Harvest

Galatians 6: 7 & 9

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.

Some of you have sown good seed into the Kingdom of God but you have not seen a harvest. Do not give up. God said you will reap if you don’t give up.

When Daniel prayed to the Lord he was heard by God. And God sent an angel to Daniel, but it took the angel of God twenty-one days to reach Daniel. The Bible tells us that the forces of Satan hindered the angel of the Lord so that God actually sent Michael, one of his archangels to help (Daniel 10).

The devil is trying to hinder your blessing in just the same way, but God has told us that as long as we don’t give up, we win. The forces of God will always overcome the forces of Satan. Additionally, we have something important that Daniel didn’t have. We have Jesus, the overcomer. Jesus has already defeated Satan and all of the forces of this world.

Satan does not have any real power anymore. He must trick you into defeating yourself. If he can get you to give up, he wins even though the answer had already been sent from heaven. Another trick he has is that he will try to get you to speak something negative out of your mouth. By the words of your mouth, you can pull your own seed out of the ground and stomp on it. Or you can speak good words and water that seed. It is your choice, but the devil will try to trick you into defeating your own crop. If you will hang in there and keep confessing God’s blessing in your life, you are going to have whatsoever you pray for. Don’t give up! Don’t give in! You win.

Mocked and Scorned

Psalm 115: 2        God’s Word

Why should other nations say, “Where is their God?”

This is one of the things which has most bothered me about the corona virus outbreak. No nation has had a bigger outbreak than the United States. My thinking is that we ought to fare well because of our God. Let me show you this same verse from the Passion Translation. It reads, “Why should the unbelievers mock us, saying, ‘Where is this God of yours?’” Does that not aggravate you a little? It bothers me a lot. This great nation, established in and by God is struggling with the viral outbreak. Why?

In the beginning of this, I thought we would get our prayer guns out and defeat this. It hasn’t turned out that way. God gave me a prayer for us to pray. He gave me a vision of what the solution looked like (you will find each on my website, IveyMinistries.org). In my heart and mind, I imagined us combining in fervent prayer with the result being that we would quickly overcome the virus. I feel mocked, like other nations are saying, “Where is their God” and it does disturb me. Whose theology is right? Have I gotten mine wrong?

I believe in my Father, as do you, and I cannot believe He is not eager to move by His great might on our behalf. I strongly believe He is poised and ready. What, then, is holding Him back? Why has He not surged to the fore and slain our enemy for us? I have no doubt that the vision and prayer I received was from our Father. Why are we not seeing this virus seared out of existence? Not only should this nation have overcome this virus, but we should be the force for good to pray for all other nations of the world sending healing and the eradication of the virus for all. I am perplexed and chagrined that this is not the reality we are experiencing. Worst of all, I feel guilty. If God is not to blame, then what is the problem? Are the nations of the world mocking my God or are they mocking me? It is irritating, but mostly because in my heart I fear I am the problem.

Verse 16 of this same psalm reads, “The highest heaven belongs to the Lord, but he has given the earth to the descendants of Adam.” This is the verse that is disturbing. Is God poised but awaiting me? Is that what this new dispensation is about? God within me means I am His hands in the earth? We know that we are to live a life intertwined with God. That means that we don’t run off and do anything in our own strength, but it means, also, that God’s movement in the earth is intertwined with us. That thought is troubling. I welcome your thoughts.