How do we praise God when nothing seems to change? How do we find the strength to keep going, to keep walking and to keep trusting our Heavenly Father?
Jeremiah 17 illustrates an encouraging picture of the kind of trees that we are when we trust in God:
'But blessed are those who put their trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and their confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.'
Drought could represent the hardship, challenges and spiritual opposition we face during the Christian life. We are called to never give up doing good (Galatians 6:9) and not be worried by the hard things that come, but to continue to trust in God and find our nourishment in his living waters.
The key is to go to God and fill up from him, so we can continue to produce fruit for him, despite having financial challenges, health challenges, dreams not yet fulfilled and difficult circumstances. When we do this we are able to access the Holy Spirit's power. By doing this we go against the very direction of the flesh and instead access the inner strength that God gives all of us who believe.
This is when the devil will try taunting us with the lie that God is not for us, he will not be faithful or he has forgotten us/doesn't care. This is where the power of God intersects with our circumstance. When we use the word of God (the Bible) as our sword, declaring it to have the highest authority and be of 'all truth', then our life is turned over into the supernatural realm of God and his infinite miracles and goodness.
God's word enables us laugh in the face of the enemy's lies and know that he has got nothing on us, for we are: 'seated in heavenly places with God', 'the head and not the tail'. We can trust that our lives will bring an inheritance back to God and 'we will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living'. We are co-heirs with Christ and we are more than conquerors.
When the Kingdom of God is your greatest desire
For the last few months my wife and I have had a revolving front door with many people coming to our home for fellowship, ministry and meals. When you are governed by the Holy Spirit your decisions rest on what you feel God wants, not always what you want.
One week we were preparing for our weekly home fellowship when we were up against feelings of exhaustion and encroaching sickness. We prayed and felt God prompt us to go ahead anyway. He even placed a theme of spiritual warfare on our hearts for the night.
As the time got closer it was so tempting to cancel the whole night and relax in front of the TV together instead. However, the Holy Spirit prompted us and so we persisted in opening our doors, cooking a meal and cleaning the house.
That night the power of God came so mightily and one man received a specific call from the Lord that he had waited for most of his life. There was a powerful time of ministry over a couple with two children. They were blessed and directed lovingly with guidance and wisdom for their parenting and life.
A mission to Sydney...
When the natural—finances, health and emotional turmoil—screamed out for us not to take a trip to Sydney we still felt God would have us go. We stood on the word of God for our health to improve dramatically, for finance to come and for God's peace to come. Miracles started to happen.
First, we were offered a car to drive over, all expenses paid. Then a miracle of provision of a free dental procedure in Sydney by a dentist friend—desperately needed and a long-time prayer answered. We sold a bicycle and two cupboards which provided funds for the trip and especially the money needed for a conference we felt to attend.
Now we sit here in Sydney and not only is my tooth fixed but my wife was offered free dental! And what did she hear while sitting in the dentist's chair? 'Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all else shall be added unto you.'
As the trip progressed the Lord confirmed another reason he had sent us to Sydney and that was for my wife to minister through prophetic song and healing prayer to a friend who was sick. It was a powerful time of ministry that brought such a thick presence of God and a tangible peace.
If we had just looked at our circumstances, and not looked to God, then we would not be here. We would not have seen God move miracles for us.
Becoming a seasoned 'overcomer'
It's through these circumstances, these tests and trials, that our faith is defined and we are matured to be more Christ-like. Everyone can praise God when life is on the mountain top, but not everyone can praise God in the valley.
When you dig deep into God he releases a supernatural power; he enables you to rise above circumstance, feeling and emotion to be mightily used for his Kingdom. Despite all the circumstances, despite all the pressures of life there is nothing better than chasing after God and his will for our lives, and I would have it no other way.
Justin Monaghan is currently launching as a professional prophetic artist under the label JR Faith Creations and runs a creative home fellowship with his wife Liana. Justin is also heavily involved in his local surfing community of South Australia as a surf coach, a judge of surf contests and a member of Christian Surfers
Check out JR Faith Creations to see some of his art at https://www.facebook.com/Jrfaithcreations
Justin Monaghan's previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/justin-monaghan.html