Recently I have had quite a few days where things were happening in my life that honestly, just made me question a lot of things.   It just seemed like every where I turned there was another attack of the enemy......on me or my immediate family.

I know we have all been there....

Yes I recognized right away that the faith steeling, lie telling devil was out to spread the doubt....trying to make me believe that God had just forsaken me,  left me in a whirlwind of trials and His presence and peace was nowhere to be found.

I am pretty sure as I sit here writing this message that I am not alone....many of you are or have been tossed about in the same whirlwind of questions, left asking God where are you?

As I began to pray The Lord reminded me of a message He had given me not too long ago and that is what I want to share with you today.

Luke 2



²¹ And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

²² And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;

²³ (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)

²⁴ And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

²⁵ And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

²⁶ And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

²⁷ And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

²⁸ Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

²⁹ Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:

³⁰ For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

³¹ Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

³² A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

This is the story of Simeon, now God had given Simeon a promise that He would see the messiah before He died....now I don't know at what age he was when that word was spoken to him but he was 80 years old when his promise came to pass.

Now 3 things I want you to notice; the scripture says that the Holy Ghost was upon him, and that it was revealed to him by the Holy Ghost that he would not see death until he had seen the Christ.   Then it also states that at the appointed time, The Holy Spirit led him to the temple at the same exact day and time in which Joseph and Mary had come to present him.

Now for him to receive his promise there were three things to be noted;

1.   The Holy Ghost was upon him, note that this was BC,and in those days the bible says the Holy Ghost fell upon them, but after the ressurection of Christ, Jesus revealed that the Holy Ghost will be in us, our body becomes the tabernacle exemplified by the great tabernacle designed by God in the Old Testament.

So it stands to reason that if you truly want all God has, you must be filled with the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Ghost has been given for the edification of the church, the body of Christ.

2.The Holy Ghost revealed to Him the promise.

3. At the appointed time the Holy Ghost led him to his promise.

Now here is a thought I'd like to share with you; Take a look at every great man of God in the Bible..... Abraham, Noah, Israel, Joseph, Moses, Joshua and David just to name a few, they all accomplished great things for God, but there's a few things worth noting:

1.  Their promises were never about them, all of God's promises and purpose for our lives will always be about advancing His kingdom and fullfilling His purpose.

2. Most of them became very blessed men, but the blessings only came after their sacrifice of faith and obedience to God.  How long did Abraham have to trust and have faith in God before his promise actually came?   Sarah was in her 90's when Isaac was born. 

How long did Noah work on building the ark?

For over 100 years he was mocked and made fun of, but not only that but to build an ark of that size. it took a lot of money, which tells me that Noah sacrificed all of his wealth and invested it in the work that God had called him to do.

He had to 100% trust God that it would rain upon the earth and the earth would be flooded, when never before had it ever rained upon the earth.

That took a magnitude of faith, but God who is faithful, brought His word to pass at the appointed time and because Noah was obedient he and his household were saved.

Joseph had a dream, He was mocked, and totally abandoned by his own brothers who sold him into slavery, for years Joseph suffered many setbacks that at times I'm sure made him doubt what God had shown him.... but after a time of his faith being tested down to the core...and at the appointed time that God needed designed...his dream came to pass exactly like God had shown him.

Joseph was blessed in the kings house, with wealth and esteemed high in the land, but that never came until his faith stood strong in His God and it only came in God's exact timetable that He needed to save His people, all because God made a promise to Abraham, and now look at God's faithfullness to His word.

God's promises are yes and amen...He is not slack concerning His promises, nor are His hands shortened that He cannot move for you today... Our God is a Waymaker, a Miracle Worker, He is a great God who will never fail...

Now let me ask you today?

Do you have a purpose? A dream? A calling?  Are you struggling in life and looking around and wondering God where are you?

Now let me ask you one more question?  Is your purpose in life, your dream, your calling, will it advance the kingdom and purpose of God to this world?  Does is lift up and edify Him or does is lift up and edify you?    Now I'm not saying that blessings don't come,  for the bible promises blessings to all who walk in obedience to God's word,  but when we are asking God to bring us to our purpose, to our dream and to our calling... you can count on one thing for sure...it will not be to edify you...No!!!

It will be to edify God and to further His kingdom...If you are in it just for you or self edification or just the blessing, then my friend you will be waiting a long time.   Sure our gifts and talents can take us a long way in this world, but it will not bring us to total fulfillment of God's calling and purpose in our life.

Because when God's purpose and calling is fulfilled in us, it will bring forth fruit and harvest in His kingdom.

It's ok if our life is not all sugary and perfect, yes we all struggle with our own failures and imperfections, we all face mountains we cannot climb, and some days we feel like a forsaken people, tossed to and fro in this thing called life that sometimes gets the best of us... But when we come to the place of total submission to God's calling and purpose in our life, it does not matter what the situation is around us, but just like God through eons of time has fulfilled promise after promise,  in every generation since the beginning of time, He has never lost a battle, He has never failed His children and He never will.

But here is the key,  It has taken me a long time to learn this and oh how I wish I had the ability to instill this knowledge in my children and my grand children and in you today...

Our vision, our dream, our purpose, has to be 100% totally aligned with God's and this is where so many times we miss the mark.  This is where the enemy easily gets us off track.  Because we don't fully understand that God's purpose, God's blessings, only come after our total submission, and it takes a lot of self sacrifice.

We all want the blessing, we all want to be in the palace, but we turn and run at the first sign of self sacrifice and enduring hardship and we all look up and wonder, God why have you forsaken me, when God is looking down on us and saying I haven't forsaken you my child... I am taking you to your promise!!!

Don't loose heart in the word that God has given you, Don't give up on that dream or vision that has been birthed within you.

Don't listen to the lie telling, promise steeling, doubt revealing devil when he tells you that you will never do anything for God...

Don't look at the grave situation your in and wonder has God forsaken you...

I can assure you HE HAS NOT!!!

But we all must develope ENDURING FAITH,  a faith that is willing to endure the times of testing and hardship and in the midst of the turbulant storms, we still know God is still working on our behalf...

Don't give up!!! Stand firm on God's word!!!

For Our God The Waymaker and promise Keeper is right now working for you, even when you don't see it He's working!!!

Even when you don't feel it He's working!!!

He never stops!!! He never stops working!!!

He never Stops!!! He never stops working!!!

And our God will be FAITHFUL to you!!!

Maybe your reading this today and you feel like you just don't have it all figured out yet or maybe you have not found God's purpose for you, let me encourage you by saying that all it takes is a willing and a hungry heart submitted to the Lord.

Reach out to Him today, Open up your heart and let Him in.