The ministry received a praise report today which had me and my prayer team rejoicing. A woman wrote this to me:
I listen to your podcast and read your blogs to keep me uplifted during what WAS the most difficult season of my life. I was literally unemployed for a year and a half. I used up all of my savings and was essentially homeless (staying with my son and then a cousin).
I cried in the airport as I was listening to yesterday's podcast. It was such an on time word as they have been this week, for sure. I was heading to another 4th round interview. I just thought I bombed it during my presentation. They told me that they'd have a decision in 3 to 4 week. I was mortified on the inside as I smiled and nodded. I had been on interview after interview and applied to over 1,000 jobs (literally).
I arrived home today only to receive a phone call from them 3 or 4 hours later offering me the job!!! *Praise Break*
I am so grateful to God! I truly appreciate you and your team for your prayers. These blogs and podcasts have been so encouraging especially when I was barely holding on. God is truly faithful. I am in awe of His beauty. I kept telling the Lord how beautiful He is. It is all so surreal that my delay is finally over. Praise the living God!!!
Thank you again for your prayers and encouragement!
After I gave God praise I paused to consider what she wrote: she applied to over 1,000 jobs. That means, she had to deal with more than 1,000 rejections before she got to her yes. But she didn’t give up. She kept on feeding her spirit with the word of God to gain strength for the journey.
The wait wasn’t easy. The process was long. But she made it. And now she has a testimony that God turned it around.
For someone reading this, you haven’t made it to the other side yet. You feel broken and discouraged. But God wanted you to see this praise report so you can draw strength and encouragement from it, and know without a doubt that you’re up next. There is a victory with your name on it; a healing with your name on it; a new position with your name on it; a new home with your name on it; a legal triumph with your name on it; a breakthrough with your name on it; a miracle with your name on it.
You may feel like you’ve been on a continual losing streak, full of disappointment, discouragement and devastation. But you’re about to enter another round which will be totally different. You will taste the sweetness of victory after the bitterness of defeat the way the Israelites did the second time they went up against Ai.
If you have consistently read Your Daily Cup of Inspiration for a significant period of time, you likely know the story already. To quickly recap, in Joshua 7, the Israelites were defeated in a small Canaanite city called Ai because a man named Achan disobeyed God. He stole items that were supposed to be set aside as holy unto the Lord. So Achan defied God and all of Israel paid for his sin.
Under the law, there was a penalty for sin. In Achan’s case, it was the death of him and his family. Thank God we are no longer under the law, but under grace, amen?
Jesus took our place on the cross and paid for the sins we committed. Now we have new life because of His shed blood. Aren’t you glad about it?
Well, after God cleansed the camp and took Achan and his family out of the picture, the path was cleared for victory. In Joshua 8, the Israelite army, under the leadership of Joshua, went back for round two. This time, they defeated the city of Ai, which, in Hebrew, means “ruin” or “heap of ruins.”
They set Ai on fire and left it in ruins, and at the same time, Israel gained victory in a place that threatened to ruin them. Friend, God is about to turn your place of ruin and rejection into a place of restoration. Just hang in there.
In order to see Him do that, you can’t stop fighting. Don’t quit because round one didn’t go as planned. Don’t stop believing because things haven’t been working out. Round two is coming. Your heart might be shattered in a million pieces. Your frustration levels may be at an all-time high. The depth of your discouragement may make it hard to cling to faith.
I know how that feels. I’ve been there, deep down in the depths of discouragement, too. But I still had a fight in my spirit. You must fight also.
God is saying, don’t be afraid to fight again, believe again, hope again and pursue your destiny again. Know that your best days are in front of you. Rebuke the devil and remind yourself that all is not lost. It is not over. Round two is your victory round.
At the moment, you might be reading this as you’re standing in the middle of your own personal Ai or heap of ruins. You still feel stuck in your round-one nightmare. But you’re about to recover all. You will have a praise report to share. Your storyline is changing. For a long time, your life has been filled with one letdown after another; one setback after another; one disappointing outcome after another.
After more than 1,000 losses, God is declaring to you today that your winning season is coming. God is going to restore to you what the enemy has stolen. Don’t be too afraid to believe God because of what has happened in the past. He’s up to something brand new!
If you dare to trust Him, you will see the manifestation of His promises. To remind you to keep your hope and confidence in the Lord, I’m stirring Psalm 31:19 NIV into your cup of inspiration, which says, “How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you.”
As you drink down the contents of your cup, get excited that, in the coming days, God is releasing an abundance of good things. So get your expectation up. Exercise your faith, which releases God’s power. Rebuke fear and let hope arise within you in again.
God will heal. He will mend. He will lift. He will provide. He open the door. He will make the way. He wills stabilize you. He will put the pieces of your broken life back together again.
Round two is coming. Decree and declare that I’m stepping into my new season.
While you’re rejoicing over the new season that’s on the way for you, join me in praying for the individuals who asked to be included on our “Thoughtful Thursdays” intercessory prayer list. As you intercede for them, God will work in your favor, too. There are also many other unlisted members of the Daily Cup faith community that are on our prayer list as well.
As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!
If you need prayer, don't hesitate to request it. I would be honored to stand in faith with You. I know that prayer works. CLICK HERE to learn how to submit your prayer request.
