4

Duplication and re-transmission of this writing is welcomed provided that complete source and website information for Mary Lindow is included.

Thank You!

Copyright  2013  " THE MESSENGER " ~ Mary Lindow

www.marylindow.com

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The question is often asked, "What is the reason for the weak spiritual lives of so many Christians?"

This is an excellent question and it is amazing how little the church responds to Christ's voice, which is ever calling out! How little the church is what Christ wants her to be!

What really is the matter? What truly is needed?

Many answers will be given but there is one answer that includes them all. each believer needs the full eye-opener of a personal Christ as a spiritually internal, “living inside of me”  Lord  and as someone who was a satisfying portion.

When the Lord was here on the earth what was it that distinguished his disciples from other people? I think the answer is that Jesus took them away from their fishnets their busyness and their homes. He gathered them around himself and they knew him.

He was their Master, and he guarded them, and they in turn followed him. What is supposed to make the difference today between Christ's disciples-not those who are just hoping to get to heaven, but those who are Christ's wholehearted disciples-and other people? I think it's this. When Jesus was upon the earth, he was able to keep the disciples with him for three years day after day. Now that Jesus is in heaven, and he is able to do what he could not do when he was upon the earth - to keep in the closest fellowship with every believer throughout the entire world. Imagine this!

You might know the verse in Ephesians: 4:10

“He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might  fulfill all things.”

Why was our Lord Jesus taken up to heaven?

Away from the life of earth? He ascended to heaven because the light of the earth is confined to localities, but the light of heaven has no limits, no boundaries, and no localities. He was taken up to heaven so that in the power of God the ever present omnipresent God, that he might be able to fill every one of his followers on earth and be with every individual believer in a personal way.

This is what my heart wants to experience by faith. It is a possibility, it is a promise, it is my birthright, and I want to have it! By the grace of God, I say to Jesus, “Jesus, I will not rest until you have fully revealed your self fully to me.”

How did the disciples get their burning hearts?

Remember that day that they were on the Road to Emmaus? It was through the way in which Christ opened the Scriptures to them. He made it all look different and new, and they saw what they had never seen before! They could not help feeling how wonderful and how heavenly the teaching was!

Many Christians have discovered that the best time of the day is when they can read and pore over their Bibles, and they love nothing more than to find a new spiritual insight. Just like a person who mines diamonds rejoices when they have found a diamond these individuals delight when they get some new thought from the Bible, and they feed upon it.

Yet, even with all of their interest in God's word and with the joy that is stirred in our hearts, when we return to work or attend our daily duties, we find that there is still something missing in our lives.

From time to time…

…We must leave all the many and unique blessings that Jesus gives us,

and come to the one blessing that outshines all of them.

The blessing that Jesus makes himself known, that Jesus is willing to make himself known to us!

If I were to ask you, “Isn't this exactly what you and I need, and what many of us have been longing for?” I am sure you would answer, “Yes! This is exactly what I want!”

Listen to this poetic verse.

“Oh, the peace my Savior gives!

Peace I never knew before,

And my way has brighter grown,

Since I've learned to trust him more.”

An individual in the midst of great trouble and difficulty wrote this poem.

She stated that it brought wonderful comfort and strength to her.

However, how can a person maintain peace in his or her life? It was the presence of Christ that brought the peace; therefore, peace must be sustained through the continual presence of Jesus.

Remember that when the storm on the Sea, was threatening to swallow up the disciples, that it was the presence of Jesus himself that brought the peace.

Do you want peace and rest?

Then you must have Jesus himself.

We talk of purity, and we talk of cleansing. We also talk of deliverance from sin!

Praise God, for the deliverance and the cleansing, when the living Jesus comes and gives us power and strength. It's there that we find that we have that resurrected Christ who sits on the throne, who is making himself known to you and I. This is the secret of purity and the secret of strength.

Perhaps some of you may be now asking,

“How will Christ revealed himself to me? How will he come?” That is the secret no one can know, it is the one that Jesus keeps to himself. It will come in the power of the Holy Spirit. Remember the disciples on the road to Emmaus?

They had a sudden revelation of the living risen Christ!

The Scripture says, “Then they knew Him!” He revealed Himself, he showed Himself fully to them, and then he vanished from their site! Was that moment of Christ visiting them revealing Himself to them worth much? It was over in a minute, yet it was worth heaven, eternity, it was everything!

From that time on Christ's disciples were no longer to relate to him in an earthly way. Thank the Lord that Christ now reveals Himself to each and every one of us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Yet, how He does this is a sacred thing between Christ and each individual believer. Take this as an assurance, “their eyes were opened, and they knew Him,” and believe that this was written for you!

You might be able to say that I have experienced a sad heart at times.

When I mourned that I did not know the living Christ. And I have had times when my heart is slow to believe and have struggled with my lack of faith, and I also know this stage of a burning heart in what I experienced and the  great times of joy and blessedness.

If you can say these things you will come to a place where you have a satisfied heart.

You will have a heart that has been made glad and will last until eternity!

You will have a heart that cannot keep and hold its joy but is poured out on other believers and shared, just as the disciples ran back to the believers in Jerusalem and said, “It is true! Jesus has revealed himself! I know it! I feel it! It has been made personal and real to me, alone!”

Dear child of God.

I'm sure you are asking but how would this revelation come?

Jesus will tell you. Just come to him and say a simple childlike prayer. You need to come to Jesus yourself. What I share with you here today is finished! I have pointed you to the risen One. Now you must step into the presence of the Holy One and begin to crying out, saying, “Oh my precious Lord and Savior! I have come to you and fully abandon my dreams my will, my hopes, and my sorrows.   I have come so that I might have this blessedness with me at all times.

Dear Jesus!  I want you completely the fullness of all that You are. I want to know you personally and completely. Not just simply by hearing the experiences of others. No Lord! I want to know that I can have your blessed presence surrounding me at all times because I am your child and I have been set free from my own condemning self-hatred, religious thinking, performance-based actions, and fear of not measuring up.

Jesus! Help me! Be my portion forever!”

Is this possible? Can we always be thinking of Jesus?

Thank God you don't need to be consistently thinking of him. You may be the manager of a grocery store and your whole attention may require you to carry out the business that you have to do. While you were thinking of your business, Jesus will be thinking of you and He will come in, and if you listen to Him he will take charge of you.

When I was holding my new Grand-daughter just today, (5 months old) I was thinking about when an infant sleeps in his or her mother's or grandmother’s arms, he or she lies there helplessly. He or she hardly even knows it’s mother or grandmother, he or she does not think of her, but the mother and grandmother does think of the child. And this is the great mystery of love.

Jesus waits to come to me in the fullness of His love.

And when He is allowed possession of my heart, He gathers me into those Divine arms and tells me, “My child I am the ever faithful one, I Am the mighty one, and I will remain with you. I Am watching over you and will keep you every day.”

Oh I can hear many of you saying, “Oh, if only I could believe that, if only I could believe it is possible to have Jesus constantly taking and keeping charge me every hour and every minute!”

But you see this is exactly what He said to you. He said these words,

“For low I am with you always”.

He meant it in the fullness of His divine love, and He is longing to show himself to you and to me, as we have never seen Him before.

“Your heart says this is too good to be true,

And that is just too wonderful to be possible for you.”

Still you do admit that it is an amazing way to live!

Oh you fearful one, mistaken one, and anxious one!

I am bringing to you God's promise; it is for me and for you.

Jesus will do it! As God, He is able, and Jesus is willing and longing, having been the crucified one to keep you in perfect peace.

This is a wonderful fact…

… And it is the secret of unspeakable joy.

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Thank You

Copyright © 2012 " THE MESSENGER " ~ Mary Lindow

www.marylindow.com

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