BIBLE DREAMS AND NIGHT MIRACLES

BIBLE DREAMS AND NIGHT MIRACLES

Psalm 17:15 is one of my new favorites: “I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness.” The word “likeness” in this verse means “what He’s formed, what He’s fashioned for us.” God’s will is to bless us always, even when we are sleeping. The first place in the Bible where God fashioned something while a man was sleeping is found in the very first book of the Bible, where “the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man” (Gen. 2:21-22).

The man was alone. He needed a companion and of all the animals God had already created, none was quite right. So God put a deep sleep on the man and in that time, a part of that man was used by God to create the perfect companion. The Lord doesn’t need to take a rib from us, but He does need something from us. He needs what’s behind the rib, our hearts.

Then in Genesis 15 God makes a promise to Abram about his future and what He would do for him. God tells Abram that even though he was old, he would have a son with his wife Sarah. “And He [God] brought him forth outdoors and said, ‘Look now toward heaven and count the stars, if thou be able to number them.’ And He said unto him, ‘So shall thy seed be’” (Gen. 15:5). God promised him land as well.

Then Abram asked God how would he know it and God told Abram to make preparations for a covenant relationship between himself and God. So Abram got it all ready and “when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and lo, a horror [fear] of great darkness [misery] fell upon him” (v.12). God told Abram that his heirs would be suffering slavery for a while, but “afterward they shall come out with great substance” (v. 14). And God also showed Abram that he would die peacefully and “be buried at a good old age” (v. 15).

In this example, we see that Abram prepared himself to be connected with God in a covenant relationship. This was no small thing. Abram was saying to God that he was willing to accept what God would do. Even if bad things happened along the way, Abram trusted that the Lord would bring a great outcome in the end. As it turned out, one of Abram’s heirs was the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Genesis 40, Joseph is in prison and two of Pharaoh’s workers were thrown in prison as well. The two had dreams but they had no interpreter in prison, or so they thought, so they were sad. Then Joseph asked, “Isn’t Elohim [God as creator] the only one who can tell what they mean?” (v. 8). And it was because Joseph was able to interpret their dreams according to what God intended, that later he got out of prison, interpreted a dream of Pharaoh’s and became the second in command of all of Egypt.

Conclusion: Dreams matter and learning to interpret them according to Godly wisdom is a great Biblical tool we could stand to learn. I was not very interested in dreams until just lately when I heard a teaching on it. But now that I’ve been studying it in the Bible, I don’t want to be caught short on anything God has made available to us in His wonderful Word. So the learning continues.

In the Old Testament times, people were used to talking about dreams and visions, and interpretation seemed to be a common practice for believers as well as unbelievers. There are many examples, including those of Gideon, Samuel, Nathan, Zechariah, Hezekiah, Isaiah, Job and so many others.

But let’s go to the New Testament times. Peter had a life-changing vision, which affected him as well as those of us who were born, not of Jewish blood, but of Gentile nations. The thing about dreams and visions is that God gets us when we are not in a fully rational state of mind. He gets us when we are in a more open state and more receptive to new ideas. Even if we don’t understand them at first, they get in and then we have to deal with them.

This is what happens to us sometimes at night when the Lord puts someone in our dreams who we don’t like or someone from the past who we don’t want anything to do with. We ask ourselves, “Why is this awful person getting into my dreams?” Usually it’s because God wants us to pray for them. OHHHH NOOOOO! Yep, if they were awful to you, they were probably awful to others as well and who else is going to pray for them? God trusts that you will! Be happy if the Lord only requires you to pray for them. This is similar to what happened to Peter in Acts 10, only Peter didn’t just have to pray for them, he had to go see them. The result was earth-shaking!

“About noon, when Peter was going up to the roof to pray, he was hungry and wanted to eat. But while they were preparing the food for Peter to eat, he had a vision. He saw something coming down through the open sky. It looked like a big sheet being lowered to the ground by its four corners. In it were all kinds of animals, reptiles, and birds. Then a voice said to him, ‘Get up, Peter; kill anything here and eat it.’ But Peter said, ‘I can’t do that, Lord! I have never eaten anything that is not pure or fit to be used for food’” (vv. 9-14).

Remember, Peter was a Jew and he followed very strict dietary rules. 

“But the voice said to him again, ‘God has made these things pure. Don’t say they are unfit to eat’” (v. 15).

Peter was so bewildered, God had to show him the same vision three times and “then the whole thing was taken back up into heaven [and] Peter wondered what this vision meant” (vv.16-17).

“While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, ‘Listen, three men are looking for you. Get up and go downstairs. Go with these men without wondering if it’s all right, because I sent them’” (vv.19-20).

So Peter went with the men and they brought him to a Gentile’s house, Cornelius’ house. Then Peter began to understand the vision. As he stood before all Cornelius’ household, “he said unto them, ‘Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean’” (v. 28). And Peter taught them.

“Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, ‘Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth [respects] him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted of him” (vv. 34-35).

I also like the way the ERV puts it:

“Peter began to speak: ‘I really understand now that God does not consider some people to be better than others. He accepts anyone who worships him and does what is right. It is not important what nation they come from. God has spoken to the people of Israel. He sent them the Good News that peace has come through Jesus Christ, the Lord of all people’” (vv. 34-38).

It is because of Peter accepting the vision from God and acting on it, that today there are millions in the body of Christ who were of Gentile backgrounds.

If you are skeptical about dreams and visions, take a look in a concordance at the references. In the King James Version, “dream” is used 87 times and “vision” 96 times. Let the Lord show you through His Word.

Everything God does is for our benefit and speaking to us in a dream or vision, when the big “me” doesn’t get in the way, is just one of them.

Love, Carolyn

I got inspired along these lines by Katie Souza. I don’t follow all her teachings but when I listen, I let the Holy Spirit show me what’s good for me to look at. I’m sure you do the same thing with the Bible teachers you hear also.

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WHY DOES GOD USE DREAMS? -- HOW TO INTERPRET THE SYMBOLS

WHY DOES GOD USE DREAMS? -- HOW TO INTERPRET THE SYMBOLS

Job 33:14-18 tells us some amazing truths about why God speaks to us in dreams. In verse 14 He says: “For God may speak in one way, or in another, yet man does not perceive it.” That’s just so true. How many times has the Lord tried to tell us what direction to go or give us an answer to prayer and we just are too busy or too distracted to really listen? But God is very clever.

So He’ll visit us when we’re napping or sleeping, when our bodies are trying to slow down and rest, and we’re in a more subconscious state. The Lord communicates with us, like it says in verse 15-16: “In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, while slumbering on their beds. Then He open the ears of men, and seals their instruction.”

Why? “In order to turn man from his deed and conceal pride from man. He keeps back his soul from the pit and his life from perishing by the sword” (vv. 17-18). Everything the Lord does for us is to give us a wonderful life. So what this section of scripture is telling us is that He will try to get to us in any way He can, and since He already knows we sometimes don’t listen so well when we’re awake, He communicates with us while our body and soul take a rest.

In studying what the Bible says about dreams and visions, I’ve seen that God either talks very directly, or He communicates with symbols. Proverbs 25:2 tells us: “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.” We are those kings, as John tells us in Revelation 1:5-6: “Jesus Christ has made us kings and priests unto God.”

Both the clear dreams and the symbolic dreams are very intimate from God’s point of view, but the dreams with symbols require us to do some searching. Because we have to search for what the symbols mean, the journey necessarily requires a more intimate relationship with the Lord.

There are lots of books on interpreting dreams, but I never quite knew which ones were “right,” so I pretty much avoided them. Two books would interpret the same symbol in two different ways. Then I heard a Bible teaching on dreams that made sense as far as sources for symbol interpretation. They are:

1.      Think about what the symbol means to you personally

2.      Look up the meanings of the items in your dream in the Bible itself

3.      Look up their meanings a Dictionary

4.      Get the help of the Holy Spirit. “The helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things” (John 14:26).

One important thing, before we go looking up dream meanings, is to actually get some clear details on the dream. “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.” In this case, that would be us!  The dreams I remember are usually the ones I have right before I wake up in the morning. The other morning, I tried to remember my dream and it was amazing how much more became clear as I began to write the dream down.

So even as you write down the dream, the Holy Spirit will teach you some things about what the dream means. And remember that it is YOUR dream, so some items in the dream will be specific to you. For instance, “a cream-yellow car” for me would indicate the dream has something to do with my grandparents. If you had a cream-yellow car in your dream, you would not be thinking of my grandparents.

So, you start to look at the dream and if you aren’t exactly sure what God is trying to tell you, start with one of the main items in the dream. My dream the other night had two kinds of chairs in it. I examined the two chairs and asked myself, “What’s the difference between these two chairs?” In other words, what do the chairs mean to me personally? When I answered that, the next thing I did was look up “chair” online at https://www.blueletterbible.org and found the Hebrew (OT) and Greek (NT) words and definitions for chair.

It’s so awesome to look up the definitions of words used in the Bible. When you read the definition that is right for your dream, the Holy Spirit resonates with your heart and you know it’s the one that makes sense. Then you can look up chair in the Dictionary and the Holy Spirit will do the same with the definitions there.

I know this sounds fairly simple and it is. God doesn’t want it to be complicated. He wants you to get the message and He knows if you really want to receive it, you will do what it takes to find it out.

“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter” (Prov. 25:2). The word “glory” means “abundance, riches, honor and splendor”. God wants us to have this glory and when we discover the meaning of some of those dream messages from the Lord, that’s exactly what happens.

Because I was an admitted dream skeptic, I wanted to be convinced that dreams were from God. I wanted to know they contained important messages from the Lord, not just a re-hash of my everyday circumstances. So I looked up multitudes of scriptures and records in the Bible on dreams and visions. In my next article, I will be sharing some of them with you. You’re going to be just as amazed as I was!

Love, Carolyn

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GOD WORKS WHILE WE SLEEP

GOD WORKS WHILE WE SLEEP

“Behold, He [God] who keeps Israel [and us] shall neither slumber nor sleep.” God is Spirit and He doesn't sleep. We, as Spiritual beings, don't sleep either, but it's our body and soul that do need the sleep while we're here on earth. If we sleep three hours out of 24, it's an eighth of our day. If we sleep eight hours, that’s a quarter of our day taken up! How can we make those sleeping hours count spiritually? Two ways: understanding our dreams and planting night seeds.

Night seeds: The thing that is so amazing and awesome is that Spiritual faith can work through the night, uninhibited by our doubtful, fearful and oh-so-rational minds! Things are working in our unconscious, spiritual hearts, freely.

We may have to do a little preparation work first, like praying a couple scriptures from Psalm 91 about protection: Verse 1: “He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Or verse 7: “A thousand shall fall at my side, and ten thousand at my right hand; but it shall not come nigh me.” Isaiah 54:17 is also a good one: “No weapon formed against me shall prosper.”

Then we can go for it. The two following sections of scripture are vital to me in getting great results from planting night seeds:

Jesus taught this: Mark 4:26-27: “And he said, ‘So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.” Notice that Jesus said the man planted the seed, then he immediately went to sleep! I just love that.

If we plant seeds right before we go to sleep, no rationale or emotional reaction can get in the way to block our faith! Who we are spiritually as sons and daughters of God Almighty, and our relationship with His son Jesus goes ahead to work while our bodies and souls take a rest, and the solutions come, the seeds sprout.

Then the second vital verse is Psalm 17:15: “I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness.” I looked up the Hebrew word for “likeness” so that I could better understand this verse. It is “temuwnah” and in this context it means “what You [God] have fashioned,” what You [God] have formed,” “the manifestation of Your favor.”

So this verse is saying that when I wake up, I’m going to be blessed by what You, Lord, have been doing in the night. You’ve worked with my spiritual night seed and WOW, it’s sprouting!

I only learned this principle this week and already am seeing great results. Let me give you a couple examples from the last few days:

I got a last minute invitation to a Christmas party. I’d already scheduled a hair appointment for several days after the party. When I called to re-schedule, there were no appointments available. After more than a week went by, I started getting a little worried. I decided to try out my new discovery of planting a night seed. In light of the worry I was feeling, I knew I needed peace about whatever the result would be with my hair. So I claimed John 14:27, which says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Even though I was feeling stressed, I prayed and planted this peace seed. When I opened my cell phone first thing in the morning, I had a text from my hairdresser offering to do my hair on a Saturday. Not only did I get an appointment, but it was on a perfect day, so I didn’t have to miss any work.

My best friend Jane also planted a night seed. Her seed was concerning business. She didn’t get out her Bible and read the scriptures, but she told God His own story back to Him about the lepers outside the wall in Samaria. (It’s in 2 Kings 7). There was a great famine in the city because it was surrounded by an enemy army, cutting off the food supply. The lepers did as they were inspired by God and He did a miracle. The enemy fled, leaving all the food and goods behind. The next day, the famine was gone and the commerce thriving!

When Jane woke up the next morning, there were more downloads on her promotion than there had been in the last three promotions!

This stuff works. Remember, Spirit continues to work while we sleep. Let’s make our sleep count in a spiritual way to enhance our lives.

Love, Carolyn

(There will be more Bible truths about dreams and visions in later articles.)

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MOUNTAINS TO THE SEA

MOUNTAINS TO THE SEA

I had mounds of papers needing to be burned: old tax stuff, bank receipts, bills, etc. Finally, on Friday I did it and the mountain of papers burned down to a small layer of ashes. God is able to do that with the mountains of the world and the mountains in our personal lives as well. This past week in the US we had quite the shaking of mountains.

Whenever mountains come down there is a shaking, a rumbling, smoke, fire and water. In the aftermath, all are agitated; some aggravated, some elated. Only the Lord can maneuver us through it. He gives us comfort in the aftermath of a great fall:

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.”

Whenever you read the word “selah” it means, “pause a minute and really think about what I just said.”

King David prayed, “Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke” (Psalm 144:6).

Isaiah prayed, “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and that you would come down, that the mountains might quake and flow down at your presence. As when fire kindles the brushwood and the fire causes the waters to boil—to make your name known to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at your presence!” (Isaiah 64:1-3)

Many things will change in the US, but God does not change. It is our job here in the States to listen to our hearts, follow the urging of the Holy Spirit and do what the Lord tells us to do, no matter what (even if it’s different from what our other Christian friends are doing!). In other countries, it’s your job to pray for us here and do the same thing: follow the urgings of the Holy Spirit in all things.

Remember that God sees way beyond what we see. Be kind to each other. It just could be that God had His reasons for having some people vote one way and others another way. (OMG! . . . and He didn’t consult with us first?!) God isn’t nearly as restrictive and narrow-minded as we are sometimes.

We can be refreshed and thrilled when we read some of the Old Testament and see how merciful and kind and forgiving God can be after He’s thrown down His fire. The majesty, power and kindness of our God is astounding.

Love, Carolyn

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BODYGUARDS ON THE JOURNEY

BODYGUARDS FOR THE JOURNEY

Mario told me he drives 23 hours straight through when he takes his family to visit his relatives down in Mexico. I asked him why. He replied, “There are many robbers along the way and I am protecting my family.” It reminded me of Genesis 24, one of my favorite Bible records where Abraham sent his servant to find a bride for Isaac.

The servant had some doubts about the trip but Abraham told him, “The Lord will send his angel before thee and with thee, and prosper thy way.” What exactly did this mean?

The servant had to travel about 450 miles through rough lands carrying a dowry for the prospective bride. So, like with my friend Mario, there were robbers along the way ready to ambush the servant of his many precious treasures. Part of the angel’s job was to go ahead of the servant and make sure the bandits were not going to be around to attack and steal the goods. Abraham was extremely rich, so when his servant was going for a bride, he would have had many camels with loads of gold, silver, beautiful clothing, and other wonderful things.

The other part of “prospering thy way” was to make sure the servant actually acquired the treasure (the wife) he came for. And, indeed it did happen.

How do these scriptures relate to us? If you consider that our lives are a journey, then these verses from Genesis 24 relate to us in many ways and can be applied in many circumstances. We all have possessions; consider them treasures. We’d like them to last and not be lost or stolen along the way.

Jesus spoke, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whatever you bind [forbid, declare to be improper and unlawful] on earth shall have [already] been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose [permit, declare lawful] on earth shall have [already] been loosed in heaven” (Matt 18:18).

We can use these scriptures to loose [declare] angels to protect our treasures—our homes, our bodies, our business acumen, our livestock, our thoughts, our spiritual insight and all our many precious possessions.

Just think about it. Name some of your most treasured possessions and include more than the physical things you have. Any of these wonderful things God has blessed us with, He’s also given us the permission to ask or declare angelic help in taking care of them and protecting them.

Psalm 35:27 says that the Lord “delights and takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.” Then in Psalm 103 we are told that it’s one of the angels’ jobs to carry out God’s pleasure toward us: “Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word...all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure” (Ps. 103:20-21).

Considering all the goods that Abraham’s servant took with him, he most likely had other people with him also and the angel protected them too. We could use these verses when we’re asking protection for our loved ones, as well as our personal safety and the protection of our goods.

Part of the angel’s mission was to prosper the servant by making sure he got what he went for. In this case it was the right woman. Whatever things God has given you permission to go after, you could send angels on these verses to prosper your way by making sure you get what you are after too.

It’s also something to note that the angel was sent out to prosper the way of a servant. This guy wasn’t a king or a corporate giant. He was a servant. Every single born again person has access to angels, like it says in Hebrews 1:14, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.” Galatians 3:29 says we are those heir: “And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Today I am praying for you, that you will read this record in Genesis 24: 1-61, in light of your own journey, and think about how you can permit angels to prosper your way as well.

Love, Carolyn

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OUR YOUTH RENEWED LIKE THE EAGLE'S

OUR YOUTH RENEWED LIKE THE EAGLE’S

I’ve been very blessed with good health and a lot of my strength and youthfulness I attribute to quoting Psalm 103:5 every morning as I’m driving to work. It says, “He satisfies my mouth with good things so that my youth is renewed like the eagles.”

As the eagle goes through the different stages of its life, molting takes place and the new feathers are graciously provided. God created a way for this majestic bird to grow the necessary new beautiful feathers as it matures. We need the same thing, brand new feathers to keep us youthful and strong as we also mature.

This scripture is not only talking about God providing good physical food we can eat that can renew our youthfulness, but even more important is the bread of life God’s given us to eat—His living Word. As we take the truths of the Bible into us and as we speak them out of our mouth, we get new insight, answers that weren’t there before, fresh understanding and youthful excitement.

I don’t know about you, but for me, with the election, with work situations, with stuff happening to my friends and my family, I feel a little faint-hearted, a little weary. But just a few minutes ago I saw this section of scripture, and I was literally renewed and strengthened in my mind.

Isaiah 40:29-32: “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

I believe that taking delight in God’s Word, both the written Word and the awesomeness of the Lord’s presence in our everyday lives keeps us strong and our youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Let’s take some time, even just 15 minutes, to read something from God’s Word and see what the Lord wants to tell us today. I know it sounds so simple, but how often do we intend on doing something, but other things come up and we never get around to it? Like the Nike advertisement goes, JUST DO IT!  

Love, Carolyn

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FAITH FIRST

FAITH FIRST

First thing in the morning before I got out of bed, I used to pray, “Lord, with You it’s going to be a great day.” However, in the last month or so, it seems that my attitude changed and my prayer was “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, help me, help me, help me.” Not that it’s necessarily a bad prayer, and of course I do need His help always. But this prayer was motivated more by the dread of what would happen in a day, than faith that it would be a good one! When we dread things, we can be pretty sure we’re going to extend their existence. So when I realized what I was doing, I stopped and changed my prayer back to the “great day” prayer.

The Bible tells us we should always expect victory if we are walking in alignment with Him. And if something isn’t going to be good for us, He lets us know and shows us the way out, around, through or over. And in the end we still get the victory with Him.

One of the names for God in the Old Testament is Jehovah-nissi, “the Lord our Banner.” The victory banner is what we are to hold up BEFORE going into any battle the Lord leads us into. Exodus 17 gives us a great example of this.

The Amalekites came to attack Moses and God told Moses to go and take the rod with him that he miraculously used in parting the Red sea. The rod represented the presence and victory of God. Moses had faith in God’s presence. Whenever Moses held up this rod, he had faith that God was there to give him victory. Holding up this rod, Moses absolutely believed he already had the sure victory of God, even before anything happened.

The Amalekites came to attack Moses and God’s people. “And Moses said unto Joshua, ‘Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand” (Exod. 17:9). Moses had faith before the battle even started, that with God on his side, he would win. 

“So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.  And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed” (vv. 10-11). Right there is an amazing lesson for us: Keep lifting up the rod of God, keep saying, “I have the victory.” When we get weary, or start to dread, stop it. Get that victory faith up there again.

“But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun” (v. 12). Another great lesson: Lots of times we need help to keep our faith for victory strong. We don’t have to always do it by ourselves.

“And Joshua discomfited [overthrew and flattened him] Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And the Lord said unto Moses, ‘Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi [the Lord our banner]” (vv.13-15).

By faith we go into every battle shouting the victory from the beginning, and seeing it manifest in the end.

Another great example is found in Second Chronicles 20. In this record three different armies collaborated to take over Jehoshaphat and his people. They even brought a lot of wealth with them in the form of jewelry and other riches, probably intending to bargain after they won. They would split up the spoil and sweeten the pot with their own riches if they wanted something specific.

But they weren’t going to win. Jehoshaphat got the people together and they prayed to God about what to do. They acted on their faith.

“Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow go ye down against them” (v.15-16). “And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa” (v.20).

Then look at this amazing act of faith. Before they even started the battle, they started to sing and praise God. They had faith that they would win and they began to sing about it and praise God for victory. And look what God did:

“And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten” (v.22). This is awesome! The people didn’t SEE what God was doing, they had faith He would do it. And when they praised Him for the victory even BEFORE they saw any evidence, it was THEN that the Lord ambushed the enemy. And look how He did it:

“For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another” (v.23). Wild, huh?!

And when the people came to see what happened, “behold, dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped. And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much” (vv.24-25).

There are many more Bible records showing the awesome results of having faith for our victory before we actually see it. And like in the case with Jehoshaphat, it was AFTER they had faith for victory and praised God for it, that God set up the ambush where the three armies killed off each other!

So don’t be like I was. Don’t let dread get you down. Instead of dread, let’s have faith for the victory and hold up that victory banner of our Lord as we start each day.

Love, Carolyn

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