Speak Life! During Economic Uncertainty

  

The economic challenges of the world touches the lives of everyone; however, as children of God, we are not to participate in the world’s recession or economy. The Bible tells us the story of how God brought several plagues upon the land of Egypt and yet God’s people in Goshen were well fed and completely taken care of in the midst of the plagues and famine. None of those things affected them because they were God’s covenant people, and so will His children today experience the same provision of God.

 

We are in the world but not of it. That means we get our standard of living from the Bible not from what the leaders or people or systems of the world dictates. We are called to obey the laws of the land only is as far as it does not violate God’s Word. It is better to obey God rather than man.

 

Since God rules and reigns in the kingdom of heaven, and He is in control, there is no economic trouble, no shortages, no foreclosures, no bank closures, no lack of any good thing. His kingdom a place of abundance! We have an inheritance; we have an access to every thing that belongs to Him. We are heir of God and joint heir with Jesus Christ! Wow! Sela – meditate on that awhile!

 

We have been given an anointing to prosper whether in good or bad economic times here on earth, for His kingdom will come and His will shall be done in our lives on earth as it is in heaven! The children of God are protected and God’s provision is our. We must have a relationship with Him, live a life of obedience, tithe, and be a giver. This will cause our covenanted to be activated and cause angelic help to be released on our behalf.

During these challenging economic times, we have to walk by faith and not by sight or we will faint in well doing.

 

A crisis indicates a turning point. God uses a crisis tot urn us in a different direction. Many of us will stay in our comfort zones if He did not allow a crisis to come into our lives. A crisis is temporary, not permanent. They come to pass, not to last. God is doing a new thing and we must perceive that in our spirits.

 

Those of you who have lost your job or are unemployed because a door for employment has not opened up need to use this time of crisis in your life to calm down, get still before Lord, and regain focus. Ask God what His will is in this situation. Perhaps God is calling you to full-time ministry, to start a church or para-church ministry, to start a business, or to start a Christian school, etc. Perhaps this is a time He is using to build up your faith and trust in Him as your sole provider!

 

Many times we are curing the darkness and rebuking the devil when he has nothing to do with what we are going through in our lives. It is the work of God putting us back on the potter’s wheel and in the fire of affliction to purify our hearts for the next level called promotion. Before He can bring us to that next level, there has to be a time of purification and preparation so that we can be a blessing on that particular level.

It is during this fire of affliction process that our true heart is exposed. Whatever is in our heart in abundance we will inevitably speak it. If our hearts are full of fear, worry, doubt, and unbelief, we will speak death to our lives and situations and cause more of what we do not want to manifest. However, the opposite is also true. If our hearts of full of faith and trust in God, we will speak life over our situations.

 

This is not the time to lose heart but a time to dig deeper into the word, pray, and speak life into every circumstance and situation that does not line up to the Word of God or His promises to us, as children of God. Speak the Word only, no matter what it looks like in the natural realm. Your words have power; your words will bless or curse your life! Speak truth – God’s Word only! You will have whatsoever you say! What you sow today you will reap now or later. You determine your harvest by the kinds of seeds (words) you choose to plant. Choose seeds/words wisely before you plant them!

 

Scriptures for Meditation

 

Deu. 8:18

Isaiah 1:19; 45:3; 48:17

Jeremiah 29:11-13; 33:3

Psalm 34:17-20; 37:25

Psalm 112:3, 14

Proverbs 8:21

Luke 6:38

2 Cor. 9:8 (AMP)

2 Tim. 1:7

3 John 2

 

 

 

Share His Glory Share His

Suffering

 

We get so happy about the promises of God that we often overlook the fact that we will face opposition before we see God’s Word (promises)

manifested in our lives.  We have a real enemy whose sole purpose is to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10).  The devil will pull out every trick

and deception he can to get us in disobedience, fear, doubt, worry, and 

unbelief.

 

             Our flesh, the world, and our own perverse thinking and thoughts are real enemies to our faith and walk with the Lord.  Because of these factors, we will suffer – in our flesh!  We will suffer death to our own will, plan, and purposes in order to gain God’s perspective, plan, will, and purposes for our individual lives and collectively as members of the body of Christ.  

 

            Christ suffered many things during His ministry on the earth.  The list below are some of the things He suffered; there may be many more than what I’ve listed.  In asking the question, “What things did Jesus suffer?” The following things come to mind: 

 

  1.  Rejection
  2.  Abuse (emotional, physical, and verbal)
  3.  Shame
  4.  Betrayal
  5.  Isolation
  6.  Separation
  7.  Ridicule
  8.  Hate
  9.  Envy
  10.  Jealousy
  11.  Humiliation
  12.  Scorn
  13.  Persecution
  14.  Offense
  15.  Temptation
  16.  Injustice

 If Jesus experienced these things, we can expect that God’s children and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ will experience these same things! Everything that our Father gave to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ belongs to us (the body of Christ)! You may ask, what things have God given to His Son – Jesus Christ – and to us?

 

  1. All power and authority over:
    1. Principalities
    2. Powers
    3. Rulers
    4. Wicked spirits (Ephesians 6:12
  2. Creative Power (Calls those things that are not as though they were (Rom. 4:17).
  3. Anointed us to:
    1. Speak with new tongues
    2. Lay hands on the sick and they recover
    3. Cast out devils in the name of Jesus    (Mark 16:17-18
  4. Anointed Jesus to:
    1. Preach good tidings to the poor
    2. Heal the brokenhearted
    3. Proclaim liberty to the captives
    4. Open the prison to those who are bound
    5. Proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord
    6. Comfort all who mourn
    7. Console those who mourn in Zion      (Isaiah 61:1-3)
  5. We must never forget that the Greater One is living on the inside of us, we have been called to do what Jesus came to earth to do; we are merely continuing His work as the body of Christ in the earth!  We can do all things through Christ and greater works shall we do! (Phil. 4:13; John 14:12).

 Second Timothy 3:12 says, “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted.  Luke 17:1 says, “It is impossible that no offenses will come.”  If Jesus, the Son of the living God, was persecuted and offenses came to Him, how much more will we, as His followers, endure the same sufferings?  However, we are not without help or hope.  Jesus is our perfect example of how to overcome these sufferings!  If, however, we try to use our own means of fighting that will come against us, we have already lost.  “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). 

 

     Our fight is not against people but against evil spirits on assignment from the devil to kill, steal, and to destroy God’s will, plan, and purposes for our lives.  If, however, we stand strong in the Lord and in the power of His might and put on, as well as, keep on the whole armor of God, the devil will not win!  His plans against us will not work; for God said in His Word that no weapon formed against us will prosper (Isa. 54:17). 

  

     We must understand that the weapons will be formed; they simply won’t be able to prosper against us!  Our Father puts a strong hedge of protection around us, and if we’re doing it His way, we also have our shield of faith up that enables us to withstand the wiles of the devil.  His fiery darts will just hit our faith shield and fall unsuccessfully to the ground!  God is an awesome God! 

 

     It is extremely important that we make sure we’re in the will of God and being obedient to what He instructs us to do.  If we fail to do so, we leave a door or crack open for the devil and evil spirits to come into our lives.  If this is the case, then we can be sure that any weapon formed against us will hit that area of weakness, and we will not be equipped to fight the attack(s) of the adversary. 

 

     In order for us to exercise dominion, power and authority over the devil and demonic spirits, we must be in right standing with God; we can’t be practicing sin and expect to be powerful!  We must live a lifestyle of obedience and submission to God.  Disobedience and rebellion opens the door to the enemy; we are not operating from a position of power or authority.  These destructive behaviors leave us weak and vulnerable.  James 4:7 say, “Be submitted to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  If we’re not submitted to God, he (Satan) will not flee from us; instead, he’ll have us on the run.  We should never, ever be made to run from the devil.  Why should we, as God’s very own children, be running from someone who has already been defeated?   

 

     We need to remember that Jesus Himself defeated Satan in the bowels of hell itself.  Jesus made a public spectacle of Satan, and he was stripped of his power!  We have been given supernatural power and authority to overcome whatever the enemy tries to bring against us.  We have world overcoming faith resident on the inside of us.  God has given us His power of attorney to use His power, His authority, His name, His blood, His Word, and even the use of angelic hosts (ministering spirits and warfare angels).  The devil is no match for the Spirit of God operating in and through us! 

 

     Yes, we are called to rule and reign with Christ Jesus, but we will also suffer as Jesus did in our flesh.  Like Jesus, we will learn obedience by the things we suffer, but the sufferings we now endure will not compare to the glory that will be revealed in us (Rom. 8:18).     Remember, we are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us.  We may sustain some scratches, bruises, or minor injuries but we shall not die but live, and declare the works of the Lord (Ps. 118:17).  “If God be for us, who can be against us?” 

 

Excerpt taken from Newly Released eBook Wisdom and Life Lessons from the True Vine

© 2009 by Yvonne Carson.

 

 
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