Good Morning Gorgeous,
It’s a brand new day. A fresh new start. A new day to rise unto the Lord and revel in the beauty of a brand new beginning.
Each new day is a chance for a fresh fill of what you need from Jesus. You can continue to enter His Presence and trust that He has what you so desperately need and He will fulfill His promises to you.
Sometimes that fulfillment of God’s promises looks completely different than what we imagined it would look like.
Sometimes the victory doesn’t appear to be a victory at all.
Many times as we battle against things on earth or contend for things on earth, all we see is defeat, defeat, defeat. And that defeat can make fear strike and faith waver.
When faith wavers, we sometimes shrink back, slow down our prayers, worry and magnify the situation, and hopelessness and fear begin to reign instead of our holy inheritance of peace that Jesus gives that surpasses all understanding.
I’ve written about Peter before, but I am brought to these scriptures again as I face a battle that has me feeling weary and frightened.
Peter was very close to Jesus. He was not only one of the 12 disciples, but he is mentioned often in the gospels. He walked especially close with Jesus and Jesus gave an amazing promise to Peter. It extends to all of His followers, and was given first to Peter.
Jesus asks Peter an important question, “Who do you say that I am?” Check out this amazing conversation between Jesus and Peter.
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Matthew 16:15-19 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.16.15-19.NIV
Woaaah!!! What a PROMISE!!!!!!
Jesus promises to build His Church on the revelation that Peter had that Jesus was the Messiah and Son of the Living God.
Then, He promises MORE! That nothing will overcome the Church that Jesus was building, that Peter will be given the keys of heaven, AND basically whatever Peter says will go. He is given authority to bind and loose things on earth and it will extend eternally into heaven!
Peter is given a HUGE promise that as he possesses the promise, it will open up the promise to a whole new people. JUST like Abraham had to contend and stand in faith for the promise that would make an entire Israelite Nation, NOW Peter will be building a church and extending the promises of God to others.
The problem for Peter is that he had a picture in his mind of how Jesus would gain victory. They were going to serve Jesus as King. Jesus was going to challenge the authority of Rome and be made King of the Jews..they would have their own King and be an individual kingdom just like they used to be before their capture hundreds of years earlier..
Peter was ready to fight unto death!!! Fast Forward to Jesus’s arrest, and Peter ready to claim all that Jesus had been promising cuts off the ear of one of the soldiers. He was ready to battle!
But Jesus willingly goes and allows Himself to be arrested by the soldiers. Peter was gripped with fear. How could this be? He was expecting a different victory. He fled and denied Jesus three times.
Are you waiting on fulfillment of promises from God? Do things appear to be getting worse instead of better?
You’re in good company, same happened to Peter and the goooood news is that EVERY WORD that Jesus spoke came to Pass and will come to pass.
Peter did preach the gospel and work to build the church. He was baptized in the Holy Spirit and able to lay hold of the promises Jesus spoke to Him.
It just looked different than he planned. Peter was expecting a battle that would change things now, and Jesus had an answer that would change all generations until His return!!!
Friends, if you are gripped with fear because your prayers seem to be unanswered, let Peter’s testimony give you fresh faith that GOD IS WORKING!!
He will fulfill every promise that He has made to you!
I have been battling and contending for my children to follow Jesus and receive every promise that God has planned for them. And God has given me two verses:
AND
Friends, God fulfills His Word. Despite the disappointment, the bad news, the waiting, and the struggle. He WILL do what He promised.
Today if you are waiting on a miracle, flee back to Jesus and tell Him that you STILL trust Him. Place Him back in the highest place in Your life and rest in His battle. He will win. He will wage war and be victorious. As we stay in faith, listening for His directions, and following His Word, we are positioned to walk out victory with Jesus.
And Jesus battles for eternal victory, not temporary gain!!!
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for Your promises in Your Word. Lord, help us to stay grounded in faith even when the battle looks different than we anticipated. Lord, we trust You.
In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Blessings and Breakthrough,
Vanessa Lynn
I am in awe of how many times He has shown up at exactly the right moment!
Right! He is amazing!
Blessings to you, Vanessa. x
Thank you Dawn!!!