CostlyOilLP - Make Mondays Matter Blog by Costly Oil Ministries

How Words Work, Part 10

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 05:00:00 GMT

“Now it was told [to] King David, saying, ‘The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.’ So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness.” (2 Samuel 6:12)

As we finish up our "How Words Work" series with 2 Samuel chapter 6, we reflect more on the two very different scenes between chapters 5 and 6. In chapter 5, we see David finally receiving the promise and walking out the victory God had already prepared, in the way God planned. Chapter 6 begins with great anticipation and then tragedy strikes with the death of Uzzah. King David is shaken to his core. But soon enough we see him celebrating the promise and prosperity by bringing the representation of the very presence of God to his new position. In spite of the challenges earlier in this chapter, the people and the King overcame. They learned what it meant to walk in what God had spoken -- to the very letter -- and receive the promise with celebration and gladness.

Today, I write to you with gladness!

In just over a month, I will be arriving in Madrid, Spain for a five-months-long English teaching assignment. It has been an almost two-year-long journey that began with a word of God in my spirit in August 2021. I’ll tell you a secret: this journey is the inspiration for our “How Words Work” blog series. Yep! And God gave me the outline before I knew I was granted a fellowship to teach overseas. Parts 1 and 2 of the blog were actually published three days before I received my fellowship offer!

But, the original plan that was put into motion and heavily invested in, was to be in Israel for nine months. War broke out the day before I was supposed to fly to Tel-Aviv. Not being able to cultivate, in-person, the relationships that I had curated waiting for that trip has left me heartbroken on many days. Watching the death, destruction, and dismay that this war has caused has left me feeling sad for the country and people I dreamed about working along-side. Not being able to enjoy the beauty and rich culture of a place I have long dreamed of visiting has been dream shattering.

And yet, God’s ways are perfect. In the midst of death and destruction, His will is perfect. Period. Everything that I have shared this year in this series is the process I have walked out in my life. This is not just a study that I’ve curated, it is my life. And now it’s time to receive and prepare to live in the next phase of the process: celebration.

Even when His will leaves me feelings lost, I know that His life-blessing and life-prospering presence is with me WHEREVER I go. Like King David in the verses from last month, over the past two months I regularly felt angry, bitter, fearful, and confused...sometimes all on the same day. But watching Him open doors for this next move is comforting and exciting.

Today, after facing more challenges than I can actually recall, I understand more about what it means to honor God with my words, how to honor my faith with my heart and the fruit of the Spirit, and how to keep my eyes on Jesus, no matter what. So, whatever Spain holds for me, my future, my career, my ministry, my dreams, I celebrate!

Hear it. Speak it. Seek it!

Living Always With Great Expectation,
Dawn~

How Words Work, Part 9

Mon, 06 Nov 2023 05:00:00 GMT

Happy November, C.O. family! In less than 60 days, 2023 will be no more. How are you preparing for 2024? Join us for our annual four-week prayer plan and weekly prayer planning sessions, beginning Friday, December 1st.

Register HERE, purchase your prayer planning journal HERE, and order your Costly Oil custom made “God Said What He Said” t-shirt HERE. Bring your journal, wear your t-shirt, and join us on Zoom and The Christian Woman Chronicles page as we connect in unity and fellowship to seek God’s will for 2024!

This month we are continuing our
“How Words Work”
series with a second part on challenges.

Challenges: “David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “‘How can the ark of the Lord come to me?’” (2 Samuel 6:9)

In chapter 5 of 2 Samuel, we see nothing but challenges, even in the face of promises fulfilled. But chapter 6 begins with a nation-wide party! The scene shifts significantly and the mood implies that the expectation of troubles are gone. Least of all, the king – who is famous for seeking, hearing, and obeying God’s every desire – expects nothing but God’s favor as he and his people welcome the very presence of God back to the land. Then trouble strikes…again. But this unexpected act of judgment from God, something David had never experienced, was shocking. And shockingly brutal. It caused a sense of fear, something this king is not known for.

When God directed me to move to Iowa from Georgia, I was unwavering and without doubt. I was excited and had great anticipation. I had endured many years of lack, suffering, persecution, and poor health in Georgia. However, by the time it was time to leave, God had seen fit to use me in many ways to impact many women for the kingdom. I, and many who loved me, expected a great promotion and rejoicing as a result of this move and new season.

And yet, once my baby girl and I arrived and got settled in Iowa, we endured an entire year of brutal hardship. I consistently asked God, “How can I trust Your leading again in the future?” At times I vowed not to [trust], and other times, I felt helpless to resist obeying God’s leading. I just love and respect Him too much. And so here I am following His plan again. And as before, trouble, actually…All. Out. War…has struck.

The troubles we face after great endurance and victory are often surprising, sometimes devastating, and seemingly unprovoked. What do we do with that? Do we act like it doesn’t matter? Do we pretend to not be afraid and hurt? Do we just “keep it moving”?

In David’s case, and all of ours, it is perfectly acceptable to ask God hard questions, and then take a step back before proceeding. What does He want us to learn? Is He trying to connect with us and His people in a greater way than we first believed? Have we been flippant about this new season/journey in a way that is certain to dishonor Him and cost us our promise?

Use trouble to take the opportunity to pause/slow down, reconnect with God on a deeper level, and learn from Him.

Hear it. Speak it. Seek it!

Living Always With Great Expectation,
Dawn~

How Words Work, Part 8

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 04:00:00 GMT

Hello Costly Oil Family!

As I explained last month, God has inspired me to add two parts to our “How Words Work” blog series. This month we are talking about the challenges that come as a result of how we use our words, in obedience and endurance, to walk in to what God Himself has spoken. But first, let me refer further back to last month’s blog about transitions.

Transition: the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another.

In examining how words work, we begin with a plan of God that we only learn about after we commune with Jesus. This plan is designed to take us from one state or condition to another. It is designed to get us out of our comfort zone. Based on this truth alone, even if we add no attacks by Satan, the process is going to come with some challenges. You have to: learn some new skills, develop some new habits, change some ways of thinking, lose some friendships and maybe even family, spend money in different ways, etc. And when you add your enemy’s tactics… Let’s be real, transition is never easy. We will have to obey AND endure if we want to successfully make the change. And a lot of that will depend on what we do AND what we speak.

Challenges: “And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, ‘You shall not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you,’ thinking, ‘David cannot come in here.’ Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David).”
(2 Samuel 5:6-7)
At this point in this chapter, David has been anointed king of all of Israel, but there were some folks occupying Jerusalem, the chosen capital of the nation. These people spoke some words to the new administration that were not in-line with God’s plan. They were pretty insulting, actually. They saw King David as so weak and his authority so invalid that they claimed that the weakest among them would be able to keep him from taking control of the city.

Have you ever been in a situation where you applied for the position or walked in the room and people just KNEW that you were unqualified for the job? Has God ever told you to do something and the folks around you just KNEW that you were being “unrealistic”? Has God ever shown you something about yourself and you yourself felt like Moses, “God, that’s too big, too hard”? I have. But for me, taking the step of faith is not always the hardest part. The difficulty comes when the challenges – to my faith, to my effort, to the work/money/time I’ve already invested – start. When the money runs out for what God told you to do and then folks start asking…“Did God REALLY tell you to do that?” “Are you SURE you heard clearly?” When the doors all of a sudden start closing in your face. And when the support from when things were going well starts drying up like a well. When delay after delay and distraction after distraction hits like arrows of fire to your spirit and your faith. What do we do then???

I’ll go first. My go-to response is complaining. And anger.

But recently, I did something different. Something that was completely contrary to all I had been writing about in our “How Words Work” series. I spoke something completely contrary to what I KNOW God told me. I agreed with what my enemy was suggesting. This is fairly unusual for me because I typically have a very strong sense of what God wants and a deep sense of unconditional obedience. But this time something…someone…was on the line that I love too dearly and could not possibly fail or disappoint. Even if it meant disobeying God. That’s pretty scary right?

Well, literally hours after asking for prayer from my sister group, God began to open my eyes to how I was cooperating with Satan (as opposed to cooperating with God, as discussed in our last “How Words Work” blog) simply by the words that I had spoken. My prayer partner and I got together and made confession over my heart and mind to bring alignment back to God’s plan. It was a week-long brutal battle in the Spirit and in the natural. And even after the victory was won, Satan came back with another attack. When my words challenged the challenges, my endurance increased. And in spite of how my enemy tried to stop what God had planned, we “took the stronghold of Zion!”

In scripture, Zion is often symbolically represented as an elevated fortress and place specifically appointed by God as a refuge and place of freedom from all enemies and distractions from being able to serve God fully. That is what our transitional challenges are trying to keep us from. The next time God is trying to take you to a new level in Him, think of Zion and a place where you get to walk more fully in the calling He ultimately has in store. He’s giving you victory over those lower-level demons and their attacks. He’s calling you higher because He’s up to something greater.

Hear it. Speak it. Seek it!

Living Always With Great Expectation,
Dawn~

Training in Transitions

Mon, 14 Aug 2023 20:44:49 GMT

"And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, 'You shall not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you,' thinking, 'David cannot come in here.'
Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion
(that is, the City of David)."
~2 Samuel 5:6-7

“If I could go back, I would have focused more on the awe and successes we experienced instead of the lack and struggles”

These were the words I said to myself and a couple of folks about a year after the last major life transition I had…my move to Iowa. I had fasted and prayed and prepared for more than a year, and knew without a shadow of a doubt that mid-America with sub zero temps and multiple feet of snow winters was where God wanted us to be. In spite of the doubt, criticism, and sarcasm of almost everyone I knew, I had not a single doubt…before we moved. The transitional test that followed was an epic personal failure, in spite of the fact that God provided every step of the way and took care of the greatest concern I had: my youngest daughter’s adjustment to a new place where we had no family or support.

She was there with me as I felt called to be closer to my very sick mom, complete my education, and take on a new style of ministry – working outside of the church. She was leaving all of her lifetime friends, all of her siblings, all of the plans she had made for middle and high school, and the home that she loved. We hit the ground in this new space with a barrage of struggles that she helped me pray through all while making new friends, joining show choir (which would quickly become her first love), and making good grades…as usual.

I, on the other hand, stressed and complained for a full year until financial doors began to fly open. By then I had so many opportunities that I literally had to turn down four job offers in one week. Not only was I being paid to work with youth – remember that “‘working outside the church” ministry I mentioned above? – but I was being paid to teach courses that I had fully designed and developed. So I was growing my gifting while getting paid to do so! I was ashamed to recall how much and how long I had stressed and complained about the challenges of that transition.

Well, here we are once again, in the very heat of another transitional test. I am being given a chance to honor the words that open this blog. Transitions are challenging, even with the best laid plans. And when God is trying to get us to pass a test, like all good tests, things will come with challenges. How have I approached this test? How will I pivot so that I endure the training and pass the test? What words do I speak to myself, my family, my friends, God’s people?

I’ll be transparent, I’ve made some missteps already this time as well. But next month’s blog will be a bonus part 8 of “How Words Work” that will explain how God and the prayers of His people helped me snap out of doubt and get back on the battlefield. I’ll share how the next step in How Words Work – Challenges – fit into the bigger goal of 1. complete trust in God and 2. victory through obedience and endurance. I’ll share how remembering and speaking what God said is more than just an act of faith but is also a battle cry against Satan’s age-old tactics; and, how sometimes we so easily get lured into cooperating with his tactics and manifesting his will simply by the words we speak.

Hear it. Speak it. Seek it!

Living Always With Great Expectation,
Dawn~

How Words Work, Parts 6 and 7

Tue, 04 Jul 2023 19:43:26 GMT

July is the seventh month of the year and the Biblical significance of the number of seven is “completion.” Holy Spirit and I designed “How Words Work” to be a seven part series, but I didn’t design it to be completed in the seventh month. However, life, plus God’s leading as I sought His will for direction this month, has made it this way. So, July’s blog wraps up our “How Words Work” series primarily with the practical application of how we work out what we’ve heard and spoken. Like a new Sister-friend in Christ said to me yesterday, “You can’t just quote scripture. You have to truly believe what God says about you!” And as it is written in the Book of James, “Faith without works is dead.” Words + action = faith.

So let's talk about the action part of this equation. This is going to be a long one guys, so let’s get to it.

Commission and Cooperation with God: “And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.” (2 Samuel 5:25)
The bulk of the reference text for our “How Words Work” series is taken from 2 Samuel 5. In this fairly short chapter, we see a brief glance of how King David lived his entire life and ran his kingdom. The very last verse (above) nicely summarizes what we have been talking about in this series. In the words Holy Spirit spoke to me yesterday, “Focus on what God said to you, and move when He says move. Period. THAT is how you live a successful life in Christ.”

When we understand the assignment (Commission from God), and let nothing deter us from that, our actions automatically become pleasing to The Lord and our lives become successful by HIS standards. I have begun to experience this more and more recently as I press through the battles and obstacles that are naturally designed to make God’s plan worth every drop of sweat and tears. Less and less do I have to worry about whether my actions are pleasing to God. I know His Word and His words to me; I speak or write them down; and then I walk it out (i.e. Hear it. Speak it. Seek it.). No fear or doubt required.

This is what it means to live in Cooperation with God.

Confession/testimonial: Most of the stuff I sense from God’s Spirit is not pleasing (and is sometimes outright contrary) to my own desires. I obey usually only after weeks if not months of complaining, negotiating, and sometimes temper tantrums. But 99% of the time I eventually accept His commission and obey. What this means for me personally is that to be completely honest, I have very little self-interest invested in the paths I find myself on. I’m on the path because I love Jesus, I trust Him (mostly...still working on that as well), and I already know what living life based on my own wisdom and “intellect” looks like (i.e. #hotmess.com. I’m going to buy that domain name one day like my kids keep encouraging me to do since I refer to it so much in relation to my former life). What this also means is that:

Whatever I have gained or accomplished for myself, my family, God’s People, or the world is the sole result of what God planned and graced me to have. I can only take credit for the obedience. And even that is due to His grace, because there was a time when I couldn't obey God if my life depended on it…and sometimes it did depend on it.
So, whatever happens on this path, good, bad, or indifferent can only happen as God allows it. And so it’s STILL working out for my good!
Therefore, very few folks can threaten me with taking what I have or accomplished. I didn’t ask for it or want it in the first place. PLEASE make my life simpler if you think you can.

What looks like pop-up blessings, are actually the results of a long process of working through the words God has spoken over and to me; words that I have spoken over and to myself and others about my life and then believed enough to act upon. Let me share a poem that I originally wrote in 2005 and have revised a few times since then. It’s something I often gift to younger women to encourage them; but I've also had people purchase copies from me.

The Daisies That Border My Path
by Dawn L. Bedingfield (2005)
Don’t let my todays mislead you. My tomorrows are filled with hope and possibilities.
If I don’t look like the person you want in your life right now
Don’t be turned off; one day soon you may wake up and find
That I have become the woman of your dreams.
If my material possessions make you doubt my financial status, don’t reject me;
It doesn’t mean that my wealth of wisdom, knowledge, and insight is less than
That of kings and queens.
If you watch my life and it is filled with ups and downs, twists, and turns,
Don’t be confused; a fast and easy journey doesn’t always mean it’s the right path
And a long, eventful journey is not a sign of an unsuccessful path.
If what I can offer you seems less than ideal, look deeper for the real treasures;
Remember, on the surface a diamond is nothing but soot and struggle.
If having me costs you more than what you are willing to pay,
Think about the price of replacing my love and laughter
courage and character, faithful friendship and lasting devotion
with one who is shallow and selfish.
If you have lost confidence in my destiny, don’t let me go just yet;
There is much more life to be lived and chances to be taken;
I am destined to live every moment to the fullest
and make the most of every opportunity.
I expect every negative experience and decision
to blossom into the daisies that border my path.
I will accept every challenge and challenge every obstacle with faith and patience;
I would love to share this all with you!
For me, every day that my eyes shine is one filled with new promises and opportunities.
Just because yesterday has not fulfilled my wildest dreams and expectations
Doesn’t mean my story ends there; another chapter begins right now.
Don’t cheat yourself by not waiting to see what the end will be.
You see, everything about me is ALL GOOD
Why? Because “ALL things work for my GOOD…”
So, don’t measure me by my todays or judge me by my yesterdays.
Peek into my destiny and you will see that yesterday and today
Are only preparing me for the greatness in my tomorrows.

I wrote this poem shortly after my youngest child was born (now going off to their first year of college) when I was ashamed and struggling because of my poor choices. When God makes you a promise…especially if it is in His word…you better ACT like you know. Receive it. Write it down. And then assume the position until HE brings it to pass. And He certainly will!

Now...about all those symbols from February’s blog that I promised would be cleared up… Here’s a quick reminder about the way The Lord outlined “How Words Work” for me:
Communion with Jesus
> Confession
   >Confirmation

       >Confidence

           =Cooperation with God

Meaning:
Communion with Jesus is > (more important) than your Confession. What you confess is > (more important/key) to any Confirmation. Confirmation is < (not as important as) Clarity. Clarity is > (vitally more important) than your Confidence. Confidence is < (not nearly as important as) following God’s Commission. All of this = (equals) Cooperation with God.

Hear it. Seek it. Speak it!

Living Always With Great Expectation,
Dawn~

How Words Work, Parts 4 and 5

Mon, 08 May 2023 17:36:30 GMT

Clarity and Confidence: “So David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted His kingdom for the sake of His people Israel… And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he had come from Hebron. Also more sons and daughters were born to David.” (2 Samuel 5:12a, 13)
After all the confirmation that King David received, it would have been easy for him to have the divine clarity that we all so desperately want and pray for. After reigning in Hebron for years, though, it would have also been easy for him to settle for “good enough,” remain where he was, and rule in his small “lane” of God's kingdom. But God had spoken something more to him. God wanted him to be the first legitimate king to the bloodline of Jesus. This was confirmed to King David by many witnesses. That confirmation provided him with the clarity and confidence he needed to establish and solidify his full reign.

I have heard some people criticize King David for the way he created relationships with multiple women after becoming king. I get this. In Western society this is taboo. But in those days, it was a “kingly” if not godly way to establish one’s authority and rulership. I believe that although he should have sought God in this area and not conformed to the system, the level of clarity and confidence he had in his role almost required that he present himself as a legitimate ruler to the nations around Israel. This is something that we can see in recent history with the establishment of the nation of Israel in the first half of the 20th century. The nation adopted democracy, other western qualities, and made treaties with Great Britain and the US to legitimize their nation and be seen as a cooperative global partner. Politics aside, these strategies often help all types of organizations build confidence with their peers, colleagues, and competitors.

If we want clarity in our direction with God, it is vital that we understand the language process that precedes it. Speaking to Jesus first is key. Confessing his words next is the evidence of faith that we have in what Jesus spoke. And sharing the confirmation is the first step to helping us and others have the clarity we all need to be confident in our actions and next steps.

Hear it. Speak it. Seek it!

Living Always With Great Expectation,
Dawn~

How Words Work, Part 3

Mon, 03 Apr 2023 04:00:00 GMT

Many years prior to David taking rulership over all of Israel in 2 Samuel chapter five verse five, God had the prophet Samuel anoint David as king while Saul was still the king. Once Saul was killed by his enemies the Philistines, the first thing David did was mourn the death of his once leader, Saul, and Saul’s son Jonathan, David’s best friend. Anyone would assume that since God had told David many years prior that he was the rightful king, that his next move would be to assume rulership. But what David did next was one of the things he was famous for, which we discussed last week: He communed with God. But this time he asked God for confirmation about whether this was God’s divine timing for him to assume leadership. As a result, he was quickly anointed king of the tribe/kingdom of Judah (2 Samuel 2); and then, the remaining tribes of Israel anointed him king over the entire nation.

However, even after being anointed by Samuel years earlier, the men of both Judah and Israel, and being told by the Lord to go to Hebron to establish his home (2 Samuel 2:1), the only thing that seemed to give David confidence that he was in God’s will and His timing, was the evidence of The Lord with Him (2 Samuel 5:10) and the favor he received in the physical. In the history of his reign, King David never lost a battle.

Confirmation: “Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters and masons. And they built David a house. So David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted His kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.” ~2 Samuel 5:11-12
One of the best places to settle into with our words is reflecting on, repeating, and rejoicing in the things that confirm God’s own words to us. What did God say that you are watching happen right before your eyes? What have you prayed and fasted about and confessed based on communion with Jesus, and now God is showing up just like He said…greater than you imagine and sooner than you expected? What back-to-back-to-back confirmations are you experiencing that are making your head spin? When these things start piling up, you know that it is no longer time to remain sitting back in the cut, keeping God’s favor a secret. You’ve had your time to reflect on the confirmations. Now it’s time to tell folks…”This is how I know that God is leading me, giving me, calling me, blessing me…” Rejoice. Not for your own sake or desires, but because God wants millions of others to know that what He did for David…and now for you…He will do for them!

THAT is how words work – “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Hear it. Speak it. Seek it!

Living Always With Great Expectation,
Dawn~

How Words Work, Parts 1 and 2

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 16:59:38 GMT

One of the things King David in the Bible is most known for is his communion with God. In the context of this blog series, the word “communion” means: the sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level. Much of the Book of Psalms was written by King David. These psalms were filled with vulnerable, transparent musings, frustrations, and joys concerning David’s life. But throughout the historical books of the Bible, we also see evidence of David as sometimes fugitive, sometimes refugee, sometimes warrior, and sometimes king always communing with God about his plans and direction. This was one of the characteristics that added to David’s image of a humble king who was a man after God’s own heart. So, it is natural that if we are to examine How Words Work, we must start first with the words we speak to and hear from The Lord.

Communion with Jesus: “So David inquired of the Lord,…” ~2 Samuel 5:19
The first place we start when we want to be effective in our words is by speaking them to Jesus FIRST! Before we even think about saying what we are going to do, we need to pray about it. As a planner, I am SO guilty of not doing this. Those of us who like to plan and organize tend to do all the work, organizing, and set up, and then pray, “Ok God, can you bless this for me?” Yes, our words have power, but we need to be speaking the words that we have heard from The Lord…which is the other side of communion. A lady in one of my Bible studies recently told our group that 70% of communication is listening. WOW! I know that for many people, listening to other human beings is difficult if not impossible. How much more difficult is it to sit, wait, and listen for God to speak? But, this is necessary if we want to be successful with our words and our purpose. Life and death are in the power of our tongue, and when we speak what Jesus says, we can ONLY have life! So, commune with Him first, and do more listening than speaking.

Confession: “Then David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it the City of David.” ~2 Samuel 5:9
The next key in understanding how words work is our confession. Just as I stated above, life and death are in the power of what we speak. Speaking what The Lord says about us and to us, and for us, our family, destiny, finances, health, etc. is going to be vital to our success in our walk with Jesus and this life on earth. However, often the one thing we have to be aware about with our confession is timing. God told David that he was going to be king many years before the timing of the verse above. But David patiently waited until he was certain that the time was right. This timing involved making sure that his heart and character were ready. It involved making sure he did not step over or abuse anyone in the process. It meant watching for the signs that God’s favor was in operation and moving him in the direction of leadership. Once it was clear to David that it was his season to be king, he then began to call the things that previously were not as though they were!

Now, of course some things don’t require us to endure this process. Scripture is God’s word, and if we are aligned with the requirements of His word, we are commanded to speak what He says over our lives. As one pastor put it, “When I read the words of Jesus saying something negative about me in the Bible, THEN I’ll start saying it. Until then, I will confess that I am blessed, the head and not the tail, the lender and not the borrower, healed, rich, etc.!”

Hear it. Speak it. Seek it!

Living Always With Great Expectation,
Dawn~

How Words Work

Mon, 06 Feb 2023 05:00:00 GMT

Happy New Year Costly Oil family! I know we are more than a month in, but today begins my 2023 blog series, “How Words Work.”

As many of you have heard, our December prayer plan for 2023 was supernatural for so many of the women who participated. And for me personally, my breakthrough came during the last week of the prayer plan…when it was time to say, “Yes, Lord!” But what none of you know is that that breakthrough came after God told me to open my mouth and share His instructions to me with someone else. Almost instantly, He began to confirm what He had spoken through the mouth of two “witnesses” who I had never met. After those words of confirmation, the confusion I felt about His instructions cleared up and I received clarity and confidence that I was on the right track. After that, I was able to act on His instructions and feel Him cooperating with me on this new journey.

In case you didn’t catch that progression, let me outline it for you the way The Lord outlined it for me:
Communion with Jesus
>Confession
   >Confirmation
          >Confidence
                    =Cooperation with God

You might be confused by the symbols I use in this outline, but if you go back to your third grade math it might clear up a bit. OR you can join me back here each month as I dig into what these words and symbols mean and share what The Lord told me about How Words Work in our walk with Him. I hope to see you then!

Living Always With Great Expectation,
Dawn~

Go. Start. Rumors.

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 15:17:28 GMT

Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”
~John 4:42

After the Samaritan woman left Jesus, she not only left her water pot – the vessel she was dependent on to soothe her thirst – but she went and started rumors. She then returned with a spiritual harvest…a harvest of people who came to Jesus to see what her rumors were all about. Jesus' disciples returned to Him with natural food, but this woman returned with spiritual food...,

“In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, 'Rabbi, eat.' But He said to them, 'I have food to eat of which you do not know.' Therefore the disciples said to one another, “'Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?' Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work'"
and
"'Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors'” (John 4:34-38).

This woman brought a harvest of souls to Jesus and His disciples as a result of the rumors she’d planted throughout the town. The disciples would be partakers in the spiritual (souls who would soon believe on Jesus because of her rumors) and natural (the town’s people would invite Jesus and His disciples to stay and rest for days – verse 40) harvest she reaped because of her belief and testimony.

What has God done in your life that you need to "run and tell about it"?

What has God rescued you from that you have been hiding in shame?

I get it, so here's my testimony.

Join me by no longer living in the shame of the past.

Be like the woman of Samaria who met Jesus at the well of her worship. Go. Start. Rumors...

I pray that my testimony starts rumors that results in a harvest in your lives!

Living Always With Great Expectation,
Dawn~