This Too Shall Pass

Hey sis! Please indulge me as I first of all give a big big big shout-out to a woman who has been such a blessing to me from the very first day I met her. No, scratch that…. She was a blessing to me waaayyyyy before that; in so far as she is the mother of my awesome brother-in-law Marc, and she is mother/sister/friend to my precious baby sister. I love you Mrs. Diane Johnson aka Momma J.

It was my birthday several weeks back and I had such an outpouring of love from her and countless others. But just a couple of days ago, I received some ‘express’ mail that in the end turned out to be snail mail, and in the package were two absolutely delightful birthday cards from Momma J. And she is so special like that, my second mama! She really is! It wasn’t enough for her to do Facebook posts, etc… no, she brought a personal and very unique touch of love from the depths of her heart.

Tears immediately began to stream down my eyes as I considered how she would have taken her time to drive down to the gift shop. I could see her browsing through various cards, looking for the ones whose wordings would best convey the love she feels for her ‘other daughter’ as she so lovingly calls me. I could see her at her dining table, bent over the cards, taking time to underline and place emphasis on the words and phrases that she needed me to hear truly and deeply as coming straight from her heart. I felt that true love as being from the heart of God, and it was my birthday all over again. So this is me honoring a precious woman who took time to honor me so much. I love you Momma J, truly I do. And I thank you form the bottom of my heart. God Himself hugs you for me momma-mine. He sure does!

That said, and necessarily so, let me get back to the word I have for you today, sis. And that word from God is that ‘This Too Shall Pass!’

I kinda already figured that God was trying to tell me something. What was happening couldn’t have been a series of coincidences. No! It became rather clear to me that I was dealing with ‘Godincidences’ when for four days in a row, everyone I listened to was ministering about Esau and Jacob. From Stephen Furtick, to Joyce Meyer, to Robert Morris, to Leon Fontaine, to At Boshoff, and finally to Bishop TD Jakes…. the message was so essentially the same that it would have been scary if my walk with God hadn’t yet gotten to where He has helped me be today.

Truth be told, I didn’t cotton on to the relevance of this message in my space until yesterday. Stephen Furtick had said, ‘Don’t sacrifice what you want now for what you need in the future’ (Let me encourage you to get his ‘God of Jacob’ also called ‘Death to Selfie’ series. Powerful word!); and when a few minutes later Bishop Jakes gave the charge ‘Don’t make permanent decisions based on temporary situations’ I suddenly saw it clearly. Over the past couple of weeks, I have found myself burdened under the weight of a few situations playing out within my work and extended family. My own inner sanctum has been well protected, praise God; but all around me were existing dependencies that were being compounded by challenges that were creating other dependencies – emotionally, spiritually financially, in and of themselves. It was all a bit much, sis. It was!

As I communed with God during my quiet time a few mornings’ ago, He had reminded me that I needed to stay in His rest in order to fulfill His assignments. I didn’t need to wonder why He reminded me about that, sis. I can tell you that in those few days, my peace had been completely stolen – to the degree that by the day before yesterday, I’d found myself moping around quite a bit, and then randomly bursting into tears every so often (much to consternation of my poor clueless husband). 

As I stood in his embrace yesterday morning, I was grateful that my husband knew well enough that it wasn’t one of those times when he needed to ask me any questions or try to solve a problem for me. He just stood rock solid with his arms around me and my head on his chest. His steady breathing belied what I knew would certainly be his own inner turmoil and feeling of helplessness; and I was grateful because his outward calm was so soothing. I needed that. It was in that space that I began to speak to myself and again allow the Holy Spirit minister peace to my soul. It was in that space that I reminded myself that I am the blessed of the Lord; that I am favored; that I am a privileged daughter of the Most High God. I reminded myself of my many blessings; I reminded myself of my countless testimonies of old, and I assured myself that God would do it again and again.

Sis, in the space of my husband’s stoic embrace, I reminded myself that the situations I was (and am) dealing with been there a while anyway – even if somewhat exacerbated now. I reminded myself that the same God Who has delivered me time and time again would fight for me even in these new battles. And why not? He is jealous over me, isn’t He? He has good plans for me, doesn’t He? He has said He will never leave me nor forsake me, hasn’t He? Has He not kept me and mine in great health, in material wealth, in love, joy and togetherness? Has He not given me a great family, successful business, growing ministries? Has He not shown me the ultimate expression of love – a love that was deep enough to sacrificially call me out of sin and keep me growing in Him? Ah yes sis, as I clung to my husband in the physical, my spirit man clung back tighter to God! I exhaled deeply twice, slowly let go and smiled broadly. I said to my husband ‘I’m good. This too shall pass’. It was a word that came easily from my heart, and I knew as I spoke that God had released those words straight out of His Holy Spirit that is within me.

What has this got to do with Esau and Jacob? Well quite simply sis, I saw that God was reminding me that in the heat of our passions, distresses and travails, when we seem to be buffeted around about by various storms (in Esau’s case, his intense hunger); then we need to be careful not to let go of our birthrights. We need to be careful not to make permanent decisions off of temporary situations. As I sat back and reflected on the things I was (am) struggling with, and the initial sets of thoughts I’d had regarding how best I could sort the issues out, I realized that minus my coming back to the place of resting in God, I would have made some suboptimal decisions, consequences for which I would have had to contend with for ages. I was reminded afresh that none of the situations was or is in my hands, and that operating outside of God’s rest would have amounted to me trying to help Him do what only He actually can in the first place. I realized that minus God, any choices I made would set me up for complications along the line. Thank God for divine interruptions, sis. Thank God indeed!

And you know what? Though I’d retaken my ground at home, as I walked into my office yesterday, I also began to speak out into the atmosphere of that space which I would occupy for a good part of my day, and again declare the blessings of God over my life in that space. I declared the things I needed to be thankful for and I openly rebuked the enemy for his attempt at distracting me. I could literally sense the shift in the atmosphere, sis. Literally! Then in my first meeting of the day, what was supposed to be a thirty minute sit down to talk business turned into a three-hour apostolic session, with intense prayers and prophetic declarations that validated on at least seven different levels, things that God had spoken to me over the past few months. Wow! At the end of the day sis, with a clearer head and heart, and with a resettled spirit, I can tell you that I have practically been floating ever since, a silent sing-song putting a skip in my every step. The irony is that nothing has changed in the physical. The issues are still there, but I am back at rest. I am back to the place of the fullness of knowing with certainty that each of these issues shall yet pass, as my God lives true to His word to contend with everyone or everything that contends against me; as He indeed fills me with a peace that surpasses all understanding; as I again enter my hiding place – in His rest!

What then is my message to you, sis? As the Lord ministered to me, I want you to hear His word for you also,sis. No matter what you are going through, no matter how difficult the situation is, the Lord is asking that you trust Him. He is saying to you that this too shall pass. He is saying that something great is ahead of you, good plans that He laid in store from you from the foundation of the earth – your birthright, sis. Your heavenly birthright is in store for you! He says you should not allow the hunger pangs and pains of the day cause you to sub-optimize your destiny, sis. Don’t make hard choices because you can’t see your way through, sis. Rather, keep your focus up – on Him. Remind yourself of your previous testimonies, sis. And then rest again, trust again, believe again.

Don’t worry that it looks hard, sis. Don’t worry that it looks scary, confusing, frustrating, that it appears to be stagnating. Don’t let the winds blowing from all sides distract you. All eyes on Jesus, sis! Your Father is calling you back into His rest, and into the assurance that He is more than able. Whatever is your current ‘this’, sis…. Please trust that it too shall pass. Count your blessings, sis. It truly does help you see life through God’s perspective and power. Yes, like me you may find yourself weighed down and teary-eyed for a season. But please don’t let that season escalate, sis. Rather, be intentional about your God-focus. Be intentional about finding your past testimonies because He will do it again. This too shall sis! This too shall pass! I trust that the Holy Spirit will help you see this clearly with every attack of the enemy, even as surely as He has and is daily helping me.

Be blessed sis…. For you surely are!