One thing that you can be sure of in this spiritual life and spiritual walk with God is the constant and consistent dealings of the Lord in your life.  Once you are truly committed to obeying God, and once you are committed to walking with Him whatever it may cost you, God starts the process of dealing with you to maximize the fruit in your life. When He is through, all those things that he has planted in you, in your spirit, will come forth, will manifest. In other words, the Lord’s dealings in your life will lead to your baring spiritual fruit from the life of God in you and somebody is going to be fed; somebody is going to be helped; somebody is going to overcome because of the fruit or because of what they are able to get from your life.

I wish that I could tell you that everyday is going to be Sunday; that your life will be lived on a bed of roses, but I can not do it.  First of all, the devil will not allow it; and then, the Lord and the way He deals with you will not allow it.  I can say, if it brings any comfort, that the Lord counts you special, and that whatever He does in your life or allows in your life will work for good.  The thing that also helps is knowing God’s purpose.  Knowing that you are not just going through to be going through.  Knowing that you are not just suffering in vain.  Knowing that the trials, the persecutions, the attacks of the enemy are not just happening for no reason.  God has a purpose, and that is, to, Col. 1:22, … present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:  Knowing this then, you should not feel like God has let you down.  You should not feel like He has abandoned you or that He does not love you or that He is angry with you.  Knowing God’s purpose and His goals for your life, you should not ever get to the place where you do not want to go on.  Yes, the way can get hard.  Yes, there are trials on every hand.  Yes, the enemy seems to never leave you alone.  But God.  But God, is with you.

God is not just going to dump spiritual growth out on you.  There are some things that you must do.  Spiritual growth comes when the child of God works along with the Spirit of God and the Word of God.  What you have learned, and receive, and heard and seen, do them.  Work on them.  Make them a part of your life.  Apply them to daily living.  You have learned about faith, so now use faith. You have been taught about prayer, so use prayer.  You know about the whole armor of God, now put it on.  You know about the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit, now let them manifest in your life.  You have been taught to witness, to be a disciple, to give, to show love, so now do it.

To rejoice or to have joy is not contingent upon what happens around you.  It is not determined by what or what doesn’t happen to you. Your joy is a gift from the Holy Spirit, Gal. 5:22; and as long as you remain in the Spirit, you have joy. The Spirit will see that it is imparted to you at all times. This joy can not be overshadowed by pain, sorrow, suffering, trails, trouble, negative words, hurt and disappointments. This joy is built into the foundation of your Christian faith. It can not be stopped nor hindered by the things of this world. This joy is a divine joy that stays with you when you are in the thick of the battle; it allows you to give thanks in all things; it allows you to bless the Lord at all times, to let His praise continually be in your mouth.

Now let me share something with you. Because of who you are and whose you are, you do not have the luxury of worrying. Because of the call of God on your life, you can not afford to be confused, upset, and frustrated by the devil. Because of what God wants to do in you, and do through you, you can not allow things, people, to get to you, upsetting you. Your mind, your spirit must always be open to God. You must keep a pure spirit, clean, consecrated to the Lord, ready to receive from Him whatever is needed for the hour.  God will direct your path. He will keep your family. He will show you how to handle the problems, even the people who try to get in your way. But you must stand fast in the Lord, and do not lose your focus.

God has shown me what the body is going through because you chose to get closer to Him. God has revealed that special something you need because of your decision to walk in the Spirit, to grow in Christ, to fulfill God’s purpose for your life. But, you must know this: I can not help you. God can not help you. The Spirit can not help you unless you stay focus and stay in the word of God. Do not let the enemy take your mind. Do not let him take your thoughts.  You stay focus on the word and…Obey the Spirit.

Today is your day to come back.  You have suffered enough; you have gone through enough.  You have been bogged down enough.  It is time to get your focus back and promise yourself to never lose it again.  There are some things you owe yourself: come on now, some things you have not had in a long time: peace, joy, love, a sound mind, a life free to live it the way you want to live it in Jesus and for the glory of God. God did not create you, call you to serve Him, for you to allow things or people to control your life.  God did not make you His servant and turn you loose to be controlled by fear, life’s problems, trails and temptations.  It is time for you to stand and be the man God made you.  It is time for you to stand and be the woman God made you.  This is your day.  Do not lose your focus.

Many have blown it.  Many good Christians have blown it. You have allowed the enemy to know where you are vulnerable. You have shown him that your children are your weakness. You have shown the enemy that money, (the lack of it), is your weakness. You have shown him that your husband or wife is your weakness;  … that harsh or hurting words are your weakness; that fear is your weakness… afraid that you are not going to live long; afraid that you are going to lose your marriage; afraid that nothing will ever go right, fear, fear, fear. You have shown the enemy that your health is your weakness. You have shown the enemy that loneliness is your enemy. Somehow, you fall apart at the thought of it. When you cried over that problem, that difficulty in your life, you let the enemy know that He could get to you.  When you got angry and acted out of character, the enemy found another way of attacking you. It all goes to his attempt to bog you down. How many of you feel that you are at a standstill today? How many of you feel that you are bogged down? Some of you are at the place where you do not know what to do, and it is not good. Turn to God. Get into the Word of God and stay there until the Word speaks.

God never intended for His children to get bogged down in a lot of things.  As His servants, we are to remain steadfast, always abounding in the work of the Lord, carrying out His will for our lives.  This is our focus.  This is our daily goal.  But too often we do get bogged down; and the reason, we allow things to get to us.  We allow things and people to bother us and get in our way. And most of the times those things are nothing, yet they zap the very strength out us.  Nothing, yet we have no strength to combat them.  Nothing, yet we feel so helpless against them. Now it is our time. We must press for the mark of the prize in Christ. We must take the power of God within us and move pass all of the things that are seeking to hold us back. Press!

Please know that God has set you aside for Himself.  You are a chosen vessel.  Let your consecration and surrender be so complete that God will have no problems preparing you for His service.  Be able to say like Paul: Philippians 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ. Your top priority; your burning desire; your only reason for living is to glorify God, to serve Him faithfully, and to do the work of the church and the kingdom of heaven on earth.