Listen for His Call
To Arise!
Tomorrow is Groundhog Day in the United States and Canada. Many await the outcome of whether or not the infamous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, will see his shadow. As legend has it, seeing his shadow means six more weeks of winter. For those living in cold winter locations Groundhog Day brings much conversation about the season and the hope of spring.
Can You See Beyond Winter to Spring?
Of course, this is all in fun with no true belief that a groundhog really knows when the seasons will change. Only God knows the timing of the natural transition from one season to another. So it is with the seasons in your life here on earth. Perhaps you have long been in what seems like a winter season. You look toward and long for any sign of spring to arise. A change from the cold, often dreary, days of a winter season would be most welcome. As in the natural, some winters are longer and harsher than others but they always end. Spring does arrive and the memory of winter fades in the warmth and color of the spring sun and flowers.
Will You Hear Him Call ‘Arise?’
Many times in Scripture you see God telling someone to ‘arise.’ Life can wear you down. Life can sit you down. At times, life will lay you down. But there is an appointed time to ‘arise.’ It does not matter where you have been or what you have been through. It does not matter how many twists and turns your life has taken. There is an appointed time to ‘arise.’ Only if you walk in close relationship with the Lord will you hear Him call to you, ‘arise!’
If you walk in close relationship with Him and if you hear Him call ‘arise,’ you then have a choice. You can choose to remain seated. You can still have a relationship with Him and live in communion with Him. Maintaining this relationship, you will not lose your salvation. Or, you can choose to ‘arise.’ You will still have a relationship with Him. You will still live in communion with Him. However, from a risen position your life will dramatically change. He will take you deeper. He will take you higher ‘for such a time as this.’
Never Stop Advancing!
I personally have been laid low many times in my life. My choice was always to press on through cancer, a very serious motor vehicle accident, a debilitating fall down stairs, and much betrayal to name a few. I cannot even count the times I was told by medical practitioners that I would die, I would never walk again and so much more. My choice was always to look to God’s truth. I thank God for a measure of faith. It is only by His grace that I am able to press on. I would never say it is easy but I will say it gets easier as your trust in Him builds.
Do not try to mentally figure it all out. That will only exhaust and discourage you. The Latin prefix dis means apart, away. To be discouraged is to be turned away from courage. Jesus died to set you free from fear and anxiety. He walks with you every step of the way. He orders your steps. Do not look to the left or the right. Look forward with eyes fixed on Him.
Whatever you are going through right now I pray you choose to press on and press through. Allow your challenge to bring you to the feet of Jesus and stay there until He tells you to ‘arise.’ It is at His feet that He will teach you. It is at His feet that He will heal you. It is at His feet that He will raise you up ‘for such a time as this.’ God bless you today and every day of your life.
Quotes to Ponder This Week
“Arise, and do not be afraid.” ~Jesus, Matthew 17:7
“Arise, take your bed and walk.” ~Jesus, Mark 2:9
“Rise, take up your bed and walk.” ~Jesus, John 5:8
“Lazarus, come forth!” ~Jesus, John 11:43
“…as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” ~Romans 12:3
“Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go…put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments.” ~Genesis 35:1-2
“To give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” ~Isaiah 61:3
A Prayer Request
Thank you for your continued faithfulness to pray. Please keep all who serve our country, our servicemen and women and their families in prayer for salvation and safety. They are our front-line on the battlefield, let us be their front-line in the spirit. Also, let us cover all who have come home wounded that they and their families will receive the kindness, help and support they need to go forward in their lives.
God bless all our diplomatic and military personnel and their families. May the Lord keep them safe. Pray for all throughout the world for hedges of protection against radical Muslim extremists and all forms of terrorism. We have long prayed for spiritual victory over radical Islam in Esther’s Warriors Ministry. We now see the reality of this threat come to the forefront in this time in world history.
Please pray for all in authority over us, for the full truth to come forth concerning Benghazi and for safety in Israel. May God richly bless the United States of America, bring to light every single crooked place and keep her safe. May we may arise united once again as One Nation Under God in this auspicious season in our country’s history.
The lives lost in Benghazi, the continuing targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service, Operation Fast and Furious, the Department of Justice targeting journalists phone records, the National Security Agency overstepping its legal authority are hardly “phony scandals.” We continue to pray for truth to prevail in each of these situations.
Pray for the families who have lost loved ones, for those relentlessly targeted and for all of us who call ourselves American. These are treacherous times and now more than ever we must maintain our walk with the Lord, saturate this country in prayer and stand for all that is right in America. Fail not in this hour.
Please Join Me In Prayer
Father we thank You for Your faithfulness and Your Son, Jesus Christ. Your word says You will never leave or forsake us. Let us arise ‘for such a time as this’ to walk the path You have set before us. Let us look neither to the left nor to the right but to stay ever focused on You and Your direction in our life. Whatever season You have us in, grace us to walk through it with a measure of faith and Holy Spirit empowerment. May we each hear Your call and arise! Thank You for keeping Your hand on America. We humbly pray this in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen and amen.