devotions

“My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you.” Galatians 4:19

I’ll never forget a most precious experience in my life when I was pregnant at the same time with four of my close friends. Our due dates were within days and months of each other, and as we went through the pregnancy, we would call and check up on each other to see how the other person was doing. When our due dates came around, it was a blessing to see the multiple text messages that read, “I’m on my way to the hospital!” “Yes, me too!” We were all giving birth to a baby. However, when it was time to deliver, none of my friends were in the delivery room with me. They were busy giving birth themselves.

My covenant sister, it is time to give birth to your purpose and to that burning call of God that lies deep within you. People may be with you while you are carrying, but don’t be dismayed if no one is around at the time of your delivery. God is not being cruel. He does love you. And while you may think, “Lord, this is when I need someone the most!” God is saying, “You need Me. Put your eyes on Me. I am with you. I am holding your hand. I will guide you through the delivery and help you give birth to the purpose you have been carrying all this time.”

Prayer: Yes, Lord. Thank You, Jesus! I hear You! Thank You for speaking directly to my heart. I receive Your word. Thank You for those that have been with me in my carrying, but I mostly thank You for the delivery. Help me give birth to what You have put on the inside of me. In Jesus Name, Amen.

“You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day” Deuteronomy 8:18, ESV.

Take a moment and look at your hands. Go ahead, look at your hands. In your hands lies the power to produce, to create, and to employ. Those hands of yours are empowered by God to get wealth. Maybe you’ve been looking outside of yourself for financial increase. Look within. Ask yourself, what can you do. What gifts, creative abilities, or ideas have God put in you that will help make this world a better place? How quickly we receive the power to lay hands on the sick and watch them recover. We gladly receive and walk in the ability to teach God’s Word and make disciples of all nations. We receive God’s power to cast out evil spirits and help people be free from bondage. But did you know that God’s power is creative too?
The hand of God is on your life, and He wants to bless you to create wealth, create jobs, and create an easier way to do a thing. Don’t look for what others can do for you. Don’t look for what others can make happen for you. Look for ways you can help others. What service can you provide? What need can you meet? What idea can you improve upon? God gives us an entrepreneurial spirit for a divine purpose. Receive His power to get wealth and then go and get it!

Prayer: Father God, I bless you for everything you are, and for all you have put in me. Thank you for empowering me and enriching me. I receive your power to lay hands on the sick and watch them recover. I receive your power to teach your Word and make disciples. I receive your power to cast out evil spirits and help people be free. And Lord, my God, I receive your power to get wealth. Help me put forth my hands to get what you’ve ordered for me to receive. I look within. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

(Read Psalms 127:1-2, Psalms144:1; Proverbs 10:22; Hosea 2:8)

“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” Psalm 37:4-5

Dreams rarely make sense to everybody, and you are blessed if it makes sense to anybody. However, don’t let that stop you. Hold your dream close and dear to your heart. Don’t let other people’s lack of enthusiasm cause you to become discouraged. They didn’t give you the dream, God did. He put a dream in your heart and He is going to make it a reality. You may not know when or how it will happen, you just keep moving forward in obedience to God. Your dream is great, but His supply of wisdom and grace towards you is greater!

Prayer: Father, thank You for putting Your dream in my heart. Breathe life into the dreams You have given me. I know if You gave it to me, You will give me the strength and wisdom to do it. Thank You Lord! In Jesus name, Amen.

(Read 2 Corinthians 9:8)

“So that you will not be [spiritually] sluggish, but [will instead be] imitators of those who through faith [lean on God with absolute trust and confidence in Him and in His power] and by patient endurance [even when suffering] are [now] inheriting the promises” Hebrews 6:12, Amplified.

My two-year-old son can be very impatient. When he wants something, he will say, “Mommy, I want it right now!” I just laugh, and say no baby; you’re going to have to wait. He hates to wait. Now, my 13-year-old daughter, when told to wait on something will say, ok Mom. She may not want to wait, but she understands I love her, and she has experience with waiting and receiving what I’ve promised her.

With this in mind, we can understand this scripture. We are told to imitate or follow those who through faith and patience, inherit the promises of God. Maybe there are people in your life that have received and are enjoying what you are believing God for. Just like my two-year-old son will have to imitate my oldest daughter if he wants to receive in life, you will have to imitate those who through faith and patience receive God’s promises.

Prayer: Father God, thank you for giving me understanding. Help me not take matters into my own hands through impatience. Help me to have the right attitude while I wait for you to do what you promised. Help me learn how to trust you and wait. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“But those who wait for the LORD [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] will gain new strength and renew their power; they will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun]; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not grow tired” Isaiah 40:31, Amplified.

You’re a new woman now, and God is showing you how to operate in His kingdom. The adversary that stood before you and terrorized you is now under your feet. You are now able to rest in the Lord like never before! You can hold your head up and put your shoulders back because God has given you the victory! He has gone before you, and He has prospered your way. He has shifted you into a new place in Him, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. He is causing you to soar, my sister, and no one can reach up to pull you down. You have waited on the Lord, and now you are mounting up with wings as an eagle. Enjoy life from His view! You can swoop down to rescue your sisters and brothers by God’s love and power, but it won’t stop you from soaring in Him! You will keep going to new heights in Jesus! You will keep rising and will go from glory to glory until you enter into eternal glory with your Lord!

Declare from your heart today: “God is helping me to soar like an eagle! Anything is possible for me because I believe in Him! My heart is set on the Lord, and His favor is set on me. I have the victory through Jesus, and I walk in His love and power. The adversary that was before me is now under my feet. I rest in the Lord, and my life is in His hands. I am soaring in God, and no one can pull me down. I will enjoy life from His view. In Jesus’ name!”

Father, I pray for your daughter who is reading this right now. I pray for your divine protection over her and her loved ones. Protect her, Lord, and surround her with your angelic armies. The angels you assigned to her at birth, strengthen them, Lord, to do battle for her and bear her up. Let her know that you are with her in a great way, and no weapon formed against her will prosper. The weapons of the enemy will not accomplish their desired result in her life. She is completely covered by you on every side. You love her with an everlasting love even on her worst day, and even when she makes mistakes. Remind her that you are her Chief Shepherd, and because you are with her, she has nothing to fear. You will keep her close to your side. You will continue to fight for her and shield her from all harm. Thank you, Lord, for hearing and answering my prayer. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

(Read Psalm 23; Psalm 91)

“He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!” Psalms 103:5, NLT

“For every tear you’ve cried, I am giving you double the joy. For every time you’ve felt you couldn’t go on, I am giving you double the strength. For every time you’ve called out to Me to help you, I am giving you double the power and force. I am filling your life with good things that can only come from a good Father. For all of your shame, My daughter, you will receive double. For all of the time lost, double restoration is coming to you right now. My favor is upon your life. You will look around and see My love for you and your youth will be made new. You will laugh again with laughter that only comes from experiencing Me and My goodness. Don’t you see? I have only good things in store for you. My thoughts towards you are of peace, not of evil. I am giving you double for all of your trouble. For all of the trouble in your life, for all of the trouble in your mind, in your heart and soul, you will receive double, double, double, double, double, double, double, double, double, double, double, double, double, double, double of ME! Says the Lord!”

(Scripture references: Isaiah 61:7; Jeremiah 29:11-13; Psalm 126)

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.” Psalms 23:6

Two people knocked on the door of her home. Staring at them through the crack of the door, she asked, “Yes, can I help you?” They said, “We have been assigned to follow you everyday for the rest of your life.” She laughed, “You want to do what!?” They said, “Our names are Goodness and Mercy and your Father in heaven has sent us here to follow you wherever you go.” She was cautious. Life had taught her some hard lessons about trusting others. As she stood there, she could see Corruption and Dismay lurking behind the trees, with a sneaky grin on their faces. She was all too familiar with them and had just kicked them out of her house. However, they knew if she didn’t receive God’s Goodness and Mercy into her home, they would find their way eventually back into her life.

As she stood there, she whispered to herself, “If anyone is going to follow me, it won’t be Corruption and Dismay. It won’t be what I’ve always experienced in my past.” She then opened the door—as wide as she could open, and Goodness and Mercy came into her home and closed the door behind them.

Whenever she stumbled, Mercy was there to pick her up and dress her wounds. Mercy helped remind her of the Father’s love regardless of her many mistakes. Whenever she faced a trial, Goodness was there to help her gather all the treasures that came from it. Goodness was always excited about the Father’s expected end for her.

Through the years, their friendship grew. They followed her through every moment in her life, every joyous victory and every heart-wrenching tragedy. They were there and never left her side. And when her time had come to take her last breath, Goodness and Mercy escorted her to her heavenly home where she would live for eternity with these two heavenly servants and her heavenly Father.

Prayer: Father God, yes, I receive your Goodness and Mercy in the home of my heart. I open the door as wide as I can to you. Heal every wound and cause me to gather all the treasure after every trial I face. Until I take my last breath, be with me and be glorified in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words…” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, Berean Study Bible.

My sister, many years ago, I had a dream that I was standing outside in an open field, and I looked up at the sky. While I was looking up, I began to go up in the air. And as I went up, I could sense my Father smiling at me. The only thing on my mind was I finally get to see Him face to face. I finally get to see the One who had protected me, comforted me, and strengthened me. In that moment, nothing else mattered.

I know you’ve been in the trenches, trying your hardest not to lose heart. Trying to hold on until the end. It’s been a fight, an unbelievable fight. God knows, and He cares. He promises as we wait on Him, looking forward to His return, we will receive renewed strength and we will mount up with wings as an eagle. Waiting on God causes us to run and not get weary; to walk and not faint (see Isaiah 40:31).

Take a moment each day to think about eternity with the Father. There will be no more tears and no more pain. One day, you will see Him face to face. You will enter into His rest and see His glory. My husband imagines that he will find a tree somewhere and sit down next to it, taking it all in. I imagine myself like a kid in a candy store–exploring, talking with everybody, and making music with heaven’s instruments!

What do you imagine yourself doing? I want to know.

Prayer: Father God, thank you for giving me new strength as I wait on you. Spending eternity with you sometimes seem far away, but I know it’s closer than I think. Help me to finish the work you’ve given me to do on earth. And when life gets hard as it often does, help me to think about all that awaits me in eternity with you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?” Jeremiah 32:27, ESV

Nothing’s too hard for God, including you. You are not too hard for Him. You are not too broken for Him to restore. You are not too diseased for Him to heal. You are not too lost for Him to find. You are not too far gone for Him to bring you in and love. The Lord will finish the work He started in you. He hasn’t tossed you to the side out of frustration. He will perfect that which concerns you. He’s not mad with you. Nor is He frustrated that there are still some things you can’t seem to understand. He is very patient as He works in your mind, heart, and soul. He is the potter, and you are His precious clay; His masterpiece.

Prayer: Father God, thank you that I’m not too hard for you. I trust you to finish the work you started in me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

(Read Philippians 1:6; Psalm 138:8; Psalm 147:3; Matthew 19:26)