I spent some quality time with the Lord tonight reading much from the gospel of Luke. Reading many of Jesus's teachings on life and how to live in general. I was filled with peace and comfort as I read and a spirit of calm came over me. As I knelt to pray I asked the Lord for a word for you tonight. A word of encouragement to help your week to get started right. That word didn't come, although I spent time in prayer, talking to the Lord. Kay joined me and we prayed for some things together and then we ended the prayer time together. I was a little disappointed that the Lord didn't give me a word for you, but I still really enjoyed my time with God.
Even though it was getting later I decided to take a shower tonight and as I felt the warmth of the water on my face, I suddenly heard. I was then reminded of a scripture. I am about to tell you what I heard from the Lord. As always, I encourage you to pray about this. Sometimes I am nervous about telling someone that "this is what the Lord says," because I know how serious the Lord was towards people that gave a false prophecy or word in the scriptures. At the same time I have confidence in what I heard. It came at a time when I wasn't expecting it and a good amount of time had passed since asking the Lord for a word to give to His people.
With all that said, here is the word that the Lord gave me for you.
I am thinking of the prize fighter now, says the Lord. How the great fighters have learned to take a punch and get back up. How even when he is weary he fights on for the prize of the belt. In this I am looking for a people that would do the same. I am looking for the one who can take a punch and get back up, fighting on. I am looking for the one who has been knocked down by the troubles of life and keeps getting up and moving on. The one who looks for the light when darkness has closed in. For you see, says God, this is the person I can use. Pages have been turned. Corners have been taken and a sudden new season is upon the earth. I need this one who has not learned defeat. It is in him (I know this includes both men and women) that I can show my strength. It is in him that others will see the strength of the Lord arise. It is through him that people will see many mighty things of the Lord.
As I thought about this and meditated on it, I also know that the Lord wants me to encourage those reading this that have been dealt a hard blow and are staggering. You have felt that you haven't been able to get up. You have felt that life has dealt you a bad hand and you don't even feel like you have the strength to get back up.
Don't settle for that.
If you are willing to even dare to try to pick yourself up, to not remain a victim, God is ready to rescue you. He is ready to pour new strength into you, new hope into you and new life into you. God does not have the word "defeat" in mind when it comes to you. I hope that even as you read this right now you understand that God has purpose for you being here, at THIS MOMENT. Even this is meant to confirm to you that God pursues you. God loves you and God is coming to take you to new places with Him. There is only one thing that God is asking of you. That you are willing to try. That you are willing to rid yourself of any self pity right now, put your thoughts on Him and begin to spend new time, even more time with Him. This is YOUR time to begin to get back up.
You might say to me, "Mark, I don't have the strength anymore to even try." I would say back to you that that is okay. You don't need to find the strength. Just be willing, be wanting to have the beatings stop. The weariness stop. It is through Jesus that the strength will come. Jesus will overcome your weakness. He will give you rest and then He will give you strength to rise. God has great plans. He wants you to be a part of them. He wants you to be His prize fighter.
Are YOU ready?
And to the one who the Lord has spoken directly to tonight in the words that I gave..............Are YOU ready? God is about to shock many with His power and majesty. Through this many will be forced to finally decide on who they will serve. For you and for those that finally make a decision for Christ, I won't even try to imagine the amazing things that God has planned for us to see.
I will close now with the passage of scripture that God brought to my mind as He began speaking and giving me those words for you tonight. For this scripture I have chosen the New Living Translation.
"I am the Lord your Holy One, Israel's Creator and King. I am the Lord who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea. I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all it's chariots and horses. I drew them beneath the waves and they drowned, their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick. But forget all that----it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland." (Isaiah 43: 15-19)
Pressing on for the King,
Mark S.
Even though it was getting later I decided to take a shower tonight and as I felt the warmth of the water on my face, I suddenly heard. I was then reminded of a scripture. I am about to tell you what I heard from the Lord. As always, I encourage you to pray about this. Sometimes I am nervous about telling someone that "this is what the Lord says," because I know how serious the Lord was towards people that gave a false prophecy or word in the scriptures. At the same time I have confidence in what I heard. It came at a time when I wasn't expecting it and a good amount of time had passed since asking the Lord for a word to give to His people.
With all that said, here is the word that the Lord gave me for you.
I am thinking of the prize fighter now, says the Lord. How the great fighters have learned to take a punch and get back up. How even when he is weary he fights on for the prize of the belt. In this I am looking for a people that would do the same. I am looking for the one who can take a punch and get back up, fighting on. I am looking for the one who has been knocked down by the troubles of life and keeps getting up and moving on. The one who looks for the light when darkness has closed in. For you see, says God, this is the person I can use. Pages have been turned. Corners have been taken and a sudden new season is upon the earth. I need this one who has not learned defeat. It is in him (I know this includes both men and women) that I can show my strength. It is in him that others will see the strength of the Lord arise. It is through him that people will see many mighty things of the Lord.
As I thought about this and meditated on it, I also know that the Lord wants me to encourage those reading this that have been dealt a hard blow and are staggering. You have felt that you haven't been able to get up. You have felt that life has dealt you a bad hand and you don't even feel like you have the strength to get back up.
Don't settle for that.
If you are willing to even dare to try to pick yourself up, to not remain a victim, God is ready to rescue you. He is ready to pour new strength into you, new hope into you and new life into you. God does not have the word "defeat" in mind when it comes to you. I hope that even as you read this right now you understand that God has purpose for you being here, at THIS MOMENT. Even this is meant to confirm to you that God pursues you. God loves you and God is coming to take you to new places with Him. There is only one thing that God is asking of you. That you are willing to try. That you are willing to rid yourself of any self pity right now, put your thoughts on Him and begin to spend new time, even more time with Him. This is YOUR time to begin to get back up.
You might say to me, "Mark, I don't have the strength anymore to even try." I would say back to you that that is okay. You don't need to find the strength. Just be willing, be wanting to have the beatings stop. The weariness stop. It is through Jesus that the strength will come. Jesus will overcome your weakness. He will give you rest and then He will give you strength to rise. God has great plans. He wants you to be a part of them. He wants you to be His prize fighter.
Are YOU ready?
And to the one who the Lord has spoken directly to tonight in the words that I gave..............Are YOU ready? God is about to shock many with His power and majesty. Through this many will be forced to finally decide on who they will serve. For you and for those that finally make a decision for Christ, I won't even try to imagine the amazing things that God has planned for us to see.
I will close now with the passage of scripture that God brought to my mind as He began speaking and giving me those words for you tonight. For this scripture I have chosen the New Living Translation.
"I am the Lord your Holy One, Israel's Creator and King. I am the Lord who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea. I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all it's chariots and horses. I drew them beneath the waves and they drowned, their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick. But forget all that----it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland." (Isaiah 43: 15-19)
Pressing on for the King,
Mark S.
