Prelude to Part 6 TOPIC:

 Prelude to Part 6 

TOPIC: 

 When God appears to be in waiting for mode, whilst we are running out of Patience😓😨😰😣!!

In previous parts of Recipies for Success, I have identified  8 phases within the season of waiting individually for the fulfillment of God-given promises in our lives.

Perhaps some await a Godly spouse turning up, others may be praying for a first baby within their married union, some perhaps praying for a better job, whereas the heart cry of others for a rare moment of peace, tranquility within their marriage!

8 Phases? Yes!

 That was a discovery I had made whilst studying the Israelites'  journey  within Joshua 6 of the Old Testament! 

Today I will like to highlight that each one of these 8 phases  is associated with a test or the trial of our faith! We need to undergo individual preceding tests before experiencing a subsequent phase. 

 (Phase 1) This is our starting point when like  Joshua we are overwhelmed by a sad event like a loss or bereavement are we wonder who to turn to? How do we swim instead of drowning in the ocean of depressing emotions?

 The Test Joshua had to overcome is similar to what anyone experiencing crippling emotions  is faced with. Joshua had faced dilemmas including:

Would he continue to indulge in grief and sorrow, even though he had clearly heard from God that he was to move forward?

 We know that Joshua chooses to act on God's word and in the process recovers from his grief and loss.

(Phase 2): Once Joshua responds to God  there is a calling to change old thought patterns, separating completely from the old! including the memory of past glories! One of the things He must have been grieving was the glorious manifestations of God during the life of Moses.

Now  he was being led into an absolute Surrender to God in order to die to the Old way. How was he to do this? This is a similar question anyone who is being called to move on from the loss of the past faces?

The way to do this  is by relinquishing  the next thought to the Lord! 

We need to do this 'one thought at a time in order to complete the process of surrender and death! '

(Phase 3): We know that we are done with the Past, even our Past glory when we no longer derive our motivation from relieving  past events! They no longer affect us either positively or negatively!

Joshua reached the phase of no turning back laying and surrendering his will and utter dependency on God's instruction! This is the place of death to his own dreams of self-preservation, the cross! This is the place where the individual acknowledges and has no doubt that there is nothing humanly possible to be done about one's situation. This is not only the place of death but of burial and entombing from the hope of living again. 

(Phase 4): The test is to embrace a new pattern of thinking and doing life! If relinquishing the Past leaves us empty, then embracing the new present will fill us! Because we cannot run into our future on empty!

So who am I if I am not who I used to be? This question opens a new door to the perception of life! 

For the first time, we can handle the revelation of our uniqueness to  Adonai. In the time when we are most aware of our helplessness and humanity, suddenly the Scales fall from our eyes and we behold our true selves in His light.

Some call this 'our Identity in Christ. Have you watched a documentary in which someone is looking heartily for their roots? Their biological parents? This is what a discovery about our true selves does!

We realize that we are Sons and daughters with a divinely imparted potential, to soar above our circumstances! Although we may be willing to believe God's revelation about us, others including our significant family and friends may take some persuading!

How do you persuade 'a chicken coop mindset' that you are not just one of the chirpy cheeks in a mother hen's brood but an eagle in the making! 

That we are anything other than how we have been perceived until now.  

We need to pass the test of not letting the opinion of our loved ones define us! It is never too late to embrace our identity in God,in Yeshua no matter how long we have wandered in the desert of someone else's approval! 

 (Phase 5): The test is to take a corresponding action of obedience to God-given instructions we receive! Unless we do, we will remain stuck in the same place. 

Have you ever heard the wise words that 'where God guides, He provides'?👶.Unless we 'follow His guidance, we wouldn't make fresh discoveries of provision' of the treasures He has placed within us 'Jars of clay'Please click to read2 Corinthians 4:7-9 TLV

 Phase 6:  In contrast to phase 5  when we were to leave our comfort zone, now the Lord presents us with an opposite challenge! 

When we are most aware of having come of age in skill and expertise we face a temptation to act independently of God or outside Godgiven boundaries.  We ate tempted to take God-given instructions for granted and feel they do not apply to us. 

This is the phase when the temptation of presumption is highest

The above challenges were faced by other Bible characters who worked in collaboration with Adonai to usher in His purposes on earth. 

Each of them was tested in their faith! during a season of waiting for Adonai to come through for them;they faced the temptation to carry out God's purpose in their own strength or expertise. Whenever they did it often led to disastrous consequences for them and their family until God's redemptive plan comes into effect. 

Thanks for reading, Part 6 will be out soon. Meanwhile, why not refresh your memory with Parts 1 to 5 of Recipies for Success.

Wishing you A blessed Passover feast and Season of the Celebration of the Resurrection of Yeshua.☺️🙌🏾

RECIPES FOR SUCCESS WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL Week's issue:10/02/22(Backdated)

 RECIPES FOR SUCCESS WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL 

Week's issue:10/02/22(Backdated)

TOPIC: Part 6.

 When God appears to be in waiting for mode whilst we are running out of Patience😓😨😰😣!!

SCRIPTURE VERSE

Joshua 6 Tree of Life Version First read Joshua 6:6-11 or Click to read online

 REFLECTION BASED ON SCRIPTURE:

🏹Three weeks ago  I shared a few more insights from scripture about the attributes of Adonai, in part 5 of my current series. 

 The recurring theme in my blog series has been the 8 distinct phases I have identified within a season of waiting for an individual trusting God to answer a prayer request. 

As a result of experiencing an extended period of waiting for God to come through for us, we sometimes switch into 'hopeful mode only'🤔 by default! At least currently!

Perhaps you identify with something I am sharing. I certainly have on occasions switched to safe mode, by being minimally hopeful that Adonai will manifest himself in answer to my prayer! In case my reader friends/family can also identify with a similar lowering of expectations from an extended wait for answers to prayer, this blog post is especially for you.🥰May God use a statement I make to help reset you back in hope and expectancy!

To refresh your memory please Click here for Part V(5) 

In case you missed the prelude to today's blog

in which I pointed out that divinely orchestrated tests will come our way which we can't simply ignore! They require navigating🤔 from one phase to the next Please click here. Hopefully, I managed to communicate the essential truth principle about how essential to the process our daily circumstances are! They are not just coincidences to be dismissed because we are frustrated!

So we encounter regular phases of waiting for prayers to be answered! Yes, the wait can seem endless and the effort of addressing Adonai with the one constant need could appear a monotonous drag! So we get tempted as a result to seek more 'practical alternatives' and hurl ourselves into the 'seemingly greener pastures of pragmatism!'But scripture does admonish us against playing God and even though  Adonai our God does not tempt anyone and there are destructive elements to being tempted(human lust plays a big part); He can use that phase in our life to orchestrate us into our destiny if we let Him. So we continue with the theme of waiting and essentially how to occupy ourselves whilst we are within that season!

Because we have already examined the first 6 phases out of 8 within our season of waiting, I will start with an introduction to phase 7 today.

 

Phase 7 in our season of waiting is when God concludes a cycle of what He has begun. The number 7  was mentioned earlier on in the creation story within scripture. In Genesis 2:2,3': And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made and he rested on the seventh day, from all his work which he had made' v 3. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

KJV

In Part 7 of this series, I hope to highlight 'factor 7' through some more scriptural cross-reference. 

 

God always finishes and completes what He has begun. But not many Christian Pilgrims or sojourners stick around long enough to experience God's victory firsthand.

In order to experience this, we need to be prepared to last for the long haul of our faith journey. How do we get sustained in our wait? The key to endurance is in acting on that minuscule God-inspired prompt received within the innermost parts of our being. What do I mean by that?

OUR LONG AWAITED MIRACLE IS ALWAYS ENCASED WITHIN THE HARDSHELLS THAT GOD SENDS OUR WAY

The process which results in a manifestation of Adonai's POWER in our circumstances has scriptural patterns! Adonai our God always responds to us, when we present our needs to Him! But  His responses are invincible to our sensory perception most of the time. This is why we have a human tendency to feel we are being denied.! But Adonai our God always responds to us when we petition Him. 

The question is how do we access His provision which He sends to us in response to our petition?

IT IS VITAL NOT TO ATTEMPT ACCESSING THE PROVISION OF GOD USING OUR NATURAL SENSORY PERCEPTION! 

We need to walk by faith and not by sight in trusting the integrity of  Adonai's assurance that He responds even though His response may not yet be obvious within our sensory perception of reality. Yes, even though we may encounter contradictory circumstances in our environment!

God manifests Himself and transmits reality to the universe by His word.  'In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God.v2 The same was at the beginning with God. v3 All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made' John 1:1-3 KJV.

This Word from Adonai comes to us as a blessing in disguise! But don't be fooled by the disguise! If you are, you will despise the treasure because of the packaging!

Inside that packaging, are treasures hidden within the darkness of our season of waiting. This has always been the pattern of Adonai: To send the answers to our requests as a blessing in disguise! So disguised that unless He reveals it to us, or declassifies the information by prompting us, we would miss His blessing! Yes, it is possible to miss Adonai's answer because of the packaging! So watch out!

So what is inside Adonai God's disguise! It is the incorruptible seed! It is the word of Adonai God, which has the full potential to bring into manifestation anything(or anyone)that Adonai, our God has promised us! Watch out therefore when Adonai makes a promise in His word! Because every promise of Adonai has the same potential of being fulfilled in our lives! No matter how seemingly impossible or how long the apparent wait for fulfillment!

This is the process of the fulfillment of the promises of Adonai in our lives.

Note that this is what Joshua received, 'A PROMISE'! But please may we observe more importantly what he did not do with the promise of Adonai His God!

Joshua did not despise the promise of God, He did not neglect the promises of God.He did not procrastinate in acting on the promises of God. 

But what did he do? He collaborated with Adonai by responding to the promises of God. He handled the promises of God and meditated on them until the individualized revelation for him, God's blueprint was declassified and He the generic promises of God became a NOW word for Joshua 1:(Kindly click on this to read the initial revelation Joshua received. 

There was hidden within those 'ordinary sounding utterances' from God in Joshua 1, the very potential to part the river Jordan in flood stage! But Joshua and the Israelites would certainly not have experienced that miracle or any of the ones we have read about if Joshua HAD NOT responded to the words of instruction from Adonai!   

And we would certainly not have read about the parting of the Jordan in Joshua 3:14-17 TLV

In order for the creative potential within the eternal words from the lips of Adonai to be released a very natural process has to occur! The shells encasing the individualized revelation of God must crack so that His individual blueprint for us can be declassified. 

This process involves dying, burial and resurrection! It involves the soil of our human heart and the environment of our circumstances.

NOW FOR A BIT OF LIFE APPLICATION

It is now time for some cross-reference between all of the phases of waiting.. Meanwhile, why not refresh your memory with Parts 1 to 5:

When an individual awaits through prayer for Adonai to bring a life partner into their life, such a need presents both an opportunity and a temptation. Like Yeshua, who was hungry after 40 days and 40 nights there comes a way of meeting the need that is outside God's word and His personal will for our individual lives. Imagine if Yeshua had resorted to calling for bread out of stone simply to meet his own need. Would He then have had the integrity to multiply the five loaves and two fishes to feed the multitudes in the wilderness?

What about the married couple praying for a first baby within their married union. If that married union had been for a number of years and they are still waiting, giving in to the temptation to focus on not having had a biological child can obscure the opportunity to celebrate other opportunities.In 2013 when our children were 7 and 5 years of age, I attended a family service with them at a Baptist Church in Gillingham, Kent, UK. During the after church informal refreshment(serving Tea,Coffee Biscuits) a couple that I had become friends with introduced me to their Son in law, their daughter( who was expecting her first baby), and their foster grandchildren. I observed that although they were caucasian(Europeans) their two foster daughters were Black Africans like me.Then this couple shared with me their daughters story. For years they had tried for a baby and after resigning themselves to not having a biological child, they went ahead and adopted their foster daughters from Eaten Africa.It was after that their daughter conceived and became pregnant with her first baby. What a testimony of biblical proportions.

Are you praying for or in need of a better job, or is your heart is crying for others for a rare moment of peace, and tranquility within your marriage! One of the ways of closing the door to a need-triggered temptation is to respond to opportunities to serve others and be a blessing in spite of your need

There are occasions in the lives of people who were impatient and choose not to wait for Adonai to come through for them! They yielded to the temptation to carry out God's purpose in their own strength or expertise. Whenever they did so it often led to disastrous consequences for them and their family. Let us opt instead to allow God's redemptive plan to come into effect through  Surrender to his will

Provided we have undergone the above principles of divine breakthrough' we can expect the Holy Spirit to lead us to the will of God. When God's will is known His unique destiny for our lives is also revealed to us. This is a revelation that highlights our primary calling in our earthly life until eternity. So what can we ask God?

A marathon runner's mindset and not a sprinter's mindset is required. Corresponding actions require a necessary balance as well. We have to ensure a journey in which we take constant self-inventory by asking: Are we reliant on our sensory experience and expertise of how to accomplish our purpose or destiny in God or are we dependent on the Lord to the letter of His guidance?

God walks with the finisher and not the start-up. The finisher isn't simply the guy who works the clock by hanging around doing and attaining nothing in God's Kingdom. He isn't simply squandering his time, talents, and testimony. He isn't just awaiting being rescued away from all the madness on the planet earth. The finisher endures the inner work of grace! He or she willfully surrenders and yields to the molding and the shaping and the restorative work inner work of Grace which Adonai is accomplishing within his or her soul.

This work is taking place 'night and day' via meditating on God's word. This is what results in full maturity in our humanity. This is what the human Yeshua yielded His will too in order for Adonai to accomplish in Him. As a result, Yeshua attained growth in favor of God and man. Yes, He paid the price for full maturity in His humanity so that His Divinity could find expression through His humanity.Luke 2:51-52 TLV . . .

. 

How does this apply to us individually? God is the Creator of our entire universe. He is the creator of mankind and He certainly does not waste His time creating nobodies. Everyone is created with a purpose.  God uses our crises episodes within the wilderness to generate a response in our human will to help create the conditions for His will. So we would reflect on him as Yeshua did. 

You need to endure till the end. Anyone who either declines to respond to the corresponding action of God's revelation to them or procrastinates rather than act in response would not see the effectiveness of God at work in their lives until they take action: See Hebrews 4:1-7 for an illustration about those who missed out, for that reason.

Cultivate a strategy that outlasts all your temporary setbacks. As we act on divine instruction our obedience and the results which accompany that obedience becomes infectious and then contagious! This can set the trajectory for further growth and maturity in our lives. It sets in motion a cataclysmic set of events which creates an atmosphere for faith in Adonai and one where miracles are manifested!

Find resilience over self-doubt, depression, discouragement, and despair. What impact does waiting have on the lives of people of God and why does Adonai require waiting as the gold standard test of our faith? Waiting provides clarity! It resolves the issue of what our motivation is? 

Don't give in to despondency. ATTAIN THE NEXT PHASE, WHICH IS THE PHASE OF MATURITY REQUIRED TO GIVE US AN EDGE CLOSER TO OUR BREAKTHROUGH!

In part 7  we will continue with other dimensions of phase 7. But in subsequent reflections I am looking forward to a discussion about the Biblical Significance of the numbers 9.10,11and then subsequently Numbers 12:  and we will explore the Symbolism of the number 13. Yes, there is something special about encircling Jericho 13 times in silence)!: This number is regarded by some superstitiously as unlucky. That number is actually blessed and reflects a prophetic event. The children of Israel ended up encircling the walls of Jericho 13 times in silence. It symbolizes for them the countdown to the collapsing of the wall of Jericho. 

CONCLUSION:

Remember as individuals we have untapped potential and a God-designed destiny that is mostly undiscovered,

One of the revelations from Scripture which in my opinion is a MUST for every Jewish or non-Jewish believer to discover is the hidden identity of the human soul indwelt by Yeshua.  we  were created in the image of Adonai. Designed to reflect Elohim, as unique individual. To host the Ruach of  including His attributes and His creativity, and His imprint in a way that is unique from others. 

I hope after reading what I have shared you feel A)exhorted B)inspired to want to discover about your unique identity  in Yeshua.

As I have highlighted previously in Part 4 this means there is no need for competition(which is unhealthy or carnal) within the kingdom of God.

Scripture is full of illustrations about how individuals who have pursued God's wisdom experienced Divine revelation. They choose to find out more about God's promises and as a result, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Adonai imparts fresh revelation about their unique individual destiny. 

There are examples of this occurring after some of the lowliest phases within the lives of certain individuals! It is also significant that the discovery made by those individuals in scripture nearly always occurs during an extended season of waiting in our lives! 

So don't discount your season of waiting! It is your journey into significance! Pick yourself up, as He beams the significant signal of your unique Shine. Prepare to arise and shine as you are empowered with the joy of discovering your destiny print! But it isn't all done through DIVINE Intervention: We won't mature in our season of waiting unless we validate the personal revelation we receive and go bear some fruit. Bearing Fruit indicates human effort. It means we validate the revelation we receive from Adonai God by investing time and effort in carrying out  Divine instructions which accompany divine revelation. Which enables Adonai our Lord's words to take root in us!  

We can stake our very integrity on the promises of Adonai . He will honour  His words  provided we do not breach our part in the contract with Him. Amen.

Blessings and favor 🤲🤲🫒🍇

John Williamson 

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