Dear friends,
Surely, you have had your own experiences with promises.
Promises from men (as in humans, men or women).
And perhaps even promises from GOD?
If you are a believer, I am sure you have been blessed by GOD’s promises during your walk with CHRIST.
Me, I had a direct experience with something GOD promised me a long time ago – and I want to share it with you, because I learned so much from this!
And perhaps you can relate to what I had always found “tricky” when it comes to GOD’s promises:
there are so many promises from GOD to us in the bible.
I was wondering how and when to know which promise(s) of HIS was for me personally?
Plus, I was wanting to find out how to receive what HE had promised for my life.
And I was asking HIM about this…
This is a story about what and how HE taught me…
It all began before I found the job before my last job, that was about a year ago.
I had been praying to GOD to place me somewhere in a job where I could work for HIM, had been praying that prayer for many years, basically it had been my prayer since right after I got saved – and as I look back now on this time from when I got born again until today, I realize that GOD had answered this prayer right from the beginning when I first asked HIM, but I didn’t understand and so I kept asking and asking… and searching and searching – and I was suffering, too, as I didn’t perceive myself being effective and efficient enough for HIM and I wanted to do more, to achieve more for HIS glory and for HIS kingdom.
So what can you do when you are unable to see that you are already glorifying GOD where you are?
Well, all you do is keep asking, I guess, and praying to be placed by HIM in a position where you, too, can see that you can work for HIM there.
And that’s what I did.
My entire quest and career (even the parts of it where I thought I had failed), it all began to make sense when this inspiration came to me that my skills, my education (even the education I had in my “old life”) and my experiences, both professional and personal could be put to a great use for GOD if I worked with offenders.
Because I came to understand violence from many perspectives:
– from the legal perspective as a former lawyer
– from the psychological perspective as a former therapist
– from the personal perspective as a victim
and from the “spirit”-ual perspective as a believer.
When I had this inspiration or revelation, I was reading Isaiah 61:
Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
And since this post is about promises, I want to point out to you how I got to the conclusion that GOD promised me something.
It started with this passage.
I felt as if it was talking about me.
The part with the captives and with the prison.
And it made so much sense!
I almost shouted!
From that moment on, I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in the Criminal Justice Sector helping offenders.
And as you may remember, when I first started this work, I was SO happy and fulfilled and I knew I had found my place!
Only that I had found “my place” in a team of witches where I only lasted a few weeks, because the spirit in my manager was not compatible with the HOLY SPIRIT in me.
So I had to leave.
When I did, I kept asking THE LORD if this is truly what HE wanted me to do – as it seemed so extremely hard… but HE kept telling me so, I kept hearing this passage as if it was spoken to me and about me.
Then, the next job offer came – in the same field.
Not very quickly, but quite effortlessly.
The interview was a breeze and they never even asked me why I had left my previous job after so little time there.
I even started to work in the prison and did the job for a few weeks as they let me start right away, assuming that I had already had prison clearance and that it would only be a small formality to reaffirm this.
So did I reckon.
The enemy didn’t make it that easy though.
I had to start a long fight for my prison clearance and it was a very difficult battle.
It took me exactly 5 months to get a positive decision.
Plus, I had to move past so many “no”s that it was getting more and more unlikely that I would succeed.
And if it had not been for THE LORD and for HIS promise that HE had opened this door for me, I would not have fought so long or so hard and would have given up long ago.
So when the first question about my previous employment came, my heart skipped a beat and I got worried, because then, I was sure something had gone terribly wrong and they had lied about me (which many months later was confirmed) and I was asking THE LORD if HE really was going to get me through this and this is what HE said:
Revelation 3:8-9
8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it:
for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
I was amazed!
I had never seen this scripture before!
It talked EXACTLY about my situation and again, I so strongly felt that it was about me and for me!
And it was true, I had kept HIS word, had not let the enemy tempt me to curse them or to let this get ugly, I had prayed for them, but it was also true that they are not Christians, but truly witches.
So what I did from that moment on is I believed GOD for this job and for no other job.
Period.
I sent a statement to the clearance place telling them the truth, that it was a personal matter between me and my manager and that it had nothing to do with my compliance to any rules and that nothing happened which would exclude me from working in a prison.
They didn’t do anything for many weeks, the weeks where I worked in the job without keys, you may remember my posts about this time…
And when I asked for an update, the negative result came out:
my vetting had been failed.
They didn’t tell me why.
They didn’t send me anything according to my rights for data disclosure.
They didn’t inform me about my right to appeal or about anything.
I still appealed though.
And wrote many emails to many places.
Then, after 2 months, the letter came:
they had decided to uphold their negative vetting decision.
I cried out to GOD!
And I never, ever stopped believing HIM – even though everything looked as if I had lost the battle, I kept holding on to HIS promise and I was praying and fasting and crying out to HIM all the time.
What I think is the most important point though – at least for me – I said to HIM that if this is NOT a promise from HIM to ME, then, I am devastated, because I perceived this so 100% clearly and I simply knew that HE wanted me to believe HIM.
I didn’t even truly look for a new job, a little bit, but not too seriously or not as intensely as I would have done if I had thought that I wasn’t going to be back in my old job…
I even surrendered everything to GOD over and over and asked HIM to show me if there was something else HE wanted me to do… and I did do a few things during the waiting time, which I will tell you about some other time.
And the waiting was hard.
And the waiting was long.
But during the waiting, I received another promise from HIM:
I heard a sermon that there is a time when GOD hides us in the wilderness and when HE will send the ravens to feed us… and this passage spoke to me again like the other one had before.
1 Kings 17-19
And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, beore whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
2 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,
3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
5 So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.
Don’t worry, I have not gone crazy over all this time waiting on THE LORD.
It was just that I knew that HE was telling me that HE would send money to feed me – and HE did.
And whenever I came back to the passage in the book of Revelation, it was crystal clear to me that this was my job and that I would get it back.
So when my appeal was unsuccessful, after I had cried out to GOD, I sent them another letter, to appeal against the outcome of my appeal so to say, I didn’t even know if it made any sense, didn’t think much about it, actually, I thought they wouldn’t even consider it, but I felt such a strong urge to write again and to tell them how unfair and how unjust this entire process had been – and I felt relieved after I had posted the letter…
I thought it was nice to protest against the injustice at least.
To be honest with you, I didn’t think that they would change their decision and I did believe that I had understood GOD’s promise correctly, but I realized that HE had not spoken to me about the timing, so I thought that I might have to do something else before I could return to the prison again to work there…
Not so when MY FATHER has promised it!
HE said that HE had opened this door and no man can shut it.
And today, I heard that my vetting decision has now been changed to “pass”.
HALLELUJAH!
THANK YOU LORD!
What I really want to emphasize though is that the point in all this which is the most important point is not that I will get my job back – I am not even 100% sure if they still have a vacancy, I am assuming they do, but the point that is so CRUCIAL for me is that I was right and that it was indeed a promise from MY FATHER to me.
If you had been there, so many weeks, 5 months in total since my second application for prison clearance, basically, I had spent almost this entire year with overcoming the cruelty and meanness of my previous manager and with defeating her attempts to destroy my career in the sector!
Not many people believed that I had done nothing wrong.
Furthermore, on the outside and knowing the Criminal Justice System and the Ministry of Justice, this was so highly unlikely, that they would in the end make a positive decision once they had declared my vetting failed!
But of course, knowing GOD, nothing is impossible!
Not many people believed with me that it would still come to pass… not my parents, as they were really worried, but they are unbelievers (please help me pray to get them saved!) – not even everybody I told about this in my church, but some of my brothers and sister for sure, they were standing with me and were believing with me – and praying for me.
I know some of you were, too!
And I am grateful.
Like I said, I was ready to do another job and I even managed to get 2 invitations to interview for alternative jobs I would have liked and could have done instead, but the point is, MY FATHER has said it.
This is such a crucial milestone in my walk with HIM.
This is such a blessing for me and it is so strengthening for my faith.
It means that GOD is speaking to me and I am able to hear HIM.
Actually, this is the best blessing ever in my entire life.
No job, no healing, no deliverance, no financial blessing – nothing is better than this!
GOD was speaking to me and I was able to hear and understand HIM correctly.
And I believed HIM and HE proved HIS promise to be true.
I am happy, friends.
This is what counts the most – in MY life at least – to have a relationship with MY FATHER, one where not only I can speak to HIM, but also one where HE will speak to me and I will understand what HE is saying.
And one where HE will make promises directly to me, yes, to me, a wretch like me, but not only a wretch and a sinner, but also HIS child.
Hallelujah!
Praise HIM!
And it was so important for me to learn this and I believe it was orchestrated by HIM so that there would be no shadow of a doubt for me that this was HIM, not me, not anyone else, but HIM opening this door – even though many men had shut it in my face many times and for many months.
As HE had promised – no man can shut it.
I don’t know if you ever had a similar experience, but I am so blessed – and I hope this will bless someone, too, perhaps there is something in my story which will inspire or edify you – at least this is my prayer!
FATHER, I thank you for everyone reading these words right now, thank YOU for their lives.
And thank YOU, LORD, that YOU are faithful and that YOU never, ever lie and that YOU keep all YOUR promises to us.
I pray that YOU would keep speaking to me regarding YOUR promises for my life as clearly as YOU were in this case and I ask that YOU would also speak to everyone reading this with the same clarity, that YOU would direct them to YOUR WORD, to the promises YOU have for them and then bring everything to pass for them just as YOU have for me. FATHER I am grateful for YOUR truth, for YOUR love, for YOUR guidance, wisdom and protection over my life.
I pray that YOU will bless every person reading this abundantly in all areas of their lives, that YOU will keep them and shine YOUR face upon them and bring them peace.
In JESUS’ name I have prayed.
AMEN.
Witness for Jesus 
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