Greater Trials Bring Greater Grace

James 5:11 reads, “Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” This verse means so much to me because it reminds me that the Lord has a purpose for all that we encounter. God does not randomly allow pressures to come into our lives. He assures us that there is a greater purpose to such times of testing.

For my own life and ministry, it seems I have faced more pressure in the last 3 months than at any other time. For weeks I have been asking the Lord, “Why are you allowing all this pressure?” I could write a very long list of detailed pressures that I have never faced in 15 years of pastoring, and the odd thing is, they have all been happening at once? So my question to the Lord has been, “Why?” Slowly, He has been giving me the answer.

A Greater Dependence on the Holy Spirit
I know one reason why God has allowed all that He has. This season of life has absolutely driven me to my knees. God has led me, by His grace, into a deeper depending on the Holy Spirit. An awakening so great that I feel as though I cannot pray without His help. I cannot make decisions without His help. I cannot continue the journey without His help. I have found this new, deeper dependence sweet and reassuring that God is with me and is not forsaking me.

I am also discovering that with this greater dependence on the Holy Spirit, He is bringing a greater anointing to do His work. While on one hand the spiritual warfare has never been weightier, on the other hand, the blessings of God to do the work of ministry has never been stronger. I can feel a heavier, stronger anointing to pray, preach and counsel. I am often reminded of what Charles Stanley says, “What is painful is always profitable.”

Dreams and Visions
After months of unique pressures and after the Lord instructed me to write a book on Affliction, it seems the Lord has shown me His purposes for all that He has been allowing. On Monday morning, January 2, the Lord woke me up with a vision. I do not often have open visions, but in this case, the Lord gave me one.

What means even more to me is that it was the morning before my dad would pass away and enter Heaven. I thought my tensions and pressures were at a breaking point…I had no idea what I was about to face in the next 24 hours. I had planned to go work Monday morning excited about 2017. That all changed when I got the phone call of how bad my dad was. Looking back, I am so thankful the Lord gave me a vision to hold on to and remember that He is with me according to Hebrews 13:5.

As I was waking up Monday, January 2, the Lord showed me a massive bow and arrow. I did not see a man nor woman holding the bow, which says to me that this is the Lord, not of man. It was a large, beautiful bow. I saw the string being pulled back slowly and the further it was pulled back, the greater the pressure became. I watched it for a few moments, noticing the shaking of the string because so much pressure was on it.

All of a sudden, the arrow that was on the bow was launched. I can remember hearing the wind as the arrow was released. It was so large, so beautiful and so detailed that I stood there amazed. I do not know where the arrow went. But as soon as the arrow was launched, the Holy Spirit said to me, “I am about to launch you like this arrow. I have allowed every pressure and all the tension because I am drawing you back to be released. You think you have understood swiftness, you have not seen swiftness like you are going to see.” Immediately I knew it was the Lord.

How will the Lord Launch Us?
I do not know fully what the Lord is going to do in the coming months. What I do know is that He is leading us, as well as many other churches, to deeper prayer. I know we are not the only one’s coming into greater prayer and prayer gatherings. It seems God is doing this with so many of His people.

For our congregation, God is leading us toward weekly prayer gatherings called, Prayer that Moves Mountains. I believe what we will see God do in 2017 will be a direct result of those prayer services. I cannot say all that is in my heart, but I am talking to the Lord about it. I know that He is allowing greater trials…yet He is giving greater grace. He is allowing unique pressures…yet He is giving unique grace. He is giving dreams and visions because the Holy Spirit is bringing a greater work, a greater dependency and a greater anointing to pray.

So whether you attend my church or not, will you join me in praying for a greater work in 2017? Think and ponder this wonderful statement by Oswald Chambers, author of the classic, My Utmost for His Highest. He once said, “Prayer does not prepare us for the greater work. Prayer is the greater work.”