IN the land of the Living!

Heart of God by Gary Rowell

I come today to encourage, bless, testify, declare, motivate and implore!  I have truly AGAIN seen the faithfulness of God in the land of the LIVING!  Are you living in His faithfulness?  Are you being stretched beyond yourself?  Are you SEEING God move in your midst?  You should be.  He wants to move on your behalf...He is SO for you!

Yesterday my son, Jon, was in need of $750 for a down-payment on a mission trip; deadline - TODAY!  He did all he knew to do by working, sending letters, messaging friends on facebook, praying, fasting, praising, giving and then you know what happened?  The Lord showed up...AGAIN!  Faithful God He is!

He came home from school yesterday, a bit late.  I asked him why and he told me he had to get gas for his motorcycle.  He went on to say that while there, he saw a man needing gas too but the man didn't have any money.  My son felt the Lord was saying to trust him for his money by filling a need in this man's life.  So my son used his debit card and bought the man gas!  (Now mind you, I don't go around advocating this as there are MANY who are just scamming but Jon has great discernment so I trust him when he said he heard God telling him to do so.)  Jon didn't go looking for something to do to make God move for him, the opportunity just presented itself in his timeline - just as God does, He meets us where we are at.  See this was about Jon and God, not about a man needing gas.  God set this up.  Jon not only pumped the gas but he also prayed for-and-with this total stranger.  This angel unaware possibly?  Not sure, but hold that thought a minute.  Jon then asked God for provision based on giving out of his very need.  He just said, "God I trust you to provide what I need, just as you provided for this man's need."  See, Jon understands the principles of heaven - sowing and reaping. Read about it - Jesus talks many times about fields and seeds and soil.  You can't "reap" harvest unless you have "planted" and you have to have seed in the soil to produce a crop.  Not only this day, did Jon "plant" but many days before he has "planted".  See - it's a lifestyle, not a situation.  Jon LIVES giving and therefore, God gave back to him when he was in need because Jon reminded God of his promises.  I don't think Jon was visited by an angel but then again, I guess we won't know until THAT day, will we?

Many people give, but they don't dialog with God about it.  The don't "till" the soil. They maybe even give out of compulsion rather than compassion!  See, we remind God NOT because God is forgetful but because WE are!  He wants to see that WE believe Him at His Word and the ONLY way we do this is to talk about it.  Hear me, we don't talk about the problem and how LATE God is or question WHERE God is, we just softly and quietly say, "God, I know you got this because I haven't forgotten and I certainly KNOW you haven't forgotten either!"  Simple.  It's a heart of a child coming before their daddy-God and kissing his checks saying, "but you said, Daddy!"

My Jon lives as a child before His Holy God.  He is SO tender, amazing and trusting because he knows how BIG his daddy is!  Some of this was because Jon has an amazing earthly father, but not all my sons have this same gift so therefore I know it is not about our earthly father's as much as it is about our hearts TOWARD our heavenly father!

Today, when Jon arrived at school he had EXACTLY $750 to meet his deadline in his account!  Praise the Name of the Lord!  He even had one person message him before he got to school this morning saying that they would give him what he needed to meet his deadline - just call 'em with a number.  What?  How cool is God.  Jon didn't even need this awesome gift to meet today's deadline yet God knew Jon didn't know this...YET!  Hahaha - that's just how our God rolls!  Lavishly!

Be encouraged my friends!  This is why I write to you today; not to brag on Jon but to BRAG on GOD!  This SAME God loves you too!  He desires relationship with you.  He longs for your time, your ear, your heart!  He has ALL the provision you will ever hope to need!  MAKE TIME to find Him in the midst of your busyness.  Crawl up into daddy's lap and lay your head on his shoulder and listen to His heartbeat.

The Lord reminded me of one of my favorite scriptures today and I must share it here with you.  It is Zephaniah 3:17.  Here it is in the message bible:  "Your God is present among you, a strong Warrior there to save you.  Happy to have you back, He'll calm you with His love and delight you with His songs."  Isn't that GOOD NEWS!  God is singing over you love songs, just as a mother does with her babe or a lover does to his sweetheart.  Amazing God, You are truly Magnificent!  Thank you Father for your love and power and provision...AGAIN!