PURPOSE, THE DRIVER THROUGH PAIN!

Beloved... You are valuable! Today, I am calling you to power UP! Renew your mindset and let your purpose drive you through every painful process and growing season of your life, leadership, and business. I stumbled upon this inspirational blog I wrote a few months ago. I reread it, and I am blessed, every bondage loosens, and I'm set free... Holy Spirit, I knew you wrote this through me... I'm speechless and humbled... Powerful and a must-read! I pray that you will be blessed, empowered, inspired, motivated and equipped to start over, let go and move forward.

Beloved.. the struggle is real, but we serve a real God, who shows up in our real situation, strengthens us until He delivers us.

I DECLARE... PURPOSE, OVER PAIN AND PLEASURE!

The last few weeks have been somewhat of a roller coaster - mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically, and financially. It seems as if the devil decided to increase the force and attacks on my life, household, and future... But God! When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift a standard against him and put him to flight!

“So [as the result of the Messiah’s intervention] they shall [reverently] fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him and put him to flight [for He will come like a rushing stream which the breath of the Lord drives].” — ISAIAH 59:19 (AMP)

The attacks came in like a flood, on my career, contracts, clients, calling, character, children, health, relationships, parents, household, finances, and my vision... My parents got sick, and my mom admitted to the hospital. My boys were acting up! Even people, whom I helped, fellowship with, ministered to, and loved dearly... They turned against me without cause; they cursed, criticized, and rejected me... Also, I thought my RIB had located and found me, but guess what, the RIB did not fit! After trying, the conclusion was that's the wrong RIB; lol! The right RIB will complement not compete with my purpose...

But God! 

In the name of Jesus, I cry unto my Abba; I call on the name of The God of Israel...

Lord, let me not waste the pain of process with all these persecution, negative utterance, sabotage, wrongful accusation, opposition, oppression, depression, suppression, lack, sickness, financial struggles, and all the demonic drama... to miss how You are using them to align me to my Purpose. Lord, let me not become distracted by the pleasures of sin nor pacifiers of this world, that I may miss, the righteousness and divine instruction to be used by You, being at the right place at the right time.

Lord, I need Your direction, guidance, wisdom, provision, and divine intervention quickly to bless and promote me; come soon to help and rescue me. My God, You will hasten to deliver me, divinely displace and reposition me. I will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the LORD, my God, You will go before me, the God of Israel, You will be my rear guard. I sing aloud to You, The God of my Breakthrough, my Strength, Shield, Strong-Tower, Provider, Protector, Defense, Refuge, Deliverer, Redeemer, Healer, Way-Maker, and Burden-Bearer! 

My God, You are the Lord, who executes vengeance for me, subdues peoples under me, and nations under my feet. O Lord, You are my Rock... You make my feet like hinds' feet and set me upon my high places.

Lord, You train my hands for battle so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. Lord, You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your right hand upholds me; And Your gentleness makes me great.

I declare that... It is by grace, I am saved, healthy, and alive! And my God, You raise me with Christ. And I am seated with You, Christ Jesus, in heavenly realms far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world but also in that which is to come. I have been made complete in You, Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. Through You, Christ Jesus, My Personal Lord, and Saviour, all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. You created all things, and every good and perfect gift comes from You. And therefore, my God will liberally supply, fill until full my every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. As for my enemies, they meant evil against me, but You, my God, You said it for good to bring about this present outcome, that many people would be alive, as they are this day.

Here, I am still standing, boldly declaring the Word of God, unashamedly praising my God... It doesn't matter if I am in the fiery furnace, in the miry pit, or the lion's den... I will exalt the Lord at all times... His praises will forever be on my lips! I don't about care about the gods; my ancestors worshipped, but, as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD, and the Gates of Hell will not prevail against us! It is good for me that I am afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes and decrees. For, what then shall I say to all these things? If God is for me, who can successfully prosper against me? No weapon formed against me shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against me in judgment, I shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and our righteousness is from The Lord. 

O LORD, though I walk amid trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. You will accomplish that which concerns me; Your unwavering lovingkindness, O Lord, endures forever— Do not abandon the works of Your own hands. I pray and praise You in the mighty and matchless name of Jesus, AMEN."

...and my God, He intervened!

The moment I stopped vented and asking God for a reason for all the calamities; God gave me His revelation.

 I'm like, seriously, Lord! 

When your calling and purpose are to disrupt Satan's strategies, to break generational curses, renounce ungodly ancestral covenants, tear down territorial strongholds, destroy by Fire legions of demons, and set captivities free; the enemy will pursue you. He desires to kill your dreams, destroy your mental state and steal your future before you can dismantle the kingdom of darkness. 

But God!

Let's recall the stories of a few biblical characters, heroes and legends - Moses, Joseph, David, as well as our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Jesus focused on His purpose despite the pain of the process. He cried out, saying, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done." (Luke 22:42)

But, let's go a bit deeper in Moses' testimony. 

THE ENEMY'S DIABOLICAL PLOT WAS TO KILL MOSES

Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.” (Exodus 1:22)

GOD'S HAD A STRATEGIC PLAN

GOD RISEN UP A STANDARD AGAINST THE ENEMY BY HIDING MOSES AND PROTECTING HIS PURPOSE AND PREPARING HIM FOR THE CALL.

God divinely kept Moses alive, and he was delivered from the River Nile by Pharoah's daughter. Moses' mother nursed him and Moses later grew up in Pharoah's household. Moses was well-learned, capable, and prepared for his purpose, knowing the protocols of the palace to stand before Pharaoh. However, only at the right time, Moses was revealed as the Lord's hand-picked deliverer.

By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after his birth, because they saw he was a beautiful child, and they were unafraid of the king's edict. (Hebrews 11:23)

Pharaoh’s daughter said to the woman, “Take this child, nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” She took the child and nursed him. When the child was old enough, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. Pharaoh’s daughter named him Moses [Pulled Out] and said, “I pulled him out of the water.” (Exodus 2:9-10)

GOD CALLED MOSES, FOR HIS PURPOSE, THE DELIVERER OF GOD'S PEOPLE 

God said to Moses, “Now you’ll see what I’ll do to Pharaoh: With a strong hand he’ll send them out free; with a strong hand he’ll drive them out of his land.”

God continued speaking to Moses, reassuring him, “I am God. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as The Strong God, but by my name God (I-Am-Present) I was not known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the country in which they lived as sojourners. But now I’ve heard the groanings of the Israelites whom the Egyptians continue to enslave and I’ve remembered my covenant. Therefore tell the Israelites:

“I am God. I will bring you out from under the cruel hard labor of Egypt. I will rescue you from slavery. I will redeem you, intervening with great acts of judgment. I’ll take you as my own people and I’ll be God to you. You’ll know that I am God, your God who brings you out from under the cruel hard labor of Egypt. I’ll bring you into the land that I promised to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and give it to you as your own country. I AM God.”

But when Moses delivered this message to the Israelites, they didn’t even hear him—they were that beaten down in spirit by the harsh slave conditions.

Then God said to Moses, “Go and speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt so that he will release the Israelites from his land.”

Moses answered God, “Look—the Israelites won’t even listen to me. How do you expect Pharaoh to? And besides, I stutter.”

But God again laid out the facts to Moses and Aaron regarding the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he again commanded them to lead the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

-- Exodus 6:13 (MSG)

Like us, Moses began to complain, feeling the stress of His purpose and the pain of the process. His human inadequacy, that how could he be called the Deliverer, to stand before Pharaoh because he can't speak well; he stutters! 

What are some of the excuses we give due to the fear of the calling on our lives and pain to pursue our purpose to fulfill God's divine plan?

• The pleasures are too sweet!
• The pain of the process is also great!
• The mountains are too high to climb, and the valleys are too low!
• I am too old, too short, too fat, too dumb, or too smart!
• My past is too messy!
• My family is dysfunctional!
• I am divorced, or single, unmarried, or married!
•  I love my life as it is, and I don't want to change nor lose control over my life.
• I don't have what it takes to love, trust, and obey Jesus.
• My life is a failure!
• I have always come so close to the target but never entirely made it, often falling short and missing the "mark of success."

HERE IS GOD'S WORD ON THIS MATTER, REGARDING YOUR PURPOSE

Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you [and approved of you as My chosen instrument], And before you were born I consecrated you [to Myself as My own]; I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, For I am [only] a young man.”

But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am [only] a young man,’ Because everywhere I send you, you shall go, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. “Do not be afraid of them [or their hostile faces], For I am with you [always] to protect you and deliver you,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 1:4-8 AMP)

Lord, I accept Your calling despite my limitation, lack, past failures, inadequacy, weakness, incompetencies, inabilities... all other shortcomings. Lord, You can use anything, please, use me!

Lord, I believe in You, and Your promises for my deliverance are true. Lord, I am claiming Your 7-folded commitment to accomplish my purpose.

Lord, I am taking you at Your Word and affirming Exodus 6:13 over my life, purpose and destiny.

1. God will bring me out...
2. God will redeem me...
3. God will rescue me...
4. God take me as His people...  
5. God will be Almighty All-Powerful Sovereign God to me, for me and in me...
6. God will bring me into the land that He promised me...
7. God gives me His covenant promises, divine favor, supernatural blessings, promotions, protection, prosperity, and peace.

O Lord, here I am, saying YES to Your Will, Your Way, Your Word, and Your timing!

I am listening to You. I am blessed because I believe what spoken of You to me.

Today, I am choosing to turn to You, access the keys and walk through the doors that You have already opened for me. I get rid of all the excuses used to explain or justify my human shortcomings, my natural limitations or my past failures! O Lord, I confess and repent of my sins. Please forgive me for my disobedience and turning away from You to broken cisterns, rather than drinking from the Source, Your Fountain of Fresh Flowing Living Water.

Lord, Jesus, I desperately need Your Light to shine in this darkness, wilderness, barrenness, joblessness, loneliness, illness, hopelessness, unhappiness, brokenness, spiritual blindness, deafness, dumbness and every drought season of my life. Lord, I am determined to focus on You, equip me for my purpose, despite the pain and lack of pleasure in the process...

Jesus, You know that the pain is real; but Your promises and blessings are more glorious and filled with abundance, mind-blowing miracles, and dream-like breakthroughs. Lord, strengthen me. O Lord, give me the patience and perseverance to trust and faithfully obey You, my God.

Yet, amidst my pain, I exercise my rebound faith to chayah! I declare that... I am more than a Conqueror, an Overcomer, and a Victorious Warrior; overwhelming victory is already mine through Christ Jesus.

With You, O Lord, I am confident that my story continues, until it completes in victory! What I know is that God, You are not done yet, and You will undoubtedly finish what You started in me. Through this process of pressure and pain, you are making me into a valuable, priceless diamond, a splendor, and a beautiful display of your glory. I exchange my ashes for beauty. I claim my restoration, uncommon favor, supernatural breakthrough, and unusual blessings in Jesus mighty and matchless name, I pray, AMEN!

“Oh, that my people would listen to me! Oh, that you would follow me, walking in my paths! How quickly I would then subdue their enemies! How soon my hands would be upon their foes! Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him; they would be doomed forever. But I would feed you with the finest wheat. I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock.” — PSALM 81:13-16 (NLT)

Source: https://www.upowerup.com/blog/2018/3/6/purpose-the-driver-through-pain