Believing Before Seeing

"The land which I do give them, even the children of Israel" (Joshua 1:2).

God here speaks in the immediate present. It is not something He is going to do, but something He does do, this moment. So faith ever speaks. So God ever gives. So He is meeting you today, in the present moment. This is the test of faith. So long as you are waiting for a thing, hoping for it, looking for it, you are not believing. It may be hope, it may be earnest desire, but it is not faith; for "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The command in regard to believing prayer is the present tense. "When ye pray, believe that ye receive the things that ye desire, and ye shall have them." Have we come to that moment? Have we met God in His everlasting NOW?  --Joshua, by Simpson

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True faith counts on God, and believes before it sees. Naturally, we want some evidence that our petition is granted before we believe; but when we walk by faith we need no other evidence than God's Word. He has spoken, and according to our faith it shall be done unto us. We shall see because we have believed, and this faith sustains us in the most trying places, when everything around us seems to contradict God's Word.

The Psalmist says, "I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of living" (Ps. 27:13). He did not see as yet the Lord's answer to his prayers, but he believed to see; and this kept him from fainting.

If we have the faith that believes to see, it will keep us from growing discouraged. We shall "laugh at impossibilities," we shall watch with delight to see how God is going to open up a path through the Red Sea when there is no human way out of our difficulty. It is just in such places of severe testing that our faith grows and strengthens.

Have you been waiting upon God, dear troubled one, during long nights and weary days, and have feared that you were forgotten? Nay, lift up your head, and begin to praise Him even now for the deliverance which is on its way to you.  --Life of Praise

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True faith does not consider circumstances. It does measure the tides or ponder the risks. Faith that is authentically faith does not rely on pragmatic or empirical evidence for substantiation of what it believes. True faith does not compromise its position and stance for the sake of comfort in reason. Rationale cannot wrestle away the hope that is substantiated through faith.

Faith stands alone, girded by the promises of God. Faith believes before it sees and when what it sees is diametrically opposed to what it believes, it believes still. Faith dares to laugh at the impossible and boasts an undefeated record against adversity. Faith calls those things that are not as though they were, believing what it expects has already been done.

Dr. Rick Wallace

The possessor of genuine faith is not concerned with putting God on the spot; instead they reach and believe with an audacity that transcends commonality and eclipses mediocrity to experience the supernatural. The one that has become acquainted with authentic faith, does not waver at delay and is not daunted by darkness. Faith speaks to its possessor, all things are possible, when you believe.

God responds to faith. Put your faith to work and lay hold to all that God desires for you. Faith cannot override the will of God, but in the will of God it is unstoppable. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

Smell The Flowers

Sometimes we spiritual leaders get caught up in the everyday pull of striving to please God and we lose sight of all that is important. A very close friend told me on yesterday that sometimes God just wants us to be. Simply to be. Stop stri

ving and just be. There are times he simply wants us to exist in His greatness while he works things out.

I know that this year, I have pressed harder than any year prior to fulfill my design and fill my space (for those that don't follow me on a regular basis, filling your space is living at the pinnacle of your potential). I have made sure to leave nothing on the field. In doing so, I have accomplished much, but I fear I have sacrificed even more.

Listen, to me and listen carefully. I know far too many pastors, bishops, and ministry leaders that are on the second and third marriages because they didn't figure this thing out. Yes, God did give us each a calling, but He also gave us priorities through which to balance our life. God, wife, family, ministry. This is the way it should be.

I will tell you that success and accomplishment without the ones you love is empty and it leaves you lacking. Yes, I fought this year like never before. I fought for each of you. To finish books that would inspire you, to research and write articles that would bless ministries to feed their sheep, opening charter schools to equip saints for the battle at hand. With all of this I almost did not take time to observe all that was around me.

Thank God that conversation woke me up on yesterday or I could have easily went into another year with the pedal to the metal headed down destiny lane without my destiny in tact.

Now with that being said, I praise God that he is a God of restoration. He restores and when He restores, He builds up, meaning He makes it better than it was before. Just ask Job.

For all of you that are out there grinding to no end chasing the deal, building the ministry, growing the congregation, writing your next book, take time to smell the flowers, they may not be there when you wake up. If you guys only know how much I love each of you. I have had ministers tell me that I won't last long in the ministry because I bear the burdens of those I serve. That is what I do I serve and I bear every pain. With that being said, fulfill your destiny; without a doubt, but don't leave half of it behind because you are moving too fast to notice when it needs to be maintained. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

Fret Not Over Evil-doers

"Fret not thyself" (Ps. 37:1).

Do not get into a perilous heat about things. If ever heat were justified, it was surely justified in the circumstances outlined in the Psalm. Evil-doers were moving about clothed in purple and fine linen, and faring sumptuously every day. "Workers of iniquity" were climbing into the supreme places of power, and were tyrannizing their less fortunate brethren. Sinful men and women were stalking through the land in the pride of life and basking in the light and comfort of great prosperity, and good men were becoming heated and fretful.

"Fret not thyself." Do not get unduly heated! Keep cool! Even in a good cause, fretfulness is not a wise help-meet. Fretting only heats the bearings; it does not generate the steam. It is no help to a train for the axles to get hot; their heat is only a hindrance. When the axles get heated, it is because of unnecessary friction; dry surfaces are grinding together, which ought to be kept in smooth co-operation by a delicate cushion of oil.

And is it not a suggestive fact that this word "fret" is closely akin to the word "friction," and is an indication of absence of the anointing oil of the grace of God?

In fretfulness, a little bit of grit gets into the bearings--some slight disappointment, some ingratitude, some discourtesy--and the smooth working of the life is checked. Friction begets heat; and with the heat, most dangerous conditions are created.

Do not let thy bearings get hot. Let the oil of the Lord keep thee cool, lest by reason of an unholy heat thou be reckoned among the evil-doers.  --The Silver Lining

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It is not your job to be concerned with the plight of the evildoers. God's Word never returns to Him void, it always accomplishes that for which it was sent, and God has promised that the evildoers will be cut down. So, do not give energy to them, focus on your work. Focus on your design and purpose. Know that God has a Word for you as well. He has promised to prosper you and to give you a future and a hope.

Live in that hope, know that God works everything in your life towards your good. There is no need for fretting, God is sovereign and not one happening gets by His knowing. To you, it may seem as if the evildoers are prospering while you are struggling. To you it may seem that the unrighteous amasses the wealth, but scripture reveals that the wealth of the wicked is stored up for the righteous.

Allow the wicked to toil in their evil enterprises. Let them flourish momentarily in their grandiose machinations. For at the appointed time, they will fall. It has been declared and the righteous will see it. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

Built for This!

Listen to God's response to Jeremiah's complaint of all the wrong and evil that surrounded him:

“If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you,
Then how can you contend with horses?
And if in the land of peace,
In which you trusted, they wearied you,
Then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan? (Jer.12:5, NKJV)

The difficulties that you are encountering now are simply the training fields for the greater work that you were designed and called out to do. You were designed to run with horses, so don't become wearied by the footmen that resist you. God is training you for greater things.

"You may be wondering, How can I withstand the incessant attacks of the enemy? You do it by understanding that you were built for the battle. Everything that you have endured in life to this point has worked out to prepare you for the battle at hand. Right before David fought Goliath, King Saul tried to talk him out of it:

32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart(AG) on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”

33 Saul replied,(AH) “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion(AI) or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized(AJ) it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion(AK) and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued(AL) me from the paw of the lion(AM) and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” (1 Sam. 17:32-37, NIV)

What was David saying to Saul? He was saying, I am built for this. I have been in training for this very moment. I have killed both lion and bear. I am built for this. Trust me my friend, you are built for this. Don't listen to the lies of the enemy. This is your moment, this is where you glorify God and build your legacy as a believer. I don't care how lonely it is, you are built for this. I don't care how dark it gets, you are built for this. I don't care how many people talk behind your back, you are built for this.

You were designed to run with horses, don't let the footmen weary you. Shake loose of your fears. Shake loose of those doubts. Shake loose of the procrastination. Rise up and run with confidence that you are built for the battle. Look the enemy in the I and tell him; "I'm built for this. Facing an uphill battle? I'm built for this. Marriage in disarray? I'm built for this. In return for your love, they have become your accusers? I'm built for this.

Run with the horses my friend because soon your running will take flight and you will soar with eagles. Praise God! ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

Specialize in the Impossible

"The hill country shall be thine" (Josh. 17:18, RV).

There is always room higher up. When the valleys are full of Canaanites, whose iron chariots withstand your progress, get up into the hills, occupy the upper spaces. If you can no longer work for God, pray for those who can. If you cannot move earth by your speech, you may move Heaven. If the development of life on the lower slopes is impossible, through limitations of service, the necessity of maintaining others, and such-like restrictions, let it break out toward the unseen, the eternal, the Divine.

Faith can fell forests. Even if the tribes had realized what treasures lay above them, they would hardly have dared to suppose it possible to rid the hills of their dense forest-growth. But as God indicated their task, He reminded them that they had power enough. The visions of things that seem impossible are presented to us, like these forest-covered steeps, not to mock us, but to incite us to spiritual exploits which would be impossible unless God had stored within us the great strength of His own indwelling.

Difficulty is sent to reveal to us what God can do in answer to the faith that prays and works. Are you straitened in the valleys? Get away to the hills, live there; get honey out of the rock, and wealth out of the terraced slopes now hidden by forest.  --Daily Devotional Commentary

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Got any rivers they say are uncrossable,
Got any mountains they say 'can't tunnel through'?
We specialize in the wholly impossible,
Doing the things they say you can't do.
--Song of the Panama builders

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Difficulty is not sent to deter you, but to position you to experience the awesome power of God as he performs the impossible through your faith. Difficulty reminds us of our frailty and limitations, but in the same instance it points us to God who is omnipotent.

Often times difficulties come to move us to higher heights. We often get bogged down in the toiling of life and we stop ascending. Difficulty make you want to move; it plants the desire for something beyond what you are currently experiencing.

Maybe, the hardships, hurts, and struggles that you are experiencing is God saying, "The Hill Country Shall Be Thine". He is saying move on up just a little bit higher where I shall do the impossible for you. Don't be discouraged by the difficulties in your life, God is calling you to elevated heights. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

We Are Valuable

We Are Valuable

 Today's MP3
Value is now measured by two criteria: appearance and performance.  Where does that leave the ugly or uneducated?  Where hope does that offer the unborn child? The aged?  The handicapped? Not much at all. We become nameless numbers on mislaid lists.

This is man’s value system.  But it is not God’s.  His plan is much brighter.  In God’s book man is heading somewhere.  He has an amazing destiny.

We’re being prepared to walk down the church aisle and become the bride of Jesus. We’re going to live with him.  Share the throne with him. We count.  We’re valuable.

Jesus’ love does not depend on what we do for him. If there was anything that Jesus wanted everyone to understand it was this: A person is worth something simply because he is a person. That’s why Jesus treated people the way he did.

You have value simply because you are! ~ Max Lucado

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One of the greatest challenges of believers in this contemporary culture is the lack of identity or a fraudulent source of identity. So many in this culture assign worth based on superficial factors, such as IQ, stature, education, accomplishment, social status and bank accounts. This is not Biblical .

Your worth is written in the extravagant details of your DNA. Your Worth is in the knowledge of your origin. You were designed and crafted by the master craftsman Himself. Your value is in the fact that God values you.

Let's take a look at what Christ has to say on the matter:

The Sheep and the Goats

31 “When the Son of Man comes(A) in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.(B) 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate(C) the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.(D) 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom(E) prepared for you since the creation of the world.(F) 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,(G) 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me,(H) I was sick and you looked after me,(I) I was in prison and you came to visit me.’(J)

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’(K)

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me,(L) you who are cursed, into the eternal fire(M) prepared for the devil and his angels.(N) 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’(O)

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. (Matt. 25:31-46, AMP)


Wow! Amazingly powerful! Christ has equated the least with the greatest. There is no partiality. Christ values the pauper as well as the prince, with no partiality given to either. As believers we should view this in the same light.

No matter who you are, God values you beyond measure. How much does he value you? He values you so much that, in the form of Christ, He came down and died in order that you might have a right to eternal fellowship with Him.

The value of every person extends beyond temporal possessions or financial status. So the next time you are tempted to assign value based on worldly standards, I encourage you to take the time to examine the person closely as observe the fingerprint of God ingrained in the uniqueness of their facial features. I would have you ponder the thought of the attention to detail God has put into the uniqueness of their DNA. Gaze into their eyes and observe the intricate details of the Master's design. Take a moment to listen to the soft whisper of their breathing and understand that the very One that breathed life into you thought enough of them to do the same for them. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

Flowing Through Process

We must give ourselves permission to be in process. Too often we allow our failures and shortcomings to define us as if we have already arrived. Paul told the Philippians that he desired to lay hold of the fullness of the faith, but he had not yet obtained it. Look at what Paul said:

10 [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 [[b]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]

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

12 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.

13 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,

14 I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward. (Phil. 3:10-14, AMP)

Paul acknowledged that though his aspirations was the attainment of the fullness of the faith, he had not reached it, but he also gave the formula for attainment of the goal. Paul said he forgot those things that were behind him (both bad and good) and he looked forward to those things which were yet ahead of him. Paul was giving himself permission to be in process. He understood that focusing on the bad things of the past would shoulder him with a guilt complex that would bog him down. He knew that focusing on all of the past successes could easily have pushed him into the pit of arrogance or pinned him against the wall of complacency. His goal was ahead of him, so he learned from each experience and he pressed forward.

Dr. Rick Wallace

When we don't give ourselves permission to be in process we end up with enormous guilt complexes that stifle our growth and progression. Being in process is not a license to sin or the passkey to mediocrity; it is simply the understanding that you are still growing in faith and toward spiritual maturity, so that when you do make a mistake, and you will, it doesn't derail your progress.

Understanding that you are in process also allows you to side step the snares of the enemy as he points his accusatory finger at you. The power of grace, empowered by love, and facilitated by the blood, covers you as you press toward the goal of that higher calling of God. Grace empowers you to overcome your failures and still move forward to the ultimate goal.

It's okay, being in process is a part of obtaining the promise. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

Don't forget to visit our Life Solutions 21 site where address the enigmatic issues the plague believers on a daily basis. 

I Refuse!

I REFUSE:

I refuse to live a mediocre life, never having made a difference in this spiritual warfare. I refused to be exceptionally gifted but devastatingly unpurposed. I refused to be confined and restrained by the negative opinions of the faithless and narrow-minded people in my periphery. I refuse to be a conformer to the colorless expectations of sight walkers. 

I refuse to stand on the sideline while souls are being sacrificed and lives being slaughtered. I refuse to wallow and whine concerning my struggles. I refuse to climb into that box of "realistic" expectations that has stifled the supernatural movement of God in so many lives. I refused to be tricked and robbed of my destiny by the subtle machinations of the enemy. 

Dr. Rick Wallace

I refuse to be shaken by the vicissitudes of life or flow in the capriciousness of my circumstances. I refuse to be labeled and cast by anyone other than the One Who called me (God). I refused to be minimized in impact, affect, appearance, and status just to make those around me comfortable. 

I refuse to be defined by my past. No, I shake free of worldly limitations and I choose to walk in the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit. Rather than be subdued by my circumstance, I will be driven to action by them. I am a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. No more meandering through the maze of mediocrity, greatness is my birthright. I will no longer wade in shallow waters by pondering at the pool of popularity, instead I will walk on the deep waters of spiritual warfare and kingdom building. My gait has been set, my heart is fixed, my mind is made up. For God I live and for God I die. No more colorless dreams and dwarfed goals, I will walk in the supernatural. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace  

Trust Amid Silence

Trust Amid the Silence
"He answered her not a word" (Matt. 15:23).

"He will be silent in his love" (Zeph. 3:17).

It may be a child of God is reading these words who has had some great crushing sorrow, some bitter disappointment, some heart-breaking blow from a totally unexpected quarter. You are longing for your Master's voice bidding you "Be of good cheer," but only silence and a sense of mystery and misery meet you --"He answered her not a word."

God's tender heart must often ache listening to all the sad, complaining cries which arise from our weak, impatient hearts, because we do not see that for our own sakes He answers not at all or otherwise than seems best to our tear-blinded, short-sighted eyes.

The silences of Jesus are as eloquent as His speech and may be a sign, not of His disapproval, but of His approval and of a deep purpose of blessing for you.

"Why art thou cast down, O…soul?" Thou shalt yet praise Him, yes, even for His silence. Listen to an old and beautiful story of how one Christian dreamed that she saw three others at prayer. As they knelt the Master drew near to them.

As He approached the first of the three, He bent over her in tenderness and grace, with smiles full of radiant love and spoke to her in accents of purest, sweetest music.

Leaving her, He came to the next, but only placed His hand upon her bowed bead, and gave her one look of loving approval.

The third woman He passed almost abruptly without stopping for a word or glance. The woman in her dream said to herself, "How greatly He must love the first one, to the second He gave His approval, but none of the special demonstrations of love He gave the first; and the third must have grieved Him deeply, for He gave her no word at all and not even a passing look.

"I wonder what she has done, and why He made so much difference between them?" As she tried to account for the action of her Lord, He Himself stood by her and said: "O woman! how wrongly hast thou interpreted Me. The first kneeling woman needs all the weight of My tenderness and care to keep her feet in My narrow way. She needs My love, thought and help every moment of the day. Without it she would fail and fall.

"The second has stronger faith and deeper love, and I can trust her to trust Me however things may go and whatever people do.

"The third, whom I seemed not to notice, and even to neglect, has faith and love of the finest quality, and her I am training by quick and drastic processes for the highest and holiest service.

"She knows Me so intimately, and trusts Me so utterly, that she is independent of words or looks or any outward intimation of My approval. She is not dismayed nor discouraged by any circumstances through which I arrange that she shall pass; she trusts Me when sense and reason and every finer instinct of the natural heart would rebel;--because she knows that I am working in her for eternity, and that what I do, though she knows not the explanation now, she will understand hereafter.

"I am silent in My love because I love beyond the power of words to express, or of human hearts to understand, and also for your sakes that you may learn to love and trust Me in Spirit-taught, spontaneous response to My love, without the spur of anything outward to call it forth."

He "will do marvels" if you will learn the mystery of His silence, and praise Him, for every time He withdraws His gifts that you may better know and love the Giver.  --Selected

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Have you every given attention to the life of the new believer? Have you ever noticed how when that new convert falls to their knees before the Lord that His responses are almost instantaneous? I have marveled at that for years. There are a number of reasons for this, some, God has left as mysteries in this life, but there are a couple which are, to me, obvious.

The first reason that I believe there is such attentiveness given to the prayers of new converts is there faith. Their faith, though new and small, has not yet been corrupted by experience and external influence. They simply believe.

The second is closely related to the first. God understands that their faith has not grown enough to withstand delay. He understands that a prayer gone unanswered for these individuals may prompt them to believe that God is unresponsive and unconcerned about their issues. God responds to their prayers so expeditiously because they need Him to.

On the other hand, the seasoned believer that has had their faith cultivated through the long winds of adversity is dealt with based on the level of their faith and spiritual maturity. The believer that has developed an unwavering faith may at times experience silence when praying. It may, at first, seem as if God is aloof or indifferent to their needs, but God always hears and He always cares. The silence is not a sign of neglect or indifference; it is God's way of stretching your faith, centering your focus, and preparing you for advancement.

Don't be alarmed by the silence, it is not indicative of God's absence, but expressive of your growth. God deals with each believer individually, based on the level of our spiritual maturity and He knows exactly how to engage each of us to get the best out of us. The Bible tells us that God withdrew from Hezekiah to test him and to find out all that was in His heart (2 Chron. 32:31). Sometimes God meets your prayers with silence to measure our growth and determine our heart's motives.

It is easy to proclaim the praises of God when He is responsive to your prayers and immediately attentive to every need, but what happens when your prayers are met with silence and your needs are not attended to as you believe they should? Do you remain faithful? Does the praise continue? Do you continue to trust?

Dr. Rick Wallace

It is important to know that God is God whether it be in the abundance of His blessings or in the desert of silence and uncertainty. Though the answer is delayed, God is not distant. He is observing with care and attentiveness your response to His silence, and when He deems it best, He will show up. It is your responsibility to maintain your faith. Continue to trust Him, even when you hear nothing. Continue to believe when everything around you says you are standing alone. God is faithful, He will come through. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

Don't forget to check out Dr. Wallace's book Elevation through Revelation.

Cast Down, But Not Without Hope!

"Why art thou cast down, O my soul" (Ps. 43:5).

Is there ever any ground to be cast down? There are two reasons, but only two. If we are as yet unconverted, we have ground to be cast down; or if we have been converted and live in sin, then we are rightly cast down.

But except for these two things there is no ground to be cast down, for all else may be brought before God in prayer with supplication and thanksgiving. And regarding all our necessities, all our difficulties, all our trials, we may exercise faith in the power of God, and in the love of God.

"Hope thou in God." Oh, remember this: There is never a time when we may not hope in God. Whatever our necessities, however great our difficulties, and though to all appearance help is impossible, yet our business is to hope in God, and it will be found that it is not in vain. In the Lord's own time help will come.

Oh, the hundreds, yea, the thousands of times that I have found it thus within the past seventy years and four months!

When it seemed impossible that help could come, help did come; for God has His own resources. He is not confined. In ten thousand different ways, and at ten thousand different times God may help us.

Our business is to spread our cases before the Lord, in childlike simplicity to pour out all our heart before God, saying,

"I do not deserve that Thou shouldst hear me and answer my requests, but for the sake of my precious Lord Jesus; for His sake answer my prayer, and give me grace quietly to wait till it please Thee to answer my prayer. For I believe Thou wilt do it in Thine own time and way."

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"Why are you cast down, O my soul?" Why are you depressed and sunken in spirit? The Bible records that David encouraged himself in the Lord. This seems to be yet another one of those moments in which David had to give himself a pep talk. Before you Bible Scholars jump on my back and kill a perfectly good point, I will acknowledge that Psalm 43 is an anonymous Psalm (author unknown); however when I read it, the soul of David cries out.  So, for the sake of argument, we are going to say David wrote it, at least for today.

David encouraged himself in the Lord. There are those times in our lives when we will have to encourage ourselves. There will be no one there with an inspirational message. There will be no pats on the back accompanied by the reassurance that everything will be alright. In fact, there will be moments in which the positive outcome seems impossible. Where do you turn when there is no one to help you lift your spirits as the vicissitudes of life seem to be extracting the very breath of your existence? You look within. There will be those moments when you will have to remind yourself of God's faithfulness. There will be those moments in which you will have to recall God's movement in times past. You will have to speak to your soul and tell it, "God will come through, I will praise Him for deliverance once again.

The prophet Jeremiah said it like this, "21 But this I recall and therefore have I hope and expectation:
22 It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not." (Lamentations 3:21-22, AMP)

To really grasp the power of this statement by the Prophet Jeremiah you really need to study the prophet Jeremiah's life. Jeremiah is the one prophet that recorded his personal feelings as he delivered God's word, so when he was disappointment, discouraged, saddened, or upset, his readers knew it. This allows you to really gauge his struggles and relate to his pain. The book is entitled Lamentations for a reason. Jeremiah couldn't catch a break to save his life. He was constantly under assault for preaching the truth of God's revelation. So, for those that are complaining because you feel you are walking in your anointed purpose, but you seem to be under constant attack, get used to it, it's part of job.

Dr. Rick Wallace

Jeremiah said, "These things I recall to mind, therefore I have hope. As believers, we literally have a responsibility to hope in God. It is our spiritual duty to hope in God. We are called to rest in Him. God has never promised a life of ease, void of struggle. In fact, Jesus told the disciples that there would be tribulations in the world (John 16:33), but he followed it by saying, "but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." He was saying the victory has been won, but you have to get in the fight. You must enter the battlefield, but the victory has already been accomplished.

No matter what you are going through as you traverse the crossroads of life, you can depend on God to be an ever present help in the time of trouble. I encourage you to learn to encourage yourself. It is good to have a friend or loved one that you can depend on to help lift your spirits, but there will be those moments where it is just you, your troubles and God. What will you do in these moments? You will do as David and Jeremiah did; you will encourage yourself in the Lord. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

Rejoice in the Flood!

"He turned the sea into dry land; they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him"  (Ps. 66:6).

It is a striking assertion, "through the floods" (the place where we might have expected nothing but trembling and terror, anguish and dismay) "there," says the Psalmist, "did we rejoice in him!"

How many there are who can endorse this as their experience: that "there," in their very seasons of distress and sadness, they have been enabled, as they never did before, to triumph and rejoice.

How near their God in covenant is brought! How brightly shine His promises! In the day of our prosperity we cannot see the brilliancy of these. Like the sun at noon, hiding out the stars from sight, they are indiscernible; but when night overtakes, the deep, dark night of sorrow, out come these clustering stars--blessed constellations of Bible hope and promise of consolation.

Like Jacob at Jabbok, it is when our earthly sun goes down that the Divine Angel comes forth, and we wrestle with Him and prevail.

It was at night, "in the evening," Aaron lit the sanctuary lamps. It is in the night of trouble the brightest lamps of the believer are often kindled.

It was in his loneliness and exile John had the glorious vision of his Redeemer. There is many a Patmos still in the world, whose brightest remembrances are those of God's presence and upholding grace and love in solitude and sadness.

How many pilgrims, still passing through these Red Seas and Jordans of earthly affliction, will be enabled in the retrospect of eternity to say--full of the memories of God's great goodness--"We went through the flood on foot, there--there, in these dark experiences, with the surging waves on every side, deep calling to deep, Jordan, as when Israel crossed it, in 'the time of the overflowing' (flood), yet, 'there did we rejoice in Him!'"  --Dr. Macduff

"And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the door of trouble for a door of hope: and she shall sing THERE" (Hosea 2:15).
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He turned the sea into dry [land]: they went through the flood on foot: there we rejoiced in him. (Ps. 66:6, WEB)

"There we rejoiced in Him"; there in the midst of the flood, they rejoiced. They did not wait until their journey was complete, they did not wait until the victory I had been completely won. They rejoiced there as they traveled through the flood.

How many of us can proclaim rejoicing in our pain? How many can "there we rejoiced" in reference to their valley experience?

Faith is prospective, it has a way of bringing joy and praise to the forefront in the most difficult of times simply because it believes God for the victory. Faith looks and sees beyond the moment; not with human eyes, but with spiritual sight. Faith claims the promises of God amidst delay, disappointment, danger and devastation. Faith declares that what God has promised, He is able to perform.

It seems to the unconverted heart a very foolish thing to rejoice in the midst of trouble. The unconverted heart would consider that such behavior is a sign of classic denial; however, to the heart of the believer, it is a sign that their faith is solidified.

It would seem to me that when I have found myself in the flood I have been able to sense God's presence more distinctly. As the pressures of life's trials began to press down upon you, your reaching out to God draws Him nearer to you (Jam. 4:8).

God does His greatest work in us when we are against the wall and pressed by trouble. Trouble pushes us to our limits  and forces us to examine and acknowledge the reality that we cannot walk this ethereal journey of Christianity in our own power. It is then that we find that God's grace is sufficient for us. There is something spectacular about the sufficiency of God's grace. There is no depth of sorrow in which God's grace cannot sustain. There is no gross darkness in which God's grace cannot hold you steady. There is no valley of loneliness in which the Grace of God cannot keep you.

Whether it be Paul in the Roman Prison on John exiled to the Isle of Patmos, God's grace remained sufficient. I encourage you to rejoice as you travel through the flood. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

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Be sure to follow my series on emotional healing.

When God Says No

"There hath not failed one word of all his good promise" (1 Kings 8:56).

Some day we shall understand that God has a reason in every NO which He speaks through the slow movement of life. "Somehow God makes up to us." How often, when His people are worrying and perplexing themselves about their, prayers not being answered, is God answering them in a far richer way! Glimpses of this we see occasionally, but the full revelation of it remains for the future.

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"If God says 'Yes' to our prayer, dear heart,
And the sunlight is golden, the sky is blue,
While the smooth road beckons to me and you,
And the song-birds warble as on we go,
Pausing to gather the buds at our feet,
Stopping to drink of the streamlets we meet,
Happy, more happy, our journey will grow,
If God says 'Yes' to our prayer, dear heart.

"If God says 'No' to our prayer, dear heart,
And the clouds hang heavy and dull and gray;
If the rough rocks hinder and block the way,
While the sharp winds pierce us and sting with cold;
Ah, dear, there is home at the journey's end,
And these are the trials the Father doth send
To draw us as sheep to His Heavenly fold,
If God says 'No' to our prayer, dear heart."

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Oh for the faith that does not make haste, but waits patiently for the Lord, waits for the explanation that shall come in the end, at the revelation of Jesus Christ! When did God take anything from a man, without giving him manifold more in return? Suppose that the return had not been made immediately manifest, what then? Is today the limit of God's working time? Has He no provinces beyond this little world? Does the door of the grave open upon nothing but infinite darkness and eternal silence ?

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Yet, even confining the judgment within the hour of this life, it is true that God never touches the heart with a trial without intending to bring upon it some grander gift, some tenderer benediction. He has attained to an eminent degree of Christian grace who knows how to wait. --Selected

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Let me explain something to you; delay does not mean denial. God functions in the realm of timelessness, but yet He is always on time. Simply wait patiently on Him. In the same way, when that thing you have prayed for so  passionately, fervently, and incessantly seems out of reach; when it seems that God's answer is no; do not fret. David said, "I once was young and now I am old and I have never seen the righteous forsaken..." If God has said no to your petition it is because He has something far greater in store. He is simply saying to you that what you are asking for is not the best for you. I have learned that when God tells me no to apply patience and vigilance as I wait for His plan to be revealed. It is then that I learn that there was something better than what I could have ever imagined sitting in front of me.

Don't allow delay to be the catalyst for despair. Don't allow God's subtle no's to nullify your faith. God is moving in the midst of the madness of your mess to deliver that extraordinary blessing that will confound your enemies. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

Faith Bends Facts

28 Tell them: As surely as I live,” this is the Lord’s declaration, “I will do to you exactly as I heard you say. (Ex. 14:28, HCSB)

This verse of scripture speaks volumes into the faith and speech of believers. This conversation between God and Moses takes place immediately after the twelve spies return with their report to the people of Israel of all they saw in Canaan (the promised land). Ten of the spies came back saying that it is all that God says it was (unbelievably beautiful and having an abundant supply all things necessary for living). There was just one problem; there were giants in their land. So, their final assessment was: we can't take the land.

Now God had given them the land, but required them to go in and possess it. He was not sending them in blind for He promised them that he would be with them and that they could surely do it. Nonetheless, these 10 spies said that they couldn't. The two other spies, Joshua and Caleb, said that the land could be taken, because God had already given it to them, they only needed to go in and possess it. The people decided to believe the other ten spies and begin to say that God had asked them to do the impossible.

Allow me a bit of digression for a moment. When God is in the midst of your movement there is no such thing as impossible. In fact, through academic study and experiential observation, I can tell you that the more impossible the endeavor, the more powerful God's movement in it becomes. I have learned that when I simply let go and let God, the impossible becomes possible and the extraordinary becomes ordinary.

I digress, God told Moses, "just as they have spoken and I have heard them say, so shall I do to them." God said since you said that you can't, you won't. If you take the time to read this entire passage, you will find that their lack of faith and the declaration that they could not do it, was considered by God to be a direct complaint against Him. When God has promised to walk you through the storm and you keep worrying and believing the lies of your circumstances, you are saying to God, I don't believe you can do what you said you can do. I don't believe your power is enough to manage my moment. I don't believe you will come through.

One of the problems with believers is we have bought into the distorted view of factual information bequeathed to us through secular paradigms. Most of us have been taught that facts are solid and they cannot be manipulated. The truth is facts are fluid because not even factual reality can resist the power of faith through love. In other words, faith bends facts. In life one of two things are happening daily; either your faith is transcending the facts, or the facts are transcending your faith. My friend, nothing trumps faith in God, not even facts.

It is interesting to me the emphasis the Bible places on speech. We are told that there is the power of life and death in the tongue and admonished to choose life. We are told that we will have to give an account of every idle word that comes out of our mouth. We are told that we can determine what is in a man's heart by observing what comes out of his mouth. In this particular instance, God said, just as you have spoken in my hearing, so shall it be.

Here is my first question: What are you speaking into your life? How many words come out of your mouth daily that reinforce the negative happenings in your life? (Okay that was bonus question). The thing is many of you are self-perpetuating your misery with your negative imprecations. Stop speaking anything that is not God's will for you into your life. Stop responding the fact as if they are fixed. I'm not saying that this will stop the vicissitudes and challenges of life from rolling in. Trials and tribulations are a part of life, but faith and the words that come from a faith filled heart produce the power to exit each one of these storms victoriously.

God had never told the Israelites that they would not have to fight; He told them that they would never lose. He told them that He would fight for them. He told them that no weapon formed against them would prosper. I have read the bible from cover to cover too many times to count (not including daily study, teaching, etc) and when I get to Isaiah 54:17, I continuously read the same thing: No weapon formed against you will prosper. It does not say, there will be no weapons formed against you. In fact, the context and sentence structure is implicit that there will be weapons formed against you, but then it becomes direct in the assertion that the weapons will not prosper.

Here is my second and final question (maybe)? Who are you listening to when determining what you are going to believe? Here is my advice to you. Stop letting narrow minded people who have no vision convince you that the vision you have for life is unrealistic. Stop letting people who gave up on their dreams talk you out of yours. Stop allowing those that are unacquainted with the power of faith convince you that facts are final. Faith bends facts. Look, the fact was that before The Battle of Gibeon, the sun had never stood still in the History of mankind, however, that did not stop Joshua from praying to God to stop it. When you study this passage, Joshua did not ask as if there could be any other response to his faith; he declared and decreed.

12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites(AB) over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:

“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
    and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
13 So the sun stood still,
    and the moon stopped,
    till the nation avenged itself on[b] its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of Jashar. (Joshua 10:12-13, NIV)

God desires more audacious Christian believers like Joshua, not afraid of the impossible, but daring to reach for it. Speak life. Speak life into that hopeless situation. Speak life into your dead circumstances. Speak life into your dwindling hopes. Irregardless to what your circumstances declare, make your declarations of your faith. The writer of Hebrews reminds us to hold fast our confession of faith without wavering. The two words "hold fast" is actually the double use of one Greek word "katecho" (kat-ekh'-o) meaning to hold down, possess, to seize. We are to take hold of our faith and stand firm in it.

So, remember the next time someone starts listing the facts and painting the illusionistic portraits of negativity, that your faith trumps their facts. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace  

Sold Out for the Cause!

Question: Are you willing to sell out for God? I mean truly sell out for God. I'm talking about putting yourself aside and living your life unto Him. Before you answer that question, give it some consideration. Be sure to measure up the cost. Be sure to understand the strain and struggle.

You see it is easy to sit down with your laptop or your smart phone and post enlightening and inspiring quotes and messages, but it is an entirely different situation to make up in your mind, for God I live and for God I die. It is an entirely different thing to lift your hands in praise while under the assault of the enemy.

Can you say with passion and honesty what Job said, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust Him"? Are you prepared to preach through your pain? Are you determined in your heart stand against all that moves against the Kingdom of God?

When you are weary and burdened beyond measure, will you answer the bell? Can you speak of joy while fighting back the tears of anguish and despair?

Does your ministry stop when you log off of your laptop or are you engaged in 24 hour warfare? Where are the real soldiers at? If I were Daniel, would any of you be Shedrach, Meshech or Obed-Nego? If I were David, would any of you be my Jonothan? If I were Paul, is there a Barnabas or Timothy out there willing to walk with me? Is there a Luke out there willing to stand as my spiritual physician?

You see, I have made the commitment. My life now belongs to God to use as He wills. My will has been bent by circumstance, heartache and struggle to mirror the will of my Father. I have signed my name in blood and I have changed my colors. The dye has been cast, my gait is set and steady, and my eyes are fixed on the finish line. I have purpose in my heart to fight the good fight of faith. I will no longer offer God anything less than my best because I know I can expect the same from Him.

I refuse to meander through the maze of mediocrity or ponder at the pool of popularity. I am a soldier of God, I am not fearing any man, for God is my shield. I am not deterred by any circumstance because the Lord is my light and my salvation.

I have decided to shake loose of all of the things that were binding me. I decided to shake loose of sight walking. I decided to shake loose from secular paradigms. I decided to shake loose of limitations being placed on my limited potential. I decided to shake loose from being concerned about what other people think of me, my ministry, and my vision. I shook loose of yesterday's failures. I shook loose of feelings of inadequacy, I shook loose of wishful thinking and started walking in purpose.

Yes, where are my soldiers at. When you are not able to sit behind the comfort of your Mac or PC, will you still declare His praise? When it seems that every word of praise intensifies the attack of the enemy, will you sing anyhow?

It is time to stand in the center of the battlefield and clearly declare your position. I have decided that I am taking back ground, what are you going to do?

NOTE: These are not rhetorical questions, each one needs to be met with a decisive answer. That is the problem, too many Christians have lived a life that has been on big rhetorical question. it is time to rise up and make a statement! ~ Dr.Rick Wallace

He Refines Us!

"God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Gal. 6:14).

They were living to themselves; self with its hopes, and promises and dreams, still had hold of them; but the Lord began to fulfill their prayers. They had asked for contrition, and had surrendered for it to be given them at any cost, and He sent them sorrow; they had asked for purity, and He sent them thrilling anguish; they had asked to be meek, and He had broken their hearts; they had asked to be dead to the world, and He slew all their living hopes; they had asked to be made like unto Him, and He placed them in the furnace, sitting by "as a refiner and purifier of silver," until they should reflect His image; they had asked to lay hold of His cross, and when He had reached it to them it lacerated their hands.

They had asked they knew not what, nor how, but He had taken them at their word, and granted them all their petitions. They were hardly willing to follow Him so far, or to draw so nigh to Him. They had upon them an awe and fear, as Jacob at Bethel, or Eliphaz in the night visions, or as the apostles when they thought that they had seen a spirit, and knew not that it was Jesus. They could almost pray Him to depart from them, or to hide His awfulness. They found it easier to obey than to suffer, to do than to give up, to bear the cross than to hang upon it. But they cannot go back, for they have come too near the unseen cross, and its virtues have pierced too deeply within them. He is fulfilling to them His promise, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me" (John 12:32).

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But now at last their turn has come. Before, they had only heard of the mystery, but now they feel it. He has fastened on them His look of love, as He did on Mary and Peter, and they can but choose to follow.

Little by little, from time to time, by flitting gleams, the mystery of His cross shines out upon them. They behold Him lifted up, they gaze on the glory which rays from the wounds of His holy passion; and as they gaze they advance, and are changed into His likeness, and His name shines out through them, for He dwells in them. They live alone with Him above, in unspeakable fellowship; willing to lack what others own (and what they might have had), and to be unlike all, so that they are only like Him.

Such, are they in all ages, "who follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth."

Had they chosen for themselves, or their friends chosen for them, they would have chosen otherwise. They would have been brighter here, but less glorious in His Kingdom. They would have had Lot's portion, not Abraham's. If they had halted anywhere--if God had taken off His hand and let them stray back--what would they not have lost? What forfeits in the resurrection? But He stayed them up, even against themselves. Many a time their foot had well nigh slipped; but He in mercy held them up. Now, even in this life, they know that all He did was done well. It was good to suffer here, that they might reign hereafter; to bear the cross below, for they shall wear the crown above; and that not their will but His was done on them and in them. --Anonymous.

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So often, we tend to surrender to our natural proclivities to seek self in lieu of the cross. Trust me, I know, it is much easier to seek self. From a superficial perspective, seeking self is less painful than the alternative; living unto the Lord. Yet, self-seeking does nothing for spiritual growth. Seeking self does nothing for the advancement of the kingdom.

We shun the cross at all costs. The cross represents pain and sacrifice. The cross represents dying to self in order that we might live to Christ. It must become the understanding of every believer that when we shun the cross we shun the deliverance of power to carry out our Christian responsibilities. When we seek to circumvent the vicissitudes of life, we maneuver around our blessings. When we contend with the cross we dim our light and our impact.

God uses our struggles as the furnace of purification; he refines us over and over in the furnace of heartache until we begin to reflect His image.

If it were up to us, we would never experience the heartbreak of burying a child. If it were our choice, we would ever be dominated by the devastation of divorce. If we would could cast of lot, it would not be for financial disarray, but God knows what's best for us. When we find ourselves in the midst of the struggle and it seems that we can't pray our way out, it is God telling us that He is more concerned with our Character than He is with our comfort.

Comfort cannot develop character, but the long winds of suffering is a great teacher. Convenience has no power to bend the stubborn recalcitrant will of the believer, but the unyielding crushing of heartache releases the anointing. Perfect environment contains no intrinsic value to the believer, but the darkness that often accompanies the vicissitudes of life hones the spiritual senses and develops vigilance.

Whatever you do today, remember, No Cross; No Crown. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

Satan's Tools

"Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and, let us run with patience the race that is set before us" (Heb. 12:1).

There are weights which are not sins in themselves, but which become distractions and stumbling blocks in our Christian progress. One of the worst of these is despondency. The heavy heart is indeed a weight that will surely drag us down in our holiness and usefulness.

The failure of Israel to enter the land of promise began in murmuring, or, as the text in Numbers literally puts it, "as it were murmured." Just a faint desire to complain and be discontented. This led on until it blossomed and ripened into rebellion and ruin. Let us give ourselves no liberty ever to doubt God or His love and faithfulness to us in everything and forever.

We can set our will against doubt just as we do against any other sin; and as we stand firm and refuse to doubt, the Holy Spirit will come to our aid and give us the faith of God and crown us with victory.

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It is very easy to fall into the habit of doubting, fretting, and wondering if God has forsaken us and if after all our hopes  are to end in failure. Let us refuse to be discouraged. Let us refuse to be unhappy. Let us "count it all joy" when we cannot feel one emotion of happiness. Let us rejoice by faith, by resolution, by reckoning, and we shall surely find that God will make the reckoning real. --Selected

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The devil has two master tricks. One is to get us discouraged; then for a time at least we can be of no service to others, and so are defeated. The other is to make us doubt, thus breaking the faith link by which we are bound to our Father. Lookout! Do not be tricked either way. --G.E.M.

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Gladness! I like to cultivate the spirit of gladness! It puts the soul so in tune again, and keeps it in tune, so that Satan is shy of touching it--the chords of the soul become too warm, or too full of heavenly electricity, for his infernal fingers,  and he goes off somewhere else! Satan is always very shy of meddling with me when my heart is full of gladness and joy in the Holy Ghost.

My plan is to shun the spirit of sadness as I would Satan; but, alas! I am not always successful. Like the devil himself it meets me on the highway of usefulness, looks me so fully in my face, till my poor soul changes color!

Sadness discolors everything; it leaves all objects charmless; it involves future prospects in darkness; it deprives the soul  of all its aspirations, enchains all its powers, and produces a mental paralysis!

An old believer remarked, that cheerfulness in religion makes all its services come off with delight; and that we are never carried forward so swiftly in the ways of duty as when borne on the wings of delight; adding, that Melancholy clips such wings; or, to alter the figure, takes off our chariot wheels in duty, and makes them, like those of the Egyptians, drag heavily

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In the Bible we are told, "fret not" and "be anxious about nothing" among other passages that explain the devastating force that accompanies worry. Worry robs you of rest, focus and productivity. Worry renders you dysfunctional in your duties as a believer. Worry snatches victory from your grasp and replaces it with emptiness and uncertainty.

Will the vicissitudes of life roll in incessantly? Most certainly, but understand that in Christ you are victorious despite the circumstances of the moment. Your victory is not dependent of the absence of struggle, difficulty, uncertainty, and pain, it is assured despite it.

There is power in learning to trust God to the point that you find yourself smiling in the midst of heartache. There is power in believing God for the supernatural despite the empirical and pragmatic evidence that is sitting before you. There is power in being able to stand firmly in your faith and say, "God I trust you. I trust you with my life; I trust you with my hurt, I trust you with my failures, I trust you with my future."

Don't allow the weight of worry to crush you. If the weight is so heavy that your knees buckle, then you are in the perfect position to pray. David, in one of his darkest moments, after acknowledging his plight, says, "but I give myself to prayer." What ever you may be facing is not a problem for God, so give yourself to prayer. More bills than money? Give yourself to prayer. Feeling lost and alone? Give yourself to prayer. Can't seem to break free of what has entangled you? Give yourself to prayer. Faith and breakthrough are inextricably bound together by the creator.

Christ's magnanimous gift provided at Calvary assures your victory in every circumstance. The evil machinations of the enemy are no match for the cross. The cross brought expiation and redemption. The cross brought power and reconciliation. Stand firm my friends and know that God is about to bust a move in your life. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

Joy in Prison

Joy in Prison

"And Joseph's master took him, and put him into a prison... But Jehovah was with Joseph... and that which he did, Jehovah made it to prosper" (Gen. 39:20-23).

When God lets us go to prison because we have been serving Him, and goes there with us, prison is about the most blessed place in the world that we could be in. Joseph seems to have known that. He did not sulk and grow discouraged and rebellious because ."everything was against him." If he had, the prison-keeper would never have trusted him so. Joseph does not even seem to have pitied himself.

Let us remember that if self-pity is allowed to set in, that is the end of us -- until it is cast utterly from us. Joseph just turned over everything in joyous trust to God, and so the keeper of the prison turned over everything to Joseph. Lord Jesus, when the prison doors close in on me, keep me trusting, and keep my joy full and abounding. Prosper Thy work through me in prison: even there, make me free indeed. --Selected

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Imagine, God giving you a vision as a 17 year old and this vision is so lucid and powerful that it stains your identity forever. The vision becomes transcendent to wishful thinking and exorbitant dreaming; it is something that is just as real and the air that you are breathing. The power and magnitude of this vision shakes the foundation of your existence and creates enemies among your closest friends and family. This vision is so distinct, dominant and compelling that it leaves no room for waning confidence.

Then, out of nowhere (maybe not out of no where), those that theoretically should be supporting you, turn against you. They actually plan on killing you, but decide to sell you into slavery and tell the rest of the family that you died a tragic death.

Now imagine as a slave the vision being so much a part of you that you see past your circumstances and you relate to your dream; your circumstance says slave, but the vision says king/queen. Imagine that even in the gracious manner in which you engage the your current suffering, someone decides that you haven't suffered enough and lies on you. Now you are in prison for a crime you didn't commit. Well certainly this is the last straw, right? No, the vision stabilizes you in the midst of adversity. You do not become frenetic or unglued at the sign of trouble, delay, disappointment or betrayal; you know that your moment of breakthrough is coming. You know that if you continue to press on in His will that you will stand in the middle of the oasis of promises fulfilled.

Imagine that you finally reach that point where the vision becomes a reality; only its 13 years later. You are no longer a 17 year old kid, but a 30 year old adult.  The scripture says that Jehovah was with Joseph. God's presence was with Joseph so that Joseph was not alone. He was with him as the one who elucidated the vision when it  was threatened by the clouds of nebulousness. He was with Joseph as the incessant reminder of purpose and destiny. Even with Joseph being enslaved and imprisoned, God made all that he did prosper.

God wants to prosper you. Not after you exit the storm, but while you are dead in the middle of. I believe it was Smokie Norful that said that God blessed him right dead in the middle of his mess. God gets a kick out of making sense of your mess. He delights in baffling your enemies with His supernatural power, which He gladly uses on your behalf. So, I conclude that there is reason to rejoice in the midst of the disappointment. I reassess the darkness as the place where God desires to bust a move in your life. The darkness is the place that hides the lie and reveals the truth. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

More Than a Lily

By Brenda • October 9, 2012

 

Word of the Day
Beloved, consider the lilies and how they grow in relation to the promises and dreams of your life…in relation to all I have promised and all I say about you. What other people say or think about you can have no bearing on how I think and feel about you. No one has the power to persuade Me to feel differently about you…act differently toward you, influence Me in anyway related to being negative toward you, or stop Me from fulfilling all I have made covenant to do.

Just as the lily is capable of adapting and growing in many different environments, so are you capable of walking out the promise, purpose, destiny and dreams of your life. Lilies grow in valleys and fields. They grow in cultivated gardens and at times, they even grow among thorns. I, the Lily of the Valleys was once crowned with thorns and we all know how that worked out (Song of Songs 2:1). I am now seated at the right hand of Father and no thorn or plan of man could stop Me from being seated there.

Lilies grow rapidly and are very common in many environments. They can grow in the wild…in harsh conditions, unkind situations, and do so without effort. They do not toil nor do they spin. They simply grow in the environment provided. They bloom in a variety of colors including a brilliant white and their trumpet shaped petals protect the golden seeds of their heart.

With this in mind, know that you can grow and fulfill your dreams and walk out the fullness of destiny regardless of the success or failure of men to do on your behalf as they have promised. What stops you more than the unfulfilled promises of others is your own response to what happens in life both good and bad. Be like the lily and know you are a lily regardless of what environment you are planted in…regardless of whether the circumstances are pleasant and fulfilling or downright inhospitable.

Remember this most of all, when others fail, do not be lured into making things happen in your own flesh out of worry, fear or somehow having missed the mark. Bring it to Me instead and wait for the spring rain of new wisdom, revelation and understanding to come as to what your next step might be. And in the meantime while you are waiting, take pleasure and be fulfilled in the knowledge that I have clothed you in white and the golden seeds of promise are protected in the good soil of your heart. Trumpet this, even as the petals of the lily, trumpet a beauty more grand than all the beauty, excellence, grace and dignity with which Solomon was ever arrayed.

Beloved, have faith in Someone greater than you or those who have covenanted with you…those who made promises to you. Have faith in Me. Come aside with Me and the stress of life will cease. The need and pressure to arrive at your destination before you are supposed to will dissipate. The need to somehow get everything done NOW will fade away. Letting go of others…letting go of worry…letting go of your own self-expectations will enable you to see the lily of your own life bloom.

Take a moment to simply close your eyes and see yourself free of expectations, disappointments, fears, and attachments to past negative experiences. Ask Me what you need to let go of in order not to spin or toil…in order to see the bloom of your own life as I see it. Ask Me. I am ready to answer…

Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the span of his life? And why should you be anxious about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field and learn thoroughly how they grow; they neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his magnificence (excellence, dignity, and grace) was not arrayed like one of these (Matthew 6:26-29 Amplified)

Prayer
Lord, there is only one opinion of me that will ever truly matter, Yours. Your opinion of me must supersede even my own belief about myself and my value or worth. I am so grateful that You cannot be swayed by what others think or say about me. You aren’t even persuaded by my own self-doubts. You act totally contrary to all the negativity indulged in by myself or others…contrary to all failure on my part…contrary to all the false remunerations of men as You keep covenant with me without missing a beat. You are never persuaded by facts, situations or circumstances outside of Your very own nature to pursue me with a relentless, ravished heart of love.

Therefore, I declare I am not abandoned or held to the standard of men, for I was loved, am loved and will be loved for all eternity. I am more valuable than the birds of the air, more beautiful than the lilies which grace the valleys and the fields. I am one who can grow among the thorny actions of men. I grow in green valleys, in lush fields, in harsh places and am adaptable to any environment I am planted in. I do not toil nor do I spin. I simply draw from the vine I abide in, Jesus. I do not have to make things happen. They will flow like living waters out of my relationship to the Lord.

Like the lily, I am clothed in white…my hands are lifted up in adoration, praise and surrender and my heart holds the golden seeds of truth and promise given to me by the Lord. All these things will testify to the goodness of God as my dreams unfold before me to give glory to His name. My faith is in someone greater than me…greater than the promises of men…greater than unfulfilled promises…greater than any success. My faith is in the Lord who is the hope of salvation, healing and deliverance. I shall not be moved. I stand on the Rock and let go of all disappointment, insecurity, expectations, past negative experiences or failures. I put my whole, complete hope in Him who does not disappoint, Jesus. As I do this, the bloom of my life springs forth to declare His love and glory. Amen