Lord as I stand before you tonight, I want to thank you for the security of knowing you have never made a mistake.

     The winds are howling and things are being hurled through the air, but you Lord, are the Rock of Ages.  Thank you that the storm never changes your Power, your Plan or your Love. 

     So by faith I thank you for the storm, knowing that when there is submission, you are the Master of the seas of the soul.

     So Lord, I submit.  Do whatever is needed in the deepest parts of me in order to bring about your own likeness.

     My Lord and my God.

     Soldier of The Cross, remember that it is in eternity that everything will wash out.

     Yes, He answers prayer about now and yes He cares about now.  But all of Now is for the purpose of eternity.    It is urgently important that you understand this matter and that you yield to Him in prayer.  If you don't do this, you'll miss all of the beautiful layers of His operating Love.

     So often believers act, pray and hope for a complete resolution of all things in this life.  God's Word does not promise that.

     He does promise that He is in control.  He has already attended to the matter and He will do only what is best for you.

     Period.

     Go to Him and tell Him you trust him.  You will find supernatural relief.
     Tell Him alone and aloud.
     Now.

     When must we continue in petitioning and when must we let the matter go?

     The Holy Spirit is able to lead.  It is not possible to daily ask the Lord for something unless there is supernatural enablement.   The request can be made for a while or it can be made here and there over time.  If it is not propelled by the Lord, it will become like a rosary and loose personal inclusion.

     There are also times of desperate need when one is compelled to go to the only One who is able.  Often the Holy Spirit will usher in the assurance that He has heard and answered and it is a matter of waiting.

     There is no formula.  We are to follow Him and there is no other design.

     Until this life is over, may we learn to pray in the Spirit.

     He can keep you waiting, but you can't keep Him waiting.

     It is His design that you learn to wait on Him because it is an exercise of faith.  You should never keep Him waiting because that would mean either your reticence to trust or an adopted posture of equality to Him.

     Soldier of The Cross, He designed Time.

     Yield to Him readily and quickly.

     Soldier of The Cross, get it straight now:

     In this life, you will never hit a plateau where things on the earth are settled and stable.  It simply is not going to happen because He has designed things for our best.  So, stop longing for it, praying for it and looking for it.

     Yes, there is heaven on earth. 

     It is found in the Body of Christ when you lay your life down for the Brethren.
     It is found in the private prayer time when there is an aloud declaration that you are determined to be a Living Sacrifice.
     It is found in the sacrificial giving of all that you have.
     It is found in loving the unlovely.
     It is found when you are there every time the the door is open, even when you would rather be anywhere else.
     It is found in visiting those who are shut-in.
     It is found in the most private moments of decision that line up with His Word.

     Soldier, what are you thinking?  Look at Him who made it possible for you to be free.  Look at Him with whom you will be for ever and ever.     

     It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,
     Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ;
     One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,
     So bravely run the race till we see Christ.   
 

     Soldier of The Cross, do not be tempted to build your life.

     You were given a life in order to give it up to the One Who gave His for you.  There is no other safe  place and there is no other danger so great as human ambition.

     The far-sighted Christian is he who is eager to invest in eternity.  He understands there is One who is tenderly leading , pruning and loving.

     Be done with needing achievement or recognition.  There is no harder addiction to break.

     Stand before Him and declare yourself to be a Living Sacrifice.
     Aloud.

     There are many times when the right choice is not obvious.

     What is to be done?  Often you must wait.  Other times require that you simply do what you think is the wisest move and let the dust settle.  He said He would lead us, protect us and give us what we need.  He never said He would take us through a dot-to-dot life of instant answers in order to avoid discomfort.

     He is a long-term Lord.

     Soldier of The Cross, He leads us with His eyes.  He never gets slack or drops the matter for a bigger emergency or a more important issue.

     He may not give you the solution right now, but He will shed light on the next place for your raised foot.

     Soldier of The Cross, when the load gets heavy and the storm is intense, you must learn to do the next thing.

     Even though the craving is strong, you do not need to know why, when or where.    You need only to move forward by faith in the space illuminated by God's Word.   

     "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path"
                                 Psalm 119:105

     He gives light for the next step.  The problem is that you feel as though you can not make that move.  You can and must do it by faith.

     Lord Jesus, tonight I stand before you in the Cathedral of my heart and need to pour out my situation.  You have said I must do this and so I shall.

     The storm is raging and I am in the middle of the waters.  There is no way out.  By faith, I raise up to take the Hand outstretched to me.  

     I will not look down.

     My Lord and my God.   

     There are two kinds of longings:

     There are the things that are craved and that become goals in order to satisfy the craving for security and then there are the desires of the heart.

     The desires of the heart are the things that are chosen.  They are not the result of any lack or any gain.  They are either worldly or personal ideals, or they are things that are desired because of the Word of God and eternal investment.

     When we speak of the Lord giving us the desires of the heart, it would be glib and shallow to assume that it means He will deliver to us the things we crave.

     He gives to His Own the desires of the heart because they are His Own - Soldiers of The Cross - who understand that the things of this world will crumble and fade away.   Those who follow hard after Him are desperate to be nearer to Him, to be like Him and to serve Him.

     To be His, is to experience the Fountain of Life.  It is to be able to see beyond tomorrow.  It is to be so flexible as to have as little or as much as glorifies Him. 

     It is to be transformed into His likeness.  Nothing less
     Whatever the cost.

     Tell Him today.
     Aloud.

     It is true.

     Nothing can snuff out Love.

    " Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it. . ."
                               Song of Solomon  8:7

     Soldier of The Cross,  you have and are being loved with an Everlasting Love, and nothing is going to interfere with that flow unless you deliberately veer out of the way in deliberate sin.   Even that doesn't stop Love, it just numbs your experience of it.

     Love is eternal and is never diminished.  
     The one who named you is Love, and will never let you go.