Be prepared and keep your lamps lit. You are also to be like people who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door for him when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will prepare himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and he will come up and serve them. Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. Luke 12:35-38.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God says:
Churning waves and tossing sea, but at the depths all is calm. Storms in the sky, but above the storm clouds all is calm. And yet if you get caught in the churning waves or in the storm clouds you are thrown about and there is no seeming escape.
Hope is what keeps you in the calm depths and in the higher realms of peace. Christ Jesus is your hope. Why? He is your great good Shepherd who leads you out of every dark valley and storm. He is the one who walks on the stormy sea and invites you to join Him, and He is seated on High at My right hand and I have seated you with Him. Jesus is your anchor behind the veil. And there, with Him as your great High Priest in the Holy of Holies, all is quiet. Peace reigns there in My perfect rest of power.
Deep calls unto deep at the sound of My waterfalls, where all the breakers, billows and waves break above and roll over you, but you are undisturbed. Psalm 42:7.
But to stay in My rest you must be firmly anchored in Christ, which is being anchored in My Word. And to do that you must be diligent and vigilant. Keep watch. Be like the weatherman. When you see a storm on the horizon, be ready to take it down before it hits you off guard.
Vigilance means many things, but primarily that you are watching for the enemy and you are prepared should you see him. You have an arsenal of My Word prepared for every attack, you have the full armor of God, you have a fortress, a refuge, a strong tower, a shield, and a two-edged Sword ready and aimed. And above all you have the Name and the authority to use it.
What would you think of an army that had no weapons prepared, did not keep watch on the tactics of the enemy, and just played and caroused all he time? An army that never trained for battle, never had any strategic plans, never invested in offensive or defensive weapons, and never paid any attention to what the enemy was doing?
That army is worthless when there is an attack. Jesus advised you there would be attacks for you have an adversary who is looking to steal, kill, and destroy you and your family. Surely that unprepared army will be taken by surprise, for the thief will come when least expected, and that army will go down with a great defeat.
And now look at another perspective. For I use both in the Bible. What do you think of a servant or employee who thinks his employer is not watching and does not do his job, or even embezzles the employer’s funds? You would not regard such a one highly for he is a person of no responsibility, sense, or integrity.
Well, now let Me ask you, how do you run your life?
You have an adversary who is roaming about seeking to stop your destiny and to take you out of the battle against him. And you have a Master who is seeking those who will be trustworthy to advance His Kingdom enterprise and partner with Him in mighty works of excellence, walking in integrity and nobility.
These are the two fronts of vigilance that I warn you about in My Word. And a good and faithful servant would qualify in both fronts, but, above that, a good and faithful son or daughter for they are not only a servant but a joint owner and heir of all.
The priority on the two fronts is easily discernable. You should be more vigilant about keeping My Word and doing what is good, pleasing and perfect with Me than fighting with the devil. If you are one with Me, the devil is not a problem. I cast him out with My finger and so can you. Also I will keep you aware of his strategies, traps and tricks, just as Elisha knew all the maneuvers of the army that was out to attack the king of Israel, even the ones the adversary spoke in his bedroom, and Elisha would tell the king of Israel just the right strategies to avoid the attacks of his enemy, much to the chagrin of the enemy.
If you are sinning against Me and rebelling against My Word, however, you have already joined the ranks of the devil and are under his authority to carry out his will. And then it is hard for Me to help you to victory for you have turned your heart away from My voice and are listening to the voice of the stranger. And he is a liar and the father of lies.
There are many things in your life that the devil escalates to look to you like huge problems that really are not, just momentary light afflictions, passing waves that you can either churn in or dive under to the deep so that they just pass over. Do not be quick to take offense. Bring things to Me and go over them with Me first before you reply or take action.
Enter My rest. Give Me the joy of working with you to change the things in your life that are not in line with My Word. My Words are life to those who find them and health to all their flesh. Let Me send My Word to heal you and deliver you from all your destructions. There is no pit so deep that I cannot pull you out of it.
Become an active doer of My Word. A dreamer must also be a doer for the dream to come to pass. No one ever won a race by dreaming about it. He has to actually go out and run it. And to win he has to prepare himself for success beforehand.
It goes back to vigilance with diligence. Be watchful of your thoughts, words, and encounters. There are many ways you can fall prey to the enemy but the primary way is to not be aware of his tactics.
You may be undergoing a trial right now. Cheer up! You will have trials in the world, but My Son has overcome the world and its power to hurt you. John 16:33. Know that your fellow believers throughout the world are undergoing the same sufferings. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. But resist him, steadfast in faith, and after you have suffered for a little while, I, the God of all grace, who called you to My eternal glory in Christ, will Myself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. 1 Peter 5:6-11.
So be sober and vigilant against the devil’s tactics and when a trial hits then you will know who is behind it. And if you are diligent about reading and knowing My Word you will know what you must do to overcome his tactics so that by faith and patience you may inherit the promises. I train your hands for battle and your fingers for the war. And here I am speaking of a spiritual war.
So how do you weather a storm and come out standing steadfast and strong, and not only standing but as more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus as He leads you forth in triumph?
Let us go back to hope as the anchor of your soul.
An anchor is not a lifeboat or a floating raft that takes you away from a dangerous spot. An anchor holds a boat firm in troubled waters. It holds it secure as it weathers a storm so that it is not destroyed or moved. An anchor is defined as a heavy object, usually of metal, attached to a ship by a cable and cast overboard to hold it in a particular place by means of a fluke that digs into the bottom. It is a source of stability and security. It keeps the boat from drifting upon the waves or tide and crashing against the rocks or running aground and wrecking.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hope based on faith in My Word brings confident joyful expectation that what I have spoken shall come to pass in your life, whether it be salvation, healing, health, provision, prosperity, deliverance, or any of My other promises to you who are in Covenant with Me. It is a blessed assurance that gives you stability in the midst of a storm. It roots and grounds you in Me, your rock and your redeemer.
I blessed Abraham and promised to multiply him. He put faith in My Word to him and it gave him hope. And hope anchored his soul (mind, will, and emotions) in My Word and gave him the strength to stand through contrary circumstances knowing My Word would come to pass, that he would have a future of good, of prosperity, and of joy in the fulfillment of his dreams. A future filled with what he hoped for. Jeremiah 29:11.
And hope does not disappoint. Romans 5:5.
And you are heirs of the blessing I gave to Abraham through Christ, Galatians 3:13-14, so you can take hold of the hope set before you. This hope is as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, that is, into the realm of the Spirit, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for you, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:13-20. This hope lifts the veil and brings you to My throne, the holy of holies, to receive grace and help in time of need.
So look past any trial you are facing into the realm of the Spirit, that is, walk by faith and not by sight, so that you may know the hope to which you are called.
And based on My Word to you, put your anchor down and attach it onto My Word and refuse to go under the waves or to be tossed about on every wave of trial that comes breaking on your boat. Hang onto that hope, let your soul be anchored by it so that your mind, will and emotions are stable, secure and at peace, as you would look to a light in a dark place until the morning star rises in your heart and the full light of day breaks upon you to dispel the darkness of the storm.
Do not waver from your hope. You must speak and act in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind, being double minded and unstable, and such a one will not receive the promise. James 1:6-7. He has pulled up his anchor of hope. And he will shipwreck on the rocks or go under the waves.
And My desire is that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Hebrews 6:11-12. My just one shall live by faith and if he draws back I take no pleasure in him.
Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that you may receive the promise. Hebrews 10:35-36.
So, when a trial hits that contradicts My Word to you and you feel you are being tossed off course, encourage yourself, cheer up and do what I tell you in My Word. First, humble yourselves under My mighty hand so that I may exalt you at the proper time, cast all your anxiety and worries on Me, because I care for you. Be sober and vigilant to speak only My Word of healing, provision, and blessing over your life, do not magnify the problem. Ask Me what you need to do, or find in My Word what I tell you to do to obtain a particular promise. Be aware that it is not Me causing your problem, your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour, but you must resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings. Know you are not going under but over, that you can and will be an overcomer if you do not grow weary in well doing. After you have suffered for a little while, I, the God of all grace, who called you to My eternal glory in Christ, will perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
I love you. Hold fast the confession of your hope without wavering, for I who promised am faithful. Hebrews 10:23.