Our world.
So much uncertainty. So much confusion.
So much chaos. Fear.
Bible prophecy is being fulfilled at an unprecedented pace.
2 Timothy 3 describes these times as “perilous” and also describes the sinful and debilitated state of the heart and mind of man.
And yet there’s a remnant of God-fearing people that are described as steadfast, immovable (1 Corinthians 15:58), unshakable, and REMAINING.
Hebrews 12:25-29 KJV
25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may REMAIN.
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire.
The original word for remain, (meno), means:
1. to continue to be, not to perish, to last, endure
2. to be held, kept, continually
Scripture tells us as children of God that we are in the world but not of it. We are not of the kingdom of this world but we are of that kingdom which CANNOT be moved.
So how do we have an “immovable” kingdom identity and mentality in the midst of a shaking world? How do we endure? How do we remain? How to we overcome the voices of fear and doubt that are challenging the faith of the church?
There are many points in scripture where we can find answers. One of them is in Jeremiah 17.
The prophet describes Judah’s sinful state and resulting Babylonian captivity.
Jeremiah 17:5-8 KJV
5 Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.
6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
The ones who put their trust in man doesn’t see when good comes.
The ones who heed the voices of this world and fails to hear the voice of the Lord will be like the heath that lives rootless, aimless, and fruitless. And when times of adversity and fiery trials are raging, they are overtaken by the heat and by fear.
But thank God for this hope we have in verse 7!
7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
The ones who put their trust in the Lord don’t see when heat comes. For their eyes are lifted, fixed on the One whom they know is author and finisher of their faith.
The ones who trust in the Lord chooses to believe that no matter the circumstance, He is faithful. He will never fail or forsake those who fear Him and those that know His voice and are led of His Spirit. For they are like trees planted by the water, they choose to remain and abide in Him. They spread out their roots by the river through prayer, fasting, and the cleansing, and nourishment provided by the Word. They are strong in faith and in Spirit therefore they are not fearful or anxious in the year of drought. For they know God is Provider, Sustainer, Defender, and Protector. This is how they remain. This is how they are held and kept.
They refuse to choose the parched places of the wilderness, but instead they stand on the Word, that He makes a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43:19). That’s where you’ll find those that rely on the Lord. Planted and rooted by the river.
Ezekiel spoke of a river in Ezekiel 47. This was a river flowing from the temple of God.
5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
6 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.
The chapter describes this river as healing waters where everything lives where it goes.
12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
Herein lies the powerful truth and the key to remaining in times of heat and drought. Stay planted by the river. Live and walk in it’s overflow. Everything lives where the river runs. This is why the fruit will remain and it’s leaf shall not fade. Our purpose in these last days is found in the remaining fruit. “The fruit thereof shall be for meat (nourishment) and the leaf thereof for medicine (healing).”
Those who choose to be planted by those healing streams will become healing streams. As John 7:38 says, “He that believeth on me as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” We are fruitful agents of healing and nourishment to a lost and dying world that needs to know that they too can have access to this river and it’s life giving flow.
So much uncertainty. So much confusion.
So much chaos. Fear.
Bible prophecy is being fulfilled at an unprecedented pace.
2 Timothy 3 describes these times as “perilous” and also describes the sinful and debilitated state of the heart and mind of man.
And yet there’s a remnant of God-fearing people that are described as steadfast, immovable (1 Corinthians 15:58), unshakable, and REMAINING.
Hebrews 12:25-29 KJV
25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may REMAIN.
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire.
The original word for remain, (meno), means:
1. to continue to be, not to perish, to last, endure
2. to be held, kept, continually
Scripture tells us as children of God that we are in the world but not of it. We are not of the kingdom of this world but we are of that kingdom which CANNOT be moved.
So how do we have an “immovable” kingdom identity and mentality in the midst of a shaking world? How do we endure? How do we remain? How to we overcome the voices of fear and doubt that are challenging the faith of the church?
There are many points in scripture where we can find answers. One of them is in Jeremiah 17.
The prophet describes Judah’s sinful state and resulting Babylonian captivity.
Jeremiah 17:5-8 KJV
5 Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.
6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
The ones who put their trust in man doesn’t see when good comes.
The ones who heed the voices of this world and fails to hear the voice of the Lord will be like the heath that lives rootless, aimless, and fruitless. And when times of adversity and fiery trials are raging, they are overtaken by the heat and by fear.
But thank God for this hope we have in verse 7!
7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
The ones who put their trust in the Lord don’t see when heat comes. For their eyes are lifted, fixed on the One whom they know is author and finisher of their faith.
The ones who trust in the Lord chooses to believe that no matter the circumstance, He is faithful. He will never fail or forsake those who fear Him and those that know His voice and are led of His Spirit. For they are like trees planted by the water, they choose to remain and abide in Him. They spread out their roots by the river through prayer, fasting, and the cleansing, and nourishment provided by the Word. They are strong in faith and in Spirit therefore they are not fearful or anxious in the year of drought. For they know God is Provider, Sustainer, Defender, and Protector. This is how they remain. This is how they are held and kept.
They refuse to choose the parched places of the wilderness, but instead they stand on the Word, that He makes a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43:19). That’s where you’ll find those that rely on the Lord. Planted and rooted by the river.
Ezekiel spoke of a river in Ezekiel 47. This was a river flowing from the temple of God.
5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
6 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.
The chapter describes this river as healing waters where everything lives where it goes.
12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
Herein lies the powerful truth and the key to remaining in times of heat and drought. Stay planted by the river. Live and walk in it’s overflow. Everything lives where the river runs. This is why the fruit will remain and it’s leaf shall not fade. Our purpose in these last days is found in the remaining fruit. “The fruit thereof shall be for meat (nourishment) and the leaf thereof for medicine (healing).”
Those who choose to be planted by those healing streams will become healing streams. As John 7:38 says, “He that believeth on me as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” We are fruitful agents of healing and nourishment to a lost and dying world that needs to know that they too can have access to this river and it’s life giving flow.
Jessica Bridges is a recent transplant to Livingway Pentecostal Church in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Upon her arrival, Jessica extended her hands to service. She has given Bible studies to young adults, partnered in a women’s small group, and extended prayerful encouragement to ladies churchwide. She continues to obediently follow "wherever God may lead," even when the territory is down the new path of sharing her heart through writing. When Jessica is not volunteering her time to ministry, she is caring for her husband, Chris, and her beautiful little girls, Maya and Sara.
Jessica Bridges is a recent transplant to Livingway Pentecostal Church in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Upon her arrival, Jessica extended her hands to service. She has given Bible studies to young adults, partnered in a women’s small group, and extended prayerful encouragement to ladies churchwide. She continues to obediently follow "wherever God may lead," even when the territory is down the new path of sharing her heart through writing. When Jessica is not volunteering her time to ministry, she is caring for her husband, Chris, and her beautiful little girls, Maya and Sara.
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