Are you wishing God would rescue you?

Change your circumstances?

Remove the pain and grief from your life?

What about bringing about those prophetic words spoken over you sooner than later?

I know I have and on more than one occasion.

Waiting is hard, especially when the length of time doesn't line up with your expectations.

At the head level we know God uses every circumstance we have ever journeyed through life to remove the impurities and prepare us for something far greater than we could ever ask or imagine...

But honestly, that brings little to no comfort.

Waiting is tiring.

The longer the wait, the more tiring it gets.

Eventually it shifts into hope deferred if the wait goes beyond the expected timeline.

At the same time waiting is tiring, be glad God hasn't answered your prayers to make things easier. 

Have you ever thought about what would happen if He shortened the journey?

Isn't that what a loving Father would do, make it easier?

Actually NO.

God knows that if He shortened the process of adversity, it would handicap us, like a butterfly who comes out weak and deformed because it had help coming out of its confined place.

It is the fight for survival that strengthens us.

It is going after the more and not settling or becoming complacent that helps to perfect us.

We would not have the strength to handle what was ahead if God in His wisdom made it easier for us.

Our strength to endure would only be partially formed, setting us up to fail the bigger, harder situations that lie up ahead.

So, every frustration.

Detour.

Dead end road.

They are gifts and there to serve a greater purpose.

We don't have to understand it.

We don't have to like it.

We do not even have to handle it perfectly.

But it is critical in our confusion and overwhelming pain, that we still run to our Father God for...

Comfort.

Healing.

Understanding.

And strength.

God didn't ditch the disciples who fled and hid in fear.

God did not turn His back on Peter, the most vocal of the disciples, denying Jesus at His most vulnerable moment.

If God did not do that with them, then God is not going to ditch us either.

Your pain, confusion, level of sorrow and exhaustion is real, but God is BIG enough to handle all and to somehow use it for HIS honor and HIS glory.

Your destiny depends on it.

Know that to stay in the game and not let the devil win, you will absolutely have to make it about GOD and not about yourself.

It's ok to get real and honest with God.

Don't let the devil use your pain and confusion over why God did or did not do something shut you down and build a wedge between you and the Almighty one.

Stay in the game and refuse to judge God as...

Unloving.

Uncaring.

Indifferent.

Or whatever.

To complete your God given purpose here on earth, you will have to get real with your undealt with pain and frustration and take it to God.

Book in and let's get you help if that is you.

Case in point. David and Ziklag, I Samuel chapter 30. He and his mighty warriors lost homes, family, and livelihood all in a single moment.

The men focused on their pain and wanted to kill David.

David focused on his God who then helped David and his men to recover all.

Did it take endurance beyond what they had? YES.

But because they didn't give up, even against impossible odds, they got it all back plus more.

At the other end of the spectrum the bible is full of individuals who never completed their assignments, Moses and Elijah being two of them.

Moses misrepresented God in his anger and because of that, forfeited being able to go into the promised land.

Same for you and me.

So, book in if you don't want your anger to shortchange your destiny.

Elijah had a different issue.

After a major victory he went into a deep state of exhaustion followed by a major pity party.

God cared for his basic needs but then called on two others to complete the assignment that should have been his to finish.

My question to you is: who will you focus on?

It is ok to hate your circumstances but don't let your circumstances cause you to hate God.

Purpose in your heart, even if in your moment of agony or hopelessness, to see God as...

Good.

And.

Trustworthy.

God will use anything you have ever gone through, for HIS honor and HIS glory.

When God doesn't answer your prayers, it does not mean He loves you any less.

In fact, the opposite is true.

He is actually preparing you for a promotion.

Just like Joseph. He never in his wildest imagination ever dreamed he would end up in an Egyptian palace, second in command, helping to save nations from starvation.

As a young teenager he could only see his dreams contained within the tents of his father Jacob. 

The same for you and I.

Our vision is way too small.

But not God's.

Reject the lie that God is turning a deaf ear to your cries or prayers for deliverance.

Just know that there is a way bigger picture and if you refuse to be derailed, God in His mercy, will let you be forged by the fire of adversity, with the intent of having you fulfill your destiny.

You don't have to like it but make a choice to see it as the gift it truly is, even if you do not understand it in the time of your pain and sorrow.

To hear about how God used Nelli O'Hara's difficult journey to prepare her for having a global prophetic voice, be sure to sign up for the FREE Zoom call August 18, 6:30 pm EST, when registration opens next week.