Isaiah 31: A Warning to America

While spending some time with God, I opened my bible and immediately ended up on Isaiah 31. Knowing the beauty of the Holy Spirit especially when it comes to giving us revelations, I knew this wasn't a coincidence.

Isaiah 31 Reads:

"Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord!

During these days Egypt was the superpower. Today we are considered a superpower although that image is diminishing everyday. Like Egypt and like those countries who looked to Egypt in those days, we as a country are trusting in worldly measures instead of heavenly measures. We no longer seek God, in fact Obama denounced God. See below:

Now this is how deception works. Some people watching this would think, " What's your problem!? This is a good thing! He's promoting equality, and that's always great!" Those with that opinion I urge to keep reading. 

America was founded on Christian principles. In fact the first president, George Washington was quoted saying "It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible."Now roughly 200 years later, Obama is saying the complete opposite, turning our nation upside down.

With his statement Obama tore down our Godly foundation that George Washington and the other founding fathers placed, and now he is building a weak foundation. He has now made our foundation more of a quilt, incorporating all religions. Jesus says something about the error in this kind of thinking:

Matthew 9:16 But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results.

In other words, it's one thing to rip through our foundation by declaring we are no longer a Christian nation. But matters get worse when you try to rebuild that foundation by sewing on a new age ideology, one that opens us up to every religion. 

 Let's move on to Isaiah 31:2.

Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity.

This verse is a warning. The beauty of God is He has the ability to go great things and He has the ability to do damaging things through His act of judgement. If we had that ability we would abuse the heck out of it! I know I would think of people who used and mistreated me and use that ability to get them back. I would do all kinds of things that aren't biblical. But God uses His infinite power and abilities to love and protect us. The last thing God wants to do is punish us. In fact God told His prophet Ezekiel,

Ezekiel 18:22 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live! 

Whenever God exercised judgement on Israel He sent many many warnings through His prophets. He does this with hopes that Israel will turn away from their sin and return to Him. This way God can love His people as He wants rather than punish them. 

We face judgement when we constantly push God away. In pushing God away and rejecting Him we are pushing away every good thing He brings us. This includes His protection. God protects us from so much and we take it for granted. This is why we've been struck with storms, wars, chaos, etc. All of the things God was once protecting us from will start pouring in like a flood. A perfect example is when God allowed Babylon to come in and conquer Israel. Babylon was an enemy of Israel from day one, but God protected them. But once Israel rejected God, after many warnings He lifted His hands of protection and allowed the enemy to come in.

It's important to note how the Israelites rejected God, because it's the very thing we are doing now. Like Obama announced, Israel began to allow other religions into the land God gave them. They began to take on the gods from their surrounding countries and they placed these gods in high places. The leaders began to praise these gods behind closed doors while still publicly continuing the routine of serving God with no thought or love.

Ezekiel 8:6 “Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the utterly detestable things the Israelites are doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see things that are even more detestable.”

Then he brought me to the entrance to the court. I looked, and I saw a hole in the wall. He said to me, “Son of man, now dig into the wall.” So I dug into the wall and saw a doorway there.

And he said to me, “Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here.” So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls all kinds of crawling things and unclean animals and all the idols of Israel. In front of them stood seventy elders of Israel, and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan was standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising.

He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, ‘The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsaken the land.’ ” Again, he said, “You will see them doing things that are even more detestable.”

Our leaders are doing the same thing today. Behind closed doors leaders are worshiping idols they have let into their hearts. People like Obama are encouraging us to do the same. He wants us to take a little bit of each religion and welcome idols into the temple God established within us.

On to the next verse.

Isaiah 31:3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.

This immediately makes me think of the infamous Pope Francis visit. On CNN I saw a headline that disgusted me. It read "God's First Speech on Earth Hosted by Pope Francis." God's first speech? What about the many prophets in the bible and most importantly, what about Jesus Christ?! Jesus Christ was God in the flesh. So if anyone gave God's first speech it was Jesus Christ. I even saw another headline referring to the Pope's visit as a whirlwind that brought people together. This is a direct mockery of the Holy Spirit encounter at Pentecost in Acts 2.

There were news outlets and people around the world glorifying a man. God is reminding us in this verse that the people the world praises can do nothing for you. When it's time for judgment they will fall and their influence will mean nothing in the face of God.

Next God warns us of something very specific:

Isaiah 31:4 For thus hath the Lord spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the Lord of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.

Isaiah 31:5 As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.

God is reminding America, Iran and every other country to leave Israel alone. God will always remain faithful to Israel. America was blessed to be a top nation for two reasons. One we had God as our foundation, and two we always protected Israel. Now we are at a place where we not only abandoned God, but we have now teamed up with Israel's enemies. The goal is to split Jerusalem. The day we do that will be the day we bring swift judgement on ourselves.

Isaiah 31:6 Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. 

Isaiah 31:7 For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.

God is urging us as a country to turn from our wicked ways. He wants us to let go of the things we have made idols. Anything that is center in our hearts that isn't God we must let go. We live in a world where it's encouraged to stray from God. Pornography is a click away, worldly music is not only promoted but it's played in stores and businesses around the country, and schools are indoctrinating kids to reject God. I could go on forever. We are bombarded with shows and movies encouraging us to have sex like animals just because we have the urge, and it encourages a mindset where beauty is based off of sexuality rather than the spirit. These things threatens to drag us away from God everyday. We must hold on to what's right even though the world is telling us it's wrong. We must stay in tune with the Holy Spirit to get through.

What's dominating you thoughts? If it's your career let it go, if it's a romantic relationship let it go, if it's school let it go, if it's family let it go, if it's social media let it go! Jesus rejected everything that meant something to the people around Him for us. He rejected His family, and He gave His life so we can be saved from the tortures of Hell. All He asks is for us to have a relationship with Him. Anything that stands in the way of His request is an idol in our hearts and we must let it go! The time is coming soon where your relationship with Jesus Christ is all you will have to get through. Better to practice recognizing His voice now than to sit in confusion when the world begins to shake from God's judgement. When you call on Jesus, does He know your voice? Do you speak with Him enough for Him to recognize your voice? Better to speak with Him now so He knows your voice.

Jesus told us in the last days it will be like the days of Noah. It's time to allow our hearts to be an arc. We must carry the things of God in our hearts through obedience as Noah did, because just as in those days judgement is coming. Only those who act in obedience and keep God close to them will be able to survive and see the glory of God. Judgement is next. God will protect those who love Him and keeps His commandments. Now is the time to submit to Him and allow Him to work on your heart. The last two verses speak of judgement:

Isaiah 31:8 Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited.

Isaiah 31:9 And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the Lord, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem."

God is telling us when judgement sweeps America and the world for that matter, it will be of His work. We won't be able to say it was from anyone else but God. This means God will display His supernatural abilities to show us that He and He alone is God. Since this is of God, He will surely ensure that those with His mark are taken care of according to His will over our lives.

It's time to run back home. God loves you and He rejoices in Heaven whenever a lost soul comes back to Him.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

God doesn't want you to perish. He wants you in Heaven with Him and He gave us Jesus Christ to ensure that. I pray God has mercy on this country, and I pray everyone reading this will dump the filth of this world out of the heart and allow God to place an arc of protection around it. I too join in this challenge knowing this is the time for reconciliation.

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Singles Alert: Marriage in the End Times-Choose Wisely

Take a moment to picture what your marriage would be like. For the ladies you'll have your handsome husband or for the guys your beautiful wife, decent careers, ministries, a home, kids and a picket fence. Sprinkle in a dog and a car for the both of you and you have the ideal marriage by many standards. Some of you think of something along the lines of your parents' or your grandparents' marriages, that old school love. That "Good Times" to "The Jeffersons" kind of love. Maybe you are more 90s and want that Martin and Gina kind of marriage. Maybe you want a little bit of all of these scenarios.

I want you to take whatever perception you have of your marriage and take out anything that is of the world. Keep in mind physical beauty is of the world, money, nice clothes, fancy jobs--you name it. All you are left with are each other. You want to make sure you are left with a person who will still be of value after all of those things are stripped away.

This may sound a little nerdy of me, but I'll risk it. Your life at this point could make a pretty good comic series or tv show. You are a superhero sent to this earth from another planet. For all intents and purposes let's call your home, your planet, Heaven. You were sent to earth and given powers by God through the Holy Spirit to save people. There are other heroes on earth, but they have been brainwashed by the villain who is satan. They don't even know they are superheroes anymore and they are not aware of their superpowers. God gave you this assignment because at one point He came down to earth as Jesus Christ to save you when you were brainwashed. He knows you are the best person for the job because you've been through it. Your mission given to you by your father and boss, God, is to reverse the brainwashing imposed on your super friends by loving them and allowing yourself to be a vessel so the super powers of God can work through you, which is the Holy Spirit.

Now superman and superwoman, it's time to find your partner. God made one person just for you. That person's superpowers mixed with your superpowers can do some serious damage! So of course the villain satan is trying to do everything he can to stop you two from meeting. So satan's strategy is to send decoys. He puts villains in superhero clothing so on the outside they look like you. But remember this: Anyone can put on the outfit of a superhero but not everyone can handle having the superpowers a hero has. Decoys can walk around and play church as long as there is an audience, but they haven't received the Holy Spirit. On top of that they don't know the responsibilities and trails that comes from having the Holy Spirit.

The villain's second strategy is to convince you to reject the superman/superwoman God has for you. Of course he does this through brainwashing. This is why everywhere you walk there are images, tv shows, social media posts, and commercials convincing you to pick men and women who tempt the flesh but does nothing for your spirit. Think about the superheroes we see in pop culture. Although many comic books and movies tend to romanticize their looks, superheroes still stand out from society. A heroes' attire is different, style is different, and even the language of a hero is different. The villain satan hates all of what makes you different so he uses his brainwashing tools to convince you to reject your different features. From this he wants you to seek to be more like the majority and in doing so you find a mate who is a part of the majority. But God doesn't want you with someone who is a part of the majority. The person He has for you is unique, like you.

Let's step away from this comic strip for a moment. Here's how I define marriage: my future husband and I will be fighting the principalities of this world to get to Heaven while taking as many people with us as possible. With this definition in mind, let me be blunt. Finding a spouse based on their looks is like finding a college based on the amount of parties the school throws every weekend. It sounds fun, but the purpose of college is for education and somewhere down the road you'll realize your reasoning versus the real purpose will conflict. This is the same with marriage. Looks are only one department. If we are not grounded in God we will turn down the right person or let in the wrong person based on looks. Looks will fade. God guarantees that in the Bible. We have to be at a point where we are willing to trust that God knows what is best for us--not hip hop, not the magazines, not even us.

The Dangers of Being with the Wrong Person

Nothing saddens me more than watching loved ones entertaining the wrong person. Soul ties are a powerful thing, and without Jesus Christ soul ties with the wrong person is potent. Satan always sends counterfeits before God sends the right one, and many of you reading this are with the counterfeit. The sad part about it is many of you don't know what love really is because many of you don't know who God really is, and God is love. Instead of allowing God to teach you true love, we let poisonous demonic principalities speak in our spirits everyday convincing us to accept a watered down rootless love that blows away as soon as a storm comes. This causes many of us to fall in love with cardboard beings that merely blow away as soon as hard times occur. One of satan's main goals is to dilute true love. That way we chase after the fake and neglect the real, who is God. If you don't believe me, try to name one hip-hop or R&B song old or new that doesn't talk about relationships. It's nearly impossible! And love is covered in the same way. Love is reduced to the physical. And we being made in God's image desperately try to seek for something deeper after the emptiness we feel when the physical has occurred. So that leaves many of us trying to build a foundation with the little blocks we have. We try to create something emotional with something physical. We basically try to build houses with straw instead of bricks. It may last for a little bit, but the moment life begins to take its toll, "playing house" blows away leaving you with a big mess to clean up. Some of us try to sweep that mess under the rug and immediately invite someone else in to try over again. God wants to clean that mess up for us. He wants to build a brick foundation in our hearts. Satan tries to appeal to the physical because that's all he can offer--temporary pleasures of this world. But God offers an everlasting fulfillment. All we have to do is build that foundation with Him, and this requires us to resist the physical temptations for a season and focus on the spiritual.

Of course that would be too much like right! That's the last thing satan wants us to do. This is why he dangles the guy or girl of your dreams in your face. Or even worse he brings back that ex who always had your heart. Suddenly that person understands their mistakes and wants to try again. Resist!!! Save yourself for the best! God is worth it. I recently started a fast because God told me to pray for my future husband since he is going through a purging season. God told me to ask the Holy Spirit every morning what I need to pray about in his life. For example one morning God told me to pray for my future husband's family and another day He wanted me to pray for his outlook on his current situation. God then leads me to a verse in Proverbs 31 and I meditate on it. Since I started this fast, men I dated years ago have came out of the blue wanting to know how I'm doing. One guy told me God put me in his spirit and we need to catch up. All I could think was "it wasn't God who put me in your spirit!" I told my best friend about this and how it was really cheap attempts from satan. I had no interest in these men, so I saw this as stupid attempts by satan. So what does the enemy do? Step up the warfare even more. One day I was walking my dog and I bumped into a guy who I would have been in love with if I wasn't saved. He looked like a guy I would have drooled over many years ago. Even worse, he invited me to go to a Bulls game with him! (Everyone who knows me knows I looove the Chicago Bulls). I shared this to show the great lengths the enemy will go through to turn you away from your true love, Jesus Christ.

As our parents used to say, some of us still think "fat meat aint greasy." Some of us think we can just date who we please without consequences. Even worse many of us have gotten used to heartbreak and no longer see that as a reason not to partake in the desires of our flesh. But there are many more dangerous reasons why you should not give yourself to the wrong person.

Daniel was a faithful man of God so He blessed him. This was the time when Israel was under control of Babylon. King Darius appointed Daniel to be 1 of out 3 administrators over 120 satraps (these people were like governors). Of course this sparked up jealously among the satraps. God blessed a foreigner to have power over governors in their own home! Many would be jealous. To make a long story short, the satraps decided to try to manipulate the king to have Daniel murdered. So they asked the king,

Daniel 6:6-8: May King Darius live forever!  The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”

The king agreed. Of course Daniel wasn't going to let a law stop him from praying to God. The satraps saw Daniel praying and reported it to the king. God gave Daniel great favor with the king and it pained him to throw him into the lion's den. Since the satraps manipulated the king, he was trapped by his own decree and had to punish Daniel. I'm sure many of us are familiar with the wonderful testimony of God's faithfulness and protection. God sent angels to close the mouths of the lions and Daniel walked out of there safe. The king saw the greatness of God and decided to punish the satraps who manipulated him.

Read the next verse carefully:

Daniel 6:24 At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

Not only were the satraps destroyed, but their wives and children were destroyed as well. I'm sure the children didn't know the mistake their father made, and I am sure some of the wives were unaware of their husband's plot. Yet all of them were torn to shreds by lions. This is biblical evidence showing the dangers of marrying the wrong man.

Here's another example:

Samson was a strong of God. God blessed him with immense strength. We're talking about a man so strong, when the Spirit of God came on him he killed a lion with his bare hands! God raised him up to free the Israelites from the hands of the Philistines. Samson was on the right track fulfilling the will of God. With a donkey's jawbone he killed 1000 Philistines. For his obedience, God blessed him to be a leader of Israel.

 However Samson had a weakness for women. Not just any woman, he always fell in love with the wrong women. This is where the infamous Delilah stepped into his life. He fell head over heels for her. Seeing her influence over him, the Philistines offered to pay her to set him up so they could capture him. Oh course since Delilah wasn't the right woman for him, she agreed to set him up.


Judges 16:6-21

So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”

Samson answered her, “If anyone ties me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”

Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. With men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the bowstrings as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.

Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied.”

He said, “If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”

So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads.

Lets pause. So Samson gave Delilah the incorrect information the first time and she sent the Philistines to get him. He set her up by making her think she had the information she wanted. Now many of us, (and I say us because I remember thinking the same thing when I first read this chapter) are looking at Samson like he's an idiot for even staying with her. But let's put this into a contemporary setting. How many times have we seen ladies on the Maury show seeking a lie detector test after finding a sex tape, the other woman's panties, and the pictures of the the two eating together? We all watch and say to ourselves, "shoot with all of these clues, what do you need a lie detector test for?" It's the same scenario. Samson has the truth, but he's in love with the wrong woman. Every piece of evidence he had wasn't enough because that soul tie he had with her always gave her the benefit of the doubt.

Delilah then said to Samson, “All this time you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied.”

He replied, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric and tightened it with the pin.

Again she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric.

Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.” With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.

Let's focus on the verse above. This is how the wrong man or woman can manipulate you. Satan tries to repeat a deception over and over hoping you will let your guards down and believe it. This is why the wrong man or woman will constantly use words to hold you in place-- only words. Delilah kept telling Samson, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me?" Many of us have been through this, and many are going through this right now with the wrong person. The decoy tells you, "it's okay to have sex with me, we're getting married anyway." The first time you hear the lie it sounds absurd, but after the 10th time you've heard it it starts to sound like the right thing God forbid. Whatever the case is, the Delilahs out there only want you for the anointing God gave you, and the very thing they love in you they also hate. Being with the wrong person can threaten your ministry and your gifts because the decoy seeks to push you into compromise. Samson stayed with his decoy and she eventually got him to tell her his weakness.

So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”

When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him.

Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”

He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.

We all have been here before. We allowed ourselves to be compromised due to the manipulation from a decoy only to be left alone and hurt. Samson was now weak, and that's how many of us feel in those situations. We feel weak because the decoy took a part of us we think we will never get back. For Samson it was his hair. Maybe for you it was your virginity, your self-esteem, or your trust. But keep reading. Even through our mistakes God can get the glory.

Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza.Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison. But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

Think of how painful it would be to have your eyes gorged out, leaving you completely blind. This is how it feels after a decoy comes in and steals a part of you. You feel pain followed by blindness as you try to get back on the track you were on with God before that person came into your life. But notice this:

But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

Samson's strength came from his hair. Even though it seemed like he couldn't be weaker, God was actually building him back up slowly, but surely. Many of you may be at this point in your lives. You may think you're going no where because you are not where you were, but God is strengthening you. When He's done with you, you will be in a better place than before. Here's how the Samson story ends. Satan thought he had Samson right where he wanted him. The Philistines were getting prepared to belittle him publicly, and they were praising their gods for delivering Samson into their hands.

Judges 16:28-30 Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.” Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.

Samson died, but remember his purpose was to deliver the Israelites from the hands of the Philistines. In his captivity God restrengthened him and he did more damage than he did before! God will use your mistake for His glory when you call on Him.

Samson still fulfilled the purpose God set for him, but because of his involvement with Delilah he had to deal with captivity, torture, and blindness to achieve it. Why risk dealing with the wrong man or woman?

There's no need to worry whether or not your husband or wife is out there. God knew your other half before you were created. Stayed focused on Him. So back to our comic book story. You have a mission to complete. Spend your time before the wedding bells focusing on your mission. Make sure you know how to use the superpowers God gave you so you know how to combine it with your partner in crime fighting. The more you know God, the more you know your power. The more you know your power, the more accurate you are at spotting those decoys pretending to have your power. The more you dodge the decoys, the closer you get to your spouse to be. The closer you get to that person, the closer you get to a beautiful powerful ministry God is setting up!

  

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The Waiting Room

Aah, the joys of the waiting room!

I'm being sarcastic! We all know how annoying the waiting room can be, especially since we don't know how long we are going to be there. There are always little things around to entertain you, but not for long. There's only so much daytime television you can take, and there's only so many magazines you can read before you're ready to go up to the receptionist and ask, "am I next?"

Take a moment and think of the way waiting rooms are designed. They are not mean't for anything long-term. The assumption is the people waiting there will only be there momentarily. This is why there are only 5 magazines spread across the table, and this is why you have to tolerate watching whatever channel the receptionist turned to that morning. You can't tune in to what you want to watch and you certainly know not to expect cable at these places. Why would they pay for cable when the people waiting will only be there momentarily? Let's just say you're thirsty or hungry. Don't expect for there to be a chef waiting to ask you what you want to eat, and you surely can't expect for there to be a buffet of some kind. All you have is a vending machine with drinks and a vending machine with snacks--yes snacks. Only expect to see potato chips and other foods meant to only fill you up temporarily.

This is all because the assumption is you are not going to be in a waiting room for an extended period of time. You wait for your appointment, meet with that person, receive what was pending, and move on to better things.

You all know I'm going somewhere with this right?

Some of you are in your waiting room. You know God promised to do all these great things for you, but right now it may seem like you are only getting half of what you were promised--if even that much. You know you are supposed to be a millionaire, but right now you are working a minimum wage job. You know that you are going to be a business owner, but now you are working for a boss with a power trip. You know you are supposed to have a career, but you are in the unemployment line. Whatever the case is, you find yourself having to fight off depression. You know you are supposed to be in a better place someday and now you are asking God why aren't you in this place today?

The waiting room has it's purpose, and once you really take a look at God's reasoning, you will have another reason to praise Him!

It's never enough!

When we are in the waiting room spiritually, satan tries to get us to look at what we don't have rather than what we do have. It's the "never enough attack." He wants us to feel like God isn't giving us enough, and that causes us to desire to go elsewhere to make things happen ourselves.

Let's look at the Israelites. Before God delivered them from Egypt, they were slaves. They were abused and seen as the scum of the earth by the Egyptians. They cried out to God for deliverance, and finally God raised up Moses and Aaron to be His vessels to deliver and guide them out of Egypt.

We all know the story. However most movie depictions end after the Egyptians are destroyed in the Red Sea. Those who merely depend of the movie to tell the story rather than the Bible assume that everyone lived happily ever after. But the transition from slavery to the promised land wasn't quite that fluid. God basically brought them from their distress to take them to a transitional place--the waiting room.

God placed many of you in the waiting room after He stepped in and saved you. Some of you don't know you are in the waiting room and for that reason you are expecting more than you have. Satan is trying to convince you to walk out of the waiting room to get things done. But if you were capable of getting things done yourself, you wouldn't have needed God to pull you out of the situation you were in. So keep reading!

The 40 years in the wilderness was the Israelites' time in the waiting room, and it wasn't a pleasant wait! The Israelites whined, complained, and rebelled.

Exodus 16:2-3 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”

Two things the Israelites are doing in this statement. Number one they are doubting God's ability. They forgot the miracles God performed in front of their very eyes. Many times we can forget the times God saved us by declaring that our situation is hopeless. The other fatal flaw occurred when the Israelites began to take their situation for granted. They looked to their times of slavery and began to remember it like it never was. It was that urge to get back to something familiar. Have you ever begin to miss an ex, but when you see that person you think, "man what was I thinking?" In times of uncertainty it's not uncommon to want to cling to something just because it's familiar.

This is why I would backslide and turn to hip-hop/R&B music. During trials I wanted to cling onto something familiar, and through listening to it I would think of all of the good times I had when that song came out. I would think of the times my friends and I blasted it in the car, high school memories, you name it. But I never thought of the ways my self-esteem suffered because I aimed to look like the singer performing the song, or the ways I was a slave to lust due to the sexual implications in the music. Both of these demons I suffered with until God delivered me. I rejoiced and praised Him, but as soon as things felt uncertain, I was back to my past--remembering things like it never was.

Why is it that the Israelites can praise God for their deliverance one day and express anger at God for rescuing them another day?

The "never enough" attack creeps in slowly and grows and festers within moments. It starts off with a simple thought, "why can't I be at a certain place in my life?" From there it spirals. How you deal with this is what separates the Joshuas from the rebellious Israelites left behind in the desert.

Patience is a Virtue

Are you going to wait for God or are you going to try to take matters into your own hands? Let's learn from our ancestor's mistakes. When Moses was on the mountain with God, the Israelites began to get impatient. Feeling looked over, they begin to turn to other things for satisfaction. They came to Moses' brother Aaron and said,

Exodus 32:23 “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”

The hardest part about the waiting room is not knowing. You can be there five minutes or five years. To drive the point even more, satan will try to tempt us during these periods by dangling the familiar things in our faces. Before the Israelites were delivered from Egypt, they worshipped the same gods and often practiced the same rituals as the Egyptians. This is what they were comfortable with. So when faced with the unknown, they went back to their old ways.

Aaron answered them,

Exodus 32:2 “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

They replaced God with the golden calf. This may seem outrageous to some, but it isn't far from what we do today. Think about it, in what ways have we not glorified God? A common example is our careers. The moment you begin to think your job is the reason your bills are paid, the reason there's food on the table every night, you introduced a golden calf into your heart. The Israelites decided to serve a creation rather than the creator. They gave a lifeless object the credit for what God did for them. 

Exodus 32:6 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.” So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

Basically the Israelites created something false in their hearts to replace God and used it as a reason to go back to their old ways. They indulged in revelry, meaning partying. Taking that into a contemporary perspective, this can mean making a boyfriend or girlfriend your focus instead of God. Whenever we place anything in our hearts in place of God, it will lead to sin. This is true if we are talking about your crush to even your volunteer job for the needy. Good intentions mean nothing if God isn't center. Rebellion and idolatry are linked. We must stay in place by keeping God in His rightful place--central in our hearts.

Colossians 3:5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Beware of what you let in your ear

The waiting room is a very vulnerable time for you spiritually. Sometimes you can feel bipolar in the spirit, because one moment you feel great and the next moment you feel like there's no hope. The key is making sure that your hope is in the right place.

Are you in this for God, or for what God can give you?

The beauty of the waiting room is you have an opportunity to build your love for God on a healthy foundation. As seen in Job 2, out of jealousy satan tried to convince God the only reason why Job stayed true to God was because of the great things He's done.

Job 1:8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

Job 1:9-11 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

Satan has told God the same thing about you. God looks at you with nothing but joy and admiration, fueling satan's anger towards you. So satan responds by trying to convince God that we don't love Him for the right reasons. He tries to tell God we only love Him because of the amazing things He does for us.

How many of us are proving satan right by pouting and slipping away from God when things don't move the way we want it to?

We have all been there. Let's be real. I noticed every time I allowed myself to drift away from God through trials, it had something to do with what I let in my spirit. This leads me to the big point of this section.

We must beware of prosperity doctrines. Satan is infiltrating the church with teachings of prosperity and riches. The pastors of these type of churches often preach about God paying your bills, and they want you to associate worship with material blessings. Pastors of these churches end up raising up people who would rather seek God's hand rather than His face. The whole sermon you hear about you getting out of the waiting room, and you are given a "glimpse" of the worldly prizes God has for you. This leaves the congregation gassed up off of material promises and pending worldly blessings, leaving them like a person stealing gold from a sinking ship. The things of this world will perish. If you take at look at the times we are living in this is more evident.

Here's the bigger problem with propority doctrines. You begin to see God as your "yes man," your "genie in a bottle-- But what do you do when those blessings don't come when you would like it to?

Remember the first point. We must keep God in His rightful place in our hearts. In order to do so, we must look at our situation with our spiritual eyes rather than our natural eyes. To our natural eyes our situation may look hopeless. There's no way you can elevated from this. Thoughts like these run through your mind all day. But God is a supernatural God. We must continue to read our bibles everyday to remember the God we serve.

That's just it. Cling to God's word and spend time with God during this wait period in your life. I promise you, God will always give you the patience and the endurance to stay put in the waiting room until it's your time. But if we turn to other things to fill us during this time it will leave us empty and wanting more. Not to mention it will prolong your wait. So we must be careful what we put in our ears.

The Beauty of the Waiting Room

It's hard being in the waiting room because many of us like to have some kind of control over our lives. But in the waiting room, control is impossible. You don't know when it's your turn to move forward. You can't control the things you are given and the environment of the waiting room. You have limited options. This alone drives many of us crazy! But that very fact that drives us up a wall during this time in our lives is also a beautiful thing. In fact it may be where you and God have some of your most intimate moments.

The miracles God did for Israel during their time the wilderness was talked about for many generations, even by Jesus Christ and Apostle Paul. Thanks to God's word we continue to talk about it today and remember the mighty God we serve through these records. As I said earlier the wilderness was Israel's waiting room. When God first rescued them from Egypt, they knew Him for the wonders He performed there, but they didn't know Him for who He is. It was until their time in the waiting  room where God showed them how caring He is and how much He loved them. Although the Israelites walked in deserts for 40 years, the scorpions and snakes of the desert were unable to touch them, enemies were unheard of, and God literally fed them daily by raining food down from Heaven. Even though they were in the driest of climates, God made sure they have water to drink, and even though they had to walk, God made sure their shoes never wore down. He even got up off of His throne and guided them by walking ahead of the pack, protecting and leading through His Holy cloud and His appoint leaders Moses and Aaron. God literally provided EVERYTHING for them.

Take a look at your situation. Yes, you could have a little more money to buy somethings you want, yes dating sounds great right about now, yes you feel like you should be promoted right now and yes you think you should be at a better place right now. But at what you do have! You have a God who loves you so much that He makes sure you have everything you need. You may not have an overflow of possessions in the waiting room, but you have just enough material and an overflow of God's presence. So don't let satan place seeds of discontent and ungratefulness in your hearts. Satan pulled this trick with Eve in the garden of Eden but convincing her that the garden full of fruits God gave her wasn't enough. He told her that the forbidden fruit also had to be hers as well. This led her to sin and caused her to miss out. Satan pulled this same trick with the Israelites by telling them that their waiting room of peace was worse than the hell they suffered in during that torment in Egypt. So many went back and many perished.

Stay right where you are. The waiting room is a time of peace and a time of healing. It's the chance for God to get you where He needs you so He can pour into you and prepare you for the new chapters ahead. Don't let satan cause you to reject your rescuer and run back to the enslaver. A waiting room is temporary, no matter how long it may seem, and it's a time when God's ear is the closest to you. So talk to Him as Moses did on the mountain. Ask Him to show Himself to you as Moses did. There's nothing God will hold back is you come to Him wanting to get to know Him. Many Israelites let the devil convince them that waiting for God isn't worth it. Satan knows God will never give up on us so instead he tries to make us give up on God. Many of the Israelites did give up on God and for that reason many of them didn't make it. But the few who seen it through reached new heights in their relationship with God as well as their status in the world. They never had to look back. Think about it. Can you really remember many experiences you've had in the waiting rooms at the doctors office, dmv, etc.? The wait seems like forever then, but now it is a faint memory. Don't let what will be a faint memory someday ruin what God wants for you future days. Stay in place and stay near to Him.

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The Countdown Begins!! P31P Relaunches on October 26!!

Thank you for your patience everyone! God has blessed this ministry to go to new levels!! Starting October 26, A Proverbs 31 Prospective will have a new look! Stay tuned for daily posts!


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I love you all and I look forward to the increase!

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