Are You Abiding in the Shadow of the Almighty? - POWERUP! SpiritLed Woman

Are You Abiding in the Shadow of the Almighty?

2/1/2015 SANDRA CLIFTON  CHARISMA MAGAZINE

Are you abiding under the shadow of the cross? (Lightstock)

Because I was late when I arrived at the intercessory prayer meeting I had been invited to attend, I sought a far, vacant corner of the room that everyone seemed to be avoiding.

The frantic hand signals of a fellow intercessor stopped me in my tracks. Her finger was pointing to an ominous reflection on the wall next to me. There, looming bigger than life, was the shadow of a spider—hairy legs and all!

I shivered. My mind raced with pictures of the hairy beast jumping onto my sweater—or worse, into my hair! I shivered again. Thank God someone stopped me! What if it had bitten me? Then I saw the culprit.

Was that it? Why had I been so afraid? I laughed. The actual spider wasn't as big as the shadow it had cast. It raced to a crack in the door and disappeared. Obviously, it had been a shadow.

This reminded me of the enemy and how he works. Satan whispers to us all the time, playing the "What if?" game. What if you lose your job? What if they whisper about you when you leave the room? What if you gain all that weight? What if you go belly up financially? What if you are too old to try something new?"

Satan's lies, like dark, ominous shadows on the wall, loom big, at times bigger than our power to do anything about them. God's Word warns us that the devil walks about like a roaring lion (see 1 Pet. 5:8). He isn't the real McCoy, but his threats can, if we are not careful, get us to take our eyes off Jesus and His great power that guides, provides for and protects us.

That is not to say that you or I don't need to take care of ourselves and our families as good stewards; but we do so with our eyes on Jesus and not on the fears that overshadow Him and His great powerful promises of God—promises for eternal life and for abundant life on earth, promises for a future, no matter how bad the past has been.

Jesus commands us in Matthew 6:25: "Therefore, I say to you, take no thought about your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on." No worry or ominous threat to us is any match for our Lord, "the God of all flesh" (Jer. 32:27). It is He, after all, who is the "head of all principality and power" (see Col. 2:10).

It is sometimes hard to remember this during seasons in which you see nothing but shadows. Yet God promises to take care of us in such times. Psalm 23 mentions "the valley of the shadow of death" (v.4)—revealing that it is a place one goes through but doesn't live in permanently.

And even in the valley we are to fear no evil, for the Lord our Shepherd is with us. The psalm ends with a promise of position for us—that we are to dwell in the house of the Lord forever. A God who claims us for eternity is a God of power. What, then, is there to fear in the shadows?

You and I are in Christ—"the secret place of the Most High" (Ps. 91:1)—which means that you and I are under only one shadow, and that is the shadow of the Almighty (v. 2). When the dark shadow on the wall sees the shadow of the Almighty, in whom we dwell, it has to go.

Prayer Power for the Week of Feb. 2, 2015

This week praise God that we are protected under the shadow of the Almighty when we abide in Him. Choose to believe His Word and embrace His peace, no matter what you face. Pray in faith, knowing that He hears and answers according to His perfect will. Continue to pray for our president and others whose decisions impact the entire world. Pray for those affected by recent storms and ask the Lord what you can do to help meet needs. As you pray for Israel, remember the persecuted church and ask God for more workers for His harvest fields (Ps. 91; Is. 26:3; 1 Tim. 2:1-8).  

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The Key to Overcoming Fear by SANDRA CLIFTON, D.MIN.

The Key to Overcoming Fear

4/6/2014 SANDRA CLIFTON, D.MIN. CHARISMA MAGAZINE

“OK, background players,” announced the assistant director through the bullhorn, “this scene is supposed to be hairy and scary. You’re trapped in a bad flight that has hit rough air. You are victims—got that?”

At the time I was working as a screen extra for a TV movie. It was early morning, and I was fresh and eager to give my all to the “hairy and scary” scene. “Lights, camera, action!”

Soon the mock airplane was alive with victims—with some (including me) gyrating violently in our seats, creating the illusion of turbulence. Gripping the sides of my passenger chair, I imagined a series of worst-case scenarios to help me with the scene: What if the bumps get worse? How worse? Would I survive?

“Cut!” yelled the voice through the megaphone. “Nice job of fear—but let’s do it again, only with more fear.”

Hours and many retakes later, I emerged tired and drained. Days later when faced with a real-life crisis, a dental emergency, I found myself imagining: What if I need surgery? How can I afford it? Will I financially go under? Again, I wound up tired and drained from the worst-case scenarios going through my head.

Over the years from reading God’s Word, I have discovered that you and I are to be “casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5, NKJV). In fact, Jesus has admonished us not to worry about tomorrow (see Matt. 6:25-34).

As we head into new seasons, I invite and challenge you not to imagine worst-case scenarios, but instead to turn to God—a good God whose perfect love casts out all fear (see 1 John 4:18), a loving God who desires the best for you and me (see 3 John 2).

Starting today let the Lord be your vine, the source from which you derive all strength to face the day (see John 15:1-8). Instead of building fear from within yourself, why not build your faith in a Sovereign God who has all in His powerful hand? You will emerge more than a conqueror through Him who loves you (see Rom. 8:37).

PRAYER POWER FOR THE WEEK OF 4/7/2014

This week thank the Lord for His love and goodness.  Ask Him to help you put aside fear and worry and to concentrate on His ability to provide every need and fulfill all His promises. Pray for revival to sweep across our nation and touch every city, state and national office. Pray that God’s people would recognize the seriousness of this hour and gather in fasting and prayer regarding the future of our nation.  Pray for our military and especially the families of the victims who died in the recent Ft. Hood shooting. Continue to pray for those who lost loved ones in the disappearance of flight 370, as well as the victims of the mudslides in the state of Washington. Pray for wisdom and protection for our president and those working with him for our security and safety. Remember Israel, the persecuted church and those continuing to serve our country in all branches. 2 Cor. 10:5; I John 4:18; John 15:1-8

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SpiritLed Woman: Why It Takes Faith to Find Your Purpose - SANDRA CLIFTON

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Why It Takes Faith to Find Your Purpose

1/6/2014 SANDRA CLIFTON

I was in my car at an intersection, waiting for the light to change. Through the window of the car to my right, I saw a woman standing on the curb. It was the view of her upper body that caught my eye. She was grinning from ear to ear and highly animated, with hands pointing to the traffic light, while she talked and talked—to herself. Poor thing!

Then the light changed and the car next to me moved on, revealing the whole scene. A young boy was standing by the woman—indicating that she was a mom talking with her son, instead of a disturbed woman talking with phantoms. Her young son had been there all along, hidden from view.

My original assessment of this scene reminded me of the way in which we often misjudge people and situations based on our limited view. We notice a fellow employee in a lower position who is a hard worker and determine that he is contending for our job. We consider a bad report from the doctor and determine that it is the final verdict. We look at the mistakes of our past and determine that we are failures. If we are not careful, we end up living—and being ruled—by the judgments we make based on what meets the eye.

Consider Joseph of the Old Testament. He is an example of someone who could have been deceived by focusing on what met the eye. The pit his brothers threw him into after he revealed his prophetic dreams to them looked like the end of his dreams! (See Gen. 37.) Joseph could have considered himself defeated, but he kept the faith.

In Potiphar’s house, when things turned from bad to worse for him, Joseph continued to trust God—who took the pit and made it the very vehicle that moved Joseph in the direction of the palace, the fulfillment of his dreams (see Gen. 39-41).

Now think about your own life. Regardless of the way things look, God has a wonderful purpose for you. Where is the evidence? Since God is Spirit (see John 4:24), He often moves in ways we can’t see. That’s why we need faith—defined in Hebrews 11:1 as, “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We get glimpses of God and the evidence of His work through our faith.

Today, I challenge you to join me in dwelling not on the evidence of your calling, but on the God of your calling—the God who is faithful (see 1 Thess. 5:24), the God who will make it happen, just as His Word promises (see Phil. 1:6), the same God who brought Joseph from the pit to the palace.

The God of your calling cares about what you see. He also cares about what you don’t always see—the evidence of things yet to come.

PRAYER POWER FOR THE WEEK OF 01/06/2014

This week thank the Lord for His faithfulness in leading you to fulfill His plan for your life. Pray that those persecuted for the sake of Christ would stand firm, and that God would develop an army of prayer warriors and youth to carry on His worldwide purpose. Continue to pray that our President and those working with him would recognize their need for God and seek Him for guidance when making decisions affecting our nation and the world. Pray for those embattled by horrific winter weather, job losses, crime, broken relationships and health issues. Ask the Lord to show you what you can do to be a blessing this year. Lift up Israel as well as our military, their families, and our national, civic and spiritual leaders. Heb. 11:1-16.

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