I hear the Lord saying, "I am turning your prison of despair into a fortress of hope. No longer will the walls confine you. They will instead be your firm foundation—stabilizing, protecting, and surrounding you with My presence and provision!"
A New Chapter
"Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them." (Isaiah 42:9 NKJV)
The Lord often illustrates what He's been speaking to me prophetically through what's happening in the natural realm in our lives. Currently, my husband and I are in the process of building a significant addition onto our existing ranch house, which will pretty much double its size.
On the day we broke ground, I sensed the Lord saying, "It's a day of new beginnings; it's a new day."
It's like we're starting a new chapter. The first two years here could be titled "The Ranch: Moved," and the new chapter could be called "The Ranch: Improved."
Friends, my sense is there's a much larger prophetic picture being illustrated here than just what's being demonstrated in our lives. For whatever reason, the Lord often makes me live the word before I can release it. My prayer is that the Lord will use the examples shared here to encourage you in your particular circumstances as you begin your new chapter in life.
No More Delay
Several weeks prior to starting this project, I awoke one night to hearing the Lord say, "No more delay!" As I prayed and pondered over this, I began thinking about things that have been delayed in our lives. Building this addition was one which had actually been in the talking and planning stages for about two and a half years. Restored health was another, and despite hearing the Lord declare that "turnaround is HERE," elements of healing have yet to be realized. I could go on, and I'm sure you've experienced delay in your life as well. (Photo via Diane Lake)
The Scripture the Lord brought to mind concerning this word was Jeremiah 1:11–12:
"Moreover the Word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'Jeremiah, what do you see?'
"And I said, 'I see a branch of an almond tree.'
"Then the Lord said to me, 'You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.'" (NKJV)
The Hebrew root word for the almond tree in this passage means "wakeful" (Strong's H8245), as the almond tree was the first tree to "wake" from the sleep of winter, and was a sign that the hard frost was about to break and new life would begin. It was meant to symbolize the speedy and certain fulfillment of the word which God had spoken to Jeremiah.
Despite the many challenges and uncertainties concerning building this addition to our ranch, the word of no delay gave us the confidence to start. May it "awaken" your confidence, as well.
Taking the Plunge
"Then Jesus said to the centurion, 'Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.' And his servant was healed that same hour." (Matthew 8:13 NKJV)
Some of the major challenges of this build have had to do with the site itself. The power main had to be moved, and the location of the well limited the footprint. But the biggest concern was the rocky terrain (plans included digging a basement). (Photo via Diane Lake)
Other concerns included were that our previous contracting business was located in an area over two hours away, so the subcontractors and suppliers with whom we had built good relationships were too far away to use. It would be like starting from scratch.
And as I said, there have been health concerns. My husband has forty-plus years of general contracting experience, but we questioned whether he was able to take on a project this size.
Then a good prophetic friend gave my husband a word that he would be healed as we moved forward with the project (which confirmed a sense I had already expressed to my husband). We took a deep breath, dedicated the site, rented excavation equipment and prayed for the best. Ask the Lord if He would have you take the plunge in an area of your life as well.
Every Need Supplied
"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19 NKJV)
Shortly before breaking ground, I had a dream. A guy was showing me a kind of diorama, like a box to illustrate something. He told me to look in a certain corner and I would find my name. At first I didn't believe him, but sure enough there was my name.
I saw a little figure that clearly looked like me, a bit crude in a way, almost childlike in its representation, complete with long hair.
The idea present in the dream was that God was looking down on me. It's like I needed to pay some bills or something, and God's response was "I've got this. It's taken care of—every need supplied."
I'm currently watching this dream play out with this build project, as we have seen God's fingerprints all over it from the beginning. There have been so many examples that my husband recently made a list so we wouldn't forget them.
The first thing that happened was our former lead carpenter agreed to come out of retirement to work on the project for us. Then we began seeing all kinds of favor with suppliers and subcontractors. We rented a larger excavator for the price of a smaller one, then were able to keep it a month for the price of a week. Concrete and gravel trucks responded with rapid deliveries (in some cases within hours instead of weeks), and there was always the perfect amount on the trucks. One load of concrete was so precise that my husband commented that in over forty years of construction he'd never had a load so exact! (Photo via Diane Lake)
Next on his list was the well leak. As stated, the well placement limited the footprint of the build, so much so that plans are for a front porch to be constructed over it! Not recommended, but we planned to replace the pump as preventative maintenance. However, before we could do that, the well started leaking, which turned out to be a gift. The approximately twenty-five-year-old connection between the well and the line simply rotted away. We dug everything up and replaced every single part so that we wouldn't need to dismantle the porch someday, and we were able to turn water back on later that same day!
Then there was the roll of roof paper that had actually been left over from a previous job and transported in the move. Not only did we not need the two extra rolls we had bought, thinking the leftover roll couldn't possibly be enough, there ended up being two inches left! It just seemed to keep rolling for some reason.
The pattern that's emerged is there's always enough—nothing lacking, wasted, or extra. (Photo via Diane Lake)
A Wall of Hope
"As for you also, because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. Even today I declare that I will restore double to you." (Zechariah 9:11–12 NKJV)
Perhaps the most dramatic example concerns digging the basement in rocky terrain. Somehow, the rock seemed brittle and the excavator easily broke it up. After one day of digging with one to go, I had a dream that night.
In my dream, I saw the existing house on its crawlspace foundation, and the bedrock it was sitting on was left exposed by excavation (probably why there isn't a full basement). It literally looked like a rock wall. Then the Lord said, "A wall of hope is being released."
The next morning as I prayed about this, I remembered that the evening before I'd said out loud to myself, "I don't know why, but I feel so full of hope!"
At lunchtime I was talking with the excavator. He kept saying, "You've got to go take a look. The basement is literally surrounded by rock walls on three sides and sits on bedrock. You can't go any further in any direction, even in front, because of the well." He kept shaking his head and saying, "This just doesn't happen. This just doesn't happen." We had just enough room for the basement we needed—just enough.
It all started coming together, the reason I had felt a surge of hope the evening before; the dream and real life were colliding to illustrate what God was doing.
I couldn't find mention of a wall of hope in Scripture, but Zechariah 9:11–12 infers one. The New Living Translation renders "waterless pit" as "waterless dungeon," effectively painting a picture of imprisonment by walls of despair. (Photo via Diane Lake)
But the Lord is saying, "I am turning your prison of despair into a fortress of hope. No longer will the walls confine you. They will instead be your firm foundation, stabilizing, protecting, and surrounding you with My presence and provision!"
A Call to Increased Intercession
A final thing the Lord has recently spoken to me is that He's calling people all over the world to step up their prayers for President Donald Trump.
In a time of prayer, recently, I saw a chessboard, and felt like the Lord said that the kings of the world are plotting to take out President Trump, but God's plan is for him to TRIUMPH! However it will take the response to this call by the saints to prevent this plot from succeeding.
Lord, may the call to increased intercession be answered all over the world, and may we be filled with hope as we enter this new season of fulfillment!
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Diane Lake
Starfire Ministries
Email:Â info@starfireministries.org
Website:Â www.starfireministries.org
Diane Lake is a writer, speaker and minister ordained with both Christian International and Generals International. Her articles are regularly featured on The Elijah List, as well as platforms like Charisma Magazine, Charisma News, Intercessors For America and others. She and her husband, Allen, co-founded Starfire Ministries with a vision to see the Kingdom established beyond the four walls of the traditional church. They host a podcast with Charisma Podcast Network, and serve as Church Mountain, Regional, and Montana Coordinators for the Reformation Prayer Network, and as Media Mountain Leader/Facilitators for C.I.'s Culture Influencers.
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