The Dew is Bringing Divine Prosperity

To most this would appear to be a dandelion weed that has already bloomed, lost its color and shed its seeds.  It caught my attention when I was taking my dog, Wrangler out to go to the bathroom. It reminded me of the crown of thorns on Jesus' head when He was crucified.  I couldn't keep from staring at the picture I took and thought how beautiful this is.

As I stared at it, I noticed the droplets of dew on the stems, or the crown of Jesus' thorns.  The only way I noticed the dew was from the picture that I took because I kept staring at it and enlarging it.  That is when I noticed the droplets of dew.

This peaked my curiosity of what the morning dew may be speaking to me.  So I began to look up scriptures that used the word dew in it.  I also researched the Hebrew word for dew which is tal.  The Strong's definition of tal (2919) means, "a night mist, as coming from the sky, bringing fertility, God gives it, or heavens give it."

In Genesis 27:28, Isaac blesses his son Jacob with these words, "Therefore may God give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine."  Moses offers a similar final blessing on Israel before his death in Deuteronomy 33.  The commentary in my Spirit Filled Bible (pg. 273) says that, "Moses blessing to Israel describes the glory of greatness that will crown Israel's faithfulness.  It further goes on to say that, "God is an eternal God whose everlasting arms are never exhausted and who is their refuge and safety."  Specifically verse 33:28 says, "Then Israel shall dwell in safety, the fountain of Jacob alone, in a land of grain and new wine; His heavens shall also drop dew."  God is promising to send distilled dew, if you will, that has been purified, sent from heaven which Deuteronomy 33:13 describes it as, "With the precious things of heaven, with the dew, and the deep lying beneath."

Things today that the enemy has wreaked havoc on that appear to be chaotic, hopeless, and all lost  God promises that there is about to be a divine reversal where the dew is going to fall and bring divine prosperity.  God sent a purifying dew where the remnant will no longer operate "business as usual" or return to normal activities of the former days.  Paraphrasing Deuteronomy 33:28, God's people shall safely dwell in a land of grain and NEW WINE.  In order to dwell in a place of NEW WINE, we must be purified and distilled with a NEW WINESKIN letting go of the former things and behaviors so that we can move into the new move of God. For when we do, God speaks in Zechariah 8:12-13, "For the seed shall be prosperous, the vine shall give its fruit, the shall have her increase.  And the heavens shall give their dew - I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these and it shall come to pass that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you shall be a blessing.  Do not fear.  Let your hands be strong."  God is with us and has gone before us. Hosea 14:5-6 describes God as the, "Blessing of the day that flourishes, grows, has beauty and fragrance."

In the midst of all that is happening around us local, regionally and globally may we notice the kisses of dew from heaven around us that is merciful and new every morning that sustains us and nourishes us.  The battle that we are in is not ours.  May we dwell in His presence safely, "Abiding under the shadow of the Almighty, who is our refuge and a help in a time of uncertainty."  As we trust in God, He promises to deliver us from the snare of the enemy.  A Jewish prayer that I have come to love is called the Tfilat Tal or Blessing for Dew that I want to leave with you to perhaps pray over your life and family.

May dew fall upon the blessed land.
Fill us with heaven’s finest blessings.
May a light come out of the darkness to draw Israel
to you as a root finds water from dew.
May you bless our food with dew.
May we enjoy plenty with nothing lacking.
Grant the wish of the people – that followed you
through the desert like sheep – with dew.
You are Adonai our God,
who causes the wind to blow and the dew to fall,
For blessing and not for curse.
Amen.
For life and not for death.
Amen.
For plenty and not for lack.
Amen.

Embrace the Isolation in the Shepherd Field

Image credit churchofjesuschrist.org

Back in August 2019, the Lord started showing me that a new season was approaching of entering into the shepherd field like David.  When I reflected on this and deepened my understanding of this scripture in 1 Samuel 17, I had no idea why this would be a necessary season.  Today as I reflect on all that is happening in the world, I went back to my journal to see what God revealed to me at that time as we are in a season of uncertainty that seems daunting and desolate.  Globally we are fighting a human pandemic or plague if you will, called Coronavirus.  The number of cases and the death toll are staggering.  The impact of the front line warriors of nurses, doctors and emergency personnel is exhaustive.  The massive effects of a shaken uncertain impact on the economy is eroding businesses and “business as usual” because it is under a mounting strain of an unprecedented national debt never seen before, a global panic as many are displaced and out of work, desperation of hoarding resources, and the faith community scrambling to make sense of being outside the four walls.  We are even seeing the earth groaning with more severe and intense destructive weather patterns.

I hear often that individuals are starting to get cabin fever, missing community fellowship, and gatherings.  I have heard the Lord is setting the plumb line for His divine order by putting first things last and bringing the last things to the forefront.  This includes removing our idols, our busyness, our priorities that have been placed over our relationship with the Lord.  I know it seems lonely and we are isolated from the very things that were our comfort and habitual way of living.  Which brings me to David in the shepherd field who must have felt very lonely as he tended sheep, isolated from human contact or fellowship, no comforts of nice meals or home life.  David was confronting alone predators like lions and bears in the night preying over his flock which was his families livelihood.  I imagine he was also confronting his own personal internal demons as a result of sitting in the isolation and silence so much.  We too may be feeling like David in the shepherd field right now, but perhaps this is the reality of the place where God needed to bring us to reset our priorities, to learn to go deeper in our relationship with the Lord, to depend on the Lord in our times of struggles and confronting our demons instead of other external sources.

Even though chaos is all around us, may we continue to rejoice in the Lord and as Paul says, “Count it all joy.”  It is a time where God is refining and purging us so that He can increase our territory.  The Lord is using this moment in history to PREPARE us for the things that are yet to come that we cannot fathom or believe even if the Lord Himself told us (Habakkuk 1:5).  This is our training and equipping ground to become faithful warriors and a worshipful servant like David.  David didn’t slay Goliath prematurely in his own strength or worldly weapons or ways, but in 1 Sam 17:45 he stated, “That he came in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of armies of Israel whom Goliath defied.”  David proclaimed in verse 46-47 that, “This day the Lord will deliver you (Goliath) into my hands and I’ll (David) strike you down and cut off your head.” 

David knew God was with Him in the that moment.  David knew God intimately and where his strength came from.  David knew he was fighting principalities of evil and not the physical things or people of this world.  David grew to this place of a warrior for God through his many lonely days and nights in the shepherd field as a simple, lowly, looked down upon shepherd boy.  At David’s appearance, others thought of him as unimportant, but God equipped him with a mighty force for the Lord.  All of this was the humble beginnings of God preparing David to become a leader of a nation.  This didn’t happen overnight, but happened in the midst of unlikely circumstances and environment of a shepherd field.  The Lord was establishing and setting the plumb line as in Zechariah 4:10 it says, “Do not despise these small beginnings (or I would like to say these isolated lonely places) for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.”

I encourage you to embrace our shepherd field experience right now because God is increasing our courage to fight, giving us boldness to speak, setting our confidence in the Lord alone, increasing our trust in God, giving us divine empowerment through the Holy Spirit, and about to move us closer to our assigned destiny.  It is a time to abide with the Lord in the uncomfortableness of the shepherd field praying, worshiping and meditating on the word as God continues to align each of us and set the plumb line.  His promise is that, “He surrounds me with His favor as with a shield" (Psl 5:12).  “Surely, you will know you are my hiding place, you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance” (Psl 32:7).  Surely, God did this, “That the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that the people may know and you might always fear the Lord your God (Joshua 4:24).  

Our breakthrough and promotion is coming from the shepherd field.  God is about to do something new so may we embrace the shepherd field experience and draw closer to God abiding with the Almighty.  God is with us.  Amen.

  

In the Cyclone

         The past couple of months, a lot of our lives have changed especially with the effects of COVID-19, but each of us individually as well with our own personal journeys with perhaps a new diagnosis, a loss of a loved one, confronting our demons, or whatever we may be dealing with in the silence that is not hidden from the Lord.  I have had time to personally reflect on me and my families past few weeks with the intensive care of my grandma, Grandma Hummel, and her passing.  I pray and hope that you can gain encouragement and strength in the midst of your cyclone that you may be facing or going through.  I have scriptures at the end that I pray you can spend some time with that will fill you with God’s peace and hope for a future to prosper you. Though you may feel you are in the center of a cyclone, be assured that it will not persist and your are coming out better equipped, prepared and stronger thank you know.

Grandma Hummel passes away peaceful on March 18^th in her home just as she wished.  Weeks leading up to this day, I felt like I had been in the center of a cyclone.  I began to research on websites and gleaned this information from them where I found that cyclones are “difficult to predict” despite the latest technology available of satellites and weather radars.   Cyclones can “suddenly weaken or strengthen depending upon the conditions.  A cyclone emerges when environmental conditions of “warm moist air above the ocean rises.”  "Storms form when the water is 80 degrees Fahrenheit or better.” This is like fuel on a fire.  "A cyclone weakens when it passes over land where it loses the warm moist air."  As I used this term of feeling like I was in the middle of a cyclone, I didn’t realize what conditions were needed or the environment necessary for a cyclone to form.

I began to reflect on how my personal cyclone formed and brewed for these past few weeks, which typically they say a cyclone only lasts 3-7 days.  However, the largest recorded cyclone was “Ginger in 1971 that lasted for 30 days.”

The warning signs of a cyclone reported in the heraldtribune.com is that: “1.  the barometer will fall slightly, 2. wind is around 11mph, 3. the ocean swell is about 13 feet and increasing, 4. the waves come more frequently, seconds apart, 5. a large mass of white cirrus clouds appear.  As the veil of clouds approaches, it covers more of the horizon.” (Internet source, May 13, 2007)

           The Meaning of Barometer according to Wikepedia is "an instrument that measures atmosphere pressure in forecasting the weather and determining altitude. [Something that reflects changes in circumstances or opinions.]  with weather when the barometric pressure drops it typically means that bad weather is coming such as rain or even snow if it is cold enough.  Our bodies especially joints can even feel and detect when the barometric pressure drops before bad weather."  From the directorthocare.com it defines “barometric pressure as the weight of the atmosphere that surrounds us.”

                For me and my family, the barometric pressure definitely shifted with the decline of grandma’s health that happened quickly.  We definitely felt the pressures from the atmosphere that was weighing upon us as we heard the medical news of the seriousness of grandma’s chronic illness of cancer that was in stage 4 throughout a lot of her body.  Grandma too was feeling the weight of the barometric pressure against her body that could not withstand medical intervention, but only preparing her for comfort care in her home. We did not know how long this storm would last, but we knew we had to weather the storm with grandma despite our own heaviness and weight of this news, the reality, the sacrifices and the strain that 24/7 care would have on our family.  We are now in the center of the cyclone.

                Our family is feeling the winds of adversity as we begin her care.  When the wind shifts another way, we are feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit that is leading, guiding and carrying us through this storm.  Between the winds of adversity and the winds of the Holy Spirit with us, our bodies feel the effects of the elements that is beating against us.  However, the wind of presence of the Holy Spirit is more prominent and strengthening us in a way unimaginable that is carrying us through this storm that is allowing us to not only meet grandmas needs, but our own as well.

                As the winds blew, it caused huge waves to form that tried to sweep us off our feet with discouragement, weariness, frustrations, and exhaustion.  In the middle of the storm, our family held firm and tight to the truth of God’s word, promises and grandma’s wishes.  We did not waiver from that despite the adversity of the atmospheric pressure, the battling winds, and the raging ocean waves.  God made us like a lighthouse on a solid rock foundation that withstood the beating of the elements.  It was nothing that we had done, but how God had already prepared us and sat us on His firm foundation making us immovable and unshakeable.  God had gone before us and God was surely with us.  He was our help in a time of trouble, and He knew that we trusted in Him despite what our circumstance looked like in the storm.  (Nahum 1:7-9)

                They say that it gets the darkest before your breakthrough.  We watched, waited, and agonized with grandma as she gasped for air and eventually became unresponsive to us.  The storm would not let up.  The winds and crashing of the waves around us came more frequently and with more intensity.  Our hearts were heavy watching grandma suffer in this way.  I use the word suffer, because it appeared that way to us.  However, before she became unresponsive, she always responded to us that she was not in any pain.  The suffering we witnessed was the laboring of her breaths, her motionless and unable to now speak or move.  We know the inevitable is coming of her eminent death, we just did not know the hour or time.  We too are having a Garden of Gethsemane experience like Jesus which is aligning our will to God’s will in this moment and situation.  Just like Jesus knew His death was eminent, so too was grandma’s.  God was aligning our will to release and let go of grandma so she could transition from this earth to heaven.

                The reality of the clouds now set in over the horizon.  Our prayers changed from healing grandma and to make her well, to God please do not allow her to suffer like this for too long.  Please God take her peacefully.

                Then the breakthrough came.  The barometric pressure in the atmosphere began to rise.  It no longer felt as heavy a burden because we were now surrendered to God’s will for grandma.  In that moment, my mom and Aunt Monna watched grandma sit up, open her sky-blue eyes and take her last two breaths.  She laid back down and exhaled her last two breaths.  In that moment, it was finished.  Grandma was now separate from her earthly body, and her spirit was present with Jesus in that moment.  The grace of God and His new mercies each day allowed us to weather this storm in grandmas sacred transition and promotion to heaven.

                The heaviness of the atmospheric pressure lifted, the winds calmed, the waves subsided, and the dark storm clouds dissipated.  No matter how dark it seemed in that moment with grandma, God’s light overcame the darkness and brought victory.  Grandma was victorious, she fought the good fight and was as my sister in Christ, Alice shared, "A hero in her faith to her last breath."

                For that, I am so grateful and honored to witness the goodness of God.  For I now have wisdom that “there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven:

"A time to be born and a time to die,

A time to plant and a time to uproot,

A time to kill and a time to heal,

A time to tear down and a time to build

A time to weep and a time to laugh,

A time to mourn and a time to dance,

A time to scatter stoves and a time to gather them,

A time to embrace and a time to refrain,

A time to search and a time to give up,

A time to keep and a time to throw away,

A time to tear and a time to mend,

A time to be silent and a time to speak,

A time to love and a time to hate,

A time for war and a time for peace,

What does the worker gain from his toil?  I have seen the burden God has laid on men.  He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-11)

“I know that everything God does will endure forever, nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it.  God does it so that men will revere Him.”  (Ecclesiastes 3:13-14) “All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return” (Ecclesiastes 3:20)

He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end which means He is in control of all the details in between.  Revelations 22:13, Revelations 1:8, Revelations 21:6-7, 1:17-18, Isaiah 44:6, therefore we can be encouraged with trust and hope in Jesus who has made a way for us telling us, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God, trust also in me.  In my Father’s house are many rooms, if it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  You know the way to the place where I am going.” (John 14:1-4) Jesus….He is the way, and the truth and the life (John 14:6)   Amen