A close friend and sister in Christ left a comment
under the post Stand Still and Wait (from January 18, 2018), which gave me
pause and left me wondering if others were having difficulty understanding the
word from the Lord that I had posted.
Since my friend posted it to public forum, I asked permission to use her
comment to expound on the message that was given, in case others perhaps needed
an explanation. Permission was granted. Thank
you D.L.
Comment: Tough word Bonita. Wondering if I
will wait upon the Lord when He seemingly isn't answering my prayers. It can be
tough when disaster appears imminent and you must do something. I pray I and my
brethren will have the grace to "stand still and wait" when faced
with this test. God Bless you sis.
So, I emailed her a response. What follows is what I
gleaned from my answer (but I will add
more to it here, which I did not write to my friend), with the hope that it
will help others who may have had questions and/or unclear understanding.
At the beginning of the “Stand Still and Wait”
post, I had stated that the word was not
meant for everyone. Usually, a message, especially a prophetic message,
is understood by those it is meant for. Different situations were being
addressed by the Lord, and not every situation pertains to everyone or all
people. It is between an individual and God (Jesus).
Mankind
vs God?
There are some Christians who are astounded by what
mankind has accomplished or plans to accomplish as far as technology goes (AI; virtual reality, holograms, 3D printers
etc), weaponry (compact airborne high
energy lasers, direct laser
weapon system, etc) and biological (cloning, hybrids
etc), but God pointed out that some of these same people who believe the “once-impossible”
things that mankind has developed somehow struggle to believe Him for the “impossible” miracles which He is more
than capable of.
Some people are afraid to believe because of the
warnings about false prophets and false Christs, but in both instances (Mat
24:24 and 2 Thes 2:9) the warnings refer to Satan and the son of perdition (Antichrist). Ultimately the false ones will point away from
the true, living God and away from Jesus Christ spoken of in the gospel and
point to a different “Jesus” or different “Christ” than the one written about
in the gospels.
But I fear, lest by
any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds
should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
For if he that
comes preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive
another spirit, which you have not received, or another gospel, which you have
not accepted, you might well bear with him.
[2Cor
11:3, 4]
That being said, Jesus the Christ (Messiah) still performs miracles today.
The
Deceiver
This
is where Satan will bring confusion, discouragement, lies and strong doubts, presenting
many thoughts (fiery darts) (sometimes in rapid succession, complete with
imagery) to try and prove that whatever miracle you believe God for defies
logic (even miracles as mind-boggling as Peter
walking on water, or the sun going backward ten degrees, or water separating
and leaving a dry path, or 10 lepers healed at once, or reversals such as in
Job’s situation, etc).
Satan
will either try to convince a person that God does not do the impossible today
and that you believe a lie, questioning whether God really spoke to you (remember the serpent in the Garden of Eden),
or that you have gone off the deep end aka “you
are crazy”. Or perhaps even questions will enter the mind such as, “…why would Jesus perform a miracle for you,
out of billions of people in the world?”, along with perhaps many other twisted truths,
lies and questions, in order to lure you into fear and unbelief.
Pray
and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to scriptures that will combat and destroy
Satan’s lies. Keep on the full armour of God, and hold fast to your faith. When
Satan came against Jesus (who is the Word that came in the flesh), Jesus countered everything Satan
said with the Holy Scriptures (the WORD
of God). It is written…we are to do the same as Jesus did. The Word of God
is the sword of the Spirit.
Danger of Apostasy
Not only
are we warned of false prophets and false Christs, but we are to watch for
those who are in positions of leadership within the body of Christ that are
false brethren and/or deceitful workers.
There are
some in leadership who are caught up in sin (adultery, fornication, lies, deception etc) and who speak forth
accusations, harbouring bitterness, anger, and/or unforgiveness toward other Christians.
This should not be and sets the wrong example. He is and has been calling them to repentance; judgment is at their door.
Some are
teaching false doctrines or compromising with the world. There are leaders in
danger of becoming reprobate, unless they genuinely repent and change their
heart/mind. In the last days, we are
warned by Jesus that many will fall away (apostasy).
Repentance is always an option, unless the heart becomes hardened and love
waxes cold, and unless God sends them strong delusion because they would not receive the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. [2Thess 2:11]
The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering toward us, not
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. [2Pet 3:9]
Part of
the message in "Stand Still and Wait" is addressing Christians and situations
such as those in positions of trust and leadership, those who refuse
correction, blinded to truth due to anger, hatred etc and will not humble themselves, confess their sin and repent in
brokenness, in order for God to deliver, heal and restore. [2Chron 7:14, 15]
For such are false apostles, deceitful
workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel;
for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Therefore it is no great thing if
his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall
be according to their works.
[2Cor 11:13-15]
They profess that they know God;
but in works thy deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every
good work reprobate. [Titus
1:16]
If the
Lord ever instructs you to confront such leaders face to face in His love,
giving them opportunity to repent and turn from unrighteousness, and if the
warnings are not received, you can expect adverse reaction or response.
When and
only IF God leads you, He will give you the words and the strength to stand
calmly, without fear, amidst what could very well turn out to be a brood of
vipers. He will grant the same grace as granted to Stephen before those he
rebuked stoned him to death. Satan, the accuser of the brethren, will turn a
warning meant for the salvation of a soul around, mirroring it to accuse the
messenger of exactly the sin which those tormented by him are guilty of. He is
a master at manipulation, slander and deception.
Remember the word that I said
unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me,
they will persecute you, if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours
also. [Jn 15:20]
Times of Danger
I am sure
that the Lord is not saying that if we are in a dangerous situation that we
have to just sit still and wait, but rather, we are to trust the leading of the Holy Spirit, keeping in mind that God is
Sovereign, who knows the end from the beginning.
I cannot
pretend to know the mind of God, not even close, but when I was given
scriptures such as Moses at the time of the exodus [Ex 14], and all the
Israelites were backed up to the Red Sea with nowhere to go, and Pharaoh and
his army were closing in, in hot pursuit, what I understood that the Lord was
showing me was that He already had planned a way out for them. He knew all
along. He was not caught off-guard by Pharaoh and his men.
Pharaoh
had over 600 choice chariots and it says he took all the chariots of Egypt, and
all his horsemen and army to catch the Israelites, and they were almost upon
them. [Ex 14:7] The people were terrified, and understandably so. They wondered
why God had brought them out of Egypt only to be killed by Pharaoh and his armies
at the sea, where they had no way of escape. [verses 10-12]
Moses
told them not to fear, but to stand still (in other words, DONT RUN;
DONT PANIC...) and wait
for God to deliver them. That's when the cloud and darkness covered the
Egyptians whilst waters of the Red Sea parted and the Israelites began to cross
over. You know the rest of the story.
It was
not a test…God acted immediately, but they still had to wait for God’s answer
to unfold. The Egyptians were stopped
until the cloud moved and that did not happen until the waters fully parted
and all of the Israelites were almost across to the other side.
Just like
King Jehoshaphat, when the enemy armies were approaching and he did not know
what to do. He was afraid and greatly distressed, but God already had an answer
and told him what to do. It was not a test, but they had to go into battle.
Singers were appointed to go ahead of the army and sing and praise God. When
they got to the enemy camp, they were all dead. The armies had all turned on
one another, and fought and destroyed each other. [2Chron 20:23]
But Jehoshaphat
still had to wait (not run, panic or
give up), but wait for God, who already had the plan and was unfolding it. The
king and his army had to stand still in a spiritual sense, not literally
because they still had to march to the enemy’s camp.
It was
not a test and they did not have to wait, as in “stand still like a statue and do
nothing”, but in both cases, (Moses
and with Jehoshaphat), they only had to stand still (in trusting God) and follow His
instructions and wait for things to unfold before their eyes, as God worked.
Not a Test – God Leads
So, if we
find ourselves in danger, do not think it is a test. You are going to have to
fight fear, but know in your heart and mind that God has not abandoned you. He
is Sovereign and will lead us in that very moment, even if it simply means
giving us the strength needed to bear up as He did Stephen.
I do not
have all the answers but when we are in imminent danger where action must be
taken, I know God is with us. There are times He commands us to stand still (spiritually, do not fear) and wait for things to unfold. Sometimes
that is all we can do.
In both
scenarios in the Bible, the people and even the leaders were understandably and
naturally afraid (God gave us instincts).
However, each time, the people were told not to fear (panic), but stand still spiritually (not give up
or give in, thinking that God has abandoned you) but wait for things to unfold (such as the time it took for the
waters to part, or the time it took to march to the enemy camp, only to find
the enemies were all dead and that it was indeed God’s battle...)
Final Surrender
He is
saying it is a critical time and He does not want the door to close, but like a
good Father, He is calling His people to pay attention...to snap to it, which
means to move swiftly and wisely to an action. That would even mean people like
me; so let us pray for each other to overcome, to be strengthened.
The key
to overcoming fear is to receive His perfect love because it will cast out
fear, for fear has torment. The struggle ends when we believe, receive and rest
in God’s love. Obedience gives us that confidence and if He asks us to do
something, He knows we can do it, and the Holy Spirit is in us to help us.
The
message the Lord gave is not to be cruel but rather one of urgency because of
things that are coming. He is “unfolding”
His plans for each, but we must follow His instructions.
God also
sees and knows that for many who are determined to obey in complete surrender, and
who are very close to victory, have seen things that are very close to their
heart (very important) suddenly seem to take a nosedive. The enemies of the
cross target our vulnerable (weakest) area, with every intention to steal, kill
and destroy.
God is saying
to stand still spiritually, meaning do not run, panic or give up, but to trust Him.
There are times we all face fear, and it is scary and hard and yes, it is a
battle. So we find scripture (and yes, I
speak to myself as well):
I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me. [Phil 4:13]
Search
the Word and use it as a mighty weapon against flesh and the enemy. I did state that the message was not for
everyone, my friend, but those who it is meant for will know.
The Lord
is not angry (I did not sense any anger at this time as He spoke), but it was definitely a very firm, serious and strong warning about the time we
are in, and the importance of being obedient,
following instruction.
He wants
those who are determined and sincere about overcoming to stand still spiritually (meaning
do not stay in fear; do not panic, run or give up, but DO). He has the answer already, just as He did for Moses and
the Hebrews, and Jehoshaphat and the Israelites. It just has to unfold and we have to be
strong, and go through whatever He has instructed us to do, trusting that His
banner over us is love and in Jesus Christ, there is victory.
for His glory
Bonita dovesofthevalleys4@gmail.com