Monday, November 18, 2024

Don't Give Up On Hope

NOTE: Written in October. It's still relevant. Trump is still in a fight and the Lord needs His people praying for him and for the heart of this country. That's what is still at stake - The Heart of this Nation. 

I am also in awe at the message God gave me here. He kept His word and never stopped telling me that Trump would win. But it's up to us, church, to keep praying for our leaders - and I believe both foreign and domestic. God is still on His throne and is still in control.

Don't Give Up On Hope

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 ESV

[7] So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. [8] Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. [9] But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. [10] For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 

I woke up today discouraged and depressed. I felt stuck in a hole that I couldn't get out of. Like something pressing in on me. I just wanted to give up. Thoughts going through my head crying out, "failure".  Because I haven't been able to do anything lately. 

The Lord encouraged me to read His word. But I couldn't shake this feeling. I can't describe it other than a heavy depression. I didn't know if I was still grieving for my dad since October 31st will mark a year that he's been gone. 

So I began to pray and rebuke the enemy because I've learned that sometimes when we feel this low, its the spirit of witchcraft or some kind of demonic attack. And lately, we know there is a spiritual battle taking place with this election coming up. It has been so fierce that it's escalating into the natural world and we can see it all around us. The thought came to mind that with November 5 being so close, this could be escalating into a full-on spiritual assault on the church. Designed to make us give up.

So I began to read my Bible. The Book of Revelation. The Lord knows that I will find something to study and it will lead me away from dwelling on how I'm feeling. Then I heard the Lord say:

IT IS AT THAT MOMENT (at the moment we're feeling attacked with discouragement and depression or just feel like giving up) YOU NEED TO READ MY WORD AND PRAISE ME FOR I'M THE ONE WHO SUSTAINS YOU.

Then I played this song.


When I played this song in the past, I'm telling you I could see a glimpse of heaven and my depression lifted off of me. I praised God while listening to this song. I thought of all Gods people and how they must be under attack also and prayed for them. I prayed for a breakthrough for us, for this election, and surrendered this battle to the Lord.

Then the Lord spoke to me as the song was ending:

I WILL GO BEFORE YOU, I WILL FIGHT THIS BATTLE. YOUR VOTE WILL COUNT, YOUR VOICE WILL BE HEARD. TRUMP WILL WIN AND WILL BE BACK IN THE WHITEHOUSE. I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE ENEMY AND THEY WILL KNOW THAT I AM THE ONE WHO FIGHTS THIS BATTLE.

I was reminded of how the Lord made a way through the wilderness for Moses and the Israelites. He appeared as a pillar of cloud during the day and by night, a pillar of fire. They saw the physical manifestation of God walking before them, clearing the way to the promised land. Just because we don't see God working like this, doesn't mean He's not doing anything. He is still there. He still works miracles in people's lives and He still answers prayer. 

Sometimes when the battle is gaining momentum and all hope seems lost, praising God is what is needed. Because when we praise God, we are making a sacrifice. We are choosing to focus on God's glory and power instead of the battle going on around us. That is when God acts. 

Don't give up on hope. God knows it's been hard. God hears His people crying out to Him. Keep your eyes on the Lord and praise Him even when you don't feel like it. Play the song I linked above as a start. Give everything over to Him so He can take over. 

God loves you and wants to see you succeed in what He gave you to do. He wants to tell you things you don't know and show you things you've never seen. 

Don't give up church. God is there in the storm. AND KEEP PRAYING FOR TRUMP. He is in the fight of his life and so are all those on the front lines exposing Kamala and the other democrats ... exposing their lies and their plans to destroy us and tear down everything God and our forefathers gave us. Keep praying. Keep giving God all the glory and honor because He is worthy of it. 

How To Deal With Anger

NOTE: I wrote this before election night and after the hurricanes. But it is still relevant. God is still dealing with things in our hearts so we can be free and draw closer to Him. 

How to Deal with Anger


I am angry and I’m not alone. In fact, the frustration is so bad that just trying to type “Anger” took me several times because I couldn’t type it out without mistakes. So I beat on… each… letter. But I’m not alone. As I watched this whole debacle play out with FEMA denying hurricane victims resources, supplies, and Starlink receivers, my anxiety hit the roof. Panic set in. And I began to pray in my anger. Several times I could feel the Holy Spirit holding my words back, and only a few words got out. I had taken Benadryl and it dried me out so much that I couldn’t even cry like I wanted to. So, as I laid in bed last night exhausted from my outburst, God spoke to me.


He told me for the second time that I needed to do something about my anger. “ I love you. I love the hurricane victims. I am there. I am taking care of them.” In fact, this morning He spoke to me again about it. “Work on your anger. Don’t pray when you’re angry. It holds you back from what I have for you. I can’t bless you when you’re angry.”


How many of you are so angry with this situation or maybe there’s a storm in your life that has you seeing red. It’s a natural reaction. But when we team anger up with helplessness, frustration, anxiety, it becomes a storm around us and unless we seek the Lord, it will blind us. We will say things we will regret later on. And with politics, that happens way too much.


So how do we deal with anger? How do we pray when we’re angry? Especially when the situation seems hopeless? Or when we know we can’t help the situation get better, how do we deal with all these strong emotions biblically?


“When all hope seems lost, that’s when I will act.” That small voice we call the Holy Spirit spoke that today. I have been seeing examples of this all day. I shared a link to a video earlier in which an older man shared his testimony of how the Lord worked miracles through him. God’s words resonated all through this video. It was amazing. And if we read Zechariah, when it seems there is no hope for Israel, Jesus steps down onto the Mount of Olives and saves His people.  (Zechariah 14:1-4).


This is telling us we need to have the faith to be patient and wait on the Lord. We also need to recognize and remember this lesson. When desperation hits us and we feel hopeless, we need to cry out to the Lord.  It doesn’t end there. We also need to give God our anger. Let go of it. It’s useless to us, especially when ministering to others who feel the same way. And learning patience isn't something that can be done in one day. Sometimes it takes people a lifetime to achieve this. That's why we need the Lord to help us to live out His word.


James 1:19-20 ESV

[19]  Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; [20] for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 


Ephesians 4:26-27 ESV

[26] Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, [27] and give no opportunity to the devil. 


Romans 12:17-21 ESV

[17] Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. [18] If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. [19] Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” [20] To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” [21] Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.


These verses speak volumes. Especially this last one. God said to me I needed to give Him my anger. Vengeance belongs to Him because God is not just a loving Father, but a Righteous Judge. He has to be. This world is too evil and victims cry out for justice every day. This is where the Lord reassures me, “All hope is not lost. I am fighting for you.” 


When you look at this heated political season, the attempts on Trump’s life, and now the government holding back aid from those in North Carolina, it all makes sense. We are in the most heated spiritual war I have ever seen. I’m 53 years old and I have never seen anything like this….EVER! And I know God is fighting for Trump by how hard that man is getting hit by the enemy. 


God’s whole message to me and you is this, “Anger will destroy you. Rest assured. I have the situation.” 


Sometimes in these massive storms, when the ship is moving side to side, being tossed around like an empty box. When the waves come barreling down on us and the ship is about to be sunk down by the pummeling waves…. Maybe, instead of getting angry and yelling out meaningless words, or posting comments against our enemies. Maybe the best course of action is to give the anger over and pray that the Holy Spirit teaches us how to handle these feelings. 


Take comfort in knowing that God is on the throne. That He is aware of the bad situation. That maybe He has already called people to intervene. Or maybe, just maybe, He’s opening the eyes of those who have refused to see the truth for years. And those people are the ones that can do something about it. 


We don’t know the mind of God. And we sure can’t say what He’s going to do. But take that anger and give it to Him so He can fill you with peace and hope and give you a different perspective on the situation. 


And if you have spoken or prayed in anger, repent. Give it over to the Lord. Ask Him to teach you how to manage your anger. Look up Bible verses on it and meditate on them - study them. Give yourself grace and move on. God wants to bless you, not hold this over your head. That’s why He gave us Jesus. All you have to do is ask. Call on the name of Jesus and you will be saved. That’s how much the Lord loves us. How much He loves you. Just ask Him to show you. 


Faith like a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20), that is all we need. And God does the rest. Trust Him. That’s all He asks of us. To trust Him in whatever situation we are in. 


Has God been trying to talk to you? Have you been called or think you’ve been called to accept Jesus? Pray this prayer and let me know. I’d love to pray for you and your family. 


Lord, I have sinned. Forgive me. I need you Lord and I need Jesus in my life. Please come in and renew me. Take this life of mine and clean it up so I can shine for you. So that others around me can see that change is possible and they can have Jesus in their lives. I surrender my anger and pride over to you. I surrender my life to you. Lord, thank you for sending Jesus and for saving me. Let your will be done in my life and others. In Jesus name, amen.