#29 GOD'S WAYS ARE HIGHER THAN MAN'S WAYS

God's ways are higher than man's ways.  God's thoughts are wiser.  No sense wasting time trying to figure it all out.  Just go with the flow of the Holy Spirit and this is what you did.  The more you did this the closer your relationship because resulting in an inner knowing when you did not have a witness on something.  i.e. In conversation with someone and they say a one liner that you know is not true....because you got a check in your spirit...like a pulling back, or a red light within.  Obeying the nudgings of the Holy Spirit became a habit that prevented much chaos and confusion.  

Though you encountered trials and temptations, you thought were difficult, you also were spared much darkness because of the habit you developed.    The more you continued to listen, learn, obey, the more strong those spiritual muscles became until you were able to soar high above many storms, into a tranquil area.  As you were bathed with peace that passes all understanding, you did not see a lot of the conflict that was encountered below by others.  Your protection occurred due to your obedience to press in to the heart of God and in doing so you heard the voice of the Holy Spirit.  

Your expectations are a result of what you have fed your spirit.  Expectations of others will differ greatly.  Opinions are given freely and repeatedly, yet it is only God's opinion that truly matters.  Consequently, keep listening to God and your expectations will happen.  In fact, God will do exceedingly far above your greatest expectations...He is able.  The decision is yours.....choose your "habits"....develop spiritual muscles....pray and obey....listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit daily...always be expectant.  The best is yet to come.  Glory to God.

#28 RUN WITH THE VISION

Your decision to believe and run with the vision also affects others so when you stand strong, your faith encourages anyone else that is part of the vision.  To tell people about your vision is not wise because they will not have the faith you do, to believe, since it was your spirit that heard the Holy Spirit and faith was immediately birthed.  Faith is...confidence in God.  By continuing to listen to the Word of God, what you believed would happen, became a stronghold in your life.  A stronghold of faith was created as you continued to proclaim your vision, which was actually words that watered the seed of that vision.  

Words are seeds.  Words need to be watered like seeds in a garden need water.  Water is by the washing of the word of God.  As you read the Word the seeds of faith were watered and continued to grow stronger.  Not only did faith become stronger; you matured spiritually by developing spiritual muscles.

Yes, like the Eagle that soars higher and higher your decision to believe the Holy Spirit resulted in much spiritual growth.  Strongholds are not built in a day.  Strongholds are a result of a habit that has been formed in your life.  A habit such as regular prayer, reading of the Word, hearing the Word, become strongholds within.  Like muscles that become stronger gradually, by lifting weights repeatedly, you developed spiritual muscles without even thinking about that aspect.  

Little things make a huge difference when they become a good habit in your life and this is a classic example.  Someone who hears about your vision will not have the expectations you do, so their negative words can reduce your energy.  It is better to learn to encourage yourself in the Lord, like David did  than to tell others.  Guard your spirit from defilement, contamination.  Doing this proved to be a huge assistance to you and is one main reason you were able to keep believing for not one or two but several years.

EXPECTATIONS

#30 EXPECTATIONS 

The Expectations of others is never identical to your expectations.  You captured the vision of your future, proclaimed it, pursued, published accordingly, stirred up your faith, persevered tenaciously, from the get go.  From the moment you heard from God and knew that you knew that you knew, you ran with the vision.  Doubt was not a factor, nor was fear.  You made a decision immediately to believe the voice of the Holy Spirit and keep believing until manifestation of what you heard.  

Throughout the following months and even years, you kept tuned in to the voice of the Holy Spirit, to hear and/or see a glimpse of another piece of the puzzle he wanted to reveal to you.  The puzzle of your life grew as did your faith because your Focus was on God, your Faith was in God, and your Faith was in God's Word.  

Since it was you that heard the voice of the Holy Spirit, it was only you who had the opportunity to believe and not doubt.  Believe that familiar voice within.  Believe that what you can not do...God can and will enable you.  Your decision to grab hold of the vision immediately, was wise because it prevented the enemy from confounding the situation by bringing fear, doubt, questions that trigger more fear and indecisiveness.  The more quickly a decision is made, the less the mental pressure.  It is really a "no brainer".  Noah obeyed the instruction to build the Ark.  Where would  we be today if he had not done so?

#26 HEARING THE VOICE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit is something God taught me three months after I got saved because that is when I received the baptism in the Holy Ghost.  It is one of the most important things a person can do; pray for and receive the baptism with the evidence of speaking in tongues.  It is God at work, and is found in the book of Acts.  Acts 2:4 "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

As I wrote, I did not just release words and emotions, I released pain that had been stuffed deep inside too.  Tears flowed and it was not uncommon to see me sitting with a pot of tea, box of tissue, and typewriter as well as paper and pen.  God was performing spiritual surgery as I wrote.  That was not something I was thinking about because at that time I was not looking at the "big picture".  I was only focused on what I was writing about.  Consequently, slivers were removed, arrows were pulled out, spears, and wounds were cleansed and healed, filled with love, and sealed shut. I call that "Restoration"...and it was happening to me on the inside as I wrote.  

God was doing an exchange...exchanging the "ashes for beauty".  Far more significant than an oil change in a car.  This was done supernaturally by God as I simply exercised the gift of writing.  For sure God sees the "Big Picture"...and He does not overlook anything.  I serve a God with Whom details are very important.  He gave Noah details on how to build the Ark, and He still gives details on how to do things. 

Follow me like the a heart inside my heart and feel what I am feeling when I write.   Now that makes me want to write on the 'anointing'...as things dovetail.  


(Continued on #27)

#25  YOU HAVE TO USE  IT TO DEVELOP IT 


You have to use something to develop it... I was developing an ability to tune in to the Holy Spirit without even thinking about that aspect of it all.  Not to mention my prayer life increased because I would pray and say simply..."Lord, what do I write about tonight...inspire me please."  Then I would pick up the pen and just do my best to get in the flow of the Holy Spirit.  It blessed me to read it afterwards, so I believed it would bless others too.  I knew God was in it and my trust was in Him, so I kept writing.

My dad saw my diligence and he used his skills to do something very special for me.  He built me a little wooden desk, left handed no less.  Drawers only on the left side.  :-)  It was such a joy when he surprised me with the desk.  The yellow legal pads are still clear in my memory though that was decades ago.  Nevertheless as I kept writing...about four hours every night, 10-2 a.m. it was tiring for my fingers, as well as quite time consuming.  

Apparently God thought so because He moved on the heart of someone to give me an IBM electric typewriter, and a good office chair.  I was moving on up in the world... :-) First the desk, then the typewriter and chair...that I did not even pray for.  God was honoring His promise in Matthew 6:33 "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you."  He is faithful!  I recognized His faithfulness to me.  It was humbling.

The years continued and the writing continued, hundreds of poems, several books over the years, yet not published.  I lived it, then wrote it.  Even though not published, the desire and passion to write was so strong it had to be done....... whether my work got published or not.  I figured at least I got it written and if I wasn't here, someone would get it published at some point.  

All I knew was I did not have the funds to put it in print, so I focused on writing.  I am not a quitter and God is faithful so I decided not to fret, but to be productive.  From a word, to a sentence, to a paragraph, to a page, to a chapter, to a book.... and all over again.  I wrote about Jesus and how he revealed himself to me on a daily basis.  

(Continued on #26)

#24. PS.45:1 "My Tongue Is The Pen Of A Ready Writer

Six weeks after I committed my life to the Lord Jesus Christ I started writing poems one after another and another.  It was so easy to do, yet I had only written two in all my years prior to locking in with the Lord, so I knew Writing...is a Gift from God.  

In fact,  each time I opened my Bible, or someone else's, it would somehow open to Psalms 45:1....which states: "My tongue is the pen of a ready writer...".  That happened so many times it scared me. I almost didn't want to open the Bible because it was uncanny, finding this same verse again and again.  After all, at that time I did not even know where Psalms was found, let alone open to that very verse.  No wonder it was somewhat unnerving.  

So much so that I started asking people what it meant.  They did not know so I kept reading it until finally the light bulb came on and I knew that I KNEW... it was for me; so they did not nave to understand it necessarily.  The words were for me because God was telling me He anointed me to write.  After that, I applied myself and in three months had 50 poems, followed by many testimonies.  I write what I live and I have lived through a lot, to the glory of God.  

Having a gift and using a gift are two different things.  I knew I had that gift within.  I then had to learn how to release it by faith.  It was like turning the faucet on and out came the water.  As soon as I put paper in front of me, and a pen, I simply could not leave the page empty.  I would start a sentence and that was all it took to continue.  

Words just kept coming and I could hardly wait to see how this would end because I knew God was inspiring me.  Somehow it always came around to something about Jesus and a point was made, a lesson was taught, etc.  It was astounding to me because I never had any teaching to do such a thing...and the more I did it the more the anointing intensified.  

(Continues on #25)