Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. Philippians 4:11.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
There are some of you who are caregivers for relatives or in a job you do not love or in a situation with your spouse or family or in your school or in your church where you do not feel appreciated but oppressed, or you could be in prison or multiple other situations that seem impossible to get out of and you are looking up at Me feeling frustrated, trapped, and hopeless, and your cry is, “I do not want to spend the rest of my life with this person or in this situation.” And My answer? You are not spending the rest of your life with that person or that situation but with Me. You can have joy unspeakable filled with glory right where you are at any time and all the time. The Kingdom is within you.
My servant Paul wrote that he had learned to be not only content, but overflowing with joy, in whatever place or situation he was in or whoever was around him, whether he was chained in prison or feasting in a palace. How could that be? Because he was spending his time with Me.
Think of Daniel in a pagan nation, persecuted and lied about, thrown in a den of hungry lions, and he calmly slept all night and came out unharmed. How? He spent his days and nights with Me.
David lived in dark caves chased by Saul and the armies of Israel, did he moan and groan? No, he spent his time singing praises to Me and enjoying My presence and protection. Under the shield of My wings he sang for joy till harm passed by.
John was sent to a dry and desolate island exile to be left alone to die but he spent the time with Me and I took him up to Heaven and showed him things to come and he wrote the book of revelation. He loved where he was because he was with his Beloved.
Peter slept so soundly in prison the night before he was to be executed that My angel had to kick him to wake him up and make him leave the cell. Why? He was resting in My love and knew I was taking care of him. In life and death, like Paul, he knew he was Mine and he would be with Me whether in the world or not.
Whether the people stoned him or flocked to hear his teaching did not determine Paul’s joy for I was with him always and I alone was more than enough for him. He counted everything he used to think so desirable like rubbish compared to knowing Me. Storms, prosecution, arrest, prison, he called it all momentary light affliction not even close to the weight of glory that he had with Me.
It is not just what is around you that gives you joy, some people have what the world thinks is everything desirable—fame, money, the limelight, adoring fans, expensive homes and cars—and yet they are taking drugs, alcohol or other means to fill the deep depression and darkness that nothing in this world that is fading away can fill as they search for the contentment and rest that only the Love that is your source that never fades away but is the brightest of lights and is brighter every day can give.
I have set you free. No matter where you are, you are free in Me.
Though Peter was chained in a prison cell and Herod was feasting in his royal palace, Peter was free but Herod was not. The one who is bound by lust and sin is a slave of sin, but who the Son sets free is free indeed. Sin is no longer your master.
For he that was called in the Lord being a bondservant, is the Lord’s freedman: likewise he that was called being free, is Christ’s bondservant. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. 1 Corinthians 7:22-23.
If you think only of yourself and seek only your own glory and the “perfect place,” you will never know the joy that Peter, Paul, John, Mary, Mary Magdalene, Lydia, David, Isaiah, Daniel, Ruth, Hannah, Samuel, Joseph and I could go on and on, knew. They went through many trials in this life but they did it with their eyes fixed on Me and now they are all in a perfect place where there is only righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, but above all, limitless love filling every fiber of their being and every place in My Kingdom of shining splendor. But though I have glorified everyone there and shared My glory with them, no one there attributes the glory to themselves, they all cry out spontaneously as one “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” Revelation 5:12. And yet I have made everyone there a joint heir with Him.
Now, I will ask you a question so you may examine your life and apply this teaching to your days on earth: How do you spend your days? What takes up most of your time? Do you feel that you are living the life you want or are you just running and running trying to get things done and hoping someday to do what you really want to do?
The solution of how to live a fruitful and blessed life, which so many are seeking so hard to find, is the same for everyone though you all have very different obligations and things to do, but everyone from the baby to the most elderly and all in between can spend the day with Me, when you turn to Me you will find Me right there with you.
I will direct your paths. I will make your pathways straight (the quickest way to get where you are going or do what you are doing). And I will make your pathways pleasant. Time goes very quickly and suddenly so many years have passed by and it is almost time for you to depart to be with Me. You are headed home, so make the most of your time each day, redeem the time. And since you will spend eternity with Me, why not begin eternal life now and spend every moment of every day and every night with Me? You may not realize this but I make things joyful. I make your days happy and filled with good things. Enter My rest and work from there. I surround you with love and compassion. Psalm 103:1-5.
But even though I assure of this often, that is, that I am with you all the time, many do not act as if this is so but treat Me like I am inaccessible. But My loving eyes are always upon you, My Son is always interceding for you at My right hand and watching over your way as your good Shepherd, and My Holy Spirit has been poured into your heart and is with you and in you now and forever. And, of course, I am always commanding My angelic host to guard you in all your ways.
Draw close to Me and I will draw close to you. As close as you will let Me. Ask Me questions and I will answer you and tell you great and mighty things you cannot know on your own. In Christ I have put all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge for you to find. If you seek Me, you will find Me right there with you, so why not take advantage of so great a salvation and let Me lead you, guard you, guide you, bless you, heal you, protect you, deliver you, and above all let Me be your beloved, your friend, your comforter, and your constant companion. In other words, talk with Me constantly and make melodies with Me in your heart. I will talk with you, I will answer questions, and I will give you new songs to sing. My children hear My voice. They know Me and they follow Me. And if you have taken Jesus as your LORD, you are My child and the Holy Spirit will witness this to you with your spirit.
I tell you in My Word that there are three things My Holy Spirit testifies to (witnesses). He testifies to you under the New Covenant that are very important for you to know to keep up unbroken fellowship with Me. First, He testifies to you that I remember your sins and lawless deeds no more. Hebrews 10:15-17. I imputed all your sins and lawless deeds to Jesus and He bore them and the punishment due them at the cross, so you are holy and blameless before Me. Ephesians 1:4. And the Holy Spirit testifies to this for He testifies to Jesus. 1 John 15:26. Second, And He testifies with (witnesses with ) your spirit that you are My children. Romans 8:16. Third, He testifies with Me that I have given you eternal life, and this life is in My Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have My Son does not have the life. 1 John 5:9-10.
So I am testifying to you that in Jesus you are forgiven of all your sins (past, present and future), saved from My just wrath, washed clean for all time in the blood of My Son, made righteous with My own righteousness, and are forever in My favor. And as He is so are you in this world. And He is perfect—without spot or blemish.
You are holy and blameless before Me in Jesus since before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1:4. You have become pure with Jesus’ own purity, just as I imputed His righteousness to you and your sins to Him, I have also imputed His purity to you. He is the unblemished Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
In the Old Covenant when a person sinned under the Law, I gave him a way of being made right with Me, but it was just a covering, like a credit card charge that had not yet been paid but provided the immediate benefit sought but still must be paid to keep the benefit forever. Under the Law, the burnt offering and the sin offering were required. And the lamb, ram, goat or bull that was offered to atone for the sin (for the penalty for sin is death) had to be unblemished (without defect, blameless) so that when the sinner laid his or her hand upon the lamb’s head, all the sin went upon the lamb and the lamb’s unblemished life went out to cover the sinner from My judgment upon the sin.
In Leviticus 23:12 it is written “Now on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb one year old without defect for a burnt offering to the Lord.” I explain the burnt offering in Leviticus 1 and the sin offering in Leviticus 4. You would do well to look at those (and the peace offering as well in Leviticus 3) for they are the shadow of the good things to come in Jesus.
And in Psalm 40, I give you the prophecy of Jesus that is confirmed by the Holy Spirit in the book of Hebrews, chapter 10. Let Me show it to you and you will be blessed indeed, it is Jesus speaking to Me: “Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired; My ears You have opened (here the Hebrew word “karah” means “bore” like boring a hole, it is the same word I use in Psalm 22:16 for the piercing of the hands and feet of My Son on the Cross, and in Psalm 40 with reference to the ear it shows My Son’s choice to serve Me and you in procuring your salvation (the bride being the Church and the children are all of you in the church who were born again in Christ) and refers to the bondslave described in Exodus 21:6); Burnt offering (olah in Hebrew and holokautomata (like holocaust) in Greek) and sin offering (hataah) You have not required. Then I said, “Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of Me. I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.” Psalm 40:6-8. And then I go on to explain more as My Holy Spirit testifies: “I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness (His sacrifice made you righteous) in the great congregation; behold, I will not restrain my lips, O Lord, You know. I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation (Yeshuah, Jesus); I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great congregation.” Psalm 40:9-10.
Let Me give you the explanation given you as a testimony of My Spirit in the book of Hebrews, chapter 10:
“The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: ‘Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, my God.’ First he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them’—though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.” Hebrews 10:1-18.
Christ your Passover has been sacrificed and you are now made pure and blameless. You have received the unblemished nature of your lamb just as was done with the shadow in the Old Testament but now you have the substance. Leviticus 1:3. And His death gave you eternal redemption and cleansed you of all sin forever. He has made you pure with His own purity. The infinite riches of Christ are now all in your account.
We are reconciled by the blood of the cross. You are righteous with My own righteousness and blameless as He is. You are justified. There is no hindrance to your fellowship with Me. Your sins and offenses I remember no more. Jesus, the Lamb of God, took them all and gave you His purity before Me. You can never lose My favor again. You made your choice to come home when you chose Jesus. Awake to righteousness and you will not sin.
Do you see how much it cost Me so you can spend all your days with Me and never again experience a moment out of the shield of My favor? You are forgiven, loved, redeemed, and cherished forever.
I do not love you because of Jesus. I gave you Jesus because I love you and did not want to lose you. But justice had to be satisfied so you could be assured that I would never remember your sins again. I have sworn never to be angry with you again.
Isaiah 54:9-10: “So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you nor will I rebuke you. For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, and My covenant of peace will not be shaken,” says the LORD who has compassion on you.”
Hence the story of the prodigal son. He was a child not a servant. He represents all of you who have been born again but have taken a detour from the life of good deeds I prepared for you in advance. You cannot be lost but you can waste your inheritance. Do not let that be you. And how do you avoid that? Spend your days with Me. Never be out of My house. Sing with David, “And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever!” And the best place to start being content is by being thankful for what you have now. I will then be able to multiply the good things in your life.
I love you. Remember, I am the One you live with, you are spending your days with Me. Always.