Things didn't go well as planned? Watch this!

I sense in the spirit that, at this time and juncture, many people of God are frustrated because their lives do not go as they have planned or imagined they should. Feeling out of control of their lives also give way to the negative emotions of grief, fear, anger, stress, and low self-esteem. 

But here, the Lord wants you to hold on to Him, because He is never out of control. He is still in charge of your life, as long as you allow Him. Trust Him that He can protect you, lead you, and guide you to a fulfilling life, in the right season, in His perfect timing. 

There can be many reasons why things don't happen according to your plan or happen on time. I'm going to talk about three possible reasons. 

One of the possible reasons: It was a bad plan! 

In Proverbs 19:21, 'There are many plans in a man's heart, nevertheless the Lord's counsel - that will stand.' 

We human beings tend to plan a lot. It's not a bad thing to plan. But if the plan we have is bad, it's going to affect our future, and even the life of our loved ones. 

Let's look at Abraham's plan for his future. In Genesis 12, God told Abraham, whose name was Abram then, to get out of his country. At that time, Abram was already 75 years old. But he did not have any son. He brought his nephew, Lot, along. Probably, he took Lot who is blood-related, to be like his own son. And probably, he planned to pass his inheritance to him when he pass on. But it was a bad plan! And a bad move! Why? In Genesis 13, Abram started to accumulate more wealth, and so did Lot his nephew. They had lots of flocks, herds, and tents. Soon, there was strife between Abram's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen, because the land could not cater for all their livestock. Eventually, Abram had to let Lot go. They went separate ways. 

You see, Abram received a true revelation from God. He started with his own perceived good plan. But his plan didn't turn out well. The plan went bad. It's the same with some of God's people. They received a true revelation from the Lord, but they did not seek God for guidance before they take the first step. Consequently, their plans went bad. It can happen to a personal decision, a business partnership or joint venture, or even a collaboration between spiritual ministries. 

However, even with some bad decisions you've made in the past, there's hope for you. Now, after Lot left Abram, the future had been realigned for Abram. God started speaking to Abram again, and God gave him a new purpose and a clearer picture of how his future would be. God told Abram of the many descendants he's going to have, and the vastness of the land he's going to possess. 

You see, the first step you take is going to affect the many steps that you're going to take in the later part of your life. 

If you have experienced the consequences of a bad plan, ask the Lord to help you to realign to His plan for you. And trust me. Your God is a good Abba Father who is willing to turn things around for your good. However, if you're still at the juncture of making a new plan, seek the Lord for the right one or the right way, before you take the first step. And after you've taken the first step according to His leading, He will lead you on to the second step, and so forth. 

The second possible reason: It could be that it is a workable plan, but God has a better plan for you! 

In Proverbs 16:9, 'A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.' 

Well, this is a situation where we use our human intelligence to have a workable plan, but God sees farther and better. Well, for sure, no one can outsmart God! In Genesis 15, Abram thought of getting his loyal servant, Eliezer of Damascus, who was born into his household, to be his heir, because he could not foresee that he would have any offspring at his age. But God promised Abram that he would have his own child. Abram thought of a possible plan, but God gave him a better one! It was good that he presented this before the Lord. Or else, he would end up giving his inheritance to his servants. 

I would say this again and again. Consult the Lord before making any final decision for your plan. The Lord cares for every little thing that is happening in your life. He will teach you and guide you, as long as you consult Him. 

The third possible reason: It's the right plan, but it's wrong timing! 

In Ecclesiastes 3:1, 'To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.' 

In Genesis 16, Sarai felt bad that she could not give birth to any child. She gave her maid, Hagar, an Egyptian, to Abram as his mistress. As a result, Ishmael was born. And that was the starting point of all the resentment, strife, and conflict in the household and among the descendants of Abram. 

You see, Sarai meant well. And Abram gave in. Well, he could have consulted God first. But he didn't. Everyone was trying to help God to fulfill God's purpose in Abram's life, before the right and ripe time! And the outcome was, a plan with a good intention turned into a really bad and nasty one! 

After that, in Genesis 18, Abraham and Sarah had long past childbearing age when Sarah heard the Lord tell Abraham that she was going to bear a child. She laughed! Probably, she thought it was ridiculous, because to her, the timing was off, and it was too late! It was impossible for her to imagine getting pregnant at such age. But true enough, God's promise came to pass. In Genesis 21, Sarah gave birth to Isaac. 

Now, God sees timing differently from us. Sometimes, we wonder why our prayers are not answered yet, or why the plan we have started have not shown any result yet. And the long wait for result can really be testing every bit of patience and faith that we have. But if your plan is given by the Lord, and your decision is based on God's revelation, then always remember Psalm 27:14. It says, 'Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!' 

Dear beloved, the Lord has a perfect plan and timing for you. It will probably take quite a bit of your patience and endurance. And it will take your absolute trust and confidence in Him. But it's definitely worth the wait. Amen! 

Prayer:

"Father God, we acknowledge Your thoughts and Your ways are higher than ours. Therefore, we humble ourselves before You, and we pray that You teach us, lead us, and guide us in our decision-making and plan-making. We surrender our mind, our intelligence, our will, and our emotion before You. Hone us and mold us so that we will learn to flow better and better with You. We thank You that You care about every little thing that's happening in our lives, and we want to always have You involved in every area of our lives. In the name of Jesus. Amen."

Click here to watch the video in TiC YouTube Channel 

Worship for your breakthrough

The Lord spoke 3 times that this is a very crucial time for His people to worship Him:

1st: A vision of a river with rushing water pushed open a door. The Lord said, “Worship Me, and out of you will flow the rivers of living water to push open the door of breakthrough for you.”

2nd: Then, the Lord said, “Worship Me. I will cause the crooked way to be straightened and gates with iron bars to be opened for you.”

3rd: Again, the Lord said, “Worship Me from your heart. I will cause you to see the direction of My wind, where it will come from and where it will go to.

I believe the Lord meant your personal worship to Him. Our God is not crazy for fans to worship Him as an idol. When He asks for your worship, it is always for your benefit. In this case, it is for your breakthroughs in life, be it in relationship, finance, career, studies, etc.

God can teach you to get breakthrough
1st: A vision of a river with rushing water pushed open a door. The Lord said, “Worship Me, and out of you will flow the rivers of living water to push open the door of breakthrough for you.”

Isaiah 43:18-19 (NKJV)
Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

In your time of worship, you will reach a moment when you feel your burden being lifted up. You will feel lightened and happier. That is because you allow the rivers of God (Holy Spirit) to move in your life through your worship. Rivers is ‘nᵉhar’ in Hebrew with the root word ‘nâhar’, meaning ‘to sparkle, to be cheerful, to be lightened’. In the presence of God, your heaviness is lightened and your sadness is exchanged with His joy.

But don’t stop worshiping after you feel your burden is lifted up. Many worshipers of God stop worshiping right after they feel the presence of God. God wants you to worship Him not just to enjoy His presence. He wants you to come to Him so that He can teach you something in His presence. 

John 7:37-38 (NKJV)
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

Drink is ‘pinō’ in Greek which means ‘imbibe’. Other meanings of ‘imbibe’ are ‘assimilate, absorb, learn, acquire, grasp’. The Lord invites you to come to Him and worship Him so that you can assimilate your mind with His, and so that you can absorb, learn, acquire, and grasp ideas or spiritual gifts from Him. After seeking and receiving from Him, out of your heart and your life will flow with His ideas or spiritual gifts that can change circumstances and transform lives.

To worship God is to seek His face and His way. As you worship God, your burden will be exchanged with His joy. In His presence, you will be taught with His knowledge, understanding and wisdom to get breakthrough for difficult situations. 

God can raise people to help you get breakthrough
2nd: Then, the Lord said, “Worship Me. I will cause the crooked way to be straightened and gates with iron bars to be opened for you.”

Isaiah 45:1-4 (NKJV) 
Thus says the LORD to His anointed, 
To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held – to subdue nations before him and loose the armor of kings. To open before him the double doors, so that the gates will not be shut; I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the LORD, who call you by name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob My servant’s sake, and Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me.

Prophet Isaiah prophesied about King Cyrus 150 years before this king of Persia was born. Though he was a pagan king, the Lord protected him, empowered him and used him to destroy the Babylonian’s kingdom. Through his victory over Babylon, God’s people were freed from 70 years of captivity and slavery in the foreign land. After conquering Babylon, the Lord moved the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia so that he made a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put in writing that he was called by the LORD God of heaven to help His people rebuild His temple in Jerusalem (see Ezra 1:4).  

Ezra 1:5 (NKJV) 
Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, with all whose spirits God had moved, arose to go up and build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem. 

Philippians (NKJV)
For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Soon after, the Lord also stirred up in His people the zeal to rebuild the temple and the wall of Jerusalem. The first batch of Jews who went back and settled at Judea was of King David’s linage. And that’s where the Savior Jesus was born, in Bethlehem, which is in the southern region of Judea. Subsequently, the city of Jerusalem and the temple in Jerusalem were rebuilt. These had enabled the fulfillment of the prophecy where the Messiah, Christ Jesus would die on the cross outside of the city of Jerusalem and the veil in the temple would be torn. The Lord had planned everything perfectly, one thing after another through centuries apart, making His redemption for the Jews and the whole world a reality until now. 

You see, God can use anyone to fulfill His plan on earth. When God’s people turned away from idol worship and cried out to Him during their captivity, He sent a King Cyrus to save them. If you would choose to worship Him instead of allowing yourself to be drowned by the overwhelming situation around you, He can raise up people (whether they are people in authority or common men) to lend you a hand.

To worship God is to admit your frailty and that you need the Almighty God. It signifies you taking your hands off to let His hand intervene. As you worship God, His Holy Spirit will stir up the hearts of people to give you favor and to help you, be it the non-believers, brethren in Christ, or even yourself (God can stir your heart to do things His way so that eventually you are helping yourself). 

God wants to share His secret with you
3rd: Again, the Lord said, “Worship Me from your heart. I will cause you to see the direction of My wind, where it will come from and where it will go to.”

Ecclesiastes 11:5 (NKJV)
As you do not know what is the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, so you do not know the works of God who makes everything.

Wind is ‘rûwach’ in Hebrew which also means ‘breath’ or ‘spirit’. The above scripture is saying that no one could understand the mind or the heart of God. 

John 15:15(NKJV)
No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. 

Jesus has promised that He will make those who believe in Him (and walk in His ways) His friends, and they will also know His thoughts (see 1 Corinthians 2:16). By the way, the word ‘friends’ in John 15:15 is ‘philos’ in Greek, which actually means ‘dear, fond of (as in a friend)’. In other words, Jesus calls you His dearly beloved, someone whom He is fond of (as in a friend).

1 Corinthians 2:9-12
But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man know the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

 God allows you to know His thoughts by filling His Spirit in those who believe in Him.

To worship God is to fellowship with Him who is your closest confidant. As you worship and fellowship with God, He will tell you what He is doing in your life or in the world currently. He will also reveal to you things to come (see John 16:13). You will always be ready for any issue that may come in the future. As a result, you will have breakthrough after breakthrough and prosper in everything you do.

People of God, always plan time to have personal worship and fellowship with God. Know that He wants you to have an abundant and triumphant life on this earth. Nonetheless, worship Him simply because you know that He loves you.

The Lord who loves you will direct you

I was praying for someone the other day and the Lord showed me a vision. First, I saw only the front part of a ship. The ship’s bow is turning for a change of direction. Then I saw the word: ‘Mengemudi’.

                            

The Lord allows me to share this because many people need to know about ‘the change of season’ in their lives in the second half of this year. ‘Mengemudi’ means ‘to steer a boat, ship, car or plane’ in Malay and Indonesian language.

The Lord wants His people to know that He is intervening in the lives of many people in this changing of season. Many of you who have got stuck in your career, business and ministry will experience a change of direction. Do not worry! What seems to be bad now, He will turn it into something good. And He will do it without you lifting a finger. Only allow the Lord to be at the helm of your life to steer every situation. Seize this turning opportunity and flow with Him!

Below are some of the situations that many of you would see the ‘steering hand’ of the Lord. I pray that these would help you to know how to respond to the Lord’s direction and flow with Him.

Situation 1: Jonah

Are you happy with your life and vocation now? Are you torn between your job/lifestyle and your true calling? Are you bothered by the comments and gossips of people so much so that you dare not venture into what you really believe in? Is your career or lifestyle taking a toll on your health, personal time, marriage and family life? 

Read the book of Jonah chapters 1-3 in the Bible. Jonah was assigned by the Lord to preach repentance to the wicked people of Nineveh. But he refused to allow God’s mercy to come upon Ninevites and sailed for Tarshish instead. He met with a storm at sea and knew that it was due to his disobedience to the Lord. He sacrificed his life by being thrown into the sea so that others on the ship could survive. The Lord sent a big fish to swallow him up. During the 3 days and 3 nights in the fish’s belly, Jonah repented before the Lord. The Lord spoke to the fish and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. And the Lord instructed Jonah the second time to fulfil his assignment at Nineveh. Jonah obeyed and Nineveh was saved.

Jonah disliked his assignment because of his own ideal. He preferred to see the Ninevites being destroyed in wickedness. He nearly lost his life because of his disobedience. Nevertheless, he chose to humble before the Lord and to obey His instruction. The Lord saved him and restored his calling.

Situation 2: Balaam

Have you been pressurized to do things which are wrong in the eyes of God? Have you been struggling between material gains and clear conscience? Are you feeling stressed out because you are expected to please men in all your decision making? Do you fear for your safety for doing the right thing?

Read the book of Numbers chapters 22-24 in the Bible. Balaam was invited by Balak, the king of the Moabites to curse the children of Israel who camped at the side of Moab. Balaam was lured with luscious fee, gifts and promises. The Lord specifically told Balaam not to curse the children of Israel because they are blessed. But Balaam got tempted by Balak’s second offer and he ignored the instruction of the Lord. While on his mission to curse the children of Israel, Balaam was confronted by the Angel of the Lord. If it wasn’t for his donkey that saw the Angel of the Lord and turned aside three times, he would have been killed under His sword.  So, Balaam repented, blessed the children of Israel and cursed their enemies in spite of the great pressure he faced from Balak.

Persuaded by VIPs and material gains, Balaam did not take God’s instruction seriously. Balaam thought that he could persuade God to change His mind. He nearly lost his life if it wasn’t for his donkey and the Lord’s mercy. Finally, he determined to ‘speak only what God speak’. The amazing thing was, he was not harmed at all but he returned to his home safely.

Situation 3: Paul

Have you been unsuccessful with job interviews? Have you been struggling to close business deals? Has it been hard to hire the right staff for your company? Have you been networking but find no genuine doors in spiritual ministry? Have you been failing in relationship one after another?

Acts 16:6-10

Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Paul with his companions, Timothy and Silas were passionate about preaching the gospel to the whole world. They went ahead to places according to their plans but were eventually forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach. It was only when Paul received a dream of the Macedonian call that he knew Macedonia was the place to go. The fact of the matter here is only the Lord would know which place or people were ready for the preaching of gospel at that time. Passion alone could not secure them any open door. They needed the revelation and leading of the Lord. It is He who opens the door.

Situation 4: Peter

Have you been working very hard but seeing no result? Are you willing to let go of your own ego and seek the Lord’s help? Are you willing to think ‘out of the box’ and be ready for changes? Are you afraid that your success will not last?

John 21:3-6

Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?” They answered Him, “No.” And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.

Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael and two other disciples went fishing together. They worked hard and toiled all night but caught no fish. Jesus gave them a simple advice to cast the net to the right side of the boat instead. They could have doubted Jesus. They could have argued that it was the same sea they have been fishing all night, and shifting the net to the right side would not make any difference. But they listened, did a little adjustment, and caught 153 big fish. Amazingly, the net was not broken at all.

Situation 5: God’s people

Are you afraid to be harmed by people who envy or hate you? Are you feeling trapped in the bondage of generation curse? Have you been tortured by the fear of curses and charms by soothsayers?   

Deuteronomy 23:5

Nevertheless the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.

When Balak sent Balaam to curse the children of Israel somewhere near their camp, God’s people had no knowledge of it. Though the enemy sought to curse them ‘at their back’, God protected His people ‘at their back’ too. God turned the curse into a blessing for His people because He loved them. Similarly, God will turn all curses into blessings for you because He loves you!

2 Thessalonians 3:5 (KJV)

And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patience waiting for Christ.

The word ‘direct’ is katĕuthunō in Greek which means to straighten fully.

Know that God loves you and He wants to bless you. Do not allow your heart to doubt Him. Let the Lord direct your heart to His love for you, and then let Him direct you out from your problems.