Walking "It" Out

I was watching the face of this precious sister in Christ hoping, praying, to see the breakthrough come. I knew the moment would arrive when the joy would burst through the heartache and a smile would beam from her beautiful face, but it just wasn't manifesting. My own heart was aching for her... Then I heard His voice, "Patience, Janice, she has to work through this to get to that place...." We all have our own pace of getting to the place where we can experience His peace and His joy, and it certainly is very different for every single one of us. The question remains always, can we endure through the process to get to that place?

I am incredibly blessed to be involved in numerous individual lives where struggles are being walked out. However, the blessing is a mixed one because I travel alongside these precious souls and feel their pain. I know the victory that awaits them further in the journey if they will only choose to not abandon this road. I also know what trials are part of this journey simply because they choose to forge ahead. I am the living embodiment of the power of walking out trusting God with your life in spite of all odds that appear to be against you. I have only to look around me and marvel at the outcome of my life so far and realize that only through His miraculous hand in my life could I possibly be enjoying the path I am exploring today. Does that mean that the trials and tribulations have stopped in my life and I don't have to walk "it" out any longer. Hardly.

Each day I learn more about the promises of God - what they are and what they are not. I am learning not to believe the "promises" that have been passed on by hearsay and instead to stand on those promises that I find written in the Word itself. Sadly there are many theories that have been passed down to us through the pulpits of our lives that have no foundation in scripture. Instead they have been formulated by individuals' interpretation of scripture. Then when times get rough, these interpretations fail to hold up under the trial and then questions are thrown at God and His faithfulness. False idols arise that are more palatable and comfortable for our lifestyles and what we want to believe. We cannot choose which verses we want to believe and which ones we want to ignore. We must take the Word in its totality - Old and New Testament - and understand what God is speaking to us about our lives and how to live them.

So what does He promise us? The Lord's message throughout the Word is consistent whether He is talking to the People of Israel in the days before Christ or to His grafted in church. He passionately loves us and wants our love in return. The way that we demonstrate our love to Him is through our obedience. Without our obedience and our surrender to Him, we are rebellious and in that rebellion we will suffer sure consequences. One example: Isaiah 50:11 But watch out, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires. This is the reward you will receive from me: You will soon lie down in great torment. Pretty clear, wouldn't you say? How about from the New Testament, James 1:6-8 But when you ask Him, be sure your faith is in God alone. Do not waiver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. We cannot walk a fence with the Lord, believing when it is convenient and then leaning the other way when it is not.

Getting back to my opening scene of the precious lady for whom I was awaiting breakthrough. She is just starting to really walk out taking the Lord's hand in discovering how He can free her and release His peace in her life. It may take a while for her to journey with Him through the mountains of junk. She will not be alone. God will be providing awesome traveling companions for her both human and spiritual. Once we tell Him we want to travel with Him on this journey He rejoices and says, "I am here with you, all the way!!!!" The intensity of His love for us is evident throughout scripture. 1 Peter 1:2 God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and His Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed Him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace. Isaiah 43:2 When you go through deep waters I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up: the flames will not consume you. What powerful strength in those words from Him! He will be there for us even though He is also warning us, it can get pretty tough as you travel this journey with Me. Can you think of a better traveling companion?

Breakthroughs do eventually come for all of us. Sometimes it feels as if it is taking forever. Sometimes we wonder if we can continue to endure the pain - physical, emotional or both. Sometimes we question our sanity or God's purposes in all of this. Sometimes we just want to give up because we simply do not understand and are exhausted with trying to hang on. Sometimes we look around us at everybody else who "seems" to be holding it together and feel as if we are a total failure. (By the way, that is a real ploy of the enemy because usually none of us are really holding it together!) And then sometimes it finally happens, somebody we know experiences their breakthrough and we have renewed hope. God is the hero of the stories of our lives. It is just that each of our stories is so very different. As I struggled with my heartache over this precious lady I was watching, another dear friend came up to me and shared that she had finally gotten her joy back! Breakthrough that had been months if not years in the making! God is so faithful!

I do not know where your story is in its writing with our faithful Lord, author, producer and Hero of our lives, but I can assure you this. As long as you have not abandoned your journey with Him and you are keeping your focus on Him, not being seduced by the ways of the world, He is faithfully fighting for your heart and will not abandon you. Keep on "keeping on" walking "it" out and one of these days, the brilliant sunshine will break through the dark clouds of your life. The rainbow that you see will stun you beyond your wildest imagination. That is His promise, not mine......