Katie Barker: "Praise Me in the Storm - Don't Allow the Enemy to Steal Your Peace!"

     From the desk of Steve Shultz:

This was an extremely "soothing" word from the Lord through Katie Barker of Australia, as we coast through the "storms" of life.

Have you gone through any storms lately? I know many of us have! This really is a NOW word for the Body as we seem surrounded by storms on all fronts.

Katie Barker opens with this word of the Lord which many of you need to hear and receive:

I heard the Lord say, "Rest in Me. Praise Me in the storm. I am bigger than your circumstances. I am the God of the impossible. I am making the crooked places straight. I have gone before you and prepared the way. I am working all things together for your good. I am turning things around and you will see My goodness abound.

"Where the enemy has come in like a flood, I am raising up a standard against him. Look to Me and not to your circumstances. Don't allow the enemy to steal your peace..."

Amen...be very encouraged by this word of the Lord to you! (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)

I heard the Lord say, "Rest in Me. Praise Me in the storm. I am bigger than your circumstances. I am the God of the impossible. I am making the crooked places straight. I have gone before you and prepared the way. I am working all things together for your good. I am turning things around and you will see My goodness abound.

"Where the enemy has come in like a flood, I am raising up a standard against him. Look to Me and not to your circumstances. Don't allow the enemy to steal your peace. I am your peace and your hope is found in Me. In My presence there is fullness of joy. Take shelter under My wings and allow My love to envelope you and give you strength. I am all you need. Join your heart to Mine. My love for you is endless."

Rest in Him

The Lord is calling you to rest in who He is and to trust in Him – trust in His promises and faithfulness. He alone can give you a hope that anchors you in any season or any situation. A hope so secure that when difficulties come you're not swayed or governed by the storm around you. There is always the hope you need to carry on for your steps are guided by the hand of God.

The more you grow in understanding of who God is, and the more you grow in your relationship with Him, the more you trust Him. When we rest and trust in God, the storms of life may come but our heart will not be moved. Trusting God means we give up worrying and reasoning and we enter into His rest with simple, childlike faith; for we live by grace through faith. In that place of trust, there is perfect peace, regardless of what we are going through in our lives.

We are partners with God in what He calls us to do – we have a part and He has a part. The Lord wants us to be obedient and follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit, which is our part to play. Sometimes we try to do God's part and that brings us worry and stress when all that is required is to rest in Him and allow Him to do what only He can.

We are invited to rest in Him knowing He is aligning all things for our good and He has prepared the path for us to walk in. When we feel overwhelmed we need to refocus our eyes on Jesus, for when our eyes are on Him, we are no longer ruled by our circumstances and we have heavenly perspective to see the way He sees. We can say, "It is well with my soul" regardless of our circumstances.

Matthew 14:30 says, "But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, 'Lord save me!'" Like Peter in this Scripture, when we focus on the wind (our circumstances) we will begin to sink, but if we look to Jesus we will be at rest. When we surrender our fears to God He gives us His peace. Fear is the opposite of faith as fear paralyzes you, while faith propels you. When we focus on the promises of God and speak out the Word of God in faith, we won't be swayed by our circumstances.

"My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken." (Psalm 62:5-6 NASB)

"Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." (Psalm 46:10 NASB)

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7 NASB) (Photo via Unsplash)

Praise Him in the Storm

God lives among the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). As we praise God we sense His presence and in His presence there is fullness of joy. Praise is a powerful spiritual weapon as it changes the atmosphere around us. In the Scriptures we read how the walls of Jericho came crashing down, giving victory to God's people due to the Israelites releasing shouts of praise (Joshua 6:20). In Acts 16:25-26, we read that the prison doors shook open when Paul and Silas prayed and praised God.

We can sing praises in the midst of trials and difficulties as we know God will overcome. Praise lifts our eyes from the battle to the victory, for Christ has already won the victory. We are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. Though the rewards of praising God are many, we praise Him because of who He is, not because of what He gives. We can remain joyful no matter what is happening in our lives because we have the Lord, and in Him we will overcome no matter what the devil is trying to bring against us. It is the will of God for us to rejoice no matter what comes. As we rejoice in God, we release joy to others.

"You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever." (Psalm 16:11 NASB)

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place." (2 Corinthians 2:14 NASB)

"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33 NASB)

He is the God of the Impossible

As we are yielded to the Lord, He makes the path straight before us. God prepares the path before us and equips us for the journey. At times we have limited vision of the path ahead and what we are going through, but the Lord has the big picture and He calls us to trust in Him. He takes even our failures and disappointments and reconfigures them to work together for good.

God is fighting for us and He turns our situations around for His glory and for our good. There is nothing too hard for God. There is nothing that is outside of God's reach. Scripture teaches that God can make a way when there seems as though there is no way; and no doubt we can all testify to times when God has made a way in our lives where things seemed impossible.

The Holy Spirit is our great Helper who teaches us and guides us in the ways of truth, God's ways. The Holy Spirit always leads us in the direction God has for our life, which results in making the path before us straight. We should subject everything in our life to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

God invites us to hold onto the promises He has given and to believe He is able to do the impossible for us. He may not do it in the way we expect, but He will work all things for our good and it will be so much better than we thought. God is bigger than your situation. You are not walking in this journey alone; He is with you and will never leave you.

Hold onto faith as small as a mustard seed, because that alone is enough faith to see mountains move and giants fall. We need to deal with any area of unbelief in our lives. Faith and unbelief both come by what we are hearing or giving attention to. We choose to have faith come into our heart by hearing the Word of God. The power of God is unleashed in the lives of those with true faith.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6 NASB)

"I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars." (Isaiah 45:2 NASB)

"The Lord is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works." (Psalm 145:9 NASB)

"But He said, 'The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.'" (Luke 18:27 NASB)

"Truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move and nothing will be impossible to you." (Matthew 17:20 NASB) (Photo via Unsplash)

He is All You Need – Encounter His love

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him." (Psalm 28:7 NASB)

"Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside of you, and the resting place of His love will become the very source and root of your life, providing you with a secure foundation that grows and grows. Then, as your spiritual strength increases, you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences – the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is His love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding – this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!" (Ephesians 3:17-19 TPT)

The Lord is all we need. His love is limitless and it gives us strength. We can live in the reality of God's love, a love that grounds us and establishes us regardless of the storms we face. His love is bigger than anything we're going through. To be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God, and to be filled with the all-surpassing love of Christ is to be transformed from the inside out. The Lord wants us to encounter His heart. He wants us to know how much we are loved and how much He delights in us. He is inviting us to rest in Him and His love.

Rest in Him and praise Him in the storm. He is the God of the impossible and He is working all things for your good. Join your heart to His and allow His love to give you strength. (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)

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