Many years ago, I was at one of our healing meetings in Pakistan when a Pakistani woman came up to me. She had been healed at one of the meetings and for the first time, she experienced the love of God, the light of God and the goodness of God. Her husband, who had died a year earlier, never experienced those things. He died in the darkness of hatred, an enemy of so many and for so long. As the joy of her new life subsided, a seriousness came over her.

“How long have you known about this Jesus?” she asked.

I hesitated for a moment, then said, “Well, I’m from Norway, and we’ve known about Him for some 1,000 years.”

“And you?”

“Me, I’ve known Him most of my life, since I was eight.”

She paused, then asked a question I’ll never forget. “Why didn’t you come sooner? If you had just come a year sooner, my husband might have come to know this Jesus, might have been healed by Him, and I would not be a widow.” As she spoke, I realized that what she said could be the epitaph on the tombstones of millions of Muslims and unreached people around the world.

“Why didn’t you come sooner?” The question chiseled itself into my memory. I’ll never forget that moment, and I will never forget her.

People often ask me what compels me to go to the darkest places, to the people who have never heard about Jesus. Jesus told His disciples to go to the far reaches of the world, sharing the love of God with everyone. It didn’t matter whether they were Muslim or Jew, man or woman, slave or free. When we don’t show up and let the light of God shine through us, darkness rules. When we don’t show up and let the love of God show through us, hatred rules. When we don’t show up and let the goodness of God spill from us, evil rules.

This story of the Pakistani woman and the millions like her are the reason I choose to love my neighbor and the reason I am willing to go to the darkest of places to reach those who need to know a love that looks like Jesus. This is what compels me and stirs me every morning when I wake up.

 

To partner with our kingdom family as we reach the unreached click here. Visit www.globalmissionawareness.com for more information on our involvement in the nations!

I cried to God in my distress and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears! Gaze upon him, join your life with his, and joy will come.  Your faces will glisten with glory.  You’ll never wear that shame-face again. – Psalm 34:4-5 TPT

What do you do when life transition strikes again and you have major decisions to face?

Sure, you’ve been in a familiar place but the crossroads may look different and there are no street signs in sight. Even though each road looks the same now, they will have starkly different destinations once you pass the horizon. How do you receive lenses of clarity so you can have the confidence to pick a direction and have the courage you need to meet whatever lies beyond your vision?

MEMORY STONES

First, you’ll want to look at where you have come from. Look at the memory stones you’ve created with the Father and bask in His presence. Perhaps there were ‘Goliaths’ you had to face. When you look back you may see His goodness and faithfulness; that He was carrying you, even when you didn’t choose Him. Even when the victory didn’t come overnight. These times are what have produced character in you. Looking back will fill you with gratitude!

Papa God has taken the circumstances that would have defined us in a negative way and caused them to be points of victory; places from which we see our destiny and what He has laid before us. Now clarity is coming!

PRESENT HELP

As we travel on this journey through the valley of decision we can become very aware of the fact that we do not have the whole picture – that we don’t know what we don’t know and we do have blind spots. 

The good thing is that we can always ask for help from the community of believers the Lord has placed in our lives for this season who are there to cheer us on, encourage us and to help us to see the blind spots. Sometimes the blind spots can be areas from the past that we need not carry into the future on this new road the Father is so graciously calling us to. 

Here are some powerful questions we can use to check our hearts and minds:

• Have I allowed the Holy Spirit to burn up all the failures from my past? All the bad things that happened to me?
• What am I focusing on right now? My present focus needs to realign with God’s view of myself and the world around me. See what he sees, feel what he feels, and say what he says.
• Is there any fear about my future? Fear is a major factor that removes clarity. Ask God to take it from you, and see what He has to give you in return.

Taking inventory of our hearts with the Father will help us to have the permission, direction and courage to go where we need to go and remove any possible distractions!

FUTURE GLORY

From the place of identity, in confidence we can lean into the reality that Father God trusts us to co-labor with Him as His friend and confidant (John 15:15). We can move forward understanding that the Father is wanting to do this with us! 

God has so graciously given us Himself as a faithful companion and leads us by the voice of the Holy Spirit. We have the comforter, counselor and navigator with us at all times–the Spirit of adoption keeping us secure in our sonship throughout this journey of life. 

Knowing that the Father is with us, supporting us, giving understanding releases a grace to do the impossible and to move into uncharted territory. The pressure is off and we can rest knowing that He has us.

Like the sons of Isaachar, we have access to the Father’s vision beyond our seeing and knowing. In the place of sonship, we can receive wisdom to know ‘what time it is’ in our life and what we should be aware of on this path. Coming to alignment with the Father is the place where we rule and reign from in the season of transition. We come in to see what He sees in every area of our lives. We hear His voice and sense His pleasure. 

This is the place of clarity.

Where are you finding His sight today? What courageous things do you sense God leading you to do?

Whatever it is, remember that He is for you!

No one is exempt from crisis. In every stage of our life, we face some kind of crisis. Do I eat the one marshmallow now or wait so I can have two instead? The yellow shirt or the red one? A course in natural science or economics? Operation or chemotherapy. Oftentimes what we learn and who we become have been dramatically shaped and influenced by the crisis we go through. How we respond to them is crucial in navigating and thriving in life.

The COVID-19 pandemic had become more than just a global health issue. It brought about a very extensive dilemma that’s disrupted and shaken institutions, economies, and governments to the core. Most individuals now have faced prolonged isolation and disconnection due to quarantine rules and travel bans. The uncertainty brought by this crisis marked an increase in suicide rate as more people are prone to suffer mental health issues as anxiety and fear permeate their everyday existence.

Right now nations are facing crises. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused the world to watch in tension. Mozambique and the surrounding areas have experienced insurgence. Cuba has seen people that are suffering without supplies. Countless people in Haiti are facing oppression. The United States have seemed like a divided nation where people’s polarizations have caused deep unrest. 

Where threat, fear and tragedy become the norm of life, hopelessness thrives.

Our sense of harmony and peace is always connected to our ability to be in control. We always feel safe inside our own bubble.  When we lose control over our situation and the solution is nowhere to be found, we feel helpless. When we feel helpless, hopelessness follows.

Hopelessness kills. It dulls our creativity, dampens our passion, stifles our faith and sabotages our freedom.

Ultimately, we feel imprisoned and become a victim of our circumstance. It’s a hard place to be in unless our heart attitude and perspective change. Hopelessness, like a dark cloud, engulfs us and causes our perspective to skew towards what could go wrong, instead of to hope – to have a positive expectation that something will turn out right. 

Hope is more than a wish.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

Proverbs 13:12

Commonly, our understanding of hope is synonymous to a wish. It is to wish for, to expect a fulfillment of a desire. Its strength is in the person’s intensity of desiring. However, biblical hope is different. It is the confident expectation of what God has promised therefore its strength is in His faithfulness.

Hope makes us alive. While hopelessness kills our reason for living, hope empowers us to live it out. Our faith soars where our hope flourishes. So, whatever happens, we have to cultivate hope. The starting point is: hope in the LORD!

Why are you in despair, O my soul?

And why are you disturbed within me?

Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him,

The help of my countenance and my God.

Psalm 43:5

Nowadays, people tend to desire, desire, desire, get, get, get. Social media, sadly, has become the platform for this unending ‘wishing’ frenzy as insecurity, jealousy and pride escalate.  FOMO, the fear-of-missing-out pushes people to the place of utter discouragement and disillusionment. When our hope is anchored in what we desire, what we are planning to do, what we wish to happen, we are bound to experience sickness of the heart. It is the kind of hope with an empty assurance, an expectation void of faith.

True hope on the other hand is one that’s anchored on God – in His nature. Our God is faithful and true to His promises. We hope not in the things that we see or what we are able to control but on things that are eternal, on God Himself.

From a sick heart to tree of life

“Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

Psalm 37:4

From this verse we understand that having our desires fulfilled is a matter of delighting in God first – making Him our greatest desire and devotion. And our desires that are rooted in God, once fulfilled, become a life-giving tree (Proverbs 13:12) for others. Our stories, testimonies and history with God are the fruits of the tree from which others can feed on and find their healing from their struggles of helplessness and hopelessness. Once I heard from a person I respect, “The person with the greatest hope is the person with the most influence.” At the end of the day, we influence others to the measure of our hope.

Christ is our Hope

Finally, hope is not just a mere optimistic expectation. Hope is a person- Jesus Christ.  Paul exhorts us that there is a mystery hidden for ages but now is revealed: Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). With this truth we are assured that our present-future is glorious despite the challenges and uncertainties ahead. Our hope is anchored in the Eternal Christ.  With this reality, we can be instruments of glory in the midst of this darkness and our God-stories become life-giving fruits for others who are hungry and desperate to taste and see God’s goodness. Our lives filled with hope can become a beacon pointing others to the Eternal Hope, Jesus.

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

(2 Chronicles 20: 1-30)

Now it came about after this that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with some of the Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat. (verse1)

Destruction was staring at King Jehoshaphat when he received the news. A great multitude was coming to make war with the tribe of Judah. Just a few months back, he was in a similar battle where he narrowly escaped with his life. Now this.  An impossibly inescapable situation. The odds were stacked against the people of God. The battle was about to break and the hearts of the people were in fear.  This is one of those moments when God reveals His strength and power in and through His people.  Defeat was sure, but certainly not with God.

King Jehoshaphat was afraid. But he refused to give in to fear. He’s been in similar situations before. He knew exactly what to do – he turned his face towards God. He called for a fast all throughout Judah. You don’t go hungry before a battle, do you? This is utter foolishness in the eyes of the enemy. But this is exactly where and how hope arises in the hearts of the humble totally dependent on God.

Hope is knowing that God gives power to the powerless.

There are times in life we feel like we are aimlessly drifting through a dark long tunnel without end. Sometimes we find ourselves pressed and pushed to a corner with no way out.  Crushed in all sides, we feel trapped and drained. If we allow it, fear will finally take us to the pit of helplessness and resignation.

Fear becomes real when we make it the ultimate reality. The people of God, however, have a far greater truth that confronts and silences fear. It may appear foolish to bend our knees and cry out to the heavens when we can already hear the bombs exploding and gunfire at a distance. Going to war with fasting is a sure recipe for defeat even before the battle starts. Yet, Jehoshaphat turned his heart to seek the Lord and God answered. When we choose to turn toward Him, knowing that we are helpless, we are posturing ourselves to experience His power invading our hearts and circumstances.

The king stood in the assembly, full of faith, as he boldly recounted God’s history and covenant with His people. He remembered the battle where he could have gotten killed and how God delivered him. A horde pursued to kill him mistaking him for the king of Israel. But he cried to God and the Lord saved him. He knew his God. He had experienced His faithfulness through tough times. Knowing your God always position you to a place of hope. Remembering what He has done, your testimonies, others’ testimonies, will inspire you to desire more and believe for more.

Hope is remembering Who God is and our history with Him.

Hope allows us to see our situation from His perspective and through His faithfulness. Jehoshaphat anchored his hope in God and His covenant with His people that He had consistently displayed through His mighty deeds. Those who steward the testimonies of God and keep them close to their hearts, possess a deeper sense of hope and confidence. Even in the face of danger, nothing can change and challenge the faithfulness of God. This is the assurance and the bedrock of our victory.

Hope is standing our ground and fixing our eyes on God alone.

O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” (verse12)

King Jehoshaphat shows us that in everything, perspective matters.  We don’t always know what to do but we can always keep our eyes fixed on God.  There are times when we have to wait for His instructions. There are times we have to take action because He has already spoken the Word.  At all times, we need to hear Him and see His face despite our external circumstances. King David said it this way, “One thing, I have asked of the Lord, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple” (Psalm 27:4). The moment we see His face and hear His voice, our circumstances pale in the revelation of His greatness and glory. In life, what overwhelms us will shape us.  To cultivate hope, we have to turn our gaze to Him and be overwhelmed by His goodness.

Hope arise as we hear His Voice.

“Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s. (verse15)

The Word of God releases faith and supernatural courage. War is at hand. There’s no other option but to face it. But first things first – seek the face of God. Through a prophet, God declared that the battle is His’ not theirs. Yet He wants them to witness it and be part of the unfolding of His faithfulness and power. “You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out and face them, for the Lord is with you” (verse 17). This is hope, knowing that God was with them. Even when they are surrounded by the enemy or thrown in the fiercest battle, His presence surrounds them and the victory is guaranteed.

When the prophet finished speaking, the king and all of the people bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord.  The sons of Levites led all to sing praises to God with a loud voice.  Worship is both an act of surrender and celebration. Bowing down our hearts before the Almighty is a sign of humility and trust in who He is and acknowledging that He is all in all in our lives. Hope knows that once He has spoken, it is done!

Hope arise in the place of worship.

We can only arise in hope when we learn to bend our knees. Before His majesty and glory, we see our circumstances bow down to His will. Our battles are won first in the secret place where we surrender everything to the Victorious One.

They went to war with the ‘praisers’ and worshippers at the forefront singing “Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.”  Our greatest weapon of hope in the midst of impossible situation is knowing and declaring that He is good and His love endures forever. Fear has no place in the heart that is full of love and praises to Him Who is good and faithful.

Remember the wall of Jericho? A massive wall where 4 chariots can race on top, crumbled in a moment, not with a 21^st century nuclear bomb, but with a shout from the people of God. The power of God was released in an act of obedience. They declared that God has given them the city, and so it was done.  Something supernatural happens when our prayers and our declarations are in alignment with the heart of God and His nature.

As the dust settled, there was not one single arrow shot nor swords unsheathed. It was God’s battle, indeed. The people of Judah arrived in the wilderness to see the enemies totally wiped out. The only job left was to collect the spoils of war.  To describe the spoils as too much is an understatement; it took them three days to collect anything of use or precious. Oftentimes, our abundance is made available when we choose to stand up and confront our circumstances armed with the goodness of God.

Hope arise when we turn our eyes on Him.

Hope arise when we bend our knees.

Hope arise when we praise His name.

Hope arise when we see God’s lovingkindness.

Let your hope arise.

Recently, I had the honor of visiting the beautiful country of Rwanda for the first time in my life. This country has a unique history that I was able to experience being there physically. As you may know, Rwanda experienced a genocide in 1994 against the Tutsi people. More powerful than the genocide was the power of forgiveness that bulldozed the way for peace and unity like I have never seen before. When I think of Rwanda, I think of a country that is a prototype for a type of unity that is divine in nature. 

One of the most memorable things for me was having the honor of visiting a mass grave to leave flowers and pay respect to the lives lost. It was a very sobering experience that left me speechless. So many like you and I had their lives taken prematurely and unjustly and their families destroyed. A spirit of division and death had turned loose in this place so much so that neighbors had turned against neighbors and priests against parishioners. 

This country has experienced tremendous loss and yet it is such a peaceful place. I’ve been to different parts of Africa and one of the most striking things about Rwanda, specifically in Kigali, is how clean it is. I asked our driver about this, and she said something so remarkable, “When we got peace, our hearts became clean. So, we started to clean.” They have cultivated a culture that cleans and cares for their cities as a result of the peacemaking that has taken place. It flowed from the inside out.

How did peace invade a country? How were the eyes of enemies healed? How did they receive heaven’s eyes?

I propose that we are witnesses to the testimony that forgiveness can heal an entire nation by shifting the perspective of the hearts of its citizens. Forgiveness will clear your eyes and lift the heaviness of your soul. This is the inheritance of every nation on earth. 

I had the privilege of meeting Father Ubald of Cyangugu at a conference in 2020 in the USA.  Fr. Ubald was a modern-day hero that paved a way for peace by walking in the ways of Jesus in Rwanda. At the conference, he asked several of the speakers to come to His country to impart God’s love to his people. Sadly, he passed away last year but I wanted to keep my word to this precious brother in Christ and decided to travel to Rwanda with a small group of people. I didn’t know that honoring his request would impact my life so significantly.  

Fr. Ubald was a Catholic Priest for 36 ½ years in the Cyangugu Diocese of Southeastern Rwanda. He was truly a man of honor. During the 1994 genocide, he lost 80 family members and over 45,000 parishioners. He fled the country and ended up in Belgium for 3 months where he mourned for his country crying every day. When he fled, he made a promise to his Bishop to return to bring healing to his people. 

Jesus spoke to Fr. Ubald releasing him from his grieving with the words “Ubald, take up your cross.” The fruit of his obedience resulted in many physical healings wherever he went. He preached forgiveness and reconciliation to his beloved people. He was called on by the government of Rwanda to influence the rebuilding process on a national level. Fr. Ubald even made arrangements to take care of the children of the man that murdered his mother. He did not just preach the message of reconciliation; he lived it and his actions had a ripple effect throughout the nation.   

The people of Rwanda are no longer the Hutus and the Tutsis; a divided people. They view themselves as one, united people. They teach us what can happen when we set aside our differences and forgive those who have offended us even to the point of trauma – on the deepest level. 

This trip will forever leave a mark on my heart. It reinforced in me a desire to learn from history and to challenge people to do the same. A polarized people can lead to destruction, but a forgiving people can lead to healing and restoration. May we learn the effects of love and forgiveness and honor the lives of those lost by choosing the way of love today. May the Body of Christ walk as ambassadors of love and peace to the nations.

Your life has the ability to impact generations. This will be your legacy. What you do in Christ will last into eternity! The Father is calling us to look beyond our now, into the future and to see what He sees. To want what He wants. To dream with Him. 

To be a follower of Christ requires us to be about our Father’s business. The desire of the Father is that the glory of the Lord will fill the nations unto many sons and daughters returning home. He wants His children back!

The legacy that we build as children of our beloved Father is not our own kingdom but the Kingdom of God. We are all called to father the next generation to see the presence of God cover the earth; for His presence to touch cities, neighborhoods and nations. The nations of the Earth are the inheritance of the Lamb. 

You may be familiar with the story of David. King David had a dream in His heart to build a house for God! His passion was for the presence of God to have a dwelling place. 

However, he was not able to build the house. Solomon, his son, became the wisest king of his day. It was Solomon who was charged with building the house of God. David dreamed and Solomon saw the vision. David’s desire was to dwell in Zion but it couldn’t happen without the unity of generations. 

David did not receive this dream without any specific cause or reason! David was entrusted with this dream because he was faithful. If you trace his story from Bethlehem through the marking seasons of David’s life, you will see that his faithfulness started as a shepherd boy, looking after his father’s sheep. He was a good shepherd protecting his flock from the lion and the bear. He cared for them. This is the place he practiced the presence of God, learning to minister to the Lord with the harp. His life became a landing pad for prophetic psalms that we still sing today. 

If you read the book of Proverbs you will note that Solomon constantly mentions his father’s instructions. This tells us that David shared and imparted his history with God. This takes intentionality. This takes remembrance.

King David was shaped by God in different seasons that made him who he was. His family line carried the Messiah and now we get to have the presence of God, not only in a building, but within us. We are now the temples of God. 

Like David, we’ll have our giants to slay, our Sauls to outrun and our mighty men to mentor. What you do in those seasons matter to God. 

Let’s be a people who passionately pursue the presence of God and learn to walk in the ways of Jesus so that generations can experience His goodness. Let’s be a people living for eternity. 

 

Join us, in the Blueprint for Kingdom Identity and the Blueprint for Kingdom Destiny to journey into who you are and how you are meant to carry the legacy of God. 

I love the story at the end of Luke about two followers of Jesus who were traveling the afternoon after His resurrection. He walked up beside them and asked them what they were talking about. 

They were somehow prevented from recognizing Him, and they told Him the story of the last few days–how this prophet named Jesus was mighty in words and deeds but was handed over to the authorities and crucified. They told Him about the past and future, but they didn’t understand the past, and they didn’t know what the future held. Only when He revealed Himself to them later did He begin to explain what these events meant. 

That is a wonderful picture of how Jesus comes to us in the midst of crisis situations. We try to understand what happened and talk about how things are going, but we need to walk with Jesus to know where we are headed and why we are headed there. 

You probably are not looking for a journey in the midst of your crises. If you are like most people, you want a quick fix. When you’re hurting, you want to be healed right away. When you’re facing huge mountains, you command them to move and hope they obey pretty soon. Meanwhile, Jesus comes alongside to walk with you and lead you. He does not always want to fix things immediately. Sometimes He just wants the journey. 

God is raising up an army of lovers, and He will not be choosing those who feel qualified or have it all together.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” He said. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Do you think you’re harassed, weighed down, overburdened, at the end of your rope? Great! That is the perfect place to begin. This is just the right place to receive God’s love. Love never tells us we have to get cleaned up in order to come. We simply need to receive and start walking where He takes us. I love how Jesus puts it in this invitation. He does not bully people into learning how to love. 

His commandment is not a military order. He is not demanding subservience. He is calling His friends to take His yoke, and then He assures them that His yoke is easy and the burden is light. We get to walk along with Jesus in His strength. Does this mean there are no valleys or hardships along the way? Of course not. Jesus assured us that we would have troubles in this world. He also assured us that He had overcome that world. (John 16:33) 

Perfect Love in the flesh invited us into His fellowship, and his overcoming is our overcoming. His journey becomes our journey. His ministry becomes our ministry. His love becomes our love. 

—————–

I’d like to invite you to join me on a 12-week journey as we discover the Blueprint to Kingdom Identity beginning on September 5, 2022. We are preparing for a powerful time discovering who we are and whose we are.

To learn more about the masterclass and to register, click here!

A genuine Christian life is an impossible prospect without prayer. It is like getting married without ever connecting with your partner. Intimacy is only established through deep union and communication between individuals. It is the same way in our relationship with God, there’s no other way to know Him deeply apart from being with Him.

In the Bible and throughout history, we see countless men and women come into deep intimacy and the knowledge of God in their face-to-face encounters with Him. From that place they came out empowered and transformed. They became the very agents of change to the world around them!

Jesus taught us how to pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” God wants us to partner with Him in accomplishing His Will on this earth. Prayer is the starting point. However, it’s important to know that there is much more to prayer than petition and asking for our needs to be met. At the core, prayer with Him and coming out from that place bringing and releasing His supernatural world to the world around us.

Soaking prayer is not a new discovery as much as it is a recovery of a spiritual path to a lifestyle of intimacy with God paved by countless heroes of faith. This type of prayer is known in the past as waiting upon the Lord, being still, tarrying in His presence, meditative and contemplative prayer. There’s more to soaking prayer than just being silent before God. As we soak deeper, we experience the depths of His glory–His love, His goodness, and His power. This brings us to a deep knowledge and intimacy with God. In that place, we are transformed into His likeness, and transformed lives have the power to transform other lives.

Intimacy is a key to greater spiritual authority and power. We need to grow in intimacy to be able to demonstrate God’s Will on earth “as it is in heaven” effectively. We need to do this as individuals, create a culture that will host His presence corporately.

Soaking in God’s presence is a key part of our courses Blueprint for Kingdom Identity and Blueprint for Kingdom Destiny. It is in His presence that we know Him and He reveals the paths which we should take. 

In this season, let us focus on soaking in His presence. Find a restful place, turn off your phone, spend time in nature or maybe connect with some music that helps you silence the noise!

 

Written by: Paul Yadao 

https://paulyadao.com/