Have you noticed the strange winds swirling in the night? I've had a period of sleepless nights when I have wrestled with myself to submit "all my cares on Him as He cares for me" 1 Peter 5:7.
For me the swirling winds felt like my family circumstances that were causing my mind to whirl. My mum had a fall in October which badly dislocated her knee so much she could not walk. l begged God to heal her, however sadly she ended up with a permanent splint. Due mainly to breakdowns in the care system, Mum ended up in hospital for six weeks before she was reluctantly moved into a small rest home.
Poor Mum was so unhappy so I did my best to look for a better resourced rest homes in the area. I found a local home, however that was too big and expensive. Then I found another well equipped Christian home, and started to make the arrangements for her to move. When the Care Manager came to visit, my mum had a meltdown saying that she didn't want to leave the caring staff where she was. In other words, God had already placed her in a safe place with all that she needs and my mum started to count her blessings a little more.
I was frustrated by trying to fix all her problems and needs whilst trying to care for my beautiful 20-month-old granddaughter two full days a week. I realised then that we simply need to stand and trust God, even if the healing we cry for doesn't come.
He never leaves us or forsakes us, or our loved ones, as we trust in Him. I said sorry to God and now I choose to daily trust Him for my mum and my family. This week when I visited mum, she had Songs of Praise on TV and we sang together joyfully, “The Lord’s my Shepherd I shall not want".
The other thing about the swirling winds is the season that we are all in. All around us are mixed messages, confusing news stories, fake news, vitriol on social media concerning politics, news, leaders, celebrities and so on. However we can trust God, and choose to keep the middle ground and not get concerned with the world’s views. We can discern the truth as we totally depend on God so "that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting”. Ephesians 4:14
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" John 10:27.
Most importantly we can pray. It’s such a privilege to be part of the CWM team and to learn how to pray for our Leaders. Please read Sue Sinclair’s prophesies on the shift of the Church, the Monarchy and the Government. You can find this https://www.cwmprayer.com/sue-sinclair-prophetic-words
The call to prayer is “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land”. 2 Chronicles 7:14
In this year 2024, (the year of the open door), we are praying together that we may “enter His gates with thanksgiving and praise”, Psalm 100:4. Let us be people who listen and are daily guided by God, to share His love, peace and joy. We listen carefully so we know where we should go, what we should do and say, who we should serve, who we should help or receive help from. We do this all for the sake of His kingdom and unity in the body of Christ.
We are being prepared as the Bride of Christ. Let us forgive one another and be peacemakers in our families and communities and say sorry to God if we have walked in offence. "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts." Psalm 139:23.
Finally the swirling winds remind me of a news article I read recently. It was about a man who stole Dorothy's red shoes from the film the Wizard of Oz. He stole them because he thought they were made of rubies. When he realised they were made of glass and were of no value to him he gave them away! This is like us when we want something or think we need it, but in fact it is worthless to us.
In the story of the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy was carried by a whirlwind tornado into the land of Oz. Ultimately though she needed to come home and eventually after meeting many strange characters, she was able to return home with her new "red shoes".
I watched the film "The Red Shoes" which is a story by Hans Christian Anderson. The dancer in the story was under a curse. As she put on the red shoes she would dance and dance forever, but she got tired and died but the red shoes carried on dancing, a sad story. This reminded me that God is eternal and as such we should not hold on too tightly to our ministries, or what we have. The Lord is the one who releases the anointing and His timing is perfect. We need to understand and align ourselves with His will and purposes, and not just our own desires.
It is good to understand that our home of course is with God, as part of His Kingdom. The redemptive power and love we have is in His precious (red) blood and Holy Spirit that enables us to withstand all things around us.
I remember pre-lock-down, when I was too busy in ministry and involved in leading things God had not called me to. When lock-down came I had to lay everything down and pause to rest, seek God and His will. After this, the right doors began to open for me and my family.
Lord help us to seek your face, to trust you, to hear you, to do your will, to know you and share your love. Amen.
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