Ministering Under Duress
In my introductory comments during today’s podcast – which you can listen to by clicking on the link – I was talking about the video I shared last week on my YouTube channel, titled, “This Is So Hard. Life After My Ministroke.”
In that video, I shared how doctors and nurses cried and were so moved when God suddenly raised me up from my bed of affliction—something they formerly believed was impossible. What I didn’t share in the video is a conversation I had with my speech pathologist in the hospital after the supernatural and spontaneous restoration of all the function of my limbs.
She told me, “I’m a Jewish woman, and I practice Judaism. But after seeing your amazing recovery and hearing you talk about your faith in Jesus, it makes me want to explore this faith in Jesus.”
My brother and sister-in-law were in the room with me when she said, “I think your testimony has power to convert others, because we’ve never seen anything like this, and everybody is talking about it!”
That moment moved me, and the memory of it was sparked by one of the comments a viewer shared on YouTube. They said, in part, “What happened to you testified to everyone you came in contact with in that hospital. It showed them who God is and what he can do.”
Before receiving my discharge papers, I desperately wanted to go home and return to normalcy. The fact that I had to wait to be cleared frustrated me then. But now, I can see that God was using me in the hospital. I was ministering under duress.
One of the specific meanings of duress is forcible restraint or imprisonment. And we know that servants of God throughout Scripture were used and blessed while they were under duress, in chains, in prison, afflicted, under attack and struggling. Amazingly, they prospered in the things God called them to and experienced His supernatural favor.
“There is nothing powerful enough to hold you back from receiving what God has destined for you. He has commanded a blessing, and you will receive it! ”
Some time ago, I talked to you about a specific divine assignment given to Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. God called him to prophesy against Judah and tell them they’d be held captive by Babylon for 70 years because they turned away from the covenant of God to worship Baal and other false idols.
In Jeremiah 19, the prophet was instructed to preach in Hinnom Valley, also known as Topheth. It was a terrible, unsanitary, stinking, stomach-churning, gruesome place. It smelled so bad because Hinnom Valley was the place where the sinful people of Judah sacrificed their children to the false god Molech. Therefore, the smell of death and carnage lingered in the air.
In the New Testament, Jesus Christ figuratively spoke about Hinnom Valley as a place of final punishment and unquenchable fire for sinners. Jesus, however, used the term Gehenna which is the Greek translation of Hinnom Valley, a synonym for hell. So then, God essentially sent Jeremiah to “hell” to preach. The prophet had to stand among maggots, corpses and all the things that, under the law, were impure and repulsive.
For this obedient prophet, life literally and figuratively stank at that time. He was under duress and lots of stress despite his assignment being God-ordained. But Jeremiah isn’t the only one who was given unpleasant assignments and forced to deal with hardships for the sake of the Kingdom. Many of God’s prophets and leaders in Scripture were in fact used greatly while they were greatly distressed. Some were in chains. Others were in prison. All experienced some degree of persecution.
Consider the Apostle Paul and the numerous letters he wrote to the church while he was in chains. Though Roman authorities had custody of his body, the word of God and the power of God could not be held back, contained, controlled, restrained or imprisoned.
Friend, the thing I love about serving God is that even when we are under duress, under attack, underprivileged, under stress and under pressure, we can find safety under the shadow of the wings of the Almighty according to Psalm 91!
In Him, you will find a place of refuge, strength and safety. He will take you under His wings and carry on the great work He has already begun in you. In other words, in spite of your circumstances, God is not through blessing you, favoring you, using you, transforming you, elevating you, turning things around for you, and making you an example of His glory.
No matter what you face, be confident that the same God who began the work in you will complete it.
To remind you of this truth, I’m stirring, Philippians 1:6 into your cup of inspiration which says, “being confident of this very thing, that He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the Day of Jesus Christ.”
As you drink down the contents of your cup, rejoice that God is faithful to finish what He started. Even under duress, He has anointed you to be productive. Therefore, you will excel anyway. You will thrive anyway. You will be blessed anyway. God’s will shall be accomplished anyway. His favor will be showered upon you anyway. Even in “trash dump” circumstances, God will unveil all the treasures hidden there for His glory.
Now, let’s pray.
God, I have faith in You in every circumstance. No matter what comes against me, I know that Your power is stronger, mightier, and greater than any chains, struggles, stresses, and issues that try to hold me back. I will stand upon Your word, cling to faith in Your promises, and remain confident that everything You’ve ever spoken will be fulfilled in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you desire prayer, please allow me, along with my intercessory prayer team, to stand in faith with you for breakthrough. We would be so honored. We have seen God work over and over again. There is power in agreement. Click here to request prayer now.
As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!
