One Thing Remains

Higher than the mountains that I face
Stronger than the power of the grave
Constant through the trial and the change
This one thing remains

Your love never fails it never gives up
Never runs out on me

On and on and on and on it goes
It overwhelms and satisfies my soul
And I never, ever, have to be afraid
One thing remains

In death and life I'm confident and
covered by the power of Your great love
My debt is paid, there's nothing that can
separate my hart from Your great love

How would you like going through every trial, storm, or situation with joy and happiness?  Sounds impossible doesn't it, especially when you see how big the storm is.  Well joy and happiness in the midst of the storm is not impossible because with God we have the victory even if the victory doesn't look like we think it should.

Do you remember the story in the bible about Paul and Silas in prison?  They praised God in the midst of the storm and the doors to their cell where thrown wide open.  That stuff didn't just happen back in the day it is for us right now too!  When we turn our focus, attention, and praise towards God and then we have the power through Jesus to move that mountain in front of us and make it no more.

Here are a few scriptures that proclaim that promise!

Therefor no mountain, however high, can stand before Zerubbabel! For it will flatten out before him! And Zerubbabel will finish building this Temple with mighty shouts of thanksgiving for God's mercy, declaring that all was done by grace along.  Zec 4:7 TLB

Jesus replied, I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, .... you can say to this mountain, go throw yourself into the sea and it will be done.  If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.  Matt 21:21-22 NIV

Wonderful promises from God's word.  Begin to speak these promises out of your mouth over every trial and circumstance you are facing.  You will begin to see your mountains made flat as you focus all of your attention on God and His word.

As you speak to your mountain recognize the lies that the enemy is speaking to you.  God's word says that the devil is the father of lies so he cannot speak any truth about you or your situation.  Besides a liar the enemy is also a thief and he wants to rob you of all the blessings and promises of God.  Don't let him.

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire.  He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.  John 8:44

Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith.  1 Pet 5:8-9a

In a recent study I started,, with a few others I was reminded by Bill Johnson that the enemy can only have access to us through our agreement with the lies he is speaking.  We empower him, the devil, when we come into agreement with his lies. Makes you think, doesn't it?

Want to change who you are giving the power and authority to?  Well begin to recognize those lies.  Speak them out of your mouth and laugh at them.  Won't be easy at first, you may even feel like crying a time or two but don't give up because when you begin to laugh at the lies you can back the power and victory from the enemy.  Joy and peace begin to flood you spirit and soul as you come back into alignment with Gods word and His truth and promises.

In fact there are many scriptures that tell us how good a cheerful heart is.  Below are a few.

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.  Prov 17:22

A heart at peace gives life to the body but envy rots the bones.  Prov 14:30

A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.  A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones. Prov 15:13,30

So begin laughing at the lies.  Recognize the negative that is coming at you and know it is not from God!  The situation and circumstances may not change but how you view them will change as you laugh at the lies and focus on God's promises.

May you know today how great God's love is towards you.  May you feel more deeply and intimately in love with Him.  May His love for you overwhelm and satisfy your soul, may it drown out all your fears as you know that nothing absolutely nothing can separate you from God's love.

If you have given your heart and life to God then you are children of the day because God is light and in Him there is no darkness.  Jesus came to this earth and He died to give you everything you would need for this life here on earth.  God's nature is good and His every thought towards you is good.

You are all sons of the light and sons of the day.  We do not belong to the night or the darkness.  So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.  For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.  But since we belong to the day, let us be self controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.  1 Thes 5:6-8

Walk in God's amazing blessing.  I feel I need to sign off with a tagline I heard on a radio program when I was a teenager called the King's Hour with Robert Cook.  He always ended his program with "walk with the King today and be a blessing."   The "One thing" that will always remain is how much God loves you.  Never ever loose sight of that.

It is Well

It is easy to loose hope, especially when it seems all you do is wait and wait to see the promises of God fulfilled in your life.  You know He has a good plan and purpose for you but you never see it come about and you feel as if "the process" will never end.

Late last year I went down into that place.  I felt that nothing good was ever going to happen and I felt very discouraged and hopeless.  I felt that my hope was deferred and when in the world was I going to experience the other side of that verse that talks about a longing fulfilled

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.  Prov 13:12

I told no one, not even those closest to me, how I was feeling and in mid September I went to a Tenacious Love conference in Tulsa.  I received a lot of encouraging uplifting words from total strangers at this conference but the word that effected me the most was when one of the prophets at the church said I see the words hope deferred over you and that my hope would no longer be deferred that my time of harvest had come.

Obviously I left that conference full of hope of all that God was going to do!  A week or two later I was told my position was eliminated and thanks for the four years.  My world was completely rocked and I was devastated.  I barely made it home that day because of the tears, agony, and the total unexpectedness of what happened.   Thankfully I have a great support group and a friend made sure I was not alone that day which I greatly appreciated (thank you friend, you know who you are).  :)

Through out this time of unemployment my hope level has been up or down depending on where my focus has been.  Recently my focus went to the problem again and I cried out to God "you said my hope would no longer be deferred."  "When is this going to end!"  I was mad at God even if I did not want to be because I was too focused on the problem.

During this time I listened to a teaching on Bethel TV called Living the Blessed Life and one of the speakers Dawna DeSilva said something that caught my attention.  She said if you were in a terrible car accident, one so bad they had to open the car with the jaws of life to get you out, and when you woke up in the hospital you found your dad slumped over your bed asleep would you be mad at your dad for the accident?   Obviously the answer is no you would not.

Thankfully this teaching provided a turning point for me in this process and it shifted my focus back to God.  I asked forgiveness for being angry with Him and from that point on mentally and emotionally things began to change.  Peace flooded my spirit like never before, peace that remained no matter what my circumstances looked like, no matter what was taking place.  I could apply for a job in the morning and by the afternoon I could receive an email that they went with another candidate.  The old tried to come to make me upset and depressed and then it would immediately leave as I turned my focus back on God and the good plans He has for me.

I began to realize it is well with my soul.  Nothing around me had changed the storms still raged, I still have no idea when my job will come and how long the money will last, but this is what I know God has this covered.  He has this whole situation, no matter how big it appears to me, at His feet ready to step on it and make it no more.  See it is a totally small thing to Him.  He is the God of the impossible and He is my provider.  As difficult as this time has been it has provided me opportunities to help and bless others that I could not have done if I had a job.

I know so many good things are coming out of this besides the opportunities to bless others.  Slowly I am also seeing how my behind the scenes gifts are valuable and important.  I don't have to be out in front of others for me to be important and valuable or for God to use me.  I think sometimes we all think that is the only way to be important to others and to God but the recent Superbowl helped me change my view on this.  The Patriot's Player who caught the ball on the one yard line was an unknown, he was not chosen in the draft because he was an unknown, in fact he had to join the Patriots as a free agent to be a part of the team (forgive me if I have any of that incorrect, my football knowledge is limited) but look how He was used!  He won the game for his team and God elevated him to a known person.  He just continued to do his best and glorify God with the gift and talent that God had given him.

Prov 13:12 in The Passion Translation reads like this:

When hope's dream seems to drag on and on the delay can be depressing, but when at last your dream comes true, life's sweetness will satisfy your soul.  Prov 13:12 TPT

So as you wait for your hope's dreams to be fulfilled know it can be well with your soul also.  Keep your focus on God, continue to live for Him, and use the gifts and talents He has given you to glorify Him.