The lamp glowed in the dark, and in the distance, Paul could hear sounds of shouting somewhere in the soldiers’ barracks, but then Paul heard the voice of God. “…You must also bear witness at Rome” Acts 23:11l” Paul had a word from God, and he was soon confined on a Roman ship sailing for Italy. He wasn’t free to move. He wasn’t in control. And yet, he was still in purpose. The prison ship wasn’t a detour. It was the vehicle to his destiny. The journey would include a violent storm, a shipwreck, and even a snake bite. But none of it meant the promise had failed. God often gives us the destination but not the details. He tells us where we’re going, but not what we’ll face on the way.

Like Paul, we may find ourselves in seasons of confinement or surrounded by difficulty, unsure of how the promise will unfold. But confinement doesn’t cancel your calling as a child of God. Storms don’t sink destiny. And silence doesn’t mean God has left. Sometimes the very thing we want to escape is the thing God is using to shape us. The prison ship teaches us that God is not just the God of the promise—He’s the God of the process.

Friend, Our Father is present in the storm and sovereign in the silence. What appears to be a setback may be the setup for your next success.   Trust the One who called you, because if He started it, He will finish it.

Elijah arose quickly and left town, heading south for Beersheba. He hoped that his early exit had discouraged Jezebel from pursuing him, but he was worried. He had already faced forty knife-wielding false prophets, yet on this day, he was afraid of a woman and ran a marathon.

Elijah was burnt out, overextended and depleted from ministry. He was coping with apparent failure, withdrawal and tendencies toward self-destruction. He was finished.

Jezebel may never have sent an assassin after Elijah, but her intimidation had worked. If the enemy cannot kill us physically, he seeks to kill our future, tormenting us with tomorrow’s fears or yesterday’s failures.   In the desert, Elijah fell back against his tree and said in despair to God “It is enough!” But God is never finished with you until you finish. Whenever we think it is too hard to go on, God sees and understands our struggles and He provides the strength and the food we need for our next journey.

Friend, when you’re in the desert thinking “It is enough!” think about Him, who stayed on the cross, until he could say “It is finished.” Because He finished, we can lean on the cross and receive strength from God and know that “It is enough.”

Jesus took His disciples on an educational tour of pagan Caesarea Philippi, where He asked His disciples, "Who do men say that I am?"  They told him that the people thought He was a prophet but Jesus asked, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."    Jesus replied "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” (Mat 16:13 -18 )  Both Peter and Jesus declared who the other person was.  Peter said Jesus was the Christ and Jesus said Peter, was a rock. Both revelations are necessary before the Church can be built. Jesus was saying “You perceive me rightly, and you must perceive yourself rightly too!” The church can be built when we see ourselves rightly. 

Have you seen yourself lately?  You’re a world changer! God doesn’t see your limitations for He knows what He can do through you. At Jacobs well, in Samaria Jesus did not see the women as dirty but thirsty. Not as a powerless immoral woman but an evangelist; a divine witness and a well springing up into a river of life into her community. She came for a bucket full and left as a river full.

Friend, Jesus always sees you more correctly than you see yourself. When we see Him correctly, He will help us see ourselves correctly. When we leave Him who sits on His “throne well,” we will see ourselves as a river of life ready to flow out to the lost, as He builds his church.

We love the story of the prodigal son because we too were welcomed back with a robe and a ring. But sometimes we don’t feel like He is celebrating us each day" We know Jesus said He would be with us and that God’s unmerited favour is upon all His children, but we don’t feel it.

Once when I felt like this, I discovered the problem was in my imagination and not with God. Our imagination creates our feelings and affects our behaviour. The Bible says, "As a man thinks in his heart so is he."  The imagination creates its own reality, and even if something is not true it can still affect you. If you think you are a grasshopper in the face of giants and therefore can’t enter the Promised Land, you will be right.  Or even if God is favouring you but you don’t think He is, you will live in fear and insecurity- a crippled and stilted life. Our wrong thinking doesn’t change the fact that God is with us, but it changes our ability to feel it and enjoy our Father. But if we imagine the truth; that He is in us and walks with us and has His loving arms about us all day, we are confident and enjoy beautiful fellowship with Him.

God gave us our imagination to be a meeting place with Him, so the enemy of our soul tries to fill it with memories of inadequate fathers, wrong images, or seeing our lives as small and inconsequential.  In the end, the One who gave us the imagination as a sanctuary in which to meet God and walk together with Him, is squeezed out of His meeting place.

Friend, reclaim your imagination and fill it with true thoughts of our Father’s presence and favour toward you. Close your eyes and imagine Father favouring you, loving you, coming to you, embracing you and helping you.  For that is all true; anything else is a lie - imagine the truth and let faith arise.

David was to lead a nation. He was a man with passion and a promise, but there was little in his circumstances, that looked like he was being positioned for kingship. But God achieves His purposes, in ways that a man would not think.  God doesn’t develop a person’s reputation but their character so that their life is consistent with the message they are to carry. Our ability to represent Father in the world is determined by the degree that the message or the Word has become flesh in us. 

David’s overarching conviction was that God was his Shepherd and was leading him in life.  David knew that contradictions and opposition, couldn't decide his destiny.  David may not have understood everything, but he believed God would accomplish His plans in spite of everything. Through hardship, enemies, trouble and dishonour, God was working out His plan to make David more than a king. A timeless message of worship, honour and trust in God, to reach countless generations.

Friend, if we love God, he is ordering all the steps required to forge His message in us too. Don't look at other people and wish you had their steps, or envy their “blessed life” Your steps may be enjoyable or not, understood or not but the message God is forming in you, is perfect to touch all the people that He plans to reach through you. He is writing your story for His glory and people’s blessing, including you and yours!

One gemstone talked about a lot in the Bible is the pearl which is strange because in the Old Testament, oysters were unclean animals and couldn’t be eaten by a Jew. In the New Testament they are honoured reminding us that through Christ, something precious can come out of the unclean.  Even the gates of the new city or the glorious church are likened to pearls.   “The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass”.  Rev 21:21

God designed oysters to make valuable pearls from sand or other irritations that get inside the sensitive tissues of the oyster.  The oyster releases a substance called nacre, (Nac-ray) that coats the irritant until the grit is covered over and becomes a smooth lovely pearl.

We are pearl makers too. God has given us a substance which when released over our irritants, can transform situations into something valuable. The nacre we release is called “blessing.” “Finally, …be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing”. 1 Peter 3:8 We inherit blessing when we bless our “irritants”.

Friend, don’t “curse” your upbringing, the traffic, the boss, the neighbours or your spouse. As we bless people, circumstances and even our past, our Father can transform every troubled circumstance and relationship into a pearl of great value. Let’s be people that bless and receive blessings! Our attitude could become the very “Pearl Gate” someone needs to be able to enter the city of God.

As King David rested in Jerusalem, he reflected upon his difficult life and the goodness of God. He said, “God is my strength and power, And He makes my way perfect” (2 Samuel 22:33 )

David didn't say that his way always seemed perfect to him but that God made his way perfect for him. A leader's live is never perfect; it is not a showcase for the easy life but a display of God’s enabling grace. Our way is not easy or perfect, but He makes our way or our life perfect for us. Our wife may not be perfect, but she is perfect for us. Any imperfection she seems to have will help you to grow more like Jesus; as you forgive, and show kindness and patience.  We live in a world that is broken and fraught with hardships, but God can make that “difficult way” a perfect way to experience Him more and to enable us to reflect Him more.  Even times and events we don’t understand we can trust is perfect for us. Like Joseph, it might just take 17 years or more to see it.

He also said “As for God, His way is perfect. His perfect justice, love and wisdom mean that God can do no wrong, even if we don't understand some things. One thing that even King Solomon couldn’t understand, was “The way of a serpent on a rock (Proverbs 30:18).  I don't understand the way of the serpent on the Rock either. I don't know how Satan negotiates with God. I don’t understand how demonic attacks can happen when we’re praying more than ever. I don’t understand how it works between God and Satan really; how God is sovereign, yet the devil’s limited freedom seems to be a little too free at times. But we are not asked to understand all things but to trust at all times, Him who does all things perfectly.

Friend, one thing we do know, is if life doesn't seem perfect or even good right now, we can trust that He is making our way perfect for us.  Justice and righteousness are the unshakable foundation of His throne, and we are like Joseph in the prison. It is still perfect. All we lack is a few year’s perspective.

Jesus was born from heaven but lived in Nazareth.  He was born royal yet birthed in a manger.  It is not where you live that makes you royal, but it is who your Father is. Good things can come out of Nazareth, and from where you live too!

Hebrews 2.10 says that God is bringing many sons to glory.  That is, He is bringing you and me into His full intention for us! We are not divine but the Person within us, is. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. God so loves the world, that He continues to give sons and daughters.

“Seeing” our sonship should affect the way we live.  and until we know it in our hearts, we will live below our dignity and our destiny.  Some behaviour is beneath those that are birthed from above. When the prodigal son remembered who he was, it changed the way he lived.  His condition was changed only after he remembered his position as a son.

Friend, you have been born into the world and into your city, from above. The sons are back in town!  Don’t live beneath your status or your purpose. You are royal, you are secure and you are filled with power to give away. There are people all around you who need you to live as a son and daughter.