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Supernatural Joy

November 11, 2024 Claire's Prayer

Did you ever sing the song “𝗥𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀,” in a round? We sang it on the bus going to Youth Camp, half the bus would start in the verse, when they got to the chorus the other half would join them from the beginning. If it worked out right the verse and the chorus would flow together in glorious harmony but more often, we would get out of sync with each other and the result would be muddled and messy. Laughter would bubble up and we would chuckle with amusement, sometimes that laughter would be uncontainable, and we couldn’t stop. A good belly laugh – how does that scripture go? “𝑨 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔.” Proverbs 17:22. Laughter, joy, and gladness, are good for you, but depression and sadness drain your strength.

On the night before Jesus went to the cross, we find Him praying to the Father, on a night when his disciples slept and Judas was about to betray Him, the Savior of the World takes a moment to pray for us! In John 17:13 he prays this; “𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅, 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.” That they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿’𝘀 𝗷𝗼𝘆!

Joy! But not just any joy, Jesus’ joy, not a worldly joy but a supernatural joy, and not just a drop but a full measure! A cup that runs over. A cup that never runs dry. That’s what Jesus asks for you! It’s not the first time Jesus has talked about joy; “𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑴𝒚 𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍.” John 15:11. It does seem that your joy is important to Jesus.

You see, joy is the mark of a Follower of Christ, a fruit of the Holy Spirit, a sign that differentiates the believer from the unbeliever. Even in the face of adversity and persecution there can be joy because it is supernatural joy, Jesus’ joy. Psalm 126:2 says, “𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒋𝒐𝒚. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.” When the world saw the laughter and joy upon the people of Israel, they exclaimed that the LORD had done great things for them! They could see that there was something different about God’s people, they laughed in the face of adversity, sang for joy in the middle of oppression!

Today if joy is not your portion, if you find yourself in oppression, full of anxiety or depressed ask the LORD to fill you with HIS joy, not the joy of the world but supernatural joy. Ask Him to fill your mouth with laughter and cause praise to spring forth. “𝑹𝒆𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆!” Phil 4:4

Gideon and The Promise

October 25, 2024 Claire's Prayer

Gideon was a small man, a man who had emphatically stated, “𝑴𝒆, 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓? 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝑰 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝑰𝒔𝒓𝒂𝒆𝒍? 𝑳𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒆. 𝑴𝒚 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰’𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓.” (Judges 6:15) My family is nothing and I am the weakest of the bunch! Honestly, that has to be one of my favorite things about the LORD, that He takes the smallest, most insignificant, and through His power makes them mighty!

Often there is a turning point, a point when revelation breaks through, vision is established, and God’s strength is solidified. “𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑮𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑. 𝑯𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝑰𝒔𝒓𝒂𝒆𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, “𝑨𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔.” (Judges 7:15) As Gideon listened to the words of the men, revelation broke through and he realized this was not just a battle of 300 versus 135,000 but The Almighty God versus 135,000 and he fell prostate upon his face and worshiped!

Worship, a proper response to the promise of God, an appropriate reaction to His assurance. “𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴!” (Author Unknown) The promise of God changed Gideon’s life.

Going back to his tiny army Gideon shouted, “𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞, 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐩, 𝐥𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬!” The verb ‘𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻’ is past tense, highlighting the assurance of the victory! God’s promise, His Word. Of course, the army arose and the enemy was scattered!

One promise, that was all it took, one absolute assurance from the Father. God’s Word to stand upon. The Word came before the battle, before the raging storm, before the deep waters. Do you have a promise you can stand upon, one that you have hidden in your heart? A promise that will keep you in times of trouble? God’s Word is literally brimming over with promises, with the assurance you need to hang onto when life hurts. Find yours, commit it to memory, treasure it, and when you need it, the promise will break through and God will strengthen and sustain you, enabling you to have the victory.

Who is God to You?

October 4, 2024 Claire's Prayer

Questions. We all have so many of them. Would you believe that in 2022, 12 million people asked Google the question Who Am I? Coming in at 1st place was What to Watch with a staggering 109 million searches! As we journey through life with our Abba Father at our side, the question we need to ask Him is 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮? This dear friend, is the real question, the important one. 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮? Ultimately it does not matter who we are, it matters who God is! Who do you believe God is? What do you believe God can do?

Matthew 16:13-20 tells us a very interesting story, one that was pivotal for Peter. Jesus asked, “𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒂𝒎?” and Peter answered Him, “𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑮𝒐𝒅.” Peter knew that Jesus was the Messiah, the one they had all been longing for. I find Jesus’ reply astonishing, “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 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝑷𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝑴𝒚 𝒄𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒕. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒚𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏.”

Peter knew who Jesus was. It was revealed to him by the Father. But for one moment look at the blessing that came with that revelation. He was given the keys to the kingdom of heaven, the ability to bind and loose, and the very church itself was built upon Peter! An imperfect man who denied Jesus three times, even after this revelation. Incredible authority was given to him.

This question too, is pivotal for us and it is in the secret place, that place of intimacy that the answer will be revealed. It is when we come away with the LORD that we discover who He is! 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂? Today is a beautiful day to establish that question in your heart.

𝗛𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗺𝗲𝗴𝗮, 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱. 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝗢𝗻𝗲. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗔𝗺.

Our Savior Weeps

March 25, 2024March 25, 2024 Claire's Prayer

There are times when the ache in your heart threatens to overwhelm you, when your heart literally feels pain because of a grief so great or a burden too deep. The only way to relieve that pressure that presses deep into your soul is to weep. To cry great heaving sobs, oceans of tears, and then perhaps, but only perhaps, there is some sense of respite. So many people tell me that they feel great after a ‘good cry,’ but I don’t. I feel terrible, my head aches, and my eyes are red and irritated, and I’m an ugly crier, a hot mess.

Right there in the middle of a victory celebration, where palm fronds were waved, and thousands cried out “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matthew 21:9) the King of Kings, riding on the back of a young colt looked out over Jerusalem and literally began to sob. “Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.” (Luke 19:41-42)

My heart hurt when I read this verse, knowing that my Savior was so overcome with sorrow during this short celebration. This was not simply a few tears that stained Jesus cheeks but the Greek tells us this was mourning, sobbing, or wailing aloud! The grief that hit Jesus’ heart as he looked at Jerusalem caused His shoulders to shake as he began to cry.

The future loss of His beloved city was almost too much to bear. This should have been “their day!” “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day…”. Not only were there 300 prophecies about the Messiah but this was such an important day that it had been prophesied by Daniel 483 years before! It was a day that Israel could and should have recognized.

Sir Robert Anderson, the former head of Scotland Yard, calculated in his book, The Coming Prince, that Jesus’ triumphal entry was exactly 483 years after Daniel spoke of it in Daniel 9:25. Incredible! The day Zechariah predicted, the day Daniel spoke of, was such an important day, and it could have been “their day.”

No wonder our precious Savior’s shoulders shook with grief, no wonder a sob escaped his throat, as He contemplated the future of His chosen people. The signs were all there but they didn’t see Him, they didn’t recognize their Messiah!

Is today “your day?” Your appointed time, the day in which you need to acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah prophesied about countless times in the scriptures? A day created for you from the beginning of time. A day that will bring you peace, freedom, and joy in Christ, the beginning of a journey with the King!

Resolutions?

January 4, 2022 Claire's Prayer

January 2022! When I say that out loud it doesn’t seem possible that we could be in 2022 already. Along with a new year comes new visions, resolutions, a brand-new page to be written upon. It’s a time to sit and ponder about what 2022 will bring, a time of hope for the future. We want to do better, be thinner, get fitter, save more, love more. A desire for change is birthed every New Year’s morning.

As I sat and considered my own life a study came across my desk, it is called The Power of 4 Effect. The Center for Bible Engagement surveyed over 400,000 people around their world and their findings were astounding. If you are not reading your Bible four times a week, then your life is statistically the same as that of a non-believer! Your life will not change in any significant way than that of one who never reads His Word. This survey also discovered if you are in God’s Word four times a week, you are 30% less likely to be lonely, 59% less likely to view pornography, 228% more likely to share your faith, and 407% more likely to memorize Scripture. These are some mind-blowing stats!

John 8:31-32 says this; “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” If you tarry and remain in the Word of God, then you will know the truth. Not only that, His Word will set you free and deliver you from bondage. What a beautiful promise, a promise of change and freedom.

As the sun rises over 2022 may I encourage you that if you make any resolution, make it one of being in the Word of God. He will change you, remold you, and set you free. You will be a radically different person by the end of this year. Not only that but when those hard times come you will have something to stand on, God’s Word hidden in your heart!

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