I had a crazy encounter that I felt like I needed to share. A
couple days ago, I was waking up in the morning and I was still in that half asleep/half awake state, and suddenly I had a vision and heard the voice of the Lord speaking to me. It
was so clear and loud that I sat up immediately and grabbed my journal to write down the
words.
This is what I heard:
I saw a book that was opened to the last chapter. But that
chapter of the book was left unwritten. The pages were all blank. Then I heard, “There
is an empty chapter in so many people’s lives that has never been written, and
it supposed to be about CONQUEST – how they’ve taken the hard things in their
life and used them to propel them higher into God. They’ve learned how to
conquer through the things they’ve suffered and endured, because they pressed
into who God wanted to be for them in the midst of their suffering.”
In that moment, I experienced grief because of what God had wanted
to do for these people, yet was never able to do, because they didn’t turn to
Him in the middle of their trials and difficulties.
I know that this message is for someone. You’re going through something really
rough and painful, and maybe it’s caused you to question the goodness of God or
to doubt His love or concern for you. Perhaps you’ve even distanced yourself
from Him because you felt this way. I want to tell you that God is not the
author of evil or pain in your life. He didn’t cause this to punish you or teach you some
kind of lesson. He sent His Son Jesus to die on a cross to take your punishment,
so that you could be reconciled to Him, and have access to all that He is and
all that He wants to be for you. There’s a chapter in your life waiting to be
written. It’s the story of how you overcame because you found Him in your time
of suffering.
After this encounter, the Lord began to speak to me out of
Hosea 2:14. God was giving a message to His people, Israel. He said, “I will win her
back once again. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her
there. I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble
into a gateway of hope. She will give herself to me there, as she did long ago
when she was young, when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt. When that day
comes,” says the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’ instead of ‘my master.’”
A gateway is a means of access or entrance. What I believe God is saying is: “this Valley of Trouble your passing through right now, it’s gonna give you access to a place in me that you wouldn’t have entered any other way! It’s a place where I’m going to redeem your pain. I’m going to restore some things that you’ve lost. You’ll find a new surrender. You’ll get back your innocence. You’ll know me again as your Deliverer. And right here in this valley, I’m forging your most powerful weapon: Hope! And if you will let it, this painful trial you’re going through can bring you close to me and you will come to know me intimately. You’ll hear my tender whispers to you. I won’t be a God off in the distance somewhere that you serve out of duty or fear, but I’ll become an intimate devoted companion that walks with you and that fulfills you.”
Jesus wants to cause you to soar, to rise above the trouble
and pain, and to redefine it. He wants to make you more than a conqueror
through Him, and this is His invitation.
Would you let Him write the last chapter? It’s gonna be a
glorious one!
