Be patient and possess your soul. Be still!

I really feel this is a word in season at the moment.

In Luke 21 Jesus is speaking about the “The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age” and He is saying not to fear when we hear of wars and commotions “for these things must come to pass”. He says that there will be earthquakes, famines, and pestilences as well as persecutions. These persecutions will turn out as occasions for testimony and that we need not worry what we will say in those moments because God will give us the wisdom to know what to say “which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist”. He goes on to say that we will be hated for His Name sake but also that not a hair of our head shall be lost. These are some gems that we can really take hold of for ourselves and our families, we can pray them in – to activate them through our faith (Faith- being sure of what we hope for...). And then He ends this off by saying the following:

Luk. 21:19 “By your patience possess your souls.”

The word “patience” in Greek means “cheerful endurance, constancy, patient continuance (waiting)”. Wow! Now that is a mouthful! The word “possess” is described as “to get, acquire, obtain, purchase”. I feel God is telling us to cheerfully endure, to be patient. It has been a tough season for many of us and we are tired and fed up to say the least. But in our being patient, we possess our souls – we control our reactions. We ensure that they are in line with God’s will for our lives, in line with His heart for us. A horse can be controlled by its head so wherever the head is being turned, there the body follows. Seasons come and seasons go. This one will pass too. But while we are still in this one, we want to be sure to receive all that God has planned for us and learn what we needed to learn. On that note, I feel also to tell you: Well done for persevering!

Psalm 91 tells us “A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you…Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;...” This was a REVELATION in David’s heart! He believed it and because he believed it that was where his faith was and through his faith, it was activated in his life – just go and read of God’s faithfulness in David’s life through MANY battles. And this started with a boy who was looking after his father’s sheep. A true worshipper of God – he loved God with ALL that he had. We should be teaching our children to have their own unique relationship with God and to hear His voice before we teach them anything else!!!

We have been and are living in interesting times where many “bombs” are exploding all around us. These bombs have different names all over the world– poverty, illnesses, plagues, famines, government disasters, family tragedies, etc. It is so important to be able to “control” your reactions to these bombs. To still keep focus on Jesus. And in essence, this is the key: To keep eyes on Him. There’s the story of the two dogs. The black dog and the white dog. You decide which one you will feed because that will be the one that will grow and prosper in your life.

God is showing me a picture, as I am typing right now, that many of us are really “bathing” in news and gossip. And then we wonder where our negativity, fears and depression comes from. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is bigger than ever and MANY people are eating from it daily and feeding each other from it. The Tree of Life, on the other hand, is still on its usual spot and still the same size (wisdom does not need to boast or try to sell itself – either you are sold or your not). It still bears the same fruit and it’s still there for anyone to eat from it.

We need to keep asking God what His will is for our lives and rather consult Him when we need a solution for a problem. Why? Because then, when we pray, we pray in agreement with His will and prayer in agreement is so much more powerful. We do this instead of just praying our will and then end up being disappointed and feeling hopeless because “God is not hearing our prayers or He doesn’t care”. He does!!!! More than you will ever know or understand! Loren Cunningham told how his parents taught him something very true “You are as safe in the will of God as you would be if you were in His pocket.”

Worldly knowledge should be gained for one reason: Because God stirred your heart for that specific subject and He needs you to intercede or offer assistance of some sort. But for NO other reason at all. The world was functioning and will still be functioning with or without you knowing all the bad news. While on earth, we are in a battle. See that you keep your heart pure – blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. Jesus came not to bring Peace to the earth, He came to bring a sword (Matt.10:34). Either you are a CIVILIAN(weakened by fear after reading all the world news) or a useful SOLDIER (strengthened by spending time in the Word and being washed by it) – a soldier whom God can use. Start getting off the sideline and MAKE A CHOICE! For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him (2 Chron.16:9).

Jesus said in John 16:33 that in this world we will have it tough, yes, but He also said that in Him we will have peace. He did not come to bring peace to the world but IN HIM we will find our Peace. Be of good cheer! He has overcome the world and He lives within you.

Okay, so that was the first part of the word I wanted to share… Once again, as I mentioned earlier, many of us are weary especially after a long season of battles. This might be you. I keep hearing “This too shall pass”. Jesus Culture recently released a song “Defender” which God has used to speak to me in this season. They hit the nail on the head with this one

“All I did was praise,

all I did was worship,

all I did was bow down,

all I did was stay still”.

This is the message now, I believe, that we need to keep worship and praising our God (especially when we don’t feel like it) and bow down before Him, stay still. Victory is with Him. By your patience, possess your soul and allow God to do the rest. Soldiers follow orders. Be sure that you are quiet to hear what He is saying.

Prov.21:31 “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is of the Lord.”

How much of your life is not really in your hands (we think it might be but it’s not). Yet we fight for things we cannot save. All we can do is bow down before our King. He will give the command when He needs us to take action but for the rest of the time, we just STAY STILL. All eyes on the King.

Ps.2:12b “…Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him..”