Early last week, I was listening to a message about Mary and Elizabeth in Luke 1. I won’t go into the whole story, but the essence of the story for me was the fact that the Lord waited until Elizabeth was 60’something before He blessed her with a child.  I’m sure that it was not a coincidence about her age; since I’m 60’something too.  However, my message today applies to all ages.  I want everyone to know that “The Waiting is Worth It”.  There’s absolutely no benefit in rushing the Lord’s process.  No matter the length of time that we must wait, He is teaching us to be patient while He continues to perfect us, grow us, and mature us.  So, as we pursue our purpose, success, and greatness, we realize that it ALL will happen in His Divine Timing.  He will give us what we need, not necessarily what we want, exactly when we need it. 

The Scriptures say:

¹⁵ The eyes of all look to you in hope;
    you give them their food as they need it.
¹⁶ When you open your hand,
    you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.

Psalm 145:15-16 NLT

Unfortunately, if we’re honest, we tend to compare, so we may wonder “Why did I have to wait until I was 40 to get married and she got married at 25″, or “I’m 60 and I’m still waiting to get what the Lord has for me”.  As I’ve said, more than once over the past few years, I am living my best life; I know that I am truly living on purpose.  The Lord said to me, “Now you understand why you had to wait, because I had to know that I could trust you”.  Yes, the Waiting is Worth it!  It doesn’t matter what you are waiting for, the Lord needs to know that you can handle it, that means spouse, new career, new house, new business, money, fame, influence, etc. 

⁶ Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

1 Peter 5:6a

The icing on the cake for me was when I got to my first appointment early last week.  I was talking to my client, who by the way is my age.  The Lord has just escalated her to an executive position with everything that she’d ever wanted.  The Lord has so much more for us, we just need to get out of His way.  You may have to trust me on this one, but no matter what you’re waiting for, the Waiting is Worth It!

Now, on the other hand, have you ever gotten something that you would have rather not have, because you were impatient?  I know I have and in almost all cases, you cannot give it back.  There are just some things that we don’t want from the Lord until we’re ready.  In the meantime, we must stay on track and allow the Lord to order our steps, because there is greatness ahead of us.  We must keep sowing, even when we don’t see the harvest…

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season [at just the right time] we shall reap, if we faint not.

But remember, our work doesn’t stop while we are waiting. 

⁷ Be ye strong therefore and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.

2 Chronicles 15:7

We must understand that although we are anointed for the task at hand, we must continue to perfect our skills, if we want to be great.  I am by no means promoting conceit, but we can no longer just settle for good…

²⁸ Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

²⁹ He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

³⁰ Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

³¹ But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31

If you’d prefer to listen to this blog post, please click the link to our podcast

This week may be a week of NOT TODAY!! The phrase “NOT Today” must be written in bold letters, in All caps, and with several exclamation marks. But, the preferred method is spoken with the voice of righteous indignation. Some of may have encountered a few of those days already, maybe last week or even the week before.  However, this is very interesting, considering that this week we will probably be spending time with friends and family for the Thanksgiving holiday. For some this may be the first in-person holiday that we’ve had in a very long time. 

Now, normally I would advise people against giving the enemy too much credit, especially when they run into a tough situation or unforeseen circumstance.  Believe it or not, there are times when the Lord is a source of our frustration because he’s stretching us outside our comfort zone. He knows that we grow stronger physically, mentally, and spiritually when we are met with resistance and opposition.  But there are other times when we must tell the enemy NOT TODAY!  We will not entertain one taunt, threat, distraction, discouragement, or setback.

The Bible says that, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue[even our own tongue] that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn”. 

The New Living Translation says it this way, “But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from me. I, the Lord, have spoken!”  Isaiah 54:17

We must remember that although spiritual warfare is real, our enemy is not people.  So, I would suggest that we pray for all of those that may cross our path this week. 

Take a moment to be still, be slow to speak and listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying…

If you’d prefer to listen to this blog post, please click the link to our podcast

As it is most times, I was lying in bed early one Friday morning, even before I had finished last week’s blog post and I was wondering how long Holy Ghost Downloads blog would last.  I must admit that I tend to grow tired of ideas and to be honest, especially when they don’t get the response that I expect, but we’ve talked about that before.  So, pray for me… But then, I began to say, in my mind, I’m beginning to become weary, the Holy Spirit said very clearly, “Do not become weary in welldoing”, thus this week’s blog post, “Do Not Grow Weary in the Wilderness!” 

So, what are you saying to yourself?  What decisions are you making in your mind?  What are others saying about what you should do? Are you in a place of uncertainty?  Are you growing weary in your efforts to keep moving?  As we said last week, you may be in the wilderness.  Unfortunately, it is in these times, that we may seek the advice of others and yes, it is possible to get ungodly counsel from godly people. So, we must know what advice to listen to. Many times, our advancement, our ability to move is determined by the advice we don’t take.  If you are like me, your thoughts will wear you out, especially when you’re in the wilderness. 

For the children of Israel, the wilderness was the place between Egypt, the place of slavery, and the Promised Land.  ** So, listen very carefully, there is someone, including myself, that needs to hear that the Lord has delivered us from our own place of bondage, the prison of our mind and although the wilderness may feel like a place of stagnation, maybe even boring and non-productive, it’s a place of the Lord’s provision and protection until we are ready for where He needs us to go, to the place that He has promised us. 

Recently I read a quote from Laynie Travis that says, “The Lord does not call qualified people; He qualifies those that He calls”.  It is for that reason that He does not expect us to have our act together.  But at times, we may really believe that we are on the right track and things are moving full speed ahead.  But then things seem to get a little blurry and we find ourselves stubbornly holding on to our plan and trying to get the Lord to follow our ideas on how things should work.  Then we begin to wonder, why have we stop moving?  We feel like we’re stuck… It is then that the Lord may be taking us the long way around because we are not ready to fight what may be ahead of us.  So, although it takes longer than we had hoped, we cannot grow weary in the wilderness.  The Bible says if we seek His will in all [we] do, He will show [us] which path to take.  The Lord knows what’s best for us and His timing is always perfect! 

So, as I ponder my original questions, how long will Holy Ghost Downloads podcast last?  What if the His downloads stop?  The Holy Spirit said to me that as long as I am a willing vessel the oil of anointing will continue to flow …and that goes for you too.  I’m sure that that will be a future episode. 

If you’d prefer to listen to this blog post, please click the link to our podcast…

My Holy Ghost Downloads blog was a year old on Sept. 30^th, and it’s interesting to see that the messages from the Holy Spirit has had a common thread throughout.  The Holy Spirit has been very specific about us looking really close at our respective journeys and determining where we are in God’s process.  One day, I’d love to reread all the posts of the blog to Him speak to me again with new revelation and share with all of you, and I’m sure I will. 

But for now, let’s take a moment to look where our journey began… Our very first post was about the children of Israel coming out of bondage from Pharaoh, the ruler in Egypt. The Holy Spirit has helped us to realize our own freedom from bondage and search the many facets of our own journeys, for instance, waiting on the Lord, having faith, dealing with our feeling, experiencing doubt, yet having hope and so much more.  But then we spent a lot of time, with one of my newfound, very favorite scripture in Isaiah 43, which has been interwoven throughout the Holy Ghost Downloads and I’m sure will continue to be …

For I am about to do something new.
    See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
    I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

isaiah 43:19

So, we must understand that the Wilderness is a part of the Journey…

If we were to look back over the last 12 months, what would we see?  Now, if we could look ahead 12 months and what would we see?  Are we looking at all the pieces of the puzzle, are we connecting the dots? Are we seeing the Order of our steps?  Or have you found that we are in the wilderness? 

Let’s go back to the children of Israel…  They left Egypt and instead of being able to take the short route, the Lord took them the long way around.  In Exodus, Chapter 13, the Bible calls it, Israel’s Wilderness Detour!

¹⁷ When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” ¹⁸ So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea.^[c] Thus the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle.^[d]

Exodus 13-17-18

²⁰ The Israelites left Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. ²¹ The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night. ²² And the Lord did not remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from its place in front of the people.

Exodus 13-20-22

But then we all know that the Egyptians came after the Israelites, and they crossed the Red Sea.  Now I’m sure that you may be wondering why is she giving us another history lesson?  Because I need for us to understand that what should have taken 11 days turned into 40 years of wandering, but either way the wilderness was a part of the journey.  Although, the Lord may lead us into the wilderness and provide for us while we are there, the manna wasn’t meant to be permanent.  God will sustain us to survive, but He didn’t mean for us to get too comfortable with it and settle in the wilderness. 

We can’t allow our expectations, resistance or fear of the outcome influence our ability to change course at the risk of not moving at all.  Planning to move, will only take us to the starting line, it won’t get us moving.  Our purpose works differently, it will drive us forward, regardless of what goes right or wrong.  So, when we relentlessly hold on to our purpose, versus our plan, we will surrender to the direction God wants to take us.  So, what’s it gonna be?  11 days or 40 years? 

Again, it’s our choice, but either way the wilderness is a part of the journey! So be sure to always take a moment to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying…

If you’d prefer to listen to this blog post, please click the link to our podcast…

For some reason, the Holy Spirit wants me to stay on this topic of the “Clay in the Potter’s Hands” a little while longer.  If we go back to Jeremiah 18, the Lord told Jeremiah to give the children of Israel a message:

 ⁶ “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.  Jeremiah 18:5-6

Jeremiah 18:5-6

Therefore, the Lord is not Done with us yet!

It’s very important that we look at the context in which this verse was written.  Many times, we forget to do that, but there’s a part 2 to this story.  I would urge you to read the whole story, but what I believe that we need to gleam from this is that the Lord has sent another message to Israel to help to keep them on the right path, but their response was “we hear you, but we’re cool. Life is pretty good right now” (paraphrased, of course). So, needless to say, the Lord was not pleased.  So, there’s a slightly different perspective of this topic that we all must consider.  I heard a pastor say the other day, the Lord doesn’t have an iPhone, not does He have call waiting. So, is He still trying to call us, and He keeps getting a busy signal? 

The Lord chose to create us before the foundation of the world, for a very specific purpose and I realize that I’m beginning to sound like a broken record.  But once we have decided to stay in the Lord’s hands, we will begin to see our destiny a little clearer.  Clarity will give us the confidence to go where the Lord is taking us.  But we must answer His call.  We really don’t want to attempt to live this life according to our own personal agenda.  So where are you in God’s process?  Are you still a ball of clay or have you decided to allow the Lord to continue to mold and shape you into what you were created to be?  It is critical that we Live on Purpose because He is Not done with us Yet! 

But, to do this, we must take a quiet moment to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying…

If you’d prefer to listen to this blog post, please click the link to our podcast…

Last week, I suggested that we all take a closer look at our own respective journey through life.  As the Lord molds our wet clay on the Potter’s wheel, the process may begin smooth and gentle, but at some point, it may get a little Hot…

The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said,

 ² “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” ³ So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. ⁴ But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. ⁵ Then the Lord gave me this message: ⁶ “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand. 

jeremiah 18:2-6

So, let’s look at where you might be in this process…

Are you still a ball of clay trying to decide whether you want to stay in the Lord’s hands?  Are you wandering aimlessly with no real direction, just hoping, and praying that you make it through this season of the journey?  I find it interesting that when we are a ball of clay, we must fully surrender to the will of God, and we must allow Him to mold us as He knows best.  Every jar that He creates has a unique design to serve a specific purpose.

Once we’ve decided to allow the Lord to mold our wet clay into a new jar, we will be able to see our destiny a little clearer.  The Lord’s gentle hands will glide up and down the wet clay to make sure that there are no cracks or bumps, as He smooths out our rough edges.  But if perchance, the Lord discovers that we are not turning out the way He had planned, we may have to be crushed into a ball of clay once again.  We must be willing to be crushed whenever it’s needed.  This implies that we may become a ball of clay numerous times, but what I find interesting is that the Lord will ALWAYS use the same clay, He doesn’t make us over, He just reforms us into a new jar, as we enter a new phase of life. 

We must understand that our journey never ends.  Once the Lord has made us into a new jar, it may get a little Hot!  He must make sure that the clay solidifies and begins to harden, so He must apply some heat.  The heat may become intense at times which may be very uncomfortable, even painful.  But we must remember that as the jar is hardened, the Lord will bless us with a unique design of gifts, talents, wealth, knowledge and so much more to serve a very specific purpose that will benefit others and glorify Him. 

Wherever you may find yourself on this life’s journey, you are Always in the Lord’s hands being molded and shaped into what He needs you to be, even when it gets a little Hot!

When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required. 

Luke 12:48b nlt

So, Remember to Always take a quiet moment to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying…