Intro from Joey LeTourneau:
Michele and Ken Cole are longtime, faithful friends who are willing to step out by faith upon the words of Jesus.
When I received this word from Michele, my spirit resonated with it immediately. I believe that will be the case for many of you as well. This word is written from the trenches with hope and faith. Simple, faithful, and consistent obedience is so underrated in the world we live in, but we know and love a God who rewards such openly in His perfect timing.
We're entering a special time on the Kingdom calendar. It is a strategic time to see purpose and promises come to life as we partner with Him, perhaps when and how we least expect. Be encouraged by Michele and Ken's faithful journey and this word Michele has shared with you.
Joey LeTourneau
Freedom U
It's Time for the Rewards of Obedience
By Michele A. Cole
Recently one morning, the Lord spoke to my heart. It was just one sentence, but it landed like a promise I had been waiting decades to hear: "It's time for the rewards of obedience."
I sat with that for a long moment. If you're reading this, chances are you know exactly what it costs to keep saying "yes" to God when the road doesn't make sense. You know what it is to be obedient, even to the point of sacrifice.
Endurance Through Long and Arduous Seasons
I won't pretend it's been easy. Ken and I have walked through what seems to be one long, arduous season that has been testing every ounce of faith we have. We've walked through unrelenting circumstances, suffering, pain, and the kind of pressing that doesn't let up for a season and then ease off, but stretches on and on until you wonder if endurance itself has a limit. And we are far from alone. I have several friends who have been experiencing the same "never ending" trials. And so many of you reading this may be carrying the same weight. You keep showing up and obeying, even when it has cost you something you don't know if you'll ever get back.
That's not weakness. That's the deep root system of real faith. And I believe God sees every single second of it.
"Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." (Jeremiah 17:7–8 KJV) (Photo via StockCake)
Obedience: The Vehicle Through Which the Father's Glory Is Displayed
I was in Ezekiel 24 one morning, reading through the commentary, and something struck me. Ezekiel was called into extreme obedience—obedience that cost him something deeply personal, obedience that didn't make sense by any human measure. And yet that very obedience became the vehicle through which the Father's glory was displayed.
Sometimes the obedience God asks of us doesn't look like blessing on the front end. It looks like sacrifice. It looks like confusion to everyone watching, especially to those who are quick to make assumptions or judgments. The cost is high, but it is never wasted, because it is the very thing God uses to reveal Himself. This concept led me to reread Deuteronomy 28. The Lord has shown me this passage repeatedly over the years.
The Promise of Deuteronomy 28
Deuteronomy 28 opens with a staggering picture of what happens when God's people walk in obedience to Him.
"And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all His commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God." (Deuteronomy 28:1–2 KJV)
Blessing isn't scattered or occasional; it's described as overtaking the obedient. It follows you into the city and into the field. It's on your work, your household, your future, your going out and your coming in.
That word "overtake" is encouraging in this sense. It's not that it will eventually arrive, and it's not for just a select few. "Overtake" implies a blessing is running to catch up with everyone who has stayed faithful in the waiting.
Two Dreams, One Message
I have to share something else, because I don't believe it was just something to brush off.
On June 30, 2026, I had a dream. In it, I was very, very pregnant. My midwife told me the baby was crowning, that it was time for one final push. Two days later, on July 2, 2026, I saw a post from Lorilei Cooley, and her words were, almost verbatim, my exact dream. (Photo via Unsplash)
Then on July 23, 2026, my husband had a dream of his own. He was in a hallway, and he said, "I'm birthing." He knew he had to get through an exit door, and as he was pushing through it, he got stuck. He called out to someone on the other side, "I'm crowning," asking for help to get through.
Two dreams, both landing on the same picture: birth, crowning, and one final push.
I believe God is making a way for us to birth the promises we have been believing for so long. I believe the time is now.
The Pain Is Forgotten and What Is Birthed Remains
The Lord reminded me of something else one morning: childbirth involves real pain. I've not had a baby, so I don't know firsthand, but nobody pretends otherwise. Once that baby is placed in your arms, the pain doesn't define the moment anymore. The joy of what has been born overtakes the memory of what it cost to get there.
I believe that's where many of us are standing right now. However long you or I have had to endure tumultuous circumstances, however much suffering and pain has marked this season, I don't believe it will be what we remember when we hold our promises in our arms. The pain fades. What's birthed remains.
Fulfillment: Our "Babies" Are Being Born
At the beginning of this year, the Lord gave me one word: fulfillment.
In the Biblical sense, fulfillment is the completion of a promise, a prophecy, and a divine purpose—the moment God's faithfulness and sovereignty brings what He has spoken to pass. And, He gave me this verse to go with that word:
"Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass." (Psalm 37:5 NKJV)
The order in which God spoke—sharing the word "fulfillment," then Psalm 37:5, then the dreams, and then saying, "It's time for the rewards of obedience"—I don't think that sequence is random. I believe our breakthrough is near. I believe our "babies," the promises we have carried and labored over for so long, are being born.
Take Heart Today—It's Time!
If you've endured long and hard, if you've kept obeying even when it has hurt, take heart today. The season of unrelenting circumstance is not the whole story, and the pain of the process will not be what you remember.
It's time for the rewards of obedience. It's time to birth the promise. Hallelujah! Selah!
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Michele A. Cole
Elegant Meals Made Simple
Email:Â michele@wantinsight.com
Website:Â www.elegantmealsmadesimple.com
Michele and Ken Cole have spent twenty-four years in ministry, feeding and extending hospitality to thousands. For nearly twenty years, they have contended and believed for a promise God spoke over them—creating a retreat center for pastors and ministry leaders to be refreshed, an equipping center for the Body of Christ, a place of prophetic and healing ministry, and a refuge, fully self-sustaining. Michele was recently called to launch Elegant Meals Made Simple, a business that brings the Acts 2:42 church back to the table.
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