by Pam Clark - www.prophetic.net
I received this letter today:
So guess where I got the title to this message? (smile)
And I could have answered it just personally (and will) but I know this person is not the only person going through something like this. Christians and prophetic people all get a bite out of this pie, so to speak. It's really a misnomer to think that "other Christians" have it or are "getting it" better than we are. We all get banged around for this Cause!!!
We have an enemy - a spiritual one - that likes to bang us around and beat us up if he can. The power of this enemy is great, even greater than us without Christ. But Jesus is greater than the enemy and so our goal and His is to let Jesus live so much in us that He overcomes the enemy through us. It takes a Body corporate.
A lot of us get bruised and confused. All your favorite mentors get bruised and confused at times. Your parents do, your teachers do, even Jesus did. "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" He cried.
If we just left it there, that "we all suffer," then we really could not make a lot of progress. Then we would start comparing who has it better and we would allow envy and strife and murder to rule. But there is a bigger Force at work in us as Christians. We just have to let it work!
Some try the Buddhist approach to Christianity, acting as if we can transcend the pain. "I don't really feel this - I am going to my Nirvana." But the Buddhist approach is not the Christ approach. Pain is real!
How we each interpret it and share it may be different, but we all feel it and are subject to it at different times in varying levels. I learned a long time ago that the person who has it all together one day can lose it the next. After doing some home health care and hearing stories, I learned that "having it all together" can be fleeting. It's the Anointing that helps us get through things. We NEED it (Him).
Walking in the fear of God is the best approach to life. There are all places in our lives where we would like to be blind and "make it go away." But we don't always get that luxury. We must deal with it and the awesome thing is that God can deal with a lot of things in awesome ways, IF we do it HIS Way! That mystifies the world.
This not walking in the fear of the Lord is the biggest problem area we have right now in the Body, in my opinion. We are a blessed people in a blessed nation. But once we have "some of it" for ourselves, we don't always want to give it away to someone who is more needy. We allow envy and strife to come and that carnal nature of competition and it results in "friendly fire" where we shoot, wound and kill our own.
The Body of Christ is going to have to wake up to this! We ARE our brother's keeper! Our life is dependent on it.
What happens is that we get blessed, and then get hurt and instead of going to God, we attack other people. This really was a lot of the war controversy we've had. But those who had a better way didn't have the leadership for it. God will sometimes use a judging hand but it's for the sake of His elect and with the Heart to win the lost.
When we judge outside of His Spirit, we become guilty. When we judge inside of His Spirit, we become His friend. His ways are not the world's ways. We needed to make a stand against terrorism. If we don't, it will multiply like these computer viruses we haven't been making a stand against!
We, as Christians, will know the fellowship of His sufferings if we choose to walk with Him. We may not discern our circumstances, but we should discern Him! Have you ever been to the place where you may not know what you want, but you sure know what you don't want? That is a form of discerning. Be at peace. God is there!
Sometimes, especially as prophetic people, we are examples to others. Sometimes that example is that we can live through something and still trust God. There is glory on the other side of that, but sometimes it is hard to sense it while we are living through it. Sometimes we are being repositioned for greater glory.
We all crater but hopefully when we fall, it's on the Rock of Christ and not the sin of the world. Sometimes what falls off the Rock, needed to fall. The glory there is that there is more of Christ holding on!
I don't know all the details of the above note. What you see is all I got so far. But I do know this - that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life, the Good Life. This person senses Jesus is there. But it's a hard place. Later, when their gold is shining through a bit more, perhaps they will have to put a veil on to not show the glory so much! (Just think about that one. Smile.)
We need the Light to shine but we need order, too. God is redeeming and restoring the world (people) and the earth through His Son. He wants us all to participate. Sometimes we have to be weak so others can be strong, but God is not "into" making us suffer. It's just that suffering, because of the sin problem from the Fall of man, is the way redemption had to come. He could have just wiped us all out!
Jesus was the perfect sacrifice. Our blood won't save the world. But we can share in His sufferings to fill up the redemption of man by being Jesus to others. We aren't fully Jesus ourselves, but we are a member of His Body with Him in us. All of our "parts" are important.
God likes those "love connections." Sometimes we hurt a little for them, but we come out stronger! Every joint supplies. There may be a little pressure to work it in so it can supply. But when it does supply, we all gain from it.
Prophets who see the vision of God by their gift (will someone else please give us a help gift where we need it?) will suffer for that vision. For the gift to be real, we do need to feel the suffering (feelings of the infirmities) of others and ourselves sometimes to adequately find that vision. Does that make sense?
For it's God at work within us, causing us to will and to do of His good purpose.
Jesus is in all of us, including the prophetic Jesus. How we respond best is usually through our gifts that He has given. Since our works will be tried by fire, we want to do it His way.
Bruised and confused? Join the club! But it's only temporary, as Resurrection Life is on the way! Glory!
And we haven't seen anything yet for the glory that is yet to be revealed! Yea Jesus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!