Trust the plan: 2. God will take away everything we depend on.

For the past 13 years God has been telling me that judgment is coming. Last January I was shouting this message as loud as I knew how. Then this January God told me that I never had to give that message again. If you want to know what is about to happen to the world, read Isaiah 24, Isaiah 13, and Zephaniah 1. It will give you an idea. This January God told me that He wanted me to declare His promises. He wants His people to see and hear and understand that He alone is God, and He does whatever He pleases. So now I want to tell you the big, good plan that God has for His people. As you see it play out in your own life, remember that this is a good plan - a plan to prosper and not to harm. It is a plan to give us all a hope and a future.

God is about to take away everything that we depend on. "In that day," says the LORD, "I will slaughter your horses and destroy your chariots (things that get us from one place to another). I will tear down your walls and demolish your defenses (things that protect us). I will put an end to all witchcraft, and there will be no more fortune tellers (places we go to find wisdom or direction). I will destroy all your idols and sacred pillars (things that we worship and want more than we want God), so you will never again worship the work of your own hands. I will abolish your idol shrines with their Asherah poles and destroy your pagan cities. I will pour out My vengeance on all the nations that refuse to obey Me." (Micah 5:10-15)

We have no idea how much pride is in our heart. See me. Look what I have done. We think we are wise and strong and capable, but we are not. We worship the work of our own hands. We take pride in our achievements. All of the things that got us here will be taken away. We will all understand that it was because of God's grace and goodness that we had or did anything at all. We will turn our hearts to worship and depend on Him instead of trusting and depending on our own efforts. No one will be able to save himself in the coming days. Only God will be able to save us. But when He does...

"Then the remnant left in Israel will take their place among the nations. They will be like dew sent by the LORD or like rain falling on the grass, which no one can hold back and no one can restrain. The remnant left in Israel will take their place among the nations. They will be like a lion among the animals of the forest, like a strong young lion among flocks of sheep and goats, pouncing and tearing as they go with no rescuer in sight. The people of Israel will stand up to their foes (principalities and powers), and all their enemies will be wiped out." (Micah 5:7-9)

Oh my! This is a plan! We will be like rain or dew that no one can hold back or stop. Peace. Joy. Hope. Confident expectation. Faith. Love. It will all be ours. God will make it happen. We can't do a thing except let Him.

I want to take this a step further. Isaiah 3:1-3 says, "The LORD, the LORD of Heaven's Armies, will take away from Jerusalem and Judah (that's us) everything they depend on: every bit of bread and every drop of water, all their heroes and soldiers, judges and prophets, fortune-tellers and elders, army officers and high officials, advisers, skilled sorcerers, and astrologers." He is going to take away our food and water. Every drop. Oh my! But then in Isaiah 1:16-20, it says, "Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of My sight. Give up your evil ways. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows."

"Come now, let's settle this," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool. IF YOU WILL ONLY OBEY ME, YOU WILL HAVE PLENTY TO EAT. But if you refuse to listen, you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies. I, the LORD, have spoken.

In order to make it in the coming days, we have to turn our hearts toward God to let Him heal us and set us free. We have to lay down our pride and our power and let Him plow up the hard ground of our hearts. We will not be able to do any of this ourselves. God will not let us. He is separating unto Himself a people who love Him and trust Him.

"I will not destroy all Israel. For I still have true servants there. I will preserve a remnant of the people of Israel and of Judah to possess My land. Those I choose will inherit it, and My servants will live there. The plain of Sharon will again be filled with flocks for MY PEOPLE WHO HAVE SEARCHED FOR ME, and the valley of Achor will be a place to pasture herds."

"But because the rest of you have forsaken the LORD and have forgotten His Temple, and because you have prepared feasts to honor the god of Fate and have offered mixed wine to the god of Destiny now I will "destine" you for the sword. All of you will bow down before the executioner. FOR WHEN I CALLED, YOU DID NOT ANSWER. WHEN I SPOKE, YOU DID NOT LISTEN. You deliberately sinned - before My very eyes - and chose to do what you know I despise."

Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says:

My servants will eat,
but you will starve.
My servants will drink,
but you will be thirsty.
My servants will rejoice,
but you will be sad and ashamed.
My servants will sing for joy,
but you will cry in sorrow and despair.

Your name will be a curse word among My people, for the Sovereign LORD will destroy you and will call His true servants by another name. All who invoke a blessing or take an oath will do so by the God of truth. For I will put aside My anger and forget the evil of earlier days.

"Look! I and creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will even think about the old ones anymore. Be glad; rejoice forever in My creation! And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness. Her people will be a source of joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and delight in My people. And the sound of weeping and crying will be heard in it no more." (Isaiah 65:8-19)

Trust in the plan. We are living in the culmination of the fullness of times. God is about to come and do all of the good things He promised His people. In the coming days we will understand. No one will be able to make it without God. But know this - Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved. His name is Jesus.

Blessings, my friends. Fix your eyes on Jesus - don't you dare look at anything else, especially not yourself, guard your heart - out of it flows the issues of life, and GIVE THANKS! REJOICE! Again, I say, "Rejoice!" Praise and thanksgiving are the doors that usher in the presence and power of our God and our Father. Let's run and hide in Him.

​Terri