Amanuensis

2 Kings 4:18-25 One day when her child was older, he went out to help his father, who was working with the harvesters. Suddenly he cried out, “My head hurts! My head hurts!” His father said to one of the servants, “Carry him home to his mother.” So the servant took him home, and his mother held him on her lap. But around noontime he died. She carried him up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and left him there. She sent a message to her husband: “Send one of the servants and a donkey so that I can hurry to the man of God and come right back.” “Why go today?” he asked. “It is neither a new moon festival nor a Sabbath.” But she said, “It will be all right.” So she saddled the donkey and said to the servant, “Hurry! Don’t slow down unless I tell you to.” As she approached the man of God at Mount Carmel, Elisha saw her in the distance. He said to Gehazi, “Look, the woman from Shunem is coming. 

When the Shunamite’s only son died, she did not weep or wail or advertise the occurrence. She quietly asked for a donkey to be prepared for her to go to Elisha. She did not even tell her husband that their child lie dead up on Elisha’s bed. She trusted. She knew she would have her son back. She knew Elisha would help her, as he had always done. She knew I would help her, through Elisha. Do you have this kind of faith? Can you handle what is going on in your world without talking about it? Do you have faith that I will provide a new car for you? Do you have faith that I will heal the nerve damage in your leg/hip/back? Do you have faith I will help you clean up the mess you have on the property and in your life? Do you have quiet, silent faith? Can you walk forward, day by day, in silence before Me, with Me, relying solely upon Me? Can you be emotionally and spiritually strong enough, mature enough, trusting enough to just abide in Me, quietly, and allow Me to work? Or do you need to talk about it? Constantly replay it? Involve others in it? What can they do? What do they add to the equation? Who is it you really need? Your “donkey” is prayer.  Your “donkey” is trust. Your “donkey” is faith. Can you walk forward in quiet assurance that I am here? That I hear you? That I will provide for you? That I love you – even though right now you are not capable of loving yourself – that I love you so much I will do all you need for you? Just because you are My Child? Am I really enough for you? Or am I just another add-on? You must decide. It all rests upon that. 

1 Chronicles 5:20 They cried out to God during the battle, and He answered their prayer because they trusted in Him. 

It really is that simple. Cry out to Me. I hear you. I know your heart. I know your desires, your hurts, your grievances, your needs. I love you and I want what is best for you. Always. In all things. But, Child, can you say you have that simple faith? Do you trust Me? Do you just trust? In all things? In all circumstances? After all is said and done – that is the issue. Do you trust Me? That is the door that opens My ability to act. Faith. Trust. Belief. Knowledge that I am who I say I am and that I do what I promise to do. That I love you. Always. With a love that does not depend upon what you do. Or who you are. Or what you say. That love is constant, eternal. Open your heart and accept it. Lay down your arms and allow Me in. Break down those walls and let Me enter. Wholly and completely lay your heart bare to Me. I will not break it as others have. I will not walk away as others have. I will not betray you as others have. I will not willingly inflict harm and pain as others have. I know you have been shattered by the evil done you. I know you have been torn apart over and over again. But, that was not done by Me. That was not condoned by Me. And though it was allowed to happen, I did not leave your side during any of it. Even when you were unable to sense My presence, I was there. Carrying you. Loving you. Working on your healing. Strengthening you. Giving you the supernatural ability to lift your head, get up and walk on. In the pain. In spite of the pain. In the damage. In spite of the damage. I’ve always been with you in it and will always be with you in it. Trust that. 

1 Kings 20:41-43 Then the prophet quickly pulled the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. The prophet said to him, “This is what the Lord says: Because you have spared the man I said must be destroyed, now you must die in his place, and your people will die instead of his people.” So the king of Israel went home to Samaria angry and sullen.

 Ahab disobeyed me when I told him to destroy all of his enemies, including Ben-hadad. When he was told that his disobedience would cost him and his men their lives, he was “angry and sullen.” He chose to disobey, I chose to bring a consequence. And so it often is in your life. You make decisions and do not like the consequences. Instead of seeking my face to see if you have sinned, if you have been directly disobedient, you sulk and feel sorry for yourself. Dry your eyes. Wash your face. Clean up, dress nicely and walk in the light. You sin. I allow consequences. Then you have a choice: act like a petulant child or learn the lesson and move on in gratitude and My love and light. But remember that if you choose self-pity and sadness, your life sinks into that mire and I can’t reach you. If you choose to lift your eyes to Me, all will be well with you. Whatever your outer circumstances. Every thing, every word, every thought, every decision, every attitude, every moment is a spiritual decision. How will you decide? I will help you when you choose the right pathway. I will distance myself when you do not. But, Child, I never go away. I am always near and ready to walk beside you, to come alongside and strengthen and guide you, to help you. But a bad attitude closes that door somewhat.

1 Kings 9:1 So Solomon finished building the Temple of the Lord, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do.

Notice that Solomon built a temple for Me before he built a house for himself. Where were his priorities? Was he more interested in his own comfort, or My abode? Was he more interested in his kingship or Mine? Where are your priorities? What is more important to you, your comfort or Mine? What drives you? Will you focus on what is pleasing to Me, or keep worrying about what is important to you? Yes, you will not have a car. Yes, your property is falling apart and overwhelming you. Yes, you are in almost constant pain in your legs and feet. So, will you offer all of that up to Me as a sacrifice and allow Me to be your first consideration? Will you allow Me to be the focus so that we can get everything superfluous out of your way and create a life that is beneficial to you and others, and that serves and glorifies Me? Will you let Me empty your hands so I can fill them again? Choose this day whom you will serve….those are not just empty words. They carry meaning into the cracks and crevices of your life. Every bit of your life. Your thought life. Your feelings and emotions. Your actions. You inactions. Your comfort or lack thereof. Your wants and desires and beliefs and needs and…every breath you take. Pneuma. Remember that? Breathe Me in, breathe all else out. 

Acts 11:17 And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?

You focus on what I give others that I have not given you. Others have gifts and talents and special assignments that I have chosen for them. Others have doors open to them that I do not choose to open to you. Others have personalities that are different than yours. Others have lives that are distinct from yours. These are all decisions that I have made. Do you not trust Me? Do you believe I do not know what is best? You are envious because you believe you should have these gifts, talents, lives. But I have not chosen any of that for you. Stop disliking them. Stop being jealous of them. Pray for them. Pray for their success in following Me, in representing Me, in doing my will. Is that not what you purport to want for yourself – to follow Me closely, to represent Me well, to do My will? Then why do you get in the way of others doing so when their success is beneficial to Me and to your fellow man? Stop looking at everything through the lens of yourself. You used to be able to better look at life, at circumstances, at people through the lens of others. Get back to that. I have plans for you. But you are too wrapped up in you to be ready for them. And you are bitter and angry and judgmental because you believe others have what you should have. Not so. If it were so, I would see that you have it, would I not? This is yet another level of stripping you bare so you can see what is not working in your life. You need to get out of you and step back into My view of things. Your self-centered lens on life is what is keeping you from stepping into what I have for you. So, do you really want to be of service to Me? Do you really want to be a Kingdom warrior? Do you really what to make a difference in the lives of others? Get out of self. 

John 19:1-3 Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. “Hail! King of the Jews!” They mocked, as they slapped him across the face.

You read this and sigh and shake your head. How could they slap God in the face? How could they nail a crown of thorns into the head of the Lord of Lords? How could they scourge the back of the God of all Creation? Yet, have you not slapped Me in the face countless times? Have you not abused Me over and over and over again throughout your life? Have you not spit in My face repeatedly? When you deny Me – My holiness, My pureness, My omniscience, My love – when you deny My existence in any way, you do those things. When you disobey what you know to be My Word, My law – you do those things. When you mistreat others and do not minister to those I send to you – you do those things.  You are, at heart, no different than any of these – Jews or Roman. The only real difference is that for them, I was a flesh and blood Man. Their abuse, their gross mistreatment was inflicted on a human body that I indwelled. Your abuse is more nebulous in that you do not physically see Me, you cannot physically touch Me, you do not look into My physical eyes. Yet, the abuse is at its essence the same. The same denial of My Lordship. The same denial of My place in your life. Who am I to you? Do you walk that out in your life? Or do you give it lip service and continue to live as you want to, ignoring Me? Choose. Decide. Submit your life to that decision. If it is to follow Me, to worship Me, to give your life to Me, I will help you. But if it is just lip service, I will – sooner or later – spit you out of My mouth. Hot or cold. Choose. Lukewarm – playing a role that has no real life in your heart or soul – that I will not accept. 

John 18:28  Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be able to celebrate the Passover.

Do not miss the hypocrisy of this act. Here you have religious leaders setting up an innocent Man to be tortured and ultimately crucified – the most painful, humiliating form of death ever invented. They were murderers. They were liars. They were prideful, hateful, spiteful men setting up an innocent Man for death because they feared Him. Yet, they would not enter the Roman governor’s headquarters because it would “defile them”. Do you see how it is? Do you see the blindness you are capable of? Your hearts and souls are defiled – black as night. Yet you are blind to it and continue to go about your religious practices as if you were walking in My light. Search your own hearts and souls before condemning others. Be sure you are not defiled before calling out others. Are you truly walking with Me? Are you aligning your lives with My Word? Or do you “go to church”, read the Word with some regularity, even go into deeper “study” – and thus fool yourself as to how pure and righteous you really are? What are the motives of your heart? What are your desires and do they align with Mine? What are your plans? Do you seek My input for them? On what basis do you call out the behaviors of others? On the basis of your perfection? There are two directions in which you should focus your sight, your attention: inward and upward. Look to your own heart and check it always. And look to Me for direction, wisdom, guidance. Looking around only distracts and allows you to become other-focused, leading to judgment and a lack of attention to your own actions/motives. That is a disaster in the making. That is the quickest way to walk apart from Me. And once you stray even a bit, the distance between us can quickly become a chasm. 

John 15:18-21, 26-27 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the One who sent me.” …. “But I will send you the Advocate – the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me. And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.”

Did I not speak this to your heart just an hour ago? You are not home any more. Once you became mine, you left this world. It is not yours. You wonder how the evil are rewarded time and time again, and the righteous and innocent are persecuted and harmed. You are unable to justify how this world works. And so. It is not My world yet. It is under the control of your enemy for the time being. And as such, it is not your world. It is not a world you will understand or accept. It is not a place where righteousness is able to reign – yet. It is not a world where the innocent are protected and cared for – yet. It is not a world where evil is exposed and rejected and punished – yet. That day will come. For now, it is not your home. Your home is with Me. And for now, while you are physically in this world, I am with you. I will continue to indwell you. I will continue to walk with you, to protect you, to guide you, to nourish you, to give you all you need to walk righteously, to be My ambassador, to lead others to Me. But I remind you – you will do all of this as you walk in an unrighteous, evil, ever-darkening world. The world as you live in it this day will continue to spiral until I return. Do not be surprised. Do not be dismayed. I am still in control, and I will put an end to it. When the time is right. When the Father directs. In the meantime, walk with Me. Listen for My voice. Read My Word. Obey My commands. Pray without ceasing. And trust, Child. Always trust. Even when I seem to be silent, even when I seem to be far away. Don’t trust your human perceptions, your emotions, your errant thoughts. Trust Me. My Word. My Promises. Trust and believe. I have already worked it all out, it just needs to continue to unfold as the Father directs. 

1 Samuel 17:34-37 But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”

Do you see young David’s faith? Do you see how he was not afraid of the Philistine giant, because he had experience with My faithfulness? My protection? My provision? David knew that the giant was no match for Me. Follow his lead. When you face problems, when you face the giants in your life, do not look at them through your earthly eyes. Look at them through the lens of what I have done for you, how I have proven Myself and My power to you. Look at your giants – your problems – through the lens of them facing Me. Because, Child, when you have Me – when you are one with Me – then it is I who fights the battles, not you. Your enemy is a liar and a deceiver and will distract you with issues, problems – things you seemingly can’t handle or resolve. He will try to make you forget that you have all you need in Me. I am not leaving you. I am not distancing myself from you. I am more than enough to resolve any and all problems you face. I am able to defeat any and all giants in your life. Just remember. Breathe. Look up, not around. I have not moved.

Psalm 106:34-41. Israel failed to destroy the nations in the land, as the Lord had commanded them. Instead, they mingled among the pagans and adopted their evil customs. They worshiped their idols, which led to their downfall. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons. They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters. By sacrificing them to the idols of Canaan, they polluted the land with murder. They defiled themsleves by their evil deeds, and their love of idols was adultery in the Lord’s sight. This is why the Lord’s anger burned against his people, and he abhorred his own special possession. He handed them over to pagan nations, and they were ruled by those who hated them.

Do you not see? This is your Nation. You murder the unborn and call it “reproductive health care.” That has been going on for so long that most of you don’t even blink an eye when it is mentioned – even when the statistics of the rate of that murderous practice are published. You have become numb to it. Now that your enemy has won that battle, you have been drawn into another area of idol worship. Today, you sacrifice your living children to the pagan gods of your society. No, you are not literally putting them on an altar and murdering them. But is not allowing all of this gender nonsense in effect killing your children? Is not allowing them to be butchered psychologically, emotionally and physically the same as outright ending their lives? Once a child is allowed to alter the identity given to him or her BY ME at conception, have you not in essence murdered that child? Does not the child I created cease to exist? When you give in to the lies of your enemy, are you not bowing at his altar? Are you not committing spiritual adultery? When you believe the lies that are being pushed down your throats by a godless society, are you not abandoning Me and My Truth? Instead of bringing up your children to know Me, to know My Truth, to study My Word, you allow them to be immersed in the lies of the overly-sexualized garbage your enemy has managed to get placed into the public schools, the public square and, outrageously, even in some “Christian Churches”. Do you not see your blatant sin? Even if you are not participating actively in this blasphemous evil, by allowing it to continue in your Nation you are guilty. You, who claim to know Me, to follow Me, to obey Me – if you are not actively participating in dismantling this web of murderous deception, if you are not actively protecting children, you bear guilt in all of it. Repent. Choose whom you wish to please, whom you wish to obey, which standards you wish to measure up to. Do you wish to be My follower, or a follower of your world? Do you wish to please Me, or man? Do you wish to conform to evil standards, or be a standard-bearer of My Truth, My Word? Silence is participation – passive yet participation nonetheless. What is worth fighting for in your world? Is it the ability to “get along” or the protection of the innocent? I will not choose for you. Like everything else, your free will comes at a cost, ultimately. What you choose to do with it affects not only your life here and in eternity, but the lives of those around you. Choose wisely and unselfishly. The blood of your children is flowing on the altar of false doctrine and the lies of the enemy of your soul.