Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. James 1:16-17.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God says:
I do not change. I am the same yesterday, today and forever. There is no shifting shadow or turning in Me. When I tell you that you are healed by the stripes (bloody scourging) of My Son, you are. If My Word does not seem to be working in your life, since I do not change it follows that there is something in your life that you must change. I call it renewing your mind to the truth from being conformed to the world’s way of thinking which is run by the “god” of the world, the one Adam gave license to enter and take his dominion, called that ancient serpent and also known as the devil and Satan. He is a murderer from the beginning and a liar and the father of lies. He will always try to contradict My Word by showing you a picture to the contrary, like he did with Eve. And she adopted his picture instead of Mine, that is, his vision instead of Mine. And you run with the vision that you write on the tablet of your heart. Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the issues of life.
The inner picture you have can pervert your faith or confirm your faith. You choose what your mind dwells on and it becomes your vision of reality. You can have a picture of failure and defeat or a picture of victory and triumph. And which one do I tell you that you have in Christ Jesus? Read 1 Corinthians 15:57 and 2 Corinthians 2:14 and Isaiah 54:17 and let Me know what I said. It may be very different from what you are saying right now about your situation, and what you are saying becomes your vision for you write it on the tablet of your heart. Your heart is notating what you say at every moment. Be careful what you hear, for that is what you will say if you hear it enough.
My Son tells you that the Kingdom of Heaven, which is within you, is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches. Matthew 13:31-32. You take the seed of My promise, say of healing, victory or prosperity, and you plant that in the field of your heart and hold on to it and cultivate it—you guard it and cultivate it (which was Adam’s assignment in the Garden of Eden)—until it is all you see. It grows and grows till it is the greatest of all the thoughts in your heart and becomes a tree planted by running waters, always producing fruit in due season. And others come to be nourished by your fruit and blessing. My Word becomes the biggest vision in your heart and blocks out all the anxiety and fear generated by Satan’s deceitful words that produce a picture opposite of what My Word paints and grows.
Are you going to look at a picture created by disappointment or at the picture of what I say? Up to you, not Me. I have given you My Word and My Spirit, you have all you need. You have My divine life in you and that is grace, and My grace is sufficient to bring you out on top every time, more than a conqueror, but you must not speak against My Word!
Let Me show you how disappointment almost caused My mighty champion Joshua to declare defeat when I had promised him victory. Which word would he choose? It happened like this. Before Joshua led the children of Israel in to take the Promised Land, I told him as follows: “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory. No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:3-9.
Do you see? I had given him My Word that every place on which his foot would tread I had given to him and that no one would be able to stand against him for I had given him and the Israelites the land. And I promised to be with him wherever he went and that I would never fail him or forsake him. His part was to be strong and courageous by keeping My Word as his constant meditation and guide. With Me there with him, he had nothing to fear. He could not be defeated if he remained in My Word.
He then crossed over the Jordan in a miraculous crossing where the waters rolled back past Adam and then he watched the walls of Jericho come down with a shout! And then he and his nation took the mighty city easily. He felt very confident, so confident that he decided that he would send a very small force of just two or three thousand men up to a small town named Ai nearby to take the town. But when they got there the men of Ai beat them and struck down about thirty-six of the Israelites and pursued them from the gate of their town. And the hearts of the people of Israel melted and became as water when they heard the news of defeat. This was a disappointment they had not anticipated. Joshua 7:2-5.
Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of testimony until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. And then Joshua turned on Me and said, “Alas, O Lord God, why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us?” Now may I ask you, is this what I had told Joshua? No. There were circumstances, however, that looked completely contrary to what I had told him. But Joshua knew I was faithful to My Word, he had stood on it for 40 years in the wilderness and watched those who spoke stout against My Word get what they said.
And here was Joshua speaking stout against the promises I had made to him.
I do not change so something had to be wrong on the receiving end. Joshua asked the wrong question in disappointment, as most do, instead of standing on My promise and asking Me what had gone wrong so he could fix it, he assumed My Word had failed and I did not really plan to do for him what I had said. In fact, he made it even worse, as he continued his complaint, “If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say since Israel has turned their back before their enemies? And then he began prophesying against My Word to him, “For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will You do for Your great name?” Joshua 7:7-9.
I had to correct Joshua before he ruined My plan to give them the Promised Land. I did not want that to happen a second time where they had to go wander outside the Land. So I said to Joshua, “Rise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things. Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst. Rise up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for thus the Lord, the God of Israel, has said, “There are things under the ban in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst.” The problem was not with My promise, it was in the people, one of their number had gone over to Satan’s realm and I no longer had jurisdiction over them. When Joshua understood the problem, he took care of it, and they got back on the victory side.
You need to find out why something is not working before you accuse Me of not telling you the truth. My Word is true and it is impossible for Me to lie. So if My promises are not manifesting in your life, you need to find out why and change whatever is blocking it. Do not be conformed to the ways of this world and be knocked down by every disappointment, change the pattern you are using. If a dressmaker finds a pattern does not work to get the dress she wants to make, she changes to another pattern. And that is what you are doing when you renew your mind, you are changing from working under the pattern of the world system to the pattern of the Kingdom system.
Most people are asking Me to do everything for them without really having any confidence that I will. That is not faith.
Look at Joshua and Ai again. Joshua had already seen Me work extraordinary wonders from Egypt to the battle of Jericho and suddenly he threw it all aside at one disappointment that did not fit the pattern he had envisioned. So immediately he threw out his vision of victory and replaced it with one of defeat. He perverted his faith and all he could do was blame and accuse Me of not performing My Word. But I watch over My Word to perform it, but it is My Word in your mouth that gives Me the authority to make it manifest. Joshua declared I had brought them that far and worked such wonders to destroy them! And he made it worse by declaring that they would all get killed by the very people I told him My angel would go before them and conquer and destroy. He turned it around.
And that is what many of you do the moment you have a disappointment or a bad report that is contrary to My good promise. You blame Me and don’t think that the problem could be with you or what you are permitting in your household.
Joshua though had meditated and spoken My Word too long to give up. He immediately took My correction and began speaking victory again. He did not retreat back to beyond the Jordan but conquered the land as I had promised. And finally he declared that I had performed every good promise I had made to him.
If My Word is not manifesting in your life, something is wrong with what you or those around you are doing. Hang onto My Word and say nothing else no matter what comes against you. And if you keep standing, when the dust storm clears you will find you have won the victory. But if you speak only the disappointment and not the appointment you will never have what I have promised. Plant that seed of My Word, even if your faith is only as big as a mustard seed, and keep it and cultivate it and it will grow till it is all you see. All you should see is victory. False images of failure make you give up. Joshua, after all he went through to hang onto My promise for forty years in the desert was ready to give up and go back across the Jordan at one tiny defeat that was caused by the disobedience of one of the community. You see how important everything you do is as a member of the Body of Christ.
If you are working on something by faith to manifest in your life (victory, healing, provision, etc.), you cannot afford to get out of love. You cannot judge, gossip, be sarcastic about people, or speak with malice and have your manifestation. Faith works by love. Do not speak ill of the person who is causing the problem. Love will conquer so watch your mouth. And do not say what horrible things you suspect they will do or how they will hurt you! Do not get out of walking in love, it will ruin your victory. The fruit of the Spirit has to be constantly being produced in your life if you want victory and to be a good witness for My Kingdom.
Love is stronger than hate. You should know that. Look at the source. I am love and the devil is hate. There is no comparison in authority and power. The devil is a creature. I am the creator. So who wins? Love. Get on the winning side and walk in love. Remain in My love.
No matter what you are doing or where your job is, you are in full time ministry. All the time you are My witness and an ambassador of reconciliation. Make wherever you are a garden spot like Eden. Let your light shine. Jesus did not pray to take you out of the world but to keep you from the evil one. Wherever you go, change the atmosphere from darkness to light, and from hatred to love. Do not participate in deeds of darkness and do not join in gossip, slander, ridicule, or complaining.
And next time you are disappointed, do not assume My Word did not work, it does, immediately, like a detective or a scientist, look for what was wrong on your end and make the appropriate adjustment.
NEVER speak defeat and NEVER speak a dire outcome. You will not find support for that in My Word, only in the word of the father of lies.
I love you. I make all things work together for good in the lives of those who love Me and are called according to purpose. No weapon formed against you will prosper and every tongue raised against you in accusation will be proved false. Your righteousness is from Me and not of yourself. Declare that next time you are attacked instead of speaking fear and dire outcomes. Paint the right picture, paint it with My Word and do not declare what I have not told you like Joshua was doing, if I had not stopped him he would not have been the leader who conquered the Promised Land. The wise woman builds the house, but the foolish one tears it down with her own hands. Life and death are in the hand of your tongue.