From the desk of Steve Shultz:
This is another great word for the hour by Sandie Freed. The enemy is on the prowl like never before. He is lying to us and planting seeds of fear and doubt at every turn. That tells me that he is grasping for straws because he knows his time is short. God is about to breakthrough for us in the biggest way... hold on and watch HIM come through.
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Sandie Freed:
The Battle is Raging
In these uncertain times, it is tempting to believe that God doesn't really care about our challenges. Notice I used the word "tempting"? I specifically used this term because the enemy, the tempter, seeks to deceive us into believing that God has abandoned us or that He will not fulfill His promises. And, the tempter especially targets our belief system during seasons of crisis to completely wear us down. Be certain that in this season our enemy will continue to place many different temptations before us. Every temptation is meant to draw us away from God and His plans of fulfillment for our lives.
Dear Believer, we must remember that it has always been the plan of the enemy to paint a false image of God. In other words, the tempter tempts us with ideas that God is not who He says He is! An example of this is when you hear the words of satan that say, "God will not come through for you." Or another is, "God doesn't really care about you." And yet, there is the original temptation that had its debut in the Garden when the enemy told Eve, "Did God say...?"
I cannot even begin to count the number of times the tempter has enticed me to come into agreement with his lies concerning the faithfulness of God. Over the past few days, I have had to take out my prophetic promises that I have written down, read over them and then rise up to confess them. This time of confession was to remind the devil of my prophetic promises and to also re-ignite my Godly belief system to empower me with great faith.
It is very important to understand that if we believe the lies of the enemy concerning God's faithfulness, in reality we are bowing down to a "false image." Remember, God says that we are not to bow down to a graven image (of a false god) (see Exodus 20:4-5). For us today, this is not limited to a hand-carved idol, but also an "image" of God that is not Biblical. In other words, if we believe that God is not truly our Provider, then we are basically bowing down to a false image concerning God Himself. And, to believe that God doesn't really care about our situation is another form of bowing down to a lie concerning God. Beloved, we must guard our hearts and minds during this season.
God Will Always Pursue Us and Guide Us
Regardless of what it looks like in the natural, God is always pursuing us and leading us. I realize at times we are tempted to believe that God has forgotten us – but this is a complete lie concerning God's faithfulness. We are an easy prey for the tempter and the accuser when we begin to waver in our faith concerning God's covenant promises. Deuteronomy 7:9 reminds us that God's steadfast love along with His mercy ensures us that He is faithful to keep covenant with us:
"Know, recognize, and understand therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, Who keeps covenant and steadfast love and mercy with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations" (AMP).
Because of His covenant promise to us, He will watch over His Word to perform it. Remember what He spoke to Jeremiah? When Jeremiah was empowered to fully see his future, God then replied that Jeremiah had seen correctly and that "...I am watching to see that My word is fulfilled." (Jeremiah 1:12 NIV). The word watching is the Hebrew word shaqad and it means that God remains "alert" and "sleepless" and is always on the "lookout" to hasten the fulfillment of His Word to us! Wow! It is so encouraging to realize that we serve a God who never sleeps nor slumbers to ensure that our covenant is protected!
God wants to lead us – in fact, He has committed to faithfully lead us. David, the King who was in covenant with God and understood God's faithfulness, wrote in Psalm 5:8 saying that "because of my [our] enemies," we are praying that He make our paths "level (straight and right)" (AMP). Dear Believer, because we are battling our enemy – the accuser and the tempter – against their strong opposition at this time, God is even more committed to leading and guiding us into our future!
I have been very committed to exposing the accuser. In fact, I have devoted an entire new book, Silencing the Accuser; Eight Lies Satan Uses Against Christians, which targets the lies of our enemy. If you are discouraged and have been tempted to believe that God doesn't care about your situation, you will definitely be encouraged as you read this book. I know that I, myself, have been tempted to believe that my future is hopeless and also that circumstances will never change. But, that type of thinking is a lie. I know that you are like me and never desire to bow down to a false image concerning God's faithfulness.
He Continues to Pursue Us!
One of the lies the accuser uses to discourage us is this: "You have messed up so much that your promises have been negated." Or maybe you have been lured by this lie: "Because of your doubt, you have missed the timing of your blessing." Dear one, God knows how to redeem your time! Don't fall into the pit of despair because your faith has wavered. We must remember that God never gives up on us. He is not sitting on His throne waiting for an opportunity to chasten us for something we have done wrong! No! He is waiting expectantly on opportunities for us to "see" properly so that He can bless us! Believer, it is important for you to "see" again. Ask the Lord to touch you right now and to shift you into great faith. He is waiting for you to cry out to Him and ask for His presence to invade every ounce of doubt and unbelief.
There are many Biblical passages that declare God's faithfulness. But, allow me to close with this encouraging passage:
"Yes, You are my Rock and my Fortress; therefore for Your name's sake lead me and guide me" (Psalm 31:3 AMP).
I pray you noticed this: Because of His name's sake He will lead and guide us. In other words, His name is Who He is! His name paints a picture of His faithfulness and creates an "image" in our minds of His faithfulness. Can you "see" Him as faithful? Can you "see" Him as always pursuing you and leading you? If you can "see" it, then you are resisting the doubt and unbelief that has attempted to steal your future!
Allow me to pray for you:
Father, I am thankful for the opportunity to minister truth and life to those who have ears to hear. I pray that You continue to plant Kingdom seeds into the hearts of Your children. Father, for those who have hardened their hearts to Your truths due to disappointments and hard times, I thank You in advance for breaking them out of doubt and unbelief and breaking them forth into seasons of hope and fulfillment. Though the cares of the world have attempted to choke seeds of life, I thank You for the Word of Life to resonate in every heart and that faith would be restored. I pray that Your children would be empowered to see Your faithfulness and Your commitment to pursue each of us because of Your righteousness. I rebuke the accuser and the tempter and command that the enemy loose those who have been held captive. Lord, I thank You for loosing every prisoner that is shackled by doubt and unbelief. In Jesus' name. Amen.
As always, I continue to pray for you and lift you up to the Father,
Sandie Freed
Zion Ministries
Email: zionministries1@sbcglobal.net
