In the Deep You Find the Treasure

In the Deep You Find the Treasure

Isa 45:2-6 NLT This is what the LORD says: "I will go before you, and level the mountains. I will smash down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. (3) And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness—secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, the One who calls you by name…. (5) I am the LORD; there is no other God. I have equipped you for battle, though you don't even know Me, (6) so all the world from east to west will know there is no other God. I am the LORD, and there is no other.

There is a constant inner battle in us between our own desires, will, plans, thoughts, beliefs, and God's ways, thoughts, plans and desires.

We were saved by grace and we follow the Lord the way the Israelites followed Him in the desert. We keep walking and we do not know the way to the Promised Land. We have to follow the Lord.

Sometimes we are tired, exhausted, hungry, thirsty, we want to sit somewhere and just rest. We want to be out of the valley. We want to get to our promise. We want out of our situation.

We forget that just because we are saved and God took us out of Egypt, DOES NOT MEAN WE ARE FREE.

Lazarus was resurrected from the dead, but he was still wrapped in grave clothes.

Joh 11:44 And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, "Unwrap him and let him go!"

We can be saved but we are still bound with the grave clothes. We are trying to follow the Lord bound. We are trying to live in freedom, but we are still with the old mindset, habits, models we've seen, customs, traditions, doctrines, beliefs. We need to be free.

I tried so hard by my own power, strength and understanding to make things work. I only found myself arguing, trying to be right, defending myself and complaining that my batteries ran out.

"Don't ask for anything, I am not here, leave me alone, I am tired. Do not get near me.

I was like a wounded animal that does not let anyone get close to her and hurt her anymore – it bites.

Before I knew the Lord I tried to charge my batteries by myself. I tried to heal my wounds and scars and move on. I had no idea how my life can ever change. I was very deep in the pit.

I came to the Lord with many wounds, pain, scars, struggles, defeats and fears.

Personal Testimony

I grew up in a physically and emotionally abusive and dysfunctional household. I never knew what I had done wrong or why this physical abuse. I never believed anyone would ever love me. It was not a warm and safe household although from the outside everything seemed fine and normal.

I hid my pain and told my secret to no one. I was ashamed to let others know I was physically and emotionally abused. I wanted to be normal like all the other children.

I was shy and afraid of people. I was afraid to speak to adults and grew up with many fears and very low self esteem. The only person I knew loved me was my dad who was very busy with his business and wasn't much involved in my life.

I grew up with bitterness, anger and hatred towards my mother. Many times I wished she would die. I didn't know how to build a relationship with her and believed I was adopted. At times I would wish for my real mom to come and take me with her.

I wanted to be loved, accepted, wanted, and I looked for love but I didn't know where to find it. I did believe that love exists somewhere but I didn't believe I could have it or that I deserve to be loved.

No one had told me that God loves me. No one had told me that God hears me and He sees my pain.

No one had told me He cares for me and He can heal my wounds and bring me out of that darkness.

I was screaming inside of me "HELP" "someone help me" but no one came.

I hated my childhood, I wanted out of my messed up family and I couldn't wait until I grew up and have my own life.

I wish I had known the Lord earlier in my life.

My life had always been a constant struggle. It was one big battle for survival. I survived but I never really lived. All my focus in life was on how to make it, how not to live the life I had experienced at home, how to be independent, successful, accepted, and make sure people would love me.

I struggled to make my life different, to go to the university and be everything my family was not. I fought hard to achieve by myself a career, possessions, a car, clothes, jewelries, shoes. Everything an independent woman wants.

I had everything I needed as far as "stuff", but inside of me there was a huge hole. Inside of me I would cry and scream because I knew it was all pretend, a cover up, a false satisfaction. I was empty and in void. My heart was broken, wounded and bleeding.

I convinced myself that the life I had was better than the place I had come from. But inside of me I knew nothing had changed. I am still struggling, still hungry for love, still searching for something I did not know what it was. I wanted to be happy.

I was in the deep

I was in the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23) and my life was stuck in this darkness. I was in a very low place, and I thought I could get out of there by myself. I tried by my own power and strength to get out of that valley.

No matter what I had done, I just accumulated more life experiences, more possessions, but less peace and rest.

I was not living life I was busy surviving in this valley.

I want to talk to you about being in the deep, in the valley of our life and how we can get out of there.

I do not know what the deep is in your life or how low you find yourself. I am here to tell you that God meant it when He said "even though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, You are with me".

Yes, no matter how low the pit is He is right here with you. He jumps in to hold you and say "I am here, can you see Me. I have you in My hands and no one and nothing can separate you from Me".

The deep you might find yourself might be as you see ….

1. Your marriage is breaking.

2. Your relationship with your spouse is cold - there is no love, no passion, no desire to be together.

3. You might be going through a physical illness or pain.

4. You might be in a financial situation, deep in debt, no way to pay your bills, and in great need.

5. You might be a single parent - raising your kids by yourself and having no idea how you can go through another day.

6. Maybe you went through a traumatic experience in your life that holds you back in hopelessness, despair, or even depression.

7. You might be struggling with addiction to food, t.v, cigarettes, alcohol, sex, drugs.

Whatever it is, it's never about who you're NOT, it's all about who He is. It's all about who God wants to be for you. He is a loving Father and your Dad and it's never His will for His children to be sitting in their own prisons bound by fears.

There is a way out.

I am a living testimony of a resurrection from dead situations.

God is alive. He is real and true. He does care about you. Yes, you. No, it's not a mistake that He chose you as His child. He came to the broken hearted, afflicted, needy, widows, orphans who do not know Him as their Dad.

He wants us to know Him as our Daddy.

He is my Father and the Lord of my life. He showed up many times in my despair and lifted me up. He showed me the way out and filled me with His love. He is a warrior and a just Judge who pleads our cause.

Spiritual truth about the deep:

There is a spiritual law in the Bible about being in the deep or in the valley – in a low place in our lives where we struggle to make it, we work hard, we are tired and exhausted, discouraged and about to quit. This spiritual Law has to do with the nature of God. It's who He is, it's His heart. When we are struggling and trying to bring a change and nothing happens, and it seems hopeless and dead – this is when the Lord takes over and shows up. When it stinks, He shows up, speaks the Word of life and resurrects our dead situation.

This was true for Martha who waited for the Lord to come and heal her brother, but nothing happened. Her brother had died. She was discouraged, but after the body was stinking, the Lord showed up and resurrected this dead body back to life. No one had expected resurrection from the dead. But is there anything too difficult for God?

We also know about Simon (Peter) who had worked hard all night to get fish, to make a living, to keep their business going, to support their families, to feed their children. The sea was filled with fish, but somehow Simon could not get anything. His net was empty, he had worked all night, was exhausted and probably discouraged. This is when the Lord showed up and said to him:

Luk 5:4 When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch."

Luk 5:5 Simon answered and said, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets."

Luk 5:6 When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break;

Luk 5:7 so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink.

In the midst of struggle and exhaustion, the Lord will show up. He will speak to you to go deeper and He will do what was impossible for you.

It is in a state of exhaustion when you are tired, ready to give up, see no light and no hope, that the Lord comes and sends you deeper, lower, and you feel "I'm tried, I am not going back there, I would rather go to the shore empty handed".

At this place the Lord tells you "go now, go down, go deeper, I am showing you where your deliverance is.

And we need to make the decision to go although we are tired, or just come back empty handed.

We need to go to the deep, the valley, the low place in order to see our miracle. But it's not for us to stay there.

I did not say we need to work for our miracle, for our deliverance, for change. The disciples worked all night and got nothing. We wait for the Lord to show up and give us the instructions. He knows the exit out of our situation and it might not be what we expect. It might be a way that seems ridiculous for us.

Who would have thought that Naaman would dip in the stinky water of the Jordan and receive his healing?

Who would have thought that the Lord would use spit and mud to open blind eyes?

In this low pit we need to wait for Him to show up and hear His voice telling us what to do. As the Commander of the Armies, He knows the way out of the snare. Many times it is so easy and seems foolish and irrelevant to our situation – but it's the way out.

Who would think that praising the Lord and singing to Him in prison would be the way to get out of it. It happened to Paul and not only he himself got out, but the prison guard and his entire household came to know the Lord.

The Israelites in the valley of Moab:

The Israelites were in the desert for forty years. Probably thinking they will never get to the Promised Land. Seeing just sand, rocks, and dust around them, having gone battles and wars.

In the valley, beside the Jordan which leads to their promise, where they are tired, exhausted, need rest, the Lord spoke saying to them, don't rest yet, move, go and possess. (Num 33:50-55)

Who ever thought that just when we feel we can rest, there comes the final battle which leads to victory?

It is in the VALLEY, the low place where the Lord spoke to them.

It is after a long night of work that the Lord spoke to the disciples and in their exhaustion sent them to the deep.

It is in the low place where He speaks to us and tells us what to do.

Job in his pit and great affliction asked the Lord for understanding.

He did not ask for anything else. He did not ask to be given anything, or to replace his sufferings with an alternative, to be delivered or redeemed. He wanted to be silent before the Lord and wanted to understand the Lord's ways. He wanted the Lord to teach him, and asked Him to cause him to understand. "help me get it Lord, please show me something, give me something to work with in the midst of my situation". He was willing to stay silent because being silent means we let God talk, it's not us talking to Him (praying). It's not about our many prayers, it's about who He is and what He can do. He is God alone and there is no one beside Him, not even me.

Job 6:22-24 MKJV Did I say, Give to me? Or, Offer a bribe for me from your wealth; 23 or, Deliver me from the enemy's hand; or, Redeem me from the hand of the mighty? 24 Teach me, and I will be silent; and cause me to understand where I have gone astray.

In our affliction we need to seek the Lord for understanding - show me Lord what I have done and where I have gone astray. Lord's it's Your truth that sets me free. What truth don't I know? Teach me Your ways, show me Your heart, correct my path, direct and guide me, shine Your light in my darkness Lord, because You are the Way, the Truth and the Life. I cannot save myself, so I will wait for You.

We possess in the valley.

Why do we need to go to the deep, or to the valley?

Why do we need to go further down?

Isa 45:2-5 "I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars. (3) "I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places, (Why?) So that you may know that it is I, The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name. (Meaning, I am a personal God) (4) "For the sake of Jacob My servant, And Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor Though you have not known Me. (5) "I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I clothed you, though you have not known Me;

When you pray and ASK the Lord for something, you are actually asking the Lord to make a way for you.

When the Lord prepares a way for you He will use you as a vessel to use that way.

When you ask the Lord He says "O.k, I have heard you, now let Me send you and I will do the battle through you".

Asking the Lord means we are willing to go to enemy line to bring back what the enemy had stolen.

The enemy does not want to let go of what he thinks is his. But once you had asked, God sends you there to get it. He will send you to the deep where the treasures are.

Asking for a change, an open door, always involves going through a battle. God uses you to take from the enemy what belongs to God already.

If you ask for a job, the Lord will open a door. He will start doing battle for you so He can remove the enemy and make space for you. You find yourself "feeling" this battle. You find yourself going THROUGH it, but if you only stand still and be silent (not complain) He can finish it for you. This is why He said….

Exo 14:13-15 NASB But Moses said to the people, "Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. (14) "The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent." (15) Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward.

The Lord will send you to the deep (the low place) where your miracle is. Joseph's miracle happened after he thrown into prison. His situation went from pit, to slavery, to prison. It just got worse, but the Lord was preparing the way for him, and working in his heart to become the second in command to the king.

The Lord Himself went to the grave to save Lazarus whose body had already stunk.

He Himself came to Earth a place of darkness and death to fish out His children.

In this deep darkness you feel like the demons of hell come against you and fighting for what they believe is theirs. They do not want to let you go free, but the Lord fights for us. We just need to wait even if it stinks.

The enemy is always at the low places, at the deep. You will meet the enemy at the deep the same way Jesus had met him when He came DOWN to Earth.

He came to the territory of the enemy to save the oppressed, the sick, the broken hearted, the weak and weary. But He wasn't concerned with the enemy. He was consumed with life. He didn't seek the enemy or chased him, He focused on restoring, healing and setting captives free.

You might be in this valley and everything seems too impossible for you. The enemy seems like a giant mountain. Your problems and struggles seem to grow bigger. You might even feel like a grasshopper compared to the size of the problems.

But the Lord will show up. He will not let you go through more than you can bear.

In this deep you are afflicted in every way, confused, persecuted, struck down and broken. But you will not be crushed. You are not forsaken and you will not be destroyed.

The Bible says that there is no place that is too high for us:

Deu 2:36 "From Aroer which is on the edge of the valley of Arnon and from the city which is in the valley, even to Gilead, there was no city that was too high for us; the LORD our God delivered all over to us.

God is the one who fights for you and delivers you from any situation.

He is the one who breaks the walls of division and brings unity.

He is the one who removes the sickness and brings healing.

He breaks the chains and releases the captives.

He tears down the strongholds and sends us out with blessings.

He sent YOU to the deep so He can fight THROUGH YOU. He told Peter before he was sifted "WHEN you come back, strengthen your brothers". He didn't tell Peter IF you come back. It's only a matter of time. It is WHEN and not IF.

In the deep, a place of death God brings judgment on the enemy and righteousness to His children.

The Bible says that justice and righteousness come on the same day.

In the deep, the Lord will fight for you. All you need to do is GO TO THAT DEEP.

Will you go deeper to receive your miracle?

Will you give the little strength you have left, to see resurrection

The widow from Zarephath had given the last she had, and went deeper and saw her deliverance. (1Ki 17:13)

Don't come out of the water after an all night struggle and leave with nothing. Wait! Yes, Wait for the Lord to come and see what He says. He will show up. He will show you the way.

If you are already in the deep, do not give up hope. Do not believe that there will be no change, no healing and no resurrection.

Make an agreement with God's Word and tell Him "I know you are the resurrection and the Life and I am waiting for you until you come and resurrect me".

• I do not know what your struggle is and how you are surviving it or how much strength you still have in you.
• I do not know what keeps you going and who charges your batteries.
• But I do know the One who can deliver you, heal you, restore your life, unite, strengthen, fight for you and free you from this prison.

I do know my Saviour and my Friend who wants to give you a breakthrough today.

His name is Jesus, Yeshua, the Messiah, who died for you so you don't have to pay the price for your mess. He gave His life for you, so now He is going to leave you in the pit? It's impossible. He didn't take you out of Egypt to kill you in the desert. It's not who He is.

The Lord knows who you are and He wants to deliver you, to bring healing to your heart.

God wants to free you from the struggle and tell you

"I am right here with you" Will you let me in?

Will you open the door of the many struggles in your life as I knock, and let Me take care of it?

Will you give me you burdens, your anxieties and your worries? Do not try by your own strength and power to fight. I will fight for you.

Will you come to me so I can give you rest?

Will you trust me to heal your wounds?

Will you give me all your cares and come and put your head on my shoulders because I have carried all your burdens already?

I died so you can live.

I died so you can find peace.

I died so you can find rest for your soul.

I died so you can be set free.

I want to heal you and free you from any bruise, pain, condemnation, rejection, unforgiveness, anger, bitterness, frustration.

Do you trust Me that I can do that?

Will you invite me and wait for me and I will show up and put order in your life?

Will you wait for Me the way Martha waited so I can resurrect you from the deep and bring you back to life with blessings?

There is no dead situation the Lord cannot resurrect.

The Lord will show up and lead you to a broad place.

It is in the deep where you receive your blessing. It is in a place of despair, and brokenness where the Lord shows up and He says to you "Are you done yet? Will you let Me do it for you".

Pray this if you feel lead:

"Lord, I need you to deliver me from my dead situation.

I forgive anyone who hurt me in my life. Forgive me for my sins and help me to put my trust in You. Show me, direct me and lead me to green pastures. Give me understanding, Lord.

I am giving you my (struggles, pain, wounds, sickness, bitterness, anger, resentment, revenge, jealousy, negativity, attitude, relationships, marriage, job, children), come and restore my life Lord. Come and resurrect me from the dead. I ask this in Jesus name.

Much love

Elana Polinger

Failure and Mess a Word

Failure and Mess a Word

One of the most difficult seasons in my walk with the Lord was being in a place of failure and mess. In my walk with Him I wanted to be good. I wanted to be perfect and please Him. I wanted to be faithful and obedient. I wanted to be a prayer warrior and intercede. I wanted to please the Lord.

However, I had no idea that my Father was working in me to set me free from the spirit of religion. You see, my walk with the Lord was very much based on what I need to do, on doing the right thing, and being the godly woman I need to be. It was based on the Law. Deep inside my heart the Lord showed me that I am afraid of Him. I knew He was right and I didn't know how to change that. I didn't want to be afraid of God. He said He my Father and calls me friend. How can I be afraid of Him? "Why am I afraid of You, Lord?

The Lord showed me that the fear comes from fear of failure. I am afraid to fail, mess up, be weak, be in need. Hidden fear was the foundation for my decision making. He had already showed me once that I cannot make any decision based on fear – fear of not having, fear of loneliness, fear of rejection, fear of betrayal, fear of failure. Even in my relationship with my husband I saw how fear was the basis for my decisions.

I remember a day when I wanted to get a new CD player to use in our car because the one in our car does not work. I love worshipping the Lord in our car while driving. My husband said I need to wait because we don't have the money to get one. That day when I went grocery shopping I went to look (just look) at prices of CD players. What do you think? I got one which I thought was inexpensive. On my way home as I'm driving I was thinking of what to tell my husband, and maybe he will be upset with me. The thoughts were just there. The Lord spoke to me and said "Elana, you are afraid of your husband". I said to the Lord "I am?, what do You mean?". I realized my thoughts were those of fear because of my failure to wait and not buy the CD player. I was afraid of how my husband will respond and why didn't I accept his advice. I realized I am afraid of how people respond when I fail.

This is when the Lord started healing me from the fear of failure. One thing after another in my walk with Him failed. The more I tried to be a good wife, a good mother, a good daughter, sister, servant, leader, the more I felt I was failing. I tried to pray for people and felt I was failing in that as well. Everything I did was somehow not working the way I wanted or expected it to be. It turned out to the worse.

This season of mess and failure was a time when the Lord was setting me free from self accusations and from the Accuser who was working in my life. All I saw and focused on was what's wrong and needs to be fixed in my life, in my relationships with people, in my prayer life, in my devotions and time with the Lord, in my worship, with my kinds and my husband. Name it, I wanted to fix it. Since all I saw and experienced was failure and mess I found myself giving up. I gave up my walk with the Lord (the way I thought it should be). I gave up praying because prayer became a chore for me. I gave up wanting to help and serve or give. I was doing it like a robot and not from the heart. It was a season I just wanted to let go of everything and not be involved in anything. Why? All I saw was failure and what's wrong.

The Lord started showing me how the Accuser was working in my life. He showed me how he was working in Eve's heart when he deceived her. All he pointed was on her weaknesses and who she's not.

"You're not like God, so if you eat you will be like God"

"You're blind and cannot see, so if you eat your eyes will open"

"You're not wise, eat and you will be wise".

Eve agreed with how he sees her. It was as if she was saying to the accuser:

"Yes, I'm not like God, so I should eat and become like Him"

"Yes, I am blind and don't see, so I should eat and have my eyes open."

"Yes, I am not wise, I so want to have some wisdom"

And she ate the lie. She believed what the Accuser told her about herself. He focused on who she's not and what she cannot.

The Accuser always points your focus to see:

• Who you're not
• What you cannot,
• What you don't have, missing and lacking,
• Where you're not in your walk with the Lord,
• Failure, mess, weaknesses, faults, and sin………. In yourself and as a result in others.

Eve did not know she shouldn't even respond to the enemy. He is a dead spirit and God said not to talk to the dead. So, why would we want to engage with a dead spirit who was already defeated?

We have the victory already, we just need to LIVE in it. The battle is not ours to fight or to respond to the enemy. We need to learn to avoid and ignore him completely. As long as we talk to him and respond he has an open door to enter our lives and mess up with our minds.

This was the time when I stopped completely doing any kind of spiritual warfare. I believed what the Lord showed me was true and I knew in my own walk how much my prayers were exhausting me. I stopped any engagement with the enemy and immediately talk to the Lord when he tries to point to my weaknesses and my faults. I move in thanksgiving and tell the Lord "Thank You that you are the Author and the Finisher of my faith. Thank You that you will finish what You started in me. Thank You for Your blood that covers all my faults, sins, failures and weaknesses".

This does not mean I ignore the sins and my negative reactions in situations in my life. I see what's coming out of me, I repent, reconcile with the people I hurt, and give the Lord this area of my life. I ask Him to help me walk in the victory He has given me and heal my wounds.

I am learning not to let the devil play with my mind when he comes to accuse me for my failures and point to it. I remember a day when I felt I was not a good mother with my kids. I would watch all these moms who are so creative and do arts and crafts with their kids and thought I am not a good mother because I don't like arts and crafts and all these coloring and stuff. It's just not me. I so wanted to become such a mom and all I saw how terrible I was in other areas of my relationship with them. I'm not a fun mom, I don't do this with them, I should be doing that. This was when it got so worse….. I felt like I should not be a mother at all. The Lord spoke to me and said "Elana, it is I who I decided that you should be a mother and no one can do anything about it. If I gave children it is because I say you are a mother".

Again, all I saw in my life was what's missing and lacking, what' not there, what I should be doing and having, where I need to be with the Lord, and who I need to be.

It is time to expose the Accuser who works in our lives to pull us down as if God is upset with our failures. He is not upset with us when we fail. He pours out grace and by His love He changes us to become more like who He is. We are already in His image and form. We just don't see it. But He does. God looks at us through His eyes and He sees who he said we are. In our walk with Him He wants us to see ourselves the way He does. He wants to give us new eyes, new perspective, new vision to see who we really are in His eyes, not who we think we are.

That brought a lot of freedom in my life and my walk with the Lord. It is His love for me and His much grace in the midst of my failures and mess that blew my mind. "How can You love me with all my mess?" I used to tell Him. "Why do you love me, didn't You see how I messed up big time?" All he did was loving me even more. Until I get it. It took me two years to get it. These were three years of mess with two years of much healing in my heart. I love who the Lord is. He is so gentle patient and kind. His love really amazes me.

All my life I knew how to fight failures and mess. I have learned to look at what's wrong so I can fix it and be better. I have learned to avoid the failure as much as I could so I would not get punished for it.

Since I grew up as a physically and emotionally abused child all I knew was harsh judgment for mistakes and failures. I didn't know what grace meant or how to receive it. It was the Lord who allowed me to go through the mess so He can bring healing to my heart and set me free from my fears.

I was trying to be perfect, be good, be faithful, be this and be that. I remember when the Lord said to me "Elana, I am the only One who is perfect. You are trying to be perfect. I am God alone and there is no other God beside Me". It took me a long time to get it……. To get what He was saying to me…… to get that I don't have to look at who I am not but to see myself in His eyes. To see who he says I am. I needed to understand that He did not make any mistake when He chose me. There is no mistake in love Jason Upton sings. I am complete in Him. He put me in the safest place ever – in His Son Jesus. I am dead, but it's Him who lives in me. So, when the Father looks at me all He sees is Jesus His beloved Son because I am hidden inside of Him.

Don't think it was in a day that I got it and I am still learning to receive His love for me and who he says I am. I am learning not to look at myself or others through the eyes of the Accuser who points to faults, but through the eyes of the Lord who points to who He is in me. He points to His love, His faithfulness, His grace, His patience, His blood that covers me. He is consumed with life, and does not put His eyes (the eyes are a lamp) under a basket. He does not put His eyes in darkness. If we put our eyes on darkness and all we see is what's missing and lacking, failing and messed up – our entire body will be darkness.

Matthew 6:22-25 NASB "The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. (23) "But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! (24) "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. (25) "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Pay attention that the Lord speaks about not worrying about what' we're lacking right after he speaks about our eyes focused on darkness. He also mentions worshipping another master.

Why?

Because whatever we think in our heart we become.

Proverbs 23:6-7 MKJV Do not eat the bread of him who has an evil eye, nor desire his dainty foods;(the deceptions of the enemy) (7) for as he thinks in his heart, so is he; Eat and drink, he says to you, but his heart is not with you.

On the same token we can say whatever we see with our eyes we become. Seeing also means understanding with our mind. It has to do with the thoughts. If the image we see of ourselves or others is the image the Accuser shows us – we become that image. However, if the image we see is who the Lord says we are – we become that image. We become as He says and therefore as He is.

Ask the Lord to show you how He sees you in His eyes. This will bring much healing to your heart as you start focusing on who you ARE in Jesus and not on who the Accuser says you're NOT.

This a word I would like to share with you which the Lord has given to a few days ago. I had shared it with a dear brother in the Lord and his wife. I pray the Lord will speak to your heart.

In a place of failure….

The Lord has not left you and He is not upset with you. He loves you as you are. He loves you and did not make a mistake choosing you. He chose you as His child because He loves you. He chose you just the way you are not because of who you're not, or what you cannot. He chose you because of who He is. It is Him who reaches out to us, not us reaching out to Him. He came to this dark world to save His children and give them hope in the midst of their darkness.

No matter how dark the pit is, He is right there with you. He jumps right into the pit with you and hugs you as His child. He will never ever leave you. He will never ever let go of you. It is Him holding on to you, not you holding on to Him.

When Peter thought he was the greatest of them all and was sure his faith was so great... he said to the Lord "I will die for you". Peter trusted his own faith and his own love for the Lord. The Lord allowed the enemy to sift Peter just so He could show Peter: "Peter, it's not you holding on to Me, it's Me holding on to you". It's Me who prays for you as you groan and cry, it's Me who lifts you up, it's My faithfulness to you, not your faithfulness to Me".

Many times we so want to perfect before Him, to do all the right things, to be right with Him, to be faithful, loving... we focus on who we should be, we focus on who we're not. We focus on what we cannot and we want to fix it. All we see is what is missing, lacking, failing in our life and in our walk - and we try to be better.

But the Lord is saying "You are already complete in Me. I love you as you are wherever you are. I am not here to point to your sins because I have dealt with sin already on the cross. I am here to let you know Me, know My love for you, know who I am and who I want to be for you.

I am here to show you the dreams that I have for you and take you places in the Spirit with Me - will you come? Will you join Me? will you take your eyes off the darkness and focus on what's missing and lacking in you? I will finish what I started in you. Can you judge and accuse yourself for who you are not yet? Can you look at the picture of your life and see it incomplete and judge it before I finished drawing it? Let ME, only ME finish the works of My hands in you.

I know where you are. I know your struggles. I know how the Accuser is pointing a finger at your failures, showing you who you're not, what you can't, what you don't have. Rise up My child, rise up and give thanks for who I have made you. Be content for where you're at, and what you have. I do not judge you or look for your faults and what's wrong in your life. Fix your eyes on Me, on who I AM, on what I can do. Don't fix your eyes on what's failing, missing, lacking, and messed up in your life.

You are in right standing with Me. I have declared it that you are righteous. I did not make you righteous based on what you CAN do, or KNOW to do. I have made you righteous based on who I AM. It's about who I AM, not about who you're not. Don't look at who you're not, because I don't. I see you in My Son Jesus. I put you in Him and I see Him when I look at you.

Rise up My child, rejoice and be set free to walk with Me right where you are. Don't look at where you need to be and feel "I'm not this and I'm not that". It's not about who you are not, it's about who I AM. Look at Me, turn your back to the lack, failures, mistakes, mess, don't focus on darkness. I am the Light and I don't make mistakes. There is no mistake in My love for you. I know whom I have called.

Rise up My child and believe in My favor. I will open the door for My word to go forth from your and reach to My Bride. Let Me show you My love for you and you will testify of the things you have seen and heard. You will be able to strengthen your brothers as you come out of this pit. I will give you wings to fly like an eagle and you will have a new vision, new eyes to see, new view. I will give you My eyes to see how I see you, to see how I deal with failure and mess, to see and understand that I have dealt with sin already, to take you out from accusation to a place of freedom.

I will help you walk in the freedom I have given you already - be free from self accusation and rise up. It's Me reaching out to you, it's Me coming to you as you fix your eyes and mind on Me - wait for Me for I am coming to you. I will visit you and you will know that I love you. You don't believe Me that I love you, but I will turn your life around and shower love on you in the midst of your mess, you will be overwhelmed. You will say "why do You love me with all my mess?". It's because I want you to be established in My love for you. I want you to know that it's Me who loved you first. I gave My life for you and I will never ever let you go out of My sight. Wait and see and taste that My love for you is good".

Revelation 3:7-8 MKJV He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts; and shuts and no one opens, says these things: (8) I know your works. Behold, I have given before you an open door, and no one can shut it. For you have a little strength and have kept My Word and have not denied My name.

"Prepare for the water for I am about to shower My goodness on you". Prepare for the water. Praise the Lord, thank Him, sing and dance before Him you and your family, for the water is coming.

2 Kings 3:15-18 NLT Now bring me someone who can play the harp." While the harp was being played, the power of the LORD came upon Elisha, (16) and he said, "This is what the LORD says: This dry valley will be filled with pools of water! (17) You will see neither wind nor rain, says the LORD, but this valley will be filled with water. You will have plenty for yourselves and your cattle and other animals. (18) But this is only a simple thing for the LORD, for He will make you victorious over the army of Moab!

Please watch this video on the Youtube and let the Lord minister to you and show you His love for you. I pray He will speak to your heart as you listen and fill you with His love. I pray for a revelation of His love for you, for His confidence, His strength, His peace and much rest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pxBay2r2SI

I am also pasting one of Graham Cooke's messages on Failure. The Lord ministered to me through his teachings and especially this one in my season of mess.

Please read this, it ministered to me in time of dealing with mess and failure when my walk with the Lord was dry and no relationship with Him. It was a place of mess where He taught me so much in that place and showed me so much love and grace and I didn't understand why He is doing it. He wanted to show me to accept where I am with Him and leave it to Him to change me. I tried by my own works to change myself and be better. I kept failing. He told me "I accept you as you are, can you be pleased with where you are with Me? Can you let Me work in your life and get you where you think you need to be?"

"Lord, thank You for who I am and thank You that it's not about who I am not, but about who You are".

Much love,

Elana

"Making the Most of Failure" by Graham Cooke

What we think about God is the single, most important thing in the world. How we perceive Him will dictate how we live our life. How we see ourselves in relation to Him will orchestrate all that we are and do in this world. We live in a success-driven world. So, in particular, seeing any failure in relation to the heart of God is absolutely vital. God is love, and the nature of that love must be the driving force behind everything that we do or attempt. God is not human. He is the sum of everything. He is not just the Creator of the world - He is the Creator of all things, including love. He does all things well, including love. His standard for everything is excellence. The benchmark for success in the Kingdom of God is so high no one can reach it without His input. And yet He chooses mostly failures to represent Him. "For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of this world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no flesh should glory in Hs presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God - and righteousness and sanctification and redemption - that, as it is written 'He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.'" (1 Corinthians 1:26-31 NKJV) So it's official. God loves a failure!

"He Does Not Need to Be Seen in the 'Right' Places with the 'Right' People" He did not want the beauty of His nature and the glory of His kingdom solely to be represented by the great, the good, and the clever. He did not want a Who's Who of humanity to portray His own magnificence. He does not need to be seen in the right places with the right people. Jesus was criticized viciously for hanging out with the very people that society detested. He chose to become despised and rejected. God does not have an image problem. He chose people who had a history of failure. He picked people who had a history of not learning and who repeated their mistakes continuously. God chooses people who were despised as being stupid, by people who should know better. He accepted people who would require lots of training just to be normal, let alone successful. He chose them because He wanted to love them in such a way that they would always be safe and whole...whether they were successful or not. He chose them so that His love for them could heal them of their foolishness. He has a wonderful capacity to enjoy us in our weaknesses. He has a plan to make us successful through failure. We can fail successfully or we can fail badly. To fail successfully, we need to know who we are in Jesus.

"Our Mistakes Are Already Covered" We are in Christ, and He is in us. The Father has a plan for our personality as much as He has a design for changing our character to make us more like himself. A big part of that plan, therefore, is to love us in exactly the same way that He loves Jesus. We are not loved when we succeed in Christ. We are loved fully because we are in Him. God loved us powerfully when we were lost in sin. We fail successfully when we realize that our mistakes are already covered. No matter how well or badly our life is going, we learn to live under the smile of God. Know that in the love of God we cannot fail. We can only make mistakes, and every mistake has already been covered by the cross. Where were you when Jesus died? You had no existence. All our sins and mistakes were in the future, and they were covered by that one incredible act of sacrificial love. All our past, present, and future sins and mistakes have already been covered. Our future has been secured in the love of God. Shame is not on God's agenda for us. He allows us the wonder and joy of repentance - literally "to think again," to think differently, and to become what we think about.

"Loving Learning Enables Us to Become Wise and Also Beloved" We fail successfully when we discover that God wants us to love the learning that exists in every situation. All forms of accountability are about loving the learning that is present in every circumstance. That learning produces the fruit of self control, which in turn guarantees lasting change. God knows that when we do things for the first time, we learn how not to do it. Loving the learning in every situation enables us to become wise and also beloved. Wise - because we learn from our mistakes and grow. Beloved - because our sense of acceptance comes from being in Christ and not from our ability or performance. Therefore, if we fail at something, we can still grow in the love of God. The joy of repentance and the beauty of God's unchanging nature guarantees forgiveness and acceptance.

"God Does Not Get Disillusioned With Us" We fail successfully when we realize that God is not even remotely embarrassed by our weaknesses. He defends us to all our detractors. He is not ashamed to call us brethren. We are in Christ and cannot be condemned (Romans 8). The One who loves us the best, knows us the best. God does not get disillusioned with us because He had no illusions in the first place! We fail successfully when we allow ourselves to be comforted. Our mentor is the Holy Spirit who helps us to laugh at ourselves. He is the Comforter sent to lead us into all truth. When we are embarrassed at the truth of our current mindset or behavior, He comforts us so that we are not paranoid about screwing up. Then He helps us with the learning. Every test is repeatable. We cannot fail the tests of God because we get to take them again and again and again, until we pass. Even in the consequences of our action, the love of God reaches out to cover, protect, and nurture us in our wounded-ness.

The Biggest Thing We Get to Learn The biggest thing we get to learn is that God loves me for me! Not for what I can do. God's love helps us to relax about ourselves. The grace of God is given to us to enable us to feel loved when we mess up. God's grace enables us to feel good about God and, therefore, to have mercy on ourselves and others. We are a work in progress. No one condemns the artist of an unfinished picture. Instead we look at what is there, and we picture what it could become. We wonder, we imagine, and we are excited by the possibilities. In my weakness I am lovely to God. It's the sheer beauty of God that sets me free to be loved outrageously. He allows us to fail when He could have prevented it maybe because He wants us to see how much we are loved when we can't do anything right. He gives us freedom to fail, and His intention is to show us that we are still His beloved. His love for us is not based on how well we do. We desire excellence because He is excellent. No wonder then that David said, "This one thing I ask that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. To behold the beauty of the Lord and to (think about Him and all that He is) meditate in His temple." (Psalm 27:4) In failure we can understand how lovely we are to the Lord. That is failing successfully.

"Does He Allow Us to Fail?" We fail badly when we imagine that failure should not be part of our inheritance, when we believe that failure is not a part of God's plan. Does God cause us to fail? No. Does He allow us to fail? Obviously. Does He use our failure to improve our relationship with Him? Everything God does is relational. Every circumstance can be turned around so that we discover the height, depth, length and breadth of God's love. When we hit the heights, God's love is present. When we hit the depths of despair, sin, and ugliness, His love covers everything we hate about ourselves. In the pit of depression God's loving kindness builds a stairway to recovery. No pit is so deep He is not deeper still. His love is high enough to lift us above everything, deep enough to rescue anyone from anything, long enough to last for eternity, and broad enough to cover every failure.

Choose to Look Into the Face of Jesus We fail badly when we choose not to look into the face of Jesus. In failure, God always moves closer to us. People distance themselves from failure and failures. Not so with God. His heart beats for us. He has given us a Comforter so that we can feel His heartbeat. In recent times I have gone through some of the most painful things in my life, but I have discovered the Comforter afresh. My current failures do not haunt me because the Holy Spirit has exorcised the ghost of shame and dishonor. I am comforted. I am learning. I am the beloved of God. My name is Graham, and I am a man greatly beloved of God. He does hide from us occasionally, but that is to draw us into His realm. He manifests Himself to us when He invades our time-space world. When He hides, it is to teach us wisdom by revelation. God's hiddeness is always about us discovering deep truth. (For further information see 'Hiddeness and Manifestation' from the Being with God series.)

"God's Glory Cannot Be Tarnished by Our Failure" Failure is not so much falling down as refusing to get up once we have fallen. We fail badly when we imagine that God is annoyed by our failings and will punish us or make us pay for messing up. In the process of discipling us, God has budgeted for our failure. Our failure cannot diminish the Kingdom; therefore, it cannot diminish us. In failure the Father budgets to be to us exactly what we need at that precise moment. I Am is with us. Intentional love is present, and it is more lavish than we can imagine. His love can be so extravagant that it picks us up and makes us want to try again. God's glory is not enhanced by our success nor can it be tarnished by our failure. God is simply above all of that. What if most of God's glory is derived from people who are astonished and amazed to be loved so fully in the face of their own inabilities and weaknesses? What if it is part of our own glory in the Lord for us to be loved so wonderfully when we are at our most brainless and ignorant?

"He Is the Same Whether We Succeed or Fail" My own failures are many. My capacity for weakness on days seems undiminished. I am an embarrassment to myself, and yet, I am loved so wonderfully. There is perhaps one difference that my experiences with God have given me. I no longer weep tears of shame. I cry tears of joy and wonder. I am amazed by God and His power to love me. He makes all things work together for good. I'm not much of a challenge to His genius and creativity. We can discover God just as much in failure as we can in success because God never changes. He is the same whether we succeed or fail. We will all fail at times. We must learn to do so more successfully! God's love makes us free to fail, Fail in a way that makes you whole and makes the Lord smile!

Graham Cooke