From the Archives
As I was contemplating things this morning and was weighing out the facts, I heard a phrase that changed everything for me. The phrase was; the first thing the Lord said is His final word on the subject.
What was the first thing the Lord spoke to you concerning your situation? What did He say in the beginning? As I said in last week’s motivation, it’s the middle that can be hard and often times we have to go back to what God said in the beginning.
In the middle we can question what God has said because everything around us looks like it is opposite of what He said. But, my pastor made a statement last week that helped me. He said, ‘you can be smack dab in the middle of the will of God and still be going through hell.’ I know we as Christians don’t like to hear that ~ we want to hear that everything will go smoothly. But I have found that there is an enemy against us and if we have set our hearts to do anything for God, he is going to do everything in his power to stop us.
From my experience, it can get ugly in the middle of a promise. Things start looking bad; the enemy tries to shame you and try to convince you that it is your entire fault. People start to come against you and say ugly things. It’s hard and I will be the first to admit that. But this I have learned. The enemy may try to make you feel bad, he may try to shame you but if you refuse to accept it, it’s over. Let me say this; never apologize to anyone for going the way that God told you to go. Regardless of the outcome or how it looks, never apologize. And if you mess up along the way – your God is bigger than your mess up. And your mess up is none of the devils business – you don’t belong to him.
Personally, I have walked through some hard places in the past few years, but I have learned some valuable lessons. Mostly I have learned to never judge someone for where they are. I used to look at a person who was in difficulty and think they must be doing something wrong. But like my pastor said, ‘you can be right in the will of God and go through hell.’ I have great news! If that is you, it is because the enemy sees you as a threat and he is going to do everything in his power to stop you. He will use finances, or lack of, he will use disease, he will use shame and he will use people. You keep your eyes fixed on God and that weapon formed against you can’t prosper.
Now, back to my message. What was the first thing God spoke to you? Think back. Write it down. Post it all throughout your home and in your car and in your office. Keep it before your face. Why? Because that is His final say on the subject.
I always think of Moses when I am in the midst of something God has told me to do that looks like it is not going the right way. God told Moses to go and tell Pharaoh to let His people go. God told Moses. God sent Moses.
Yet every time Moses went before Pharaoh, his heart became harder. As his heart became harder he continued to increase the labor and bondage on the people of God. The people of God were wishing that Moses would shut up because it was making it really bad for them. But God told Moses to keep going.
The Bible says that Moses did just as God had said. Over and over, Moses did what God said. And the more he obeyed God, the harder it got. Sound familiar? Have you ever been in a place where you were diligently seeking God and the more you sought Him, the worse it got? So have I. But I have news for you, the first thing God said to you will be the final outcome.
God said to Moses, go and get my people and bring them out of Egypt. Ultimately, God’s people were delivered just as God said. Ultimately God destroyed every single one of their enemies and God gave His children all their stuff. They came out with the spoils of that battle. You can read about all this in the book of Exodus.
I want to point out another thing the Bible says happened. The more Pharaoh increased the labor and hardship on Gods people, the more Gods people increased. You see, I don’t care how hard the enemy comes against you, I don’t care how hard he fights you, if you refuse to give up ~ he cannot stop you from increasing. And he cannot stop you from ultimate deliverance and he cannot stop you from coming out and crossing over to the other side with everything that he thinks belongs to him. If you refuse to quit, you will make it to the other side and you will see this enemy no more.
So many of us stop just before the breakthrough. You may ask, how do I know if breakthrough is really coming? What did God say to you in the beginning? Have you seen that yet? If not, keep standing because if you keep standing, it will be exactly the way God said it would be. Your first word from God is your final outcome. Refuse to move off it and you will see it. How do I know? He promised and my God is not a man that He should lie. He has said it and He will do it. Trust Him.
