Well, in the event that anyone missed hearing from me via this blog, hello again!  Where have I been?  A little of here, there, and everywhere – so I won’t try to stuff almost two months’ worth of experiences into a single post, but I’ll unfold it over the next few weeks.  After writing a blog entry entitled Talk Back to Your Flesh, I shouldn’t have had one ounce of surprise when my Pastor called our church to a 21-day fast.  Consequently, my fast included sacrificing some digital media access – including my beloved inspirational blog. 🙂  Reducing, curtailing, and eliminating many distractions (electronic, food, etc.) helped me to settle into a place of peace where I could hear Him more clearly.  Our God is evermore faithful – He knows exactly what we need and when we need it!

Sometimes we fight against the very thing God is doing in our lives for His glory and, most of the time unbeknownst to us, for our benefit.  Have you ever been “under the radar” – hidden so deep you could hardly find yourself?  And when you tried to emerge from the place where God had you covered, He pressed you back into the position where He’d concealed you in the first place?  I have years of personal experience with this!  But be encouraged – it’s not a bad thing to be hidden by God; it’s just one of the ways He protects us. 🙂  I’ve recently gained an even greater appreciation for His means and methods of sheltering His children.  Allow me to share some key points from a few verses God dropped into my spirit this evening.

Confidently Anticipate God’s Provision 

“For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.”

(I Kings 18:4) 

1. A dark, damp cave can save your life when it’s appointed by God!
2. Luxury isn’t a prerequisite for being sustained – bread and water will get the job done in a pinch.
3. God is more than able to maintain – for His ultimate glory – what man attempts to cut off.

 Can You Handle Being Under the Radar? 

“… and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

(I Kings 19:10) 

1. Remain where God places you for the season He designates!  Don’t pop up like the “Whack-A-Mole” game – stay low and humble yourself…you’re out of the public eye for His purposes!  
2. Shut down the pity party – know that He’s got you separated unto Himself for good reason:  so He can directly feed you the nutrients and nourishment He needs you to have. 
3. Let God work on you – even when (and especially when) it’s uncomfortable and requires you to change.  He knows the areas you need to be strengthened in for the next assignment or battle you haven’t foreseen.

 Rest in God’s Reassurance

 “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.”

(I Kings 19:18) 

1. You can hear God’s voice clearly when you commit to be still in His presence; He is the Answer you seek.
2. Believe that God’s plan is more extensive and comprehensive than what your finite mind is capable of comprehending.
3. God will punish idolatry – even in these “modern” times; check yourself and make sure you’re not compromising with any of Baal’s stuff (his people, representatives, mindsets, systems, places, etc.)!

 A brief scan of the headlines for earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, and tornadoes will remind us that these are serious times indeed.  May we find ourselves in the center of God’s perfect will, committed to obeying His every command to us – individually and collectively.  When this occurs, we will experience – and trust – His protection as He hides us …like only He can.

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.”

(Psalm 91:1-2)

 © Copyright 2011 by Kayren J. Cathcart