Do not fear

I have been reminded over the past few days of two things that were revealed to me by the Holy Spirit in my past.  One was realizing  what a very safe place it is to be in the Lord, and the other thing was how total belief in what the Lord is saying to me in a particular situation will bring His word into being.  

When I first came to know the Lord, I felt as if I was in the eye of a hurricane, a totally safe place, that is the only way I can describe it.   However, when I returned to Wales shortly after being born again in Australia and living for a short time in England, I started to come across all the friends that I had known in the Welsh town I had left to go to Australia.   I told them that I had become a Christian, and felt that I wanted to witness to them but did not know how.  The Lord comforted me over this issue through a prayer that I put into poem form.  I called it The eye of the hurricane. 




The eye of the hurricane

I stand in the eye of the hurricane in a place of silent calm
a storm goes on around me yet I come to no harm
All around there's turmoil brought about by Adam's sin
a warning to me not to leave the place I'm standing in

Sometimes I feel uncertain - unsure of what to do
inside the raging hurricane are people I once knew
I want to run and save them - to bring them to this place
to tell them of salvation brought about by God's grace

But my love cannot save them - my coat won't keep them warm
my strength will not protect them from the terror of the storm
Father show me what to do - teach me Lord to pray
for people trapped in worldliness in this the 'evil day'

Father let Your word take root inside my troubled heart
show me that this world and You are just a prayer apart
Teach me Lord to be a light - to tread the path You trod
then teach me Father to be still and know that You are God 

The Lord eventually answered that prayer and sent me out into the streets to evangelize with a friend, directing us through His word.  I believe that when we pray according to the will of God that He hears us and will answer that prayer in His way.


The second thing that I believe was revealed to me was not to fear in my trials and  I would  like to share how it was revealed to me in the hope that it will encourage others who may be going through similar trials.  I know that we all have different experiences but it is still good to encourage one another by sharing those experiences, and I know that I have been encouraged by other people's testimonies over the years.  

I remember some years ago I had just awoken.  I had been lying in my bed but although my eyes were closed I had a picture as if I was floating on the sea.  Now I had  opened my eyes and could hardly believe what I was seeing.   My bed quilt had become like the rippling waves and I was looking across a vast sea, this went on for some time before the sea began to fade and changed back into my bed quilt   After I had got up I went to check to see if there was any mail.  There was a  booklet arrived from the Kenneth Copeland ministries, I believe it was the 'Victory' magazine, and on the front page was a picture of the sea that appeared to be  exactly the same as my vision in my bedroom and a scripture referring to Peter walking on water.  





I felt through the vision of the water and the picture on the front of the magazine, that the Lord was emphasising to me that day that I must  keep my eyes fixed upon Him and not on my worldly troubles, that He will carry me through.  In Matthew ch.14  vs.22 -33 there is an account of the apostle Peter being able to walk on water because Jesus had spoken the word 'come' in order for him to do it, something that is not naturally possible.  However, verses 29 - 31 which say 'Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink cried out, 'Lord, save me!'  Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him.  'You of little faith, He said, why did you doubt?' show quite clearly that when Peter looked at the turmoil of the wind he began to sink, to which Jesus told him that the reason he was beginning to sink was 'little faith' caused by 'doubt'.  Peter had for a split second let the natural come in to rob him of the supernatural, allowing what he saw to overrule and nullify what Jesus had brought about, and fear had been the instigator.

Shortly after this experience I wrote a little song and called it 'Do not fear'

Do not fear

Do not fear the wind and the waves - I will carry you through
for mine is the hand that rescues and saves - I will carry you through 

and do not fear the hail and the rain I will carry you through

for mine is the peace that will ever remain I will carry you through

For I am the One who was sacrificed no more to die

if you call on Me I will hear your cry -  My love is forever

I'll not fear the wind and the waves for You will carry me through
for Yours is the hand that rescues and saves - You will carry me through
and I'll not fear the hail and the rain for You will carry me through
for Yours is the peace that will ever remain 
You will carry me through
For You are the One who was sacrificed no more to die
If I call on You, You will hear my cry - Your love is forever

Pure faith

Recently the Lord has been speaking to me concerning 'faith'.  For twenty two years His grace has been sufficient for me regarding a sickness that has been in my body for that period of time after I had asked Him to teach me about sickness and healing.  I had not been able to understand why I had been healed instantly when someone put oil on my head and prayed for me in the name of Jesus, and I had experienced many instances where I had seen people healed, and other times they weren't.  He had shown me that the time I was healed miraculously was through a 'prayer of faith' referred to in James ch5 v.15.

When I began to experience this sickness that I believe He was using to teach me (as I had asked) He gave me several scriptures which I felt I understood spiritually.  One was Isaiah ch.31 v.1   ' Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the LORD'.  Another scripture He gave me was from 2 chronicles ch.16 vs.12 and 13, ' And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great, yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.  And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.'   Paul told Timothy that  'All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,' and I believe that was what the Holy Spirit was doing here with me.

I believe absolutely that through these scriptures He was telling me to trust in Him and not worldly strength.  Then, after about two years, I started to worry again because things had stayed the same, and I had expected the Lord to heal me.  As I sought Him over my fears He continually gave me the same scriptures about trusting in Him and not going to Egypt (the world) for help.  In one week each time I prayed He showed me three times where Paul had sought Him over an issue and He had told Paul that His grace was sufficient for him.  I felt He was saying the same thing to me.

At the end of that week I had gone to the church I was attending, still with some fear within me.  Had the Lord really spoken to me telling me that His grace was sufficient for me, or was it me wanting to think that?  Halfway through the sermon the pastor of the church, his name was Joel, suddenly stopped speaking and said. ' I don't know who this is for but the Lord is saying to that person 'My grace is sufficient for you '.  I can not even begin to tell you what this did for me regarding increasing my faith.  Joel could not possibly have known what God was speaking to me, or why, for I had not shared it.  I later shared it with him and he came up to my house to ask more, and I told him the whole story.  After this I was constantly drawn to two verses in Psalm 119, and they became my regular prayer.  They were verses 49 and 50. 'Remember Thy word to Thy servant, in which Thou hast made me hope.  This is my comfort in my affliction, that Thy promise gives me life.'

Last Saturday we were expecting a tradesman to come and finish painting the outside of the house.  He rang at the last minute to say that his wife wanted him to spend the day with her and the children and that he would not be able to come that day, that he would come on the following Monday.  My husband was not too happy about it, but I felt that it would be nice to have the weekend free, and did not see what worrying over it would do anyway.  'Come on' I said, 'come into town with me', which he decided to do.  We had just come out of a shop where my husband had wanted to look for little wire brushes for cleaning stone. 'Would you like to go into Barnardo's charity shop'  he said, ' come on let's make a day of it.'.

I knew he was starting to cheer up, and we both enjoy looking in charity shops. 'Ok', I said.  As we walked into the shop my eyes fell on a blouse hanging up on a rail on the far side of the shop.  It was so colourful, gypsy in style and reminded me of peacock feathers in colour, a bird which I love.  I walked over to it, took it off the shelf and said to my husband 'I am going to try it on.'  Trust you, you and your gypsy style', he said.

I took it off the hanger, looked at the label and could not believe my eyes.  'Pure faith' was written in bold letters on the label.  I knew it was not coincidence that the painter had not turned up.  If he had then my husband would not have come into town with me.  If he had not been with me I would not have gone into the charity shop and seen the blouse, which fitted me perfectly and  I bought it.

The two verses which the Lord gave me from Psalm 119 vs 49 and 50 'Remember Thy word to Thy servant, in which Thou hast made me hope.  This is my comfort in my affliction that Thy promise gives me life.' began to be highlighted to me once more, and I prayed this once more because I believe that I have been shown recently that the Lord is going to heal me.   I opened to these verses shortly after I bought the blouse and spoke it to the Lord once more.   Then when I opened my Bible to read after praying this I opened to Psalm ch.40 where verse one says 'I waited patiently for the Lord, He inclined to me and heard my cry,'  I felt as if I was in communication with the Lord.  Another verse that was brought to my remembrance  was a verse that has spoken to me throughout this trial.  It is from Psalm 116, v 10 'I kept my faith, even when I said ' I am greatly afflicted'.

I was attending a coffee morning at the little church I attend the following Tuesday and we were in the main hall enjoying a chat and a cup of coffee.  I went out into the kitchen to pour another cup of coffee, and noticed a purse on the counter.  'Whose purse is this in here? I asked the ladies in the hall.  'It's alright' said one of the ladies 'It's mine', and she left it there.  When I went home I phoned my brother who had been down on holiday with his wife and little granddaughter, to thank him for a dvd he had sent us of his time spent in Wales.  He told me that on the way home to England they had called into a motorway services and my sister in law had gone into  the baby changing room to change the little one's nappy.  A lady had knocked into her, said she was sorry and when my sister in law came out she realized that her purse had been taken out of her bag, with all their bank cards, including a holiday bank card, and ninety pounds in money.  The day after I went into a post office and noticed a handbag and purse on the table.  I said 'Whose is this?' and a lady in the queue said 'It's alright, it is mine.'  I felt that the Lord was issuing a warning to me to beware that the enemy would not steal my true riches, the words of promise that I absolutely believe the Lord is speaking to me, by causing doubt and unbelief to enter into my mind.  'My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory' came into my mind.

If the enemy says to me 'Did God really say?', I say 'Yes, God did say'.

Wednesday 12th June

I have been singing this little song for two days now and I just want to share it as praise to our Lord:-

You are my God, You are my king
You are my Prince of Peace - You are my everything
You have the power and the authority
to bring down each stronghold and principality
and I worship, and I worship, and I worship You oh Lord

You are the chosen One of the great I Am
You are the Holy One - You are the risen Lamb
You are the Prince of Peace and the King of Kings
and I worship You - and I worship You