ESTHER’S WARRIORS MINISTRY
I pray this finds you well and prospering in God’s perfect will for your life. Spring has arrived and this year we are seeing record high temperatures in much of the country. Weather patterns are shifting with unusual tornado activity in areas not thought of as part of ‘tornado alley.’ Please keep all in our Nation who are battling natural disasters and loss of loved ones in prayer for restoration and safety.
What exactly does God’s perfect will in your life look like? There really is a difference between living in His permissive will or living in His perfect will. As I look back over my life I must admit that I spent much of it safe under His permissive will. I went to church, served in various capacities, prayed and believed that I was doing my best as a Christian. And at that time I was, yet I felt there was more to be done.
I always marveled when I read or heard Matthew 11:28-30, where Jesus tells us clearly, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” As is often the case with life circumstances, I had become ‘heavy laden’ by cancer, family fracture, and several other situations. The loss of the way I envisioned how my life should be was pivotal to bringing me to the realization that it is His vision of my life that matters.
Is your life all that you imagine it would or should be right now? Take this week to ask Him what areas you may be holding onto that you need to release to Him to place you in His perfect will for your life. He is faithful and will show you. The choice is then yours whether to let go or continue to hold on and stay where you are. God is always moving and to move with Him we must allow Him to change us.
Change can be a scary thing to be sure. Although He had been there with me through it all, on some level I thought maybe my plan was better. How silly of me! His plan is perfect and if we surrender our perceived control we will learn just how perfect His plan is in His perfect timing. I don’t know about you but what kept me from complete surrender was fear. I knew what I had and if I really turned my life over completely what would it look like then? Could I trust Him?
We have God’s assurance that He will never leave us or forsake us. In Strong’s Concordance the Hebrew translation, rapa 7503, for forsake means to leave alone, abandon, discourage, withdraw, let go, weaken, desert. The Greek, enkataleipo 1459, means to leave or abandon. Not only will He not leave us alone but He also will not weaken or discourage us. Think about that. Really think about that.
How often are you weakened or discouraged? Know that that is not from Him. Often, it is not even from the enemy. When we take our eyes off Him and look at our situation we lose our vision from Him. Yes we are human and yes we are in the world but we are not to be of the world. If we are not of the world then what are we? We are Kingdom people if we choose to let Him take the reins of our life.
When we live as Kingdom we allow Him to bring His Kingdom to earth as it is in heaven through us. Will you never be discouraged? Highly unlikely but I can say that the more you trust Him, the more you allow Him access to your deepest fears, the less you will be discouraged and the more you will be approaching His perfect will for your life. And it is in living that perfect will that His Kingdom will reign on this earth through each
and every one of us!
Please join us this week as we ‘pray the states’ toward the 2012 Presidential election. Each state is important in forming our United States of America. We commit to pray for a different state each week so we not only provide prayer cover but also to make us aware that our country is bigger than the space we personally occupy in it.
This week please cover New York admitted to the Union July 26, 1788, in prayer. We are praying for each state in the order of admission to the Union. Pray for wisdom and discernment for the political leaders, pastors and church leaders, the people residing in New York and for all in our Nation. These are our United States. Let us pray that we will arise united ‘for such a time as this!’ Please repost and share.
Thank you for your continued faithfulness to pray. Keep our servicemen and women and their families in prayer for salvation and safety. They are our frontline on the battlefield, let us be their frontline in the spirit. May God richly bless you this week and bring you ever closer to His perfect will for your life.