Very Important Today – By Clay Sikes
In crisis we often forget ‘the battle is already won.’ We often run to God weary from the battle; He reminds us “the victory is already won.” When we accept this deep within, joy arises…we realize the battle is already won…praise and thanksgiving flow from our lips, and His rest replaces our weariness – this is often a simple act of faith.
This is our choice today, draw conclusions from dreadful circumstances, or lift our spirits high with praise and thanksgiving for victory that will soon arrive. True rest (the God-kind) is signified by a complete lack of anxiety. Rest is the greatest weapon, tool, and sword God can put in your hands. When I ‘start’ striving (worrying), my faith that moves mountains ‘stops.’ When I stop striving (worrying), my faith is activated and He starts (moving mountains) again. I have been through this process many times in life. Why do I strive (worry) to attain what He longs to give me in His rest? The kingdom you serve determines how you live – there are two that compete for our affections daily (man’s way – the world: God’s way- the Kingdom). God-dependence is your greatest Kingdom evidence: man dependence (often self) is your greatest enemy. Man dependence creates worry. God dependence creates rest.
Even negative circumstances can be used for our good – As Welch prophet Arthur Burt often said, “God allows in His wisdom what He could have prevented in His power – circumstances are designed to reveal us to ourselves.” Instead of being overcome, we can receive an experience that empowers us to victory. Everything is useful in the Kingdom. Every situation is useful for our development. Circumstance that creates worry is designed to be counteracted with rest.
However, even with this understanding, we are never to allow the enemy to obstruct or invalidate us. There is no frustration in heaven, therefore it cannot be allowed in our Kingdom life on earth. There are times we must draw a line in the sand and oppose what darkness intends to give us. Jesus said, “The thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy; but I came that you may have life and have it more abundantly” – John 10:10.
Frustration and despair are not from God; neither are worry, sickness, shortage, and fear. The best way to deal with negativity is ignore it, and think about the opposite – the opposite is what God is doing in your life. Pursuing your problems instead of pursuing the Lord is like having the cart ahead of the horse. If you don’t understand something, go straight to a place of rest and wait for God. It is here that we learn to wage war with peace – we inflict ‘rest’ upon the enemy because rest is God’s weapon of choice. When ‘joy’ mysteriously arises amidst hellish circumstance, POWER (exosia – jurisdictional right to rule as a judge rules his court) is dispatched to ‘change that circumstance.’
Clay Sikes
lighthouseprophecy. com