The mind that God gave us is a powerful thing; it can work for us or against us.

Watching the series ALONE I saw one contestant who let his mind work against him, instead of for him. He was quick to think the worse about his situation each day, and quick to become angry when something happened that hurt him; quick to curse with his words. How we feed and nourish our mind determines how we deal with loneliness, adversity and loss. It makes all the difference.

This contestant learned how negative he was by all the problems he made for himself by thinking so negatively. All his ‘cursing’ over the situations he was in worked against him. For example: a mouse followed him around chewing his gear so that he decided to change locations, but the mouse followed him wherever he went. He began to realize that it was ‘him’ who needed to change, not his location, and not expecting nature to change. Nature does what nature was created to do.

Why does God tell us (in His Word) to think on the things are worthy, good and lovely; those things that nourish and increase the mind’s true purpose from God? Why does God tell us NOT to think on the things that are not true, and that starve and weaken our mind? What power does our mind really have that we are responsible for? How we think is how we act.

God created us. Our mind works right when it’s fed right. When it’s fed right – we do right. When we do right – God blesses it. When God blesses it – great things happen all around us. It rubs off on others.

God’s Word (the truth) is what we need to feed our mind with. This man suffered so much because his mind was weak and incapable of seeing the value around him with nature. His mind was unable to see how to use things around him that nature provides us. He was not prepared at all. Therefore, nature worked against him and not for him. Therefore, this man became his own worst enemy.

People get depressed and have mental breakdowns because of how they think; how they have been raised to think. People commit suicide because of how they think. People hurt people because of how they think.

God is good and God is love; therefore, everything in nature works together because God made it to naturally do so; everything except the ‘natural’ man that is when his thoughts are evil rejecting God and God’s Word.

God set man apart from all other created things; giving him the right to rule and care for His creation. But when man does not “think” right – man works against creation instead of along with it. When man does not “think” right – man works against himself: inhumanities (cruelty, viciousness, mercilessness, atrocities, sadisms).

When we are out of touch with God – our life is so much harder than it needs to be and should be. God intended our life to be fruitful and joyful. God has given us His precious Word to bring us to think right about ‘all’ things pertaining to life, both now and later after death.

God has given us His Son in physical human form to show us the way to the “abundant life;” to free us from our fears and from the condemnation of our sinful nature.

God will bless us with the gift of His ‘indwelling’ Holy Spirit when we trust in His Son in order to bring us out of mental darkness – to open our vision to reality and raise us to our full potential of all things good and eternal.

When you know all this, and not just “know” it but have tested it to be absolutely true in your life, what is there in your mind or in life that works against you anymore? What can happen that you and the LORD can’t overcome, improve and fully enjoy? God’s Word says:

“These light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all; so we fix our eyes on what is unseen and not on what is seen; for that which is seen is temporal but that which is unseen is eternal.”

When we don’t feed our mind ‘the truth’ about this life that we’re born to live – we remain mere infants always falling down and hurting ourselves, getting angry and throwing tantrums, expecting others to support and comfort us, never coming to the maturity of truth and confidence, strength and perseverance, helpful and joyful.

This sad and pitiful man on ALONE (Season 2) eventually ‘broke’ after mentally suffering almost two months in the wilderness. He fell to his knees and cried to God in total desperation (lonely and hungry), and I tend to believe it was the first time he ever completely humbled himself before God.

He was the second from the last man (who won), but he went home with a brand new outlook on his life. He didn’t win the $500K, but he gained so much more in those two months in the wilderness. You really come to the truth about your beliefs, your life and who you are – in a lonely wilderness place. It’s my personal belief that everyone who comes to live the “abundant life in Christ” – has spent some time in the wilderness.

The true wilderness is a “state of mind.” It is all in how you choose to think.

When everything seems against you – God is still for you. He’s waiting for you to realize that. He waits for you to fully believe that HE IS who He says He is; that “He exists and rewards those who eagerly seek Him.”

Moses and the Israelites were being chased by Pharaoh and his army with the intent of bringing them back to Egypt so that the Israelites would be forced to keep serving them. After all the plagues that ruined their land, killed all their livestock and every first born son – Pharaoh’s heart remained stubborn towards God’s will.

Most people would’ve surrendered to the will of God after the first or last plague, but the Scriptures say that it was God that hardened the heart of Pharaoh so that the wonders and favor of God would be experienced by His own people who had not SEEN God’s faithfulness to His promise in their lifetime.

God does not ‘force’ Himself on people; He ‘offers’ Himself. Evil people force themselves on people because they have nothing good in themselves of offer anyone. God offers Himself to people because God is full of love for people and is able to fulfill His promises of goodness to anyone who will believe He exists and rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

The Egyptians used and mistreated God’s people, so God used and mistreated the Egyptians. God gets even, but He tells US not to seek revenge on those who personally hurt and mistreat us. Why is that? “REVENGE is MINE,” says the Lord. Why is God’s revenge right and ours wrong? I tend to believe that when we turn over what has been done to us to our Father God – He is FREE to work HIS WONDERS before our eyes. How else can we stand in AWE of Him and commit ourselves fully to the God who loves us with an everlasting love?

We ‘naturally’ want to defend the weak and helpless because we are made in God’s image, and this is right to do according to God. This is why God set the man over his family and the government over a nation. What an evil thing it is when a father is the bully or abuser of his family, or a president/king uses his power and position to force people to serve him as slaves.

There is a difference between “personal revenge” and “justice.” God will justly deal with those who purposely hurt and use us ‘against our will.’ We are wise to wait for that, just like Joseph did, and David did. They waited and saw the Lord’s good purpose in letting them suffer for a time. Suffering produces the good purposes of God, if we will entrust ourselves to our heavenly Father; a harvest of righteousness will come forth by those who have seen their suffering as character building instead of physical punishment.

God expects us to come to the defense of others, but when you seek to take revenge on someone who has hurt you personally, or used you against your will – God tells us to forgive them and wait on God to deal with them and free you HIS WAY and in HIS TIME. We can see how this worked for Jacob’s 11^th son Joseph, who remained faithful to God all those years of suffering. At just the right time Joseph was in position to help his father Jacob and the family have food during a great famine. We can see how suffering for a time worked for David, later replacing King Saul of Israel who had disobeyed God.

God told Moses to go in His Name and with all of God’s power to rescue the Israelites from their captors.

God had absolutely NO mercy or compassion on the Egyptians who had enslaved and oppressed His people all those years. (From the day Jacob and his whole family entered Egypt it was 430 years later when they received their freedom by the MIGHTY HAND of GOD.) God hardened Pharaoh’s heart after each plague (judgment) so that God’s own people would come to know how powerful and faithful His love is for them. He would teach them to trust and obey Him by all that He did to the Egyptians and that He did NOT let happen to them at the same time; revealing to them that God controls everything in nature (His created things) and can use any of it any way He chooses.

When Moses and the Israelites were camped at the Red Sea and with the Egyptians on their tails to take them back, the people and Moses cried out to God in fear. But the Lord said to Moses (not the Israelites), “WHY ARE YOU CRYING OUT TO ME? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.” And so they did. And we know what happened to their enemies. God drowned them all except a few who lived to tell about it.

When you are suffering for whatever reason – do you cry about it? As one of God’s leaders of His people – do you cry to God about what is happening to them; waiting for HIM to do something about it? God has given us His Word and His Name, the Spirit’s power and authority over the enemy, and He expects us to USE IT ALL with confidence expecting God to do what He says that only He can do for us, as we come to that place and time. We can do more than we think we can do, but there are things that only God can do that God wants us to experience and worship Him for.

God’s anointing on anyone He calls to His purpose – is that HE WILL DO what He has said He will do which is impossible for man to do, as we faithfully go forward obeying His instructions all along the way – to the end.

“As Moses obeyed the LORD…..all that night THE LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind that kept the land dry beneath their feet as they walked through.” Exodus 14:21

Is God the same God as He was then? If we will trust and obey His Word – God will make a way where there seems to be no way.

“Your path led us through deep waters; even though your footsteps were not seen. You led us on a path we did not know; a path we did not see.” Psalms 77:19
 

We are shown and taught in the book of Exodus that God chose a man to deliver His people from their misery. This man was not easily accepted by God’s miserable people. They needed to ‘see’ God’s anointing on the man before they would believe and follow his leadership. God gave the man the power to do amazing things. God chose a man that grew up in the ways of the world, prospering and successful by the world’s standard. God chose and anointed this man to challenge the rulers in the land oppressing God’s people. God used this unlikely man to humble the ruler and break the pride and power of the oppressors of God’s people.

But first: God’s people needed to ‘believe’ that the LORD had seen their misery, and had called this particular man to Himself to work through and prepare the way – that they prosper, worship and prepare for their departure.

This is what our God did for His people then; will He not do this for us now in America?

If we do not believe that God “has seen our misery” and heard our “crying out to Him,” then we will not understand who Donald Trump/Michael Pence are. If we believe that God’s judgment on us remains, without recognizing the time of God’s coming to us, we will be looking for something else; we will remain in bondage even though we don’t see we’re bound.

If you believe that God’s judgment is still on His people here in America – then you will live under oppression and the fleecing you’ve been under, even though God has sent you a deliverer. If you don’t see the truth – you won’t live in the benefits of the truth. There are Christians that see this elected man for America’s next president as God’s judgment on His people and not God’s grace for His people. If we fail to see this time of God’s grace and favor on His ‘humbled’ people – then we will continue doing what we’ve always done and forfeit the grace that could’ve been ours in this time.

“If My people who are called My Name, will seek My Face, humble themselves and turn from their wicked ways then I will hear their prayers and heal their land.”

Is our God the same God He was back then when He chose Moses? Have Christians in America been seeing the RAPID ‘progression of oppression’ upon God’s people over this last 8 years? Have we been painfully disciplined under this lawless ruler of the past 8 years? Did God overturn this election against our enemy who had more evil planned for God’s people?

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.”

These last 8 years have been VERY unpleasant and painful for God’s holy people. “And without holiness no one will see the Lord.”

Those in Christ who have been righteously trained these last 8 years will “produce a harvest,” if they do not give up walking with the Lord to the end of what God has given His people to do.

Have you been trained? Who has trained you in what you now believe? Have you come out of worldly ways and from depending on worldly systems; simply trusting in the Word of God? Are you still trusting in the government to be your friend or guardian? Are you walking with Lord seeing the need to prepare for the days ahead, and to store provision for those loved ones you will leave behind? What harvest are you hoping? What do you hope to reap from what you’ve been sowing?

“Do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone He accepts as His son.” (Hebrews 12: 5-6)

“In fact, though by this time you should be teachers of truth and righteousness, but instead you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who continues to live on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

When God’s people remain infants on milk: sucking on the elementary teachings ‘about’ Christ and comforted in the ‘knowledge’ of our coming salvation, but never ‘maturing’ in God’s wisdom for the ‘right’ thinking and activity for ‘the time’ they live in – they will become the helpless instead of being Christ’s helpers prepared and ready for Him. Don’t think that just because you see the good you do for others that you are actually doing the work of the Lord. Self-righteousness is not the righteousness of Christ.

Little children would rather argue than submit. Little children don’t see the danger ahead; neither will know how to ward it off or prepare for it. Children don’t think ahead because they are thinking of themselves all the time. They trust others for what they need and want. Children believe anything they are told and taught. Children are easily deceived. Children enjoy fantasies.

Little children trust those that are NOT to be trusted. Children don’t see who has been working against their good and future fulfillment. They foolishly resist the leadership of true righteousness because it doesn’t meet their current selfish wants, and because they are required to grow up and be self-disciplined and helpful to the Lord.

Children are whom the devil is after to use for his evil works in the world and against the furthering of Christ’s Kingdom.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance having been trained properly, for the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

Yes – I certainly believe that God has seen the misery of His people in America, and has heard our humble prayers, and is now giving us a time to prosper and prepare as we should for what is coming that Jesus said we should be ready and prepared for.

“Let us approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

“I have indeed seen the misery of My people in America.” “I have heard them crying out to Me because of the government’s oppression, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of their oppressors and to bring them out from under the further plans of their oppressors. Their cry has reached Me and I have seen the way they are treated.” (personalizing Exodus 3:7-9)

If God did this for His people in Egypt, and as God did for Lot in Sodom, will He do it for His people in America in such a time as this?

If God delivered His people from Haman’s secret agenda against the livelihood of God’s people – deceitfully trying to kill them off one by one – will God expose our enemies in high places of power and turn their evil plans back on them as He did with Haman being hung on the very gallows he had built for the Jews?

We don’t always see what happens in a progressive way until we feel the results personally and then corporately. By then we’re to a point of great complexity over what to do about it and we can only CRY out to God; repenting of our disobedience to God’s Word in our personal lives.

When there is a breakdown in God’s family order and purpose in the land the whole nation suffers. God’s people are to be the light and salt which preserves God’s favor and good in the land. There are instructions from the Lord that if we follow through in every generation – will prevent evil from progressively overcoming us.

When God hears enough crying out to Him by His ‘humbled’ people – will He answer; will He “come down to rescue His people?” In His “coming down” what does this look like?

Jesus said that if we’ve seen Him – then we’ve seen the Father. But the Lord has come down to rescue His people – working through various kinds of imperfect vessels such as Moses and Aaron, and Christ’s apostles.

How does it honor God or further His plan of saving people when His own people are fleeced in every way possible? Politicians and governments are not our shepherd; Jesus Christ is our Shepherd. His sheep know His Voice and they follow Him.

If God used a very worldly man named Moses, a wealthy man raised from infancy in Pharaoh’s house and a man who didn’t speak well; can He use a man like Donald Trump? Does a man’s worldliness, wealth and weakness discourage God or thwart His plans?

If God gave Moses an assistant, his priestly brother Aaron, to help Moses deliver His people, could God unite Michael Pence and Donald Trump as brothers in delivering God’s people?

As in any time of when God delivered His people, His people will need to get right with God in their hearts and homes and take advantage of God’s specific time for them to get-a-head. (As my husband would put it: “be a head and not a tail any longer.”)

The Old Testament is full of accounts of how God uses whomever He wants, and it has always been questioned and attacked. We see how our president-elect has been rejected and attacked by those trying to remake America by silencing and enslaving God’s people. God’s covenant was with godly men not wicked men; those faithful men who founded this nation and formed our good Constitution.

The next president after Donald Trump will not be as favorable towards God’s people in America. Each American leader after Trump/Pence will be more and more hostile towards God’s people. We know this to be true by the word of God. He tells us the things to come – to make us wise and ready for anything, so that we are not caught unaware but prepared.

Jesus our Savior and coming King warns us: “Therefore keep watch…so that your house does not get broken into…be ready because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him. Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the Master has put in charge of the servants in His Household to give them their food at the proper time? (Food is both physically and spiritually strengthening.) It will be good for that servant whose Master finds him doing so when He returns. Truly I tell you, He will put him in charge of all His possessions.” (Matthew 24:42-47)

Might we use this time wisely that our God has given us. Jesus is coming back sooner than we think!