Note: There is a time of prophetic ministry at the end of this message during the audio version of the podcast.  

Be sure to listen so that the Holy Spirit might speak over your life!

 "The Desert Of Trouble -The Door Of Hope"

 Prophetic Insights and Encouragement

By Mary Lindow through the Holy Spirit 

 

TODAY’S PODCAST MESSAGE IS GOING TO ADDRESS

ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT MOST CHRISTIANS

ARE A LITTLE EMBARRASSED TO ADMIT.

THEY DOUBT!

 

Sometimes it comes from being so absolutely crushed that you are afraid to trust or believe in anything.

Or, we create our own false narratives and wonder WHY things don’t happen, and then we doubt that God can get us out of our messes.

 

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THAT “DOUBT THING” THAT KEEPS BEATING AGAINST THE THIN MEMBRANE OF HOPE IN YOUR THINKING?

 

WE CAN CERTAINLY SEE TODAY THAT PEOPLE HAVE PUT THEIR HOPE IN SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS THAT ARE OFFERED, looking for a way out of confusion, wanting to know themselves better or to find someone to love or to validate them.

There's Enneagrams, horoscopes, overloads of self-help books/blogs, medications, politicians, gurus and more, and most all of these have failed those hope seekers, or maybe have caused them to flail even further.

 

BUT HONESTLY...

...MOST PEOPLE ARE SIMPLY SEARCHING FOR THE "REAL DEAL".

They want to see genuine people expressing living and radiant hope.

They want an anchor in Achor (troubled times).

They are attracted to that and yet, the soul does love intellectual reasoning more than humility and yielding to God, the Supreme Guide.

 

HOPE.

It’s what nourishes life.

It’s the motivator to move us into action.

It’s the promise of tomorrow.

What each one of us needs more of is hope.

What our country and world needs is hope.

 

Discouragement.

It’s what siphons the joy right out of you!

Discouragement leads to desperation, which leads to feelings of anxiety, dread and hopelessness, which can move people into depression and suicidal thoughts, and those thoughts lead down a path of complete and utter darkness.

Trouble looms large in every face, every place and every happy space.

 

SO… DEFINE… HOPE!

We often use the word hope as a kind of wish.

“I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.”

“I hope the Broncos win their next game.”

But friends, hope in the Bible, has quite a different meaning.

 

RAW AND BIBLICAL HOPE IS A CONFIDENCE AND EXPECTATION THAT GOD HAS PROVIDED A WAY FOR A GOOD FUTURE FOR YOU.

God wants to fill every person reading  or listening this with hope that He has a wonderful future planned for you!

 

Ah…. Ummm......  Really? Does He?

Can God REALLY create “good” out of the trouble you are passing through or that you got yourself "IN" to?

 

THE WORD ACHOR MEANS TROUBLE.

So very aptly named, the valley spoken about here (Achor- from Hosea 2: 1-8) is the place where a man named Achan, brought trouble on Israel, by willfully going the opposite way and blew off the Lord's plan. So, God sees the sin, and brings it to them through Hosea’s warning.

 

THE SIN OF THEIR IDOLATRY, their mixtures of spiritual practices and beliefs and forgetting God and their sincere dedication to him, and his ways of doing things. (Read Hosea 2: 1-8 to fully see the raw details.)

 

YIKES!

These folks were exploring and trusting in things much like many who are probing and immersing themselves into questionable spiritual practices and who distance themselves from the warnings of God today!

 

God in His grace, in the New Testament freedom of Christ, will put sin to death in your life and my life and also the trouble brought against us from the results of the sin of others.

 

He prepares the Valley of trouble - Achor, to become a door of hope.

 

God wants to show you the door…

...Right there, in the midst of this grief or very hard trouble that you are parched and exhausted by.

 

A door where you see HOPE written on it….

…And you move towards it.

Crawling is absolutely permitted! 

Just get moving, and get THERE!

 

JESUS SPOKE IT CLEARLY TO US WHEN HE SAID, "I AM THE DOOR.

"To enter through me is to experience life, freedom, and satisfaction.

A thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy.

But I have come to give you everything in abundance,

more than you expect life in its fullness until you overflow!"

-John 10:9-10

 

THE VALLEY OF HUMILIATION, OF TROUBLE AND DEFEAT WILL BECOME THE FIRST POINT OF YOUR JOURNEY THROUGH THE DOOR OF HOPE.

You let go of the dragging baggage of woes and stop chewing on the dust.

You admit your secret idolatry of pessimism and stubborn defiance to yield to the probing of your heart, admitting that you account to no one but yourself.

You put down the whip of control and anger and take up the walking stick to lean upon while you humbly limp towards the door of Hope.

That's a valley of trouble my friend.

But, listen closely!

 

THIS DOOR OF HOPE THAT'S BEEN PROVIDED THERE STRATEGICALLY PLACED IN THE MESS, DOES NOT DISAPPOINT.

WHY? Because it’s appointed by God Himself.

It opens up new opportunities for you; even those that were lost will be restored to you.

It will cause a new song to rise again in your heart.

 

SO, YOU WEARY, RED -EYED AND CRIED OUT ONES,

PREPARE TO LEAVE THE VALLEY OF TROUBLE (ACHOR) BEHIND,  

AND PASS THROUGH THE DOOR OF HOPE.

 

We Have To Wait With Hope For God!

“Wait with hope for the LORD.

Be strong, and let your heart be courageous.

Yes, wait with hope for the LORD.”

-Psalm 27:14

 

WE HAVE TO BE COURAGEOUS AND STRONG IN OUR WAITING

FOR THAT DOOR TO BE SHOWN TO US.

The word “wait” is a very upsetting word for many!

We don’t like waiting!

We want things fixed. NOW! PRONTO!

Waiting can make us feel like we are doing something wrong, hesitating, lagging behind.

This isn’t why we have to wait sometimes.

 

WAITING HELPS US TO MATURE IN CHRIST.

Waiting burns out impatience and defensiveness and impulsive reactions that decide to not deal with our deeply entrenched ruts!

Waiting is better then rushing into something without God’s wisdom and direction.

This door of Hope when there has been trouble, sin, loss pain, cycles of grief, is a sign of God’s tender mercy towards you.

“I will give back her vineyards to her and transform her Valley of Troubles (Achor) into a Door of Hope.

"She will respond to me there, singing with joy as in days long ago in her youth after I had freed her from captivity in Egypt.”

-Hosea 2:15

 

LET THIS PROMISE BRING REASSURANCE TO YOUR HEART.

Let the past with all its sin and defeat be locked behind you,

never to be reopened again.

Leave the Valley of Achor behind.

Let your eyes look ahead.

Walk through the door of hope that God has opened for you!

 

Duplication and sharing of this writing is welcomed provided that complete source, podcast and website information 

for Mary Lindow is included.

Thank You!

Copyright © 2021 - "THE MESSENGER " ~Mary Lindow

www.marylindow.com

www.globalprayerrooms.com

www.marylindow.podbean.com

 

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By Mary Lindow through the Holy Spirit

 Dear Believer,

GOD IS CRYING OUT, “I AM FOR YOU!”

I am not against you! I am with you! I am not far away from you! 

I am more real, more alive, and more at work in this world, than you can sometimes believe!”

“I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, 

can’t you see and discern it, perceive it? 

I will make a way in the wilderness 

and rivers in the desert.” 

-Isaiah 43:19

We all know and can relate to a bible story or parable that begins with a voice of mercy and compassion crying out in the wilderness in those strange and desert-like, dangerous places where we least expect it but most need it.

A MAN WAS TRAVELING DOWN A WILDERNESS ROAD that was so dangerous that it was sometimes called “the way of blood” or “the bloody pass.” And there out in the wilderness, the man fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, leaving him half dead on the side of the road.

As the man lay on the roadside, somewhere between Jerusalem and Jericho, somewhere between life and death, wanting to live, but also maybe wanting to die, he is ignored by two religious leaders who are also traveling down the same road.

GOD ONLY KNOWS WHY THESE MEN WHO YOU WOULD EXPECT TO STOP AND HELP, BLATANTLY IGNORED THE MAN. Maybe the were afraid of being defiled by touching a bloody corpse, thinking it might be a dead man, and heaven forbid they break with religious practices and protocols! Perhaps they thought the robbers were still nearby, or maybe they thought the man lying on ground was only pretending, playing some sort of trick so that when they came near him he could beat and rob them. For whatever reason, they believed it was much too risky for them to stop and risk care and extend compassion.

 THEN ALONG CAME THIS OTHER MAN. Luke calls him a Samaritan, which means this was someone who was despised and rejected by the religious establishment, someone who was often misunderstood and rarely respected, someone who knew something about pain and brokenness, betrayal and abandonment, God-forsakenness.  Someone who had spent many days and nights in the wilderness, himself being tempted and tried.

THIS ONE MAN WHO WAS THE LEAST AMONG THEM in their ability to see and perceive, never expected to stop and help, saw the man. He saw the man’s wounds, saw the man’s fear, saw the man’s despair and was moved with mercy and compassion. And there in the wilderness he risked his own life as he sacrificially came to him, selflessly bent himself down to the ground, and joined the man.

The man did not have to do anything to make this one come to him. Out of pure love, unconditional and unreserved, this one just came.

He then touched the man where the man most needed healing, pouring oil and wine on the man’s wounds and bandaging them. He then picked the man up and safely carried him out of the wilderness. He stayed with him, at his side through the darkness of the night. When morning came, he paid for the man’s debts, and made the promise: “I will come back. I will return.”

CAN YOU NOW UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS GOD SEEING ONE LYING IN THE WILDERNESS IN THEIR WEAKEST, MOST BROKEN STATE? Seeing one in their most desperate, most vulnerable need, and it is God being moved with mercy and compassion for that one? 

It is a voice crying out from the heavens into the wilderness:

“I am for you, not against you, I am with you, not away from you.

I am Emmanuel! (God WITH you!)  

I will risk my own life for you. 

I will give my all to take care of your wounds and to pick you up, 

to forgive all of your debts. 

And when you are ready, I will come back, and I will take you unto myself, so that where I am, you will also be.”

 

COMPASSION AND HUMBLE SERVICE IN THIS SEASON. 

Yes, right now in this very time, begins a move and season with God for those willing to STOP on their pathways of purpose and planning and to be a voice crying out in the wilderness in those places where we may least expect it, but where it’s needed the most.

YOU AND I ARE TO GOING TO COME UPON WOUNDED PEOPLE along our paths as we journey. Their wounds are not bloody and gaping holes on the outside. Instead, their hearts are broken. They have forgotten how to smile, for real, from the inside. They are insecure, lonely, and they wish they could trust again.

THEY CARRY UNSEEN LOADS OF GUILT, SHAME, AND SELF-LOATHING. They never feel comfortable in their own skin. They feel different although they don't quite know what 'normal' is. Broken hearts, oppressed spirits, mangled emotions, and tormented thoughts. Lying along the path you just happen to be traveling.

IF YOU'VE MET CHRIST, THEN YOU'VE MET THE HEALER. The One who makes all things new, a perfect Redeemer, has touched you. You are sealed with His Spirit. Spirit-filled believer you are a stream of living water that these people need to be saved, healed, and restored. The Spirit of God is often signified in the Old Testament Scriptures as holy anointing oil, and indicated in the New Testament Scriptures to be like a heart-gladdening new wine. 

BELIEVER! DRAW OUT AND POUR IN THE OIL AND WINE TO THE HURTING AND BROKEN.

Your tongue is the ladle, and your words the stream!

Speak kind words.

Speak healing words.

Proclaim truth.

Share the absolute truth of Jesus Christ.

Pray and intercede with faith.

 

YOU AND I ARE MEANT TO BE MORE THAN AN OCCASIONAL GOOD SAMARITAN.               We are always on duty,  as an ambassador of Jesus Christ and a minister of reconciliation                  (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). You are drawing on a never-ending supply!

SO GO ON! Pour out the oil and the wine.  

A PROPHETIC INSIGHT

“It’s The Season and Time, To Pour Out The Oil and Wine”

“When I the Spirit of Grace and Compassion look down upon mankind, I do not see as man sees. No! I see each situation, hear each conversation and discern what is good and evil in each life.

My Oil, My Holy vibrant Spirit is available to overflowing for those who would willingly look with the eyes of my compassion and eyes of discernment. It will flow out and into the driest of people, working loose the cemented stones of the hardened heart. It will soothe and soften the scarred and scabbed marks of a hard life, and refresh.

It is a risky thing to go and search out those fallen by the roadside where there are so many other routes of safety to do good works. But remember, I was the One who poured out the wine, my life’s blood, so that you might live and be cleansed.

I was a man, despised and rejected, yet I obeyed and took the road, the path, which was set in front of me. And I found you, broken and bruised, lost and confused, looking for help when others abused, robbed and broke your heart and mind.

Take my oil, take the power of the wine, and use it in this hour.  Anoint and bind up the wounds of the brokenhearted, teaching those captive how to be free. From your well of compassion I will pour out upon the darkness of mankind. 

It’s time, to pour out My Oil and My wine and to create places of rest in worship and peace for those who need a resting place and haven from the battered and violent landscape of the world and it’s dangerous paths that lead to harm.

Pour! Pour! Pour!

I will do exploits as you physically and spiritually pour out the oil and the wine among my people and into the lives of those whom I will send you to.

You have been filled up with the Oil of The Holy Spirit to BURN brightly and to spill over into your generation!

 Declare it to the world! Speak it to the darkness-you have been filled and you are continuously infused with a perpetual well of power, a prophetic declaration is on your lips as the oil runs through you and you have the eyes of Christ, who has baptized you with this oil of power and anointing-to see with His discernment!

GO in power; make your proclamation and feed that vision Sons and Daughters, who pour out the Fresh Oil and Fresh wine in My name! PROCLAIM THE WORD OF LIFE!

It’s not by ability, nor by power but BY MY SPIRIT SAYS THE LORD!

And You Shall Be My Witnesses along all of the pathways that you travel! You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." - Acts 1:8

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

Thank You! Copyright © 2020

" THE MESSENGER " - Mary Lindow

www.marylindow.com  

www.globalprayerrooms.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

https://marylindow.podbean.com/mobile/

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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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