To the Saints

Fight the good fight of FAITH!

The other day I stood at a crossroads, not really sure what decision I needed to make on a matter that had cropped up out of the blue.  Something about the situation did not sit well with me spiritually, but I didn't want to make a decision on the matter without knowing for sure what the Lord would have me do. 

So within a few hours, I declared a fast.  I didn't declare it by announcing it to the world, but instead, I declared it quietly to myself.  No food. No drink.  I didn't want to hear from my flesh - JUST GOD. I longed to do God's Will.

These days are truly tribulating for born-again believers.  Jesus said they would be (John 16:33).  Everywhere you look, the world is deeming this and that as being perfectly acceptable, but what does God say?  Saints, you can't look to the right or to the left during such times of tribulation.  Seek the Lord.  And when the Shepherd speaks, the peace is profoundly beyond anything this old world could ever cook up.  His Voice will always point us to holiness and righteousness.  It won't likely be popular, but it will be Right.  What the world calls "no big deal" may very well be a BIG DEAL to Him.  Oh, beloved, let us always follow His leading.

After I began the fast, the spiritual war ramped up to a level I had not experienced in some time.  There is a spiritual world, and there is a war in the spiritual realm.  We do not battle against flesh and blood, but as we are told in Ephesians 6:12, we do battle against "spiritual wickedness in high places."  Another translation states we fight against "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." 

Satan showed up throughout that evening and the entire night.  I went to bed at my usual time, but the night was spent in intense prayer.  I literally slept about 1 hour and a half (and that 1 1/2 hours was interrupted repeatedly).  I am sharing this for one reason and one reason alone.  I want YOU to fight the good fight of Faith no matter how intense YOUR battle gets in these last days.  If you think you are hanging by a thread as you face Satan in the spiritual realm, then let that thread be the hem of Jesus' garment.  FAITH in Jesus.  FAITH in what Jesus will do.  FAITH in Jesus to deliver you.  FAITH in the Lord to give you the answer.  FAITH. FAITH. FAITH.  Jesus said in Luke 18:1, "Men ought always to pray, and never to faint."  Are we really absorbing what He is saying here?  Always Pray.  Some battles are overwhelming, but IN Christ, we can overcome every single one.  We have got to get that deep down in our very beings.  IN CHRIST, we are overcomers.  He made the way!

I cannot possibly fully explain all of the techniques Satan used throughout the night to get me to throw in the towel.  To give up.  To give in.  To say, "What's the use..."  He is diabolical, demonic, maniacal, satanic, a fear-monger, a bully, and an accuser.  The most intense encounters I have had with Satan and his minions have always involved him removing his mask for an all-out spiritual assault, but the Lord has taught me that when Satan gets to that point, it is because Satan knows he's losing. 

I prayed much of the night. I very literally held God's Word in my hands.  I repeated, "The gates of hell shall not prevail." 

I said over and over, "God, put Your Strength in me."  Over and over.  "Put Your Strength in me, Lord."

I said, "Lord, you promised me that no matter how dark the times get, I will have a song."
I asked humbly, "Lord, where is my song..." I asked this throughout the night.  "Lord, you promised.  Where is my song..."  It was a humble repeated prayer.

Eventually, the 5 o'clock hour arrived, and I went downstairs, but something different was happening within me. The tide was turning.  The Lord showed me that first and foremost, He was calling me to SUBMIT to Him in this matter.  When He showed me this, I can remember quietly embracing the word "submit" in my dark living room.  In literally seconds, my Shepherd's Voice then clearly instructed me as to what I was to do regarding the issue that I had been fasting over.  The answer did not come until after a night filled with spiritual war, not until after I embraced "submitting" to Jesus.  Then, Jesus clearly told me His stand on the matter.  It was the opposite of what the world called "harmless."  Satan fled.  I walked from my living room into my kitchen REJOICING because I now knew what God would have me to do in this matter.

I pulled a piece of paper from a tablet in the kitchen. With complete resolve and peace, I planned to write on it the details of what God had instructed me to do. The tablet had originally 365 different verses in it.  One per page, equalling one for every day of the year.  When I pulled the paper out so that I could write down what God had instructed me to do, I noticed the verse at the bottom of the page:

The Actual Page from the Tablet 

I had prayed for hours throughout the night, "Lord, put Your Strength in me."  "Lord, where is my song..."  Those were my exact prayers and exact words.  I tell you, who but God can beautifully orchestrate such events?  Evidently, this verse is found one time on one piece of paper in this tablet that once spanned 365 pages on my kitchen counter.  I don't know if this page was the 160th page or the 250th page, but God knew it would be the page on this day that He would let me know He HAD put His Strength in me.  The day that He HAD been my song-- just as He promised me many months ago. 

No matter how dark the days get, look to Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith!  Do not give up - do not surrender to Satan.

Beloved readers, Fight the good fight of FAITH.  Trust, that the Lord will answer.  He will direct our steps.  Let us pray through.  Let us seek His Face.  Let us submit to His will no matter what. 

No matter who you are reading this, I am praying for YOU.  If I have never met you, I am praying for you.  If you are my friend, I am praying for you.  If you dislike me, I am praying for you.  If you are struggling right now, I am praying for you.  I am praying for you because I have been awake in the midnight hour more times than I can count crying out to the Lord for His Guidance on various matters over the years.  I know what it is like to have Satan breathing in your ear - roaring his pathetic lies.  I am praying for YOU.  I am praying that you will continue in the faith.  I am praying that you will submit to God's will above all others' wills.  I am praying that you will pray through no matter how long it takes.  I am praying that you will fast when needed.  I am praying that even when it seems that you are hanging by a thread that you will remember joy truly does come in the morning - no matter how long the night - no matter how long the season.

There is a brief memory from my childhood that has always profoundly affected me. It's the memory of a piece of paper. Even when I saw it at just 7 or 8 years old, I can remember looking at it and knowing it was so true.  The paper was clipped to my fridge.  Lo and behold, I found the picture by Googling it.

 
Now, it may seem silly to post it, but there is great truth in this picture.  Satan battles hard against us, but no matter how bleak the situation appears, no matter how victorious that serpent appears to be, JESUS overcame every, single ounce of him.  

Rely on Christ to put His Strength in you.  Rely on Christ to be your song no matter the darkness that surrounds.

We are promised in God's Word the following regarding True Grace.  God has shown me time and again that we can absolutely count on these verses every time:

1 Peter 5:
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.11 To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
12 By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.

Do It Again

No matter what tribulation this life brings, seek the Lord. 

He will speak.  He will move.  He will calm.  He will guide.  He Will. 

Pray. 

And then pray more.

And then pray yet again. 

Pour yourself out before His throne of Grace.  Never accept the notion that He won't show you.  Go back to prayer.  Read His Word.  Understand that it is His Strength and His Strength alone that we need.  True victory can only come from and through Jesus Christ.  Be careful that you don't allow the previous sentence to simply be a nice idea always floating far off in front of you.  It's not just an idea.  It is a REALITY.  It is God's will that it be YOUR reality. 

Apart from Him, we have no strength, no wisdom, no power.  Make your petitions known to Him.  Expect Him, as a Father, to minister to you.  He will.  The passing of time, the silence, and the wait are ALL meant to draw us TO Him  - not to turn us away from Him. 

Matthew 15:21, 15:22, 15:23, 15:24, 15:25, 15:26, 15:27, 15:28

One of my favorite stories of the Bible is the one of the Canaanite woman's persistence in the presence of Jesus.  It is a beautiful, beautiful scene.  I don't think I will ever tire of reading it.  Oh, how the Lord loves this kind of faith.  Even when it appeared that God was not going to move on behalf of this  Syrophoenician/Canaanite woman, she pressed in and let Him know that although she may be in the eyes of most a dog, she wanted the crumbs that only He could provide. 



Oh!  What a testimony!  Focus on what He can do - not what you can or cannot do.  She went to Him because she knew deliverance had to come FROM HIM!  Jesus called her faith a  GREAT FAITH.  I was reading this story to my 11-year-old over the summer, and while he was listening, I could tell he was trying to figure out for a moment why God would be turning this woman away, but then he said with such confidence and resolve, "Jesus is not a bully.  He was testing her!"  Hallelujah!! Let us who are 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 years old ALSO understand that Jesus is NOT a BULLY!  He's the SAVIOUR of the world!!!  Humble yourself in His presence - just as she did.

Go to Him seeking those powerful crumbs, and watch Him seat you at His Feast Table~

Press in, Beloved. 

Videos Below:

It Shall Speak, and Not Lie

Me beside the river - Friday, July 6, 2018 - early morning 

River of God

Have you ever sat by a river and listened to the water as it moves?  It may sound silly, but I love the sound of moving water. Not man-powered moving water, but God-Powered moving water.  It attracts wonder in me.  It reminds me of God.  I'm reminded of His power.  I'm reminded of what it feels like when His Living Water moves in me.  I'm reminded of what it's like when He is teaching me something - when He is preparing me for something - when He is revelating to me - when His Grace is flowing deep within the recesses of me that no man-made x-ray could scan or identify.  His Living Water transcends the limits of man's capabilities. It's miraculous.  And I am so thankful for that and for Him.

Deep calls unto deep when His Living Water begins to move within a believer.  There are no letters that I could tap on this keyboard and no words that I could form using those letters that could ever spell a word to truly capture what happens when a Holy God speaks inside of a believer.

To every person whose eyes will scan this, please know that there is no relationship more important than an honest, genuine, and loyal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  In one part of the New Testament, the Lord speaks about the importance of knowing Him.  I'm going to use the word again because I completely believe our relationship with the Lord centers upon this:  Do you KNOW Him? Does He KNOW you?  (Matthew 7:21, 7:22, 7:23, 7:24, 7:25, 7:26, 7:27, 7:28, 7:29)  Take the time to read each of those verses.  As a true, loving husband knows his wife, so is the case with the relationship a true believer has with the Lord.  It's intimate. The relationship isn't mechanical.  Such is no relationship at all.  It's not "a show" to impress the onlookers.  It's not a self-seeking or a self-glorification relationship.  Jesus Himself said that a true relationship must be in spirit and in truth.  That's how we worship Him.  There is no other way.  (John 4:24)

Consecrate yourself to knowing Him more and more.  The intimacy of a relationship with Jesus will get deeper and deeper.  Prayer, the study of His Word, a humble heart, & a desire to just be with Him are foundational principles as we journey with Him.  Silence the world.  It is true that we can pray anywhere, but there is something sacred about leaving the presence of all distractions, bowing in the floor, and communicating with a heart of humility to the One True & Living God.  Communicate with a heart of loyalty to Him - with a desire of being used by Him - with a longing to be transformed by Him. Make this a part of who you are.  Make it what you do.  This must be the priority of all who want to know Him and be known by Him.  He will communicate back to you very personally.

The Necessity of Intimacy
Over the years, I have kept private journals of my relationship with God and our communication with one another. I have also taken pictures of "God's Voice" moments over the last years as well.  Just as the Lord told Joshua to set up 12 memorial stones as a way of remembering and a way of telling future generations of God's provision, so I do the same in the form of journals and pictures.  They are a reminder of my intimate moments with the Lord, Jesus Christ.  During anguished trials, I go back, and I remember. They are a memorial for me to endure in Christ.  This feeds my faith, and it is by grace THROUGH faith that we are saved.  ~Saved from every trial.  Every tribulation. Every attack of the enemy.  Every temptation.  Every persecution.  Every loneliness. And ultimately, saved by grace THROUGH faith to spend eternity with this ALL sufficient Savior.  May we always cling to this faith in Him.

Faith.  So much hinges on this miraculous faith because the Bible teaches that there were places that Jesus did not perform miracles because of the people's lack of faith/unbelief. (Mark 6:5, 6:6, Matthew 13:58)

I share the information below because very, very dark times are in the world right now, and the Lord's desire is to see many come to the true saving faith of Jesus Christ.  Very importantly, He does not want to see anyone currently IN the faith depart from the faith.  Intimacy with the Lord is available to all.  Come to the water and drink.  He is not willing that any should perish.   (2 Peter 3:9)

Our Faith Will Be Tried By Fire

A Brief Personal Testimony that I Pray Draws All of Us to a Closer Communion with Jesus - Our Savior     ✞

I pray what I am sharing below is shared with complete humility of heart on my part in such a way that only God can get the glory for it because only He deserves the glory.  I am so eternally thankful for the STRENGTH that He promises to place in those who follow Him.  Even when trials and afflictions come, we can look to our Great Savior and know that HE KNOWS all about it ~and that His plans are for good.  There will come a day when I will depart from this world - sooner or later, but I tell you that there is such peace in KNOWING Jesus.  Let all of us come to know Him more intimately on an ever deeper level.   I pray that I will continue to grow in His Grace and that I will be found faithful to Him all the way unto the end (Matthew 24:13).  I pray that I humbly serve Him seeking only to have His glory shine through me in some way.  How worthless I am without Jesus.  May the Lord always help me to stay low to the ground so that He can shine bright.  

Recent Sacred Moments of Intimacy and Preparation with & from the Lord:
✞-March 23, 2018 - The Lord's Living Water began speaking a particular verse to me. He did this 3 times.  Over the years, He has taught me that when He speaks to me on a verse or a topic 2-3 times in a row, that there is great significance in those moments and in the Word that He is bringing to me.  So I rejoiced in His Voice speaking to me, but the entire revelation wasn't yet fulfilled.  (During this revelation, I had been seeking His face diligently on a matter.)
✞-May 31, 2018 - The Lord's Living Water began speaking to me about what I needed to do while I waited on Him.  (I had been painstakingly seeking Him on particular issues that impacted many lives.)  The waiting for His Voice came with such difficulties and anguish, but the Lord was faithful to tell me what to do while I waited for Him.  His instructions were very specific. (He ministered to me on events I had been praying for, but I had no idea at the time that He was preparing me to endure the waiting of an event yet to come.  This future event would result in all of these previous prayers being answered.)  He was very clear to speak to me from Habakkuk 2 - 2 And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
✞-June 6, 2018 - The Holy Spirit gave me paragraphs of details moments after I had been upstairs praying with total surrender and total faith of believing only He could move on a matter.  He promised that He was about to move in order to answer the prayer.  It was not a selfish prayer.  It was one in which I humbly requested God's absolute miraculous work this summer in order to fix, repair, and prepare in certain, specific areas.  His presence that night in answering was absolute.  There was no doubt He had heard and that He was going to take care of the needs I had placed before Him.  He said so many things, but I cannot stress this enough to those who will read this:  We must exercise great faith with great trials.  And we must - even after we have prayed all we can pray - we must then pray MORE EARNESTLY, even as Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Never give up the faith; humbly know that all hope rests in Jesus.  Go to Him as a child.
✞-June 7, 2018 - The next day the Lord's Living Water - His Holy Spirit - continued to speak.  He repeated verses and repeated His promises.

I wrote this in my journal on June 9, 2018.  

✞-June 16, 2018 evening - The Lord continued to minister to me regarding the provision of His Strength on this evening - which He had been faithful to speak to me days and weeks prior on multiple times.
✞-June 17, 2018 evening -  While putting clothes in the washing machine and then walking away, I experienced a strange health episode within my body.  My husband was at work, and my 11-year-old and 6-year-old were the only ones home.

God IS in the Details:

Blessings Birthed in the Trial ⇒ An ALL Sufficient Savior

• My husband and I prayed aloud in the car as we journeyed to the ER that is 30 minutes away.   ⇒ An ALL Sufficient Savior
• We pled the blood of Jesus the whole way and more promises from God's Word. ⇒ An ALL Sufficient Savior
• Blood tests and CT Scan at the ER - were all normal that night.  ⇒ An ALL Sufficient Savior
• It wasn't until the next day of this event that I was reminded my 11-year-old son stood up in the living room during the chaos of the event and took it upon himself to say, "I rebuke you, Satan."  He said it so forcefully and so faithfully. ⇒ An ALL Sufficient Savior
• My youngest sister revealed a day later that she hadn't prayed in a year, but this event led her to stand in her living room praying for me while I was at the ER. ⇒An ALL Sufficient Savior
• A few days later, I visited my regular doctor.  He wanted to do a series of further tests.  More blood tests, ultrasound, MRI.  He listed the possibilities. Those possibilities were not good.  Yet, even when Satan sought to bring fear on me in those moments, a supernatural joy would rise up in me.  A desire to rejoice would rise up in me.  A knowing from the Living Waters of Jesus that were stirring in me would pour forth and would pour over, and peace that this world could not know would just take over.  ⇒ An ALL Sufficient Savior
• A few days later, I sat in the waiting room (what to do while you wait), and the word balm of Jesus' blood just kept coming to my mind.  I prayed, "Lord, heal me with the balm of Gilead - with the balm of your blood."  It was like the Spirit just wanted me to say that over and over again.  I was soon called into the lab and sat in the chair.  As I sat there, the Lord did something that only the Lord could do in that split second, and a Spirit of peace and of God's provision came over me.  A few days later I was informed that those detailed blood results were "very good."   ⇒ An ALL Sufficient Savior
• On Wednesday, June 20th, I wrote verses on my chalkboard in the kitchen.  The Lord had been faithful to give those verses to me as He had stirred His Living Waters.  Some of the verses had been given to me days, weeks, and even months before the health incident.  Others had been given just the night before I wrote them on the chalkboard. ⇒ An ALL Sufficient Savior
• As I wrote up the verses, the serpent reared his accusatory words.  "Why are you writing all of that up?  It doesn't apply to you.  That looks ridiculous!  No one believes those words will prove true."  But they stayed up.  I didn't fully understand why I was writing them in that particular location.  But God did and would show me later.  God would fully reveal many things to me on Saturday, June 23, 2018. ⇒ An ALL Sufficient Savior
• Weeks before these events, the Lord had given me "The just shall live by his faith" in Habakkuk.  And through this trial, He showed me what He meant by that and how that is applied in our lives.  After this event, there was a lot of waiting.  Ten plus years ago, this type of event would have halted my life.  I would have been paralyzed by fear.  I would have shut down.  But the Lord had spent 10 years transforming my mind.  So BY FAITH, I LIVED, while waiting. By faith, I took care of my kids, while I waited.  By faith, I went fishing and wading in a river with my husband and kids, while I waited.  By faith, I shopped at Walmart with my family, while I waited.  By faith, I drove, while I waited.  By faith, I went to sleep at night, while I waited.  By faith, I prayed, while I waited.  By faith, I washed clothes, while I waited.  By faith, I mowed my yard and my mother's yard, while I waited.  "The Just Shall LIVE By His Faith!!!!!!!!!!" ⇒ An ALL Sufficient Savior
• Saturday, June 23, 2018:   When the Lord spoke to me about Habakkuk, the vision, and waiting for it back on May 31st, there was a word that caught my attention.  I remember saying, "Lord, I don't know what you mean by write the vision on tables."  But as soon as I had mentioned that to the Lord, I didn't really deeply consider it further . . . until the Lord spoke on it.  I was mowing this day (23rd) and listening to a sermon that I wasn't really that interested in...but it continued to play as I mowed.  Near the end of the mowing, I strange spirit of fear came over me - one that indicated I needed to turn off the sermon immediately.  It was a sudden fear.  I've noticed Satan do that so often.  He'll attempt to bring sudden fear, but those times have normally meant that God is about to speak, and it is one last ditch effort by Satan to prevent me hearing what the Lord would say.  This was true.  Literally seconds later, the preacher began to speak about Zacharias picking up the writing table to write: "His Name Is John!"  In that second, the Holy Spirit's Living Water began stirring in me so profoundly.  I cannot articulate what happened that day on the lawn mower and in my house afterwards, but the Lord let me know repeatedly:  "It is what God says it is" on my writing table/ my slate in my kitchen.  The Lord let me know that what I had written on my writing table would be the fulfillment of what He had been teaching me for weeks even before this medical event and that through this medical event, all prayers for the last months would be answered!

This is my chalkboard in my kitchen. I wrote these verses on it 6.20.18 and took this picture the same day.   The Lord had given each of them to me over the span of weeks.  

• Monday, July 2, 2018 - I was alone in my home hours before I was scheduled to have two major medical tests.  While I was waiting to leave for the appointments (45 minutes away), I had been praying.  And in only the way God could do it, He - again- brought me to the moment Gabriel spoke to Zacharias.  He had days before ministered to me regarding Zacharias, and yet again, in an unmistakable way, the Lord chose to present the moment Gabriel told Zacharias that God had heard his prayer.  A sense of strength and power came over me - over the years, the only times I have felt true courage and strength have been when the Lord's Living Water revelates to me and fills me. This was one of those times.  A month prior to this, the Lord had brought me to Job 23:6.  It was a remarkable moment of who God is and how His strength is our source of endurance.  Look to the LORD above all.  He will provide all that we need.  Continue in the faith of knowing He has the power to deliver us and to help us no matter the trial or battle or temptation.  With God's strength flowing in me, I drove to my tests.
• Thursday, July 5, 2018:  The results were in - and it was as God said it would be  - JUST AS GOD HAD PROMISED, the results of those two sophisticated tests were taken care of by JESUS!  All the "scary" possibilities were silent and just not there.  Thank you, Jesus.  I am still so humbled by His Voice over the last weeks and over the last several years.  ✟ What a Savior~  He is the Great Physician.  And my earthly physician that day at the doctor's office simply said there was no need to do further tests.  There was no need to see any other specialists.  I walked out of the doctor's office in awe of God and that when He gives a vision, it will tarry (waiting for all things to be fulfilled), but It Will Not Lie.  

And just as the Lord had promised to me, the prayer requests that I had presented to Him -long before this medical event- were answered.  I had prayed about past events, present events, and events months down the road - like only this Great Miracle Worker could do, they were all addressed and fixed. And I expect more overflow from this beyond my own life because the Lord assured me that he would do exceedingLY abundantly in this matter. 

Friends, we are living during perilous times.  Only through Christ can we overcome the trials.  By faith, go boldly to the throne of Grace.  Seek an intimate relationship with Him that is founded on loyalty, honesty, and obedience.  

Know that He is God.  

Know that He is God and that nothing is too hard for Him.  

He will speak and minister to you in your situation very specifically.  It will be godly, pure, and holy.  He will place a miraculous strength in you that leaves you glorying in Who He Is and what He Can Do.

May the details shared above bless someone and offer hope to you when your trials come.

Intimacy:  There are many sacred details of this event that I have tucked away in my heart and in my journals.  Just as a husband and wife in a truly loving intimate relationship will not reveal such details to others, so is the case as we journey intimately with our Lord and Savior.  

The Just Shall Live By Faith

Let Every One of Us Choose Each Day to Do Exactly That

May the Lord Bless Each of You In Christ Jesus

The Church at Satan's Throne

Video Below

Though It Tarry, Wait For It

Ever feel like you are an onlooker among many other onlookers seeing and hearing the same things as others, yet while they are being entertained, you are inwardly sorrowful at the spectacle of it all?

Do you ever become perplexed by unpunished evil -- the kind of evil that ensnares the innocents of a society? Do you find that wherever you look, to the left hand or to the right hand, evil is parading itself in all of its debauchery?  Do you ever meekly ask the all-powerful God, "Why is this permitted, Lord?"

If yes, then please know that you are not alone.  The Lord in His vast knowledge that transcends space and time used a relatively unknown prophet who lamented the sights and sounds of his time period's world stage to speak to His people thousands of years later as we are forced to be onlookers on this world's stage.

Let this bring you peace, Saints.  Let this bring you peace.  God knows all about the enemies at every turn, and while the enemy may think he is in control, God is actually using the enemy and his minions to bring about a greater good for God's faithful remnant.  God sees all and is over all.

Habakkuk - Not much is definitively known about this prophet, but I praise God that He permitted this man's short 3 chapters to be placed in the Holy Bible.  I tell you, time and again, God shows me that every single period and comma means something in His Word.  The Holy Spirit took nothing for granted when composing the Bible -- and neither should we when we read it.

When the Holy Spirit is guiding our study of God's Word, the Bible truly does become a Living Word.  It is truly made alive with the quickening of the Holy Spirit stirring our innermost being as we read it.

God is amazing.

Habakkuk appears to have been a prophet who lived during an agonizing time.  Click here to read the entire Book of Habakkuk - it is a very short book of the Bible.

Below are some key points from the Book of Habakkuk as outlined in the reference section of the Thompson Chain Bible:

• Main Theme:  The Mysteries of God's Ways in Dealing with Sin and Oppressors
• Synopsis:  The book begins with the prophet being heavily burdened by unpunished evil and questioning God as to why He is permitting such things to occur against His people.
• He receives a reply revealing the divine plan of using the Chaldeans as a swift and terrible instrument of judgment against evil nations.  Habakkuk 1:5-11
• Still the moral problem is unanswered in the mind of the prophet.  How can a holy God use these wicked heathen to waste and destroy people more righteous than they?  Are wrong and violence to continue forever? Habakkuk 1:12-17
• The prophet ascends his watch-tower to look over the world.
• He receives the reply of Jehovah, and is told the purpose of God is soon to be fulfilled, and is encouraged to wait for it, Habakkuk 2:1-3.  Then follows the sentence that has been a watchword in the Christian Church - Habakkuk 2:4.
• Content with the new light received, the prophet utters a series of five woes against the dishonesty, the covetousness, the bloody building enterprises, the debauchery, and the idolatry of the great world power.  Habakkuk 2:6, 9, 12, 15, 18-20
• Finally, he utters a sublime prayer (or psalm of praise), speaking of the majesty and glory of GOD and declaring his unwavering trust in His divine plans.  ~HALLELUJAH!~

Below is an outline of Habakkuk (Bible Study Tools):

I.  Title (1:1)
II. Habakkuk's First Complaint: Why does the evil in Judah go unpunished? (1:2-4)
III. God's Answer: The Babylonians will punish Judah (1:5-11)
IV. Habakkuk's Second Complaint: How can a just God use wicked Babylonia to punish a people more righteous than themselves? (1:12;2:1)
V. God's Answer: Babylonia will be punished, and faith will be rewarded (2:2-20)
VI. Habakkuk's Prayer: After asking for manifestations of God's wrath and mercy (as he has seen in the past), he closes with a confession of trust and joy in God (ch. 3)

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Saints, continue to live by Faith.  No matter the sights and sounds that are so vexing, always remember that the Lord is in control.  In due time, He will bring all things together for His Glory.  Let us be found faithful to Him.  The just shall live by his faith.  Live by faith.  

Faith. Faith.  

Let God turn your sadness and complaint into a song.  He did it for Habakkuk.  He will do it for all who genuinely seek Him.  Habakkuk forgot his lamentations of the evils of the world and instead, it was replaced with a joyful song of God's control of it all!  Oh, hallelujah to my King!

Habakkuk's Psalm at the End of the Book
17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
19 The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.

Remember My Chains

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