From the desk of Steve Shultz:
Another excellent word for this hour by Bobby Conner. People are nervous and fearful about many things right now. The world is shaking all around us. Let's not forget to Praise the LORD now more than ever. Praise sets things in motion and sets people free as you'll read about in Bobby's word.
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Bobby Conner:
The Spirit is Teaching Us to Drink "Honey from the Rock"
The Spirit of God is teaching us how to drink honey from the Rock – how to drink in the Presence of the Lord Jesus Christ! This truth is revealed in Deuteronomy 32:10-13 (Amplified):
He found him in a desert land, in the howling void of the wilderness; He kept circling around him, He scanned him [penetratingly], He kept him as the pupil of His eye. As an eagle that stirs up her nest, that flutters over her young He spread abroad His wings and He took them, He bore them on His pinions. So the Lord alone led him; there was no foreign god with Him. He made Israel ride on the high places of the earth, and he ate the increase of the field; and He made him suck honey out of the rock and oil out of the flinty rock...
Let's consider this last line: "He made him suck honey out of the rock..." The word suck, the Hebrew yanaq, refers to the sucking of a baby when it is nursing. When God "made him suck honey out of the rock," Scripture is describing the action of making a baby nurse. What is this child drinking? The child of God is drinking in the honey of His Presence!
What a glorious God we serve! El Shaddai, named the Breasty One, invites us to nurse. There is no more vital sustenance than the Presence of our Lord. There is no more glorious experience than this intimate exchange. And there is no more urgent need than for us to learn how to drink in the manifest glory of God!
How do we drink of His Presence? Just as babies must learn how to nurse from the breast – a survival instinct that may be awkward for them at first – we, too must learn how to suck the honey of our Rock, Christ Jesus.
We begin the flow of honey simply praising the Lord with childlike adoration and trust. Adore Christ for who He is. Thank Him for what He has done. Acknowledge His grace poured out at Calvary. Rejoice in His glory at the Resurrection. Whatever is on your heart to offer to the Lord, speak it out loud to Him. Express your appreciation, gratitude, awe, wonder. Praise is vital for initiating that glorious flow of His Presence.
Don't fret about whether or not you can "suck" His honey! The Spirit of God will Himself teach each one of us how to drink from the Rock, the Person of Christ. And not only will He teach us how to begin to suck, He will also teach us how to continue to drink, moment by moment. In so doing, we will learn how to abide in God's holy Presence, through good times and bad, in the midst of profound blessings and when difficult news arrives at our doorstep.
Beloved, to the extent that we learn to drink the honey of the Lord, we will experience His manifest Presence – and in His Presence, fullness of joy abides (Psalm 16:11)!
Don't misunderstand this fearsome truth: The Lord promises that He will "never leave" us (Hebrews 13:5). His Presence is always with us because the Kingdom of God is within us (Luke 17:21). We walk by faith, knowing this truth; however, we can also experience the Lord's manifest Presence the more we enter into praise and drink of His glory. God's promises will never fail! God will never forsake His people! He will provide for and protect us! Christ Jesus is our High Tower – and He is our Rock.
Our Shelter from Adversity
The Hebrew word cela, translated rock, refers to a crag or a cliff – a place under which we may find safety, shelter and security. This type of rock protects, it does not crush. This rock covers and shields. It is interesting to note that the Hebrew root of this word actually means lofty. Hidden within the word cela is the lofty root: hidden within this shelter of the rock is the "high tower" of Christ. He is the lowly crag and the lofty haven; He is the lowly Lamb and the Majesty on high!
What lesson is the Lord revealing here? Find your refuge in Christ, no matter how bitter your trial! Let your fiery ordeals drive you ever closer to Jesus as you suck the honey from His Rock – to sustain, nourish and refresh you in the desert places. The adversity in your life can make you bitter, filled with doubt, fear and unbelief, or it can serve to drive you ever nearer to the bosom of the Lord, to dwell under His craggy cliff of protection, safety and love.
Beloved, choose life. Choose to suck honey from the Rock!
Ponder this truth deeply in your spirit: The unspeakable joy of His manifest Presence is ours to experience even in the most trying situations. When the desert is scorching and hope seems to be lost, we can drink the honey of His love. When the winds of change blow us about and we feel we can no longer stand on our own, we can rest in Christ, reclining under His cliff.
Yield to God and drink. Believe His Word and suck. As we learn to rest in His promises and release our fear, doubt and unbelief, He will turn every single tragedy into triumph. This is rock-solid truth.
Heroes of the Faith
Remember the testimony of Joseph. His brothers rejected and mistreated him. They meant to bring hurt and harm to Joseph. God, however, worked the events together for Joseph's good (Genesis 37).
Beloved, nothing – nothing on Heaven or earth – takes God by surprise! He is constantly, lovingly, passionately active in our affairs, even when we are unaware of His involvement. Even when all hope seems to be lost. It is at that midnight hour when the Glory of God shines brightest.
Consider our heroes of the faith. Read Hebrews 11. Many, if not all, faced extreme hardships and overwhelming difficulties: Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, those who marched around Jericho, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jepthah, David, Samuel and the prophets. Let's read their glorious testimonies from Hebrews 11:33-40:
"...through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again.
"Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented – of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.
"And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us."
God proved Himself faithful in each case – without fail. The Psalmist stated it well, writing, "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread" (Psalm 37:25).
Some might protest stating, "Oh, you don't know what I am going through!" True, no one else on earth could know what you are going through. The truth remains true, however: God will not let the situation overrun you.
Remind yourself: I am not alone! Christ Jesus promised never to forsake you or abandon you. You are called to be victorious in every area of life (1 John 4:4). Paul reminds us that, by the finished work of Christ, we are more that conquerors (Romans 8:37). Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:32).
Drink the truth of these Scriptures as if you were drinking honey! Praise Him for His promises! Let your spirit be lifted and soar! As you do, your soul – your mind, will and emotions – will be sanctified and brought into agreement with the Word. Drink in the faithfulness of God revealed in the lives of these overcomers of Hebrews 11. You, too, are God's hero of the faith!
Grasp this truth: God is no respecter of persons. If He does something for someone, He can do the same for everyone.
Praise the Lord...in Prison!
Again, praise is the pathway into God's Presence. Notice the wonderful breakthrough experienced by Paul and Silas in a most difficult situation. It was midnight when Paul and Silas had their mighty deliverance from God from prison (Acts 16:25). At midnight, behind bars, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God – and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly there was a great earthquake and the foundations of the prison were shaken. Immediately, the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed!
What was the key that opened their prison doors? Their praise! They didn't complain but believed in God's faithfulness. They didn't grumble about being in prison but rather prayed and praised God, trusting in Him to save them – no matter their circumstances.
Beloved, we desperately need an attitude of gratitude! We are called to offer God a sacrifice of praise. Why is it a sacrifice? Because generally when we need to be praising the most, we "feel" it the least. We are called to sacrifice our personal emotions, thoughts and will, die to our soulish needs, and walk in the Spirit, rejoicing in His promises – no matter our circumstances.
Speak Life and Glorify God!
Our attitude can dramatically affect the atmosphere around us. Consider the patriarch Job's response to his devastating troubles. Job set a great example for us when he stated that he would not sin against God with words of accusation, choosing rather to bless the Lord with his mouth (Job 2:10).
This is a wonderful lesson: Let your words build up, not tear down. During these troubling days, watch your words with all diligence! Why? The spirit realm is listening to what you say. The spirit realm is watching how you respond.
Speak well over your life! Declare you are an overcomer! Be bold and brave, filled with faith and a bright future (Joel 3:10). Remember, the power of death and life is within your words (Proverbs 18:21).
Pattern your speech after the promises of God, not the situations and circumstances of life. Make this Scripture your daily anthem and creed (Psalm 34:1):
"I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise will constantly be in my mouth."
Let this be your heart's desire and hourly prayer: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my [firm, impenetrable] Rock and my Redeemer" (Psalm 19:14).
Take courage, saints of God: The hardships you are facing are the proving ground that will launch you into a deeper intimacy with the Lord and a more certain faith in His promises! As we learn to drink in the Presence of God by praising Him for His faithfulness and speaking His promises – not our own doubts and fears – we will surely come to experience His manifest glory more and more every moment of the day.
Bobby Conner
Eagles View Ministries
Email: manager@bobbyconner.org
