Search the Scriptures

Today, as I was flipping through my Tanach (Hebrew Old Testament) by a Jewish publishing company, my eyes quickly fell on a portion of the Jewish blessing of the Torah.  It is recited by the person called up to the Torah after the reading of the Torah. The translation of the blessing reads as follows: Blessed are You, Hashem, our God, King of the universe, Who gave us the Torah of truth and implanted eternal life within us. Blessed are You, Hashem Giver of the Torah.

Almost immediately, my mind went to a verse a Scripture that I had heard and read many times before. I knew it was somewhere in John around the sixth chapter. It took me a minute, but I found it in John 5:39. Yeshua (Jesus) was speaking to the Jewish leaders of His day and He declared, "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."  He was not in any way diminishing the authority or power of Scripture, but rather showing He was the fulfillment of those Scriptures. 

The Scriptures were the signposts - the arrows pointing to Him. God gave the Jewish people a marriage contract (the Torah). But the contract wasn't the end. It was the means to an end. It was describing the Bridegroom and all the blessings that go along with the Groom.

Divine Synchronization

My focus, lately, has been on the phrase, "Our Father which art in heaven".  This morning, as I prayed this part, I was reminded of the phrase from Psalm 113:5-6 Who is like the Lord our God, Who dwelleth on high, Who humbleth Himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!  God is so awesome and so great that He has to get down on all fours and place His face against the ground to see what is in heaven and on the earth!!!  He is so big that He declared through the prophet Isaiah, For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. (Is 55:8-9)  It would be like a flea trying to think like us. Yet, God in His infinite love and mercy wanted to think like us and feel what we feel. When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; what is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him? (Psalm 8:3-4)  The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Phillipi and said, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him the Name which is above every name: that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phillipians 2:5-11)  He humbled Himself to behold the things in heaven and on earth!!!

As I began to move on in prayer, this morning, from praise to worship in the phrase, "Hallowed be Thy Name..." I began to declare with Isaiah 6:3 "And one cried unto another, and said, "Holy, Holy Holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory" Suddenly I was carried away in the Spirit and could see the stars crying out to one another, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY", the galaxies, the planets, the black holes, and every celestial being crying out one to another "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY" The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.  This is the Will of God,  ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN!!! 

Jesus told us to ask.  The word ASK, can easily be interchanged with PRAY.  This is the task He has given us and it is followed by a Kingdom promise, "Ask and you shall receive".  When we are praying the Lord's prayer, we are asking that His name be sanctified on Earth as it is in Heaven.  We are asking Him to let the nations glorify His Name, even as the galaxies, stars, planets and all the celestial beings glorify His Name. Suddenly, that same cooperation that happens in the heavenlies begins to be fulfilled in the earth.

It is Divine Synchronization.  Ezekiel had a vision in which He saw the heavens and was carried to the very throne of God.  He not only saw the beings that carry the throne, but he saw the very One Who is sitting on the throne! And in all this there was such synchronization. He saw more synchronization and precision than that of an atomic clock:  And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. Whithersoever the Spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the Spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the Spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. (Ezekiel 1:19-21)  This is what that phrase means, "ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN". When the Spirit moves, the wheels move.  When the Spirit is lifted up, the wheels are lifted up.

This is the Will of God.  That we move in  precision with His will.  Praising and worshiping Him Who sits on the throne. Walking in His Will.  Operating in divine synchronization with His Spirit.  And the only way to achieve it is to Ask; to pray in His Will, believing that He Who spoke it will bring it to pass.

Give Us This Day

So often we pray the Lord's Prayer (or rather we SAY the Lord's Prayer) without any concentration on what is coming out of our mouth. As I have mentioned in previous posts, the Lord's Prayer is more of a road map of prayer for me. It helps me to direct my concentration and focus on the Lord during my prayer time. I often use each line as a header, as I have taught in previous posts.

Recently, as I was praying through the Lord's Prayer, I came to the line “Give us this day...” I recognized it as a petition all by itself. Not a prayer for bread or food, but a prayer for accepting this day as it comes. I began to think of Scriptures referring to Today: But exhort one another daily, while it is called To Day” Heb 3:13. And Jesus gave us commandment not to worry about tomorrow: Take therefore no thought for tomorrow: for tomorrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Matt 6:34

My thoughts were drawn to a verse of Scripture I have often shied away from: This is the day that the LORD has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24. In the past, I have been superstitious in that whenever I had declared this Scripture, it seemed that I was tested on it. But as I was praying this line – give us this day, I realized that it was casting all my cares (fears, superstitions, worries, anxieties) on the LORD and recognizing that THIS IS THE DAY HE HAS MADE and we are believing in Him to give us THIS DAY everything we have need to make it through the day.

I'm sure that I'll never pray through this line again the same way as in the past.

Simply Blessed

Yesterday, I found myself in the lowest depths of depression. I hadn’t felt that low in years. It was the most hopeless of feelings. By the evening, I was wondering what was even the point of living another day. I decided to write a letter to God and tell Him how I felt. It seemed to help a little and I was able to pray through the Lord’s prayer and talk about things I need.

First, this morning, my Daily Light Devotional ended with the verse, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.”

This morning, when I got to work and open my email, there was an email from someone I had met last year at the senior center. Out of the blue she had emailed me to say that I have been on her heart yesterday and she had prayed for me. I sobbed like a baby. I knew it was from the Lord, letting me know He was near.

One of the things that has been heavy on my heart has been getting my sink faucet replaced. Today in morning meeting, one of my colleagues said that one of our nurse’s husband a plumber. I very rarely see her, however in a meeting today she came in to eat lunch where we were meeting and I was able to ask her about her husband fixing the sink. This evening she let me know he could do it for $80 which is way less than I have been quoted.

This evening, one of our former residents’— who passed away this year - daughter came by to say hello and give us a gift. It was a sign that reads Simply Blessed. Yet another confirmation that God is watching over every detail.

Seeing the Unseen

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

God gave us 5 physical senses to contact our physical world. They are: touch, taste smell, hear and see.  If anyone of those senses are damaged, we call that person handicapped. As a person ages, all of these senses begin to diminish. Yet, God gave us another sense that we can use - not to contact our physical world, but to contact the spiritual world. That is the sense of FAITH.  As a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are to use this sense to  not only our spiritual life, but also our physical.  The Apostle Paul encouraged the believers in Corinth, "For we walk by faith, and not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7. 

Anything that can be felt, tasted, smelt, heard or seen will decay; it will not last.  But what is experienced by faith is eternal.  We often think of faith as something that we just wish for, or believe intellectually with our minds, and may even be convinced of but it can be proven. But the writer to the Hebrews gave a much more concrete definition to faith:  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1. Because this was written in Greek, we look back to see what the word "Substance" means. In the Strong's lexicon it is # 5287: Hupostatsis (from a compound word  #5259 = Hupo: under / #2476 = Histemi: to Stand, support.  This word gives me the picture of a round table being held up by a strong pedestal underneath or of a tall house supported underneath by a firm foundation. 

 Anyone who has believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and been born into the kingdom of God is grafted into the family of Abraham. Abraham was the father of the FAITH.  Paul gave a wonderful account of Abraham's faith to the Romans.


Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
Romans 4:16-25


Abraham FELT old. He could look at Sarah's body and SEE that she was old and well past childbearing years. But he wasn't looking at the natural evidence. His faith was firmly fixed on the promise and he knew that the One Who gave the promise could give life to the dead and call those things that are not as though they were.


Paul was referring to a single line in Genesis that records: And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. Genesis 15:6


This word, "believed" in Hebrew is "Amen". For thousands of years, when a Jewish man prays in the presence of others, when he concludes the prayer or blessing, the hearers respond, "Amen." In many Christian churches, when a man is preaching and says something that the congregation identifies with, they respond with, "Amen".  They are thereby joining themselves to this truth as if they said it themselves.


This word, "Amen" is found in another passage of Scripture. Isaiah prophesied, "And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house" Isaiah 22:23 This word, "Sure place" is Amen (Strong's Hebrew #539: to build up or support, to be firm/faithful).  My home was built in 1910 and the insides are overlaid with plaster, rather than sheetrock.  If I want to hang a picture on the wall, I have to be very careful that I am driving the nail into a wooden stud. Otherwise, the plaster simply crumbles around the nail and the nail falls out with a very light amount of pressure.  But God is promise to fasten "him" as a nail in a sure place "AMEN". 


When Abraham AMEN'ed or believed in the Lord, he was in a sure place in the Lord. It didn't matter what his physical eyes could see or how he felt, he knew God was going to bring His Word to pass. And as spiritual sons of Abraham, if we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, regardless of circumstance, regardless of what we see, hear, feel, taste, smell, then it is also counted to us for righteousness.

The Power of the Secret Prayer

And when He had sent the multitudes away,

He went up into a mountain apart to pray:

and when the evening was come,

He was there alone. Matt 14:23

Probably, one of the hardest things for the Master to do was to find time alone.  We often seek the solitude of an evening to watch a show or read a book - something that relaxes our minds or takes us away from the reality of our daily lives. However, Jesus used this time to talk with God. It was during this time that He probably sought the Father for the coming day's schedule or "to do" list (The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what he seeth the Father do... John 5:19). But throughout the Gospels, we find Him going by Himself alone or to a deserted place.

When He taught His disciples how to pray, He said, "When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." Matt 6:6  There is a great reward to be found in the secret prayer. Jesus knew this power of secret prayer, as we find in Matthew, Mark and Luke.  Each chapter that emphasizes His going to pray in a secret place, we find that great healings and deliverances took place.  For instance, in our heading text found in Matthew 14, we read at the end of the chapter: ...and brought all that were diseased; and besought Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole. Matt 14:36

We find a similar scenario in Mark chapter 1, only the sequence is reversed:
And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto Him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.  And all the city was gathered together at the door. And He healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered no the devils to speak, because they knew Him. And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. Mark 1:32-35

We find another place where Jesus' secret prayer wrought great power in Luke 6:
And it came to pass in those days, that He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. ...and a great multitude of people...which came to hear Him, and to be healed of their diseases; and they that were vexed with unclean spirits; and they were healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch Him: for there went virtue out of Him, and healed them all. Luke 6:12;17-19
In my life, my greatest times of prayer have been when I awoke very early in the morning, before the sun arises. It seems to be when I hear the clearest, what God is saying to me. 

In March of 2007, I felt led to fast sleep instead of food for three days [Not that I gave up a whole night of sleep, just an extra hour].  I set my clock at 5am to get up and pray.  The first day was wonderful and fully charged with power in prayer.  The next day, however, when the clock went off, I reset it and went back to bed.  But just as I was about to doze off the Holy Spirit spoke to me an said, "It depends on if you want a temporal inheritance or a spiritual inheritance."  Needless to say, I threw back the covers and dove into prayer.

About a month ago, God spoke to me, "Watch and See". We modern Westerners think of watching as looking intently, but the ancient Easterners thought of watching as guarding, keeping watch - especially during the night. I felt the Lord wanted me to keep the Watch of the Lord.  I tried on that Friday night, but gave up even before 10:30pm.  The next night, I made it till about 12 or 1am. But I was trying to do it in myself.  The Holy Spirit dealt with me to wake up at 4am. So that Tuesday, at 4am, I arose and began to pray - it was more of an intercession in the Spirit for souls.

Since then, He has helped me to awaken at 4am every Tuesday.  It's not always prayer, but lately has been more a time of praise and worship, then praying in the Holy Spirit. But the fruits of answered prayer and revelations that flow, during this time, have been wonderful. I don't like to share about my personal devotions, as I do not wish to boast or brag, but I feel that it gives a personal example of God's dealings with us in our modern day and time.

The New Song of the Lord

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,

singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Eph 5:19

And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God:

 many shall see it, and fear and shall trust in the Lord. Ps 40:3

O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord,

 all the earth. Ps 96:1

And they sang as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts,

and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty four thousand,

which were redeemed from the earth. Rev. 14:3



Many years ago, I had the privilege of going to a campmeeting in Ashland, VA. This campground and meeting had been held annually for more than 40 years.  It started in June and went for 10 1/2 weeks.  They also had a shorter version of a campmeeting in the month of February.  It was through the teaching on praise and worship, through Sister Ruth Ward Heflin, who was the leader of this campground, that I learned about the new song.

Some years later, I went to live in Jerusalem and through Sister Nancy Bergen, (Sister Ruth's Associate) I was trust into the new song. Every day from 1-2 or 3 we would gather in the chapel at Mount Zion Fellowship and sing the new song of the Lord. Often, I would be playing the piano and be compelled to lead. 

What is is the new song?  Well, it's when the Holy Spirit comes and inspires a word or song in your spirit and you begin to sing it.  It's when you begin to sing a song that you've never learned before. It often comes a single phrase that you may sing over and over until God drops another line in.

I have many times had God drop new songs in my spirit driving down the road, standing on a platform leading the people in worship, walking through the corridors of a nursing home where I work or in the midst of prayer.  Lately, the Lord has redirected me to sing a new song during my prayer and devotions time. 

I start off just singing a tune to Hallelujah, Praise the Lord and with a rhythm and tempo that I can dance before the Lord to. Then a new line comes I start to sing it - He is worthy, worthy, He is worthy to be praised; He is mighty, mighty, Mighty is our God; I will dance before the Lord, for He is worthy to be praised.... and on and on until He leads me into a gentle Spirit of Worship.

On 8/18/18, I had been flowing in the Spirit when He dropped a new song into my heart: "In the glory realm. In the glory realm, in the Presence of the Lord."  Later, I was driving to work and He gave me another line: "Holy fire, Upon the altar. Holy fire upon the altar of the Lord."  The next day, I received another line: "In the throne room of Your glory, In the throne room of the glory of the Lord."

This morning, after a long time of dancing and praising before the Lord, He gave me a new line to that tune: "In the secret place, I can see Your face, As Your glory fills this place." "In the secret place, there's perfect love and grace, when I stand in this holy place"

I challenge you to allow the Holy Spirit to begin to work in your life through the new song. 

Singing a new song does two things for you. It teaches you how to concentrate on God and it teaches you simplicity. It is possible to be singing a chorus you know well and, at the same time, be planning a menu.  You can't do that with the new song. You'll lose it. You have to concentrate on the Lord to sing the new song. Then, we need that simplicity so that we can repeat it the next time around.  { Taken from the book by Ruth Ward Heflin -- Glory}

And He walks with me...

Earlier in the week, my sister had asked me to walk with her at a park that I like to go to. Although my weekend schedule already felt crammed, I agreed.  Then she asked me if I could meet her at 7:30 am,  rather than eight. I reluctantly agreed.

When I awoke this morning, I awoke singing, “I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses and the voice I hear falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses. And He walks with me and He talks with me and tells me I’m His own.” I knew immediately she would not be there to walk with me, that she would oversleep, but that God had ordained this time of fellowship and communion. He reminded me of the scripture from Mark chapter 1:  In the morning, while it is was still very dark, Jesus got up and went to a deserted place and prayed there. Mark 1:35

All the way up, the Holy Spirit just kept singing and speaking to me. When I got there, I waited for a few minutes and called her, sure enough she had overslept. I told her that I would walk and then meet her when she got there.

Halfway through the walk, the Holy Spirit reminded me to look at my blog Hitbodedut. It was from Sunday, September 11, 2016. (Just two years ago and one day apart as this is Saturday.)  http://torahgoy.blogspot.com/2016/09/hitbodedut.html

Once she arrived, and we walked, there was such a peace and serenity that was present. The birds, crickets, and even little squirrels were serenading us on our journey through the forest. As I took a picture of sunrays coming through the clouds, there was a beautiful blue-ish rainbow that was present in the picture just over the sun rays , we could not see it before. It was just as in the book of Ezekiel 1: As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. Eze 1:28

The first picture didn't even
show the rainbow.

Notice the brightness of the

rays and the blue rainbow

God reminded me how earlier this week He had spoke to me about walking with Him. Every night, the new song that I received from the Lord had to do with: Walk with Me. Follow Me. He was telling me not only to walk with Him in the spirit, but to walk with Him in the natural as well. What a joy it is to walk by faith! To be led by the Spirit!  It truly is the peace that passes all understanding.

Praying in the Spirit

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. Eph 6:18.

I was blessed to have been raised in a praying home.  My earliest memories are hearing my mother pray and sing to me on her lap while I was experiencing an asthma attack. I remember walking through the living room where my father would be sitting in a corner "praying in the Holy Ghost".  My parents were devout people of faith. As a small boy, I recall the first time the Holy Spirit came on me. We had a visiting minister in our church and God had used him to minister to my sisters and mother. I was in the front row of our small, country church and I began to stammer as tears streamed down my face in the presence of God.  I was sitting in the front seat of the car on the way home from church and told my parents, "Tonight, my lips were moving like Sister Flo's when she gets happy."

Over the years, I have heard people mock and make fun of others who speak in unknown tongues, however when the Holy Spirit truly anoints you with that gift, it is a wonderful gift to access the realms of glory. As children, my mother and father taught us never to make fun of someone speaking in tongues, as this was a manifestation of the Holy Ghost. Jesus taught us that to all sins against the Father would be forgiven and even sins against the Son, but once the Holy Ghost was given, no sin or speaking against the Holy Ghost would be forgiven. (Matthew 12:32)

I have seen many manifestations of the Holy Ghost in my lifetime. Although there have been times the manifestation might have been outside of my comfort zone, I try to never criticize or speak against it.  If you're not sure if it's the Holy Ghost or not, better to just leave it alone and walk away.  If you are against the idea of speaking in unknown tongues by the Spirit or prophecy or any other spiritual gift, it's better that you just walk away and not comment. Ask God for understanding - after all, He is the Master Teacher (John 16:13).

Many times in my life, I've had the Holy Spirit come on me and pray with a deep groaning.  This is a Biblical concept called intercession. Likewise the Spirit helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit makes intercessions for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Roms 8:26-27 When we yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit, He knows what to pray for.

I learned a lesson during my stay in Jerusalem, many years ago. I learned that what we are praying or singing in the Spirit can be interpreted.  For he that speaks in an unknown tongue speaks not unto men, but unto God: for no man understands him; howbeit in the Spirit he speaks mysteries.  Wherefore let him that speaks in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the Spirit, and I will pray with understanding also: I will sing with the Spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. I Corinthians 14:2, 13-15  One Saturday afternoon, I came home from our morning service and was praying in the Spirit in the basement of our apartment. I asked God to give me the interpretation.  He gave me the sermon for that night - it was on Hidden Manna from the book Revelations.  He also allowed me to hear in the Spirit, a woman praying, that afternoon.  That night I related the story and  a woman came forward. She had been bound by alcohol, but God delivered her.

 This past Saturday, I had an overwhelming desire to get in the Spirit. I spent the first part of the day just worshiping and praising. When the Holy Spirit moved on me, I began to sing in the Spirit. Shortly thereafter, I began to receive the interpretation to what I was singing. For the next several hours, I received one line after another. It started with - In the Glory realm, in the glory realm, in the presence of the Lord." Then "Holy fire upon the altar" "Holy water in the laver". Throughout the day, I sang my way through the Outer Court, Inner Court and finally, "Behind the Inner Veil, where His love prevails, there is glory behind the Inner Veil." For the past several days, I have sang this tune over and over with new lines.  Each time, the Holy Spirit moves in and I begin to weep.

So what does all this do for the believer? But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. Jude 20 We find the Apostle Paul saying to the Corinthian church, "He that speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself..." I Cor. 14:4  Praying in the Spirit is like taking a vitamin or eating food that gives you an energy boost. It's God's way of helping us to grow in the Spirit.

Now, there's been many times that I've prayed in the Spirit, yet was praying in my native English.  But I knew, by the Spirit, I was being directed to pray in a certain direction and yet it was the Holy Spirit praying through me.  That's more like the gift of prophecy.

So I encourage you Pray in the Holy Ghost. Pray in the Spirit and believe for God to give you the interpretation, if He prays in a way you don't understand.

A Rest to the People of God

Last week, I had set my mind on drawing close to the Lord, by "afflicting my soul" otherwise known as fasting.  I decided to give up breakfast which a pretty important meal to me. It really jump starts my day.  Monday started off okay and Tuesday I felt like it was smooth sailing, but Wednesday morning.... Oh Wednesday.  I had barely gotten out of bed and started my morning, before work was calling about a situation.  While I was on the phone discussing how to begin to remedy the situation, a text from my assistant came through that her grandbaby was on the way and her week vacation would begin.

Suddenly, I began to feel the "affliction". The day progressed pretty strenuously. Then, on Thursday, I walked into a spinoff from the previous day's situation that was only progressing downwardly. That evening, traffic could not have been more stressful - if I got in the fast lane, traffic in that lane stopped, then move to the middle lane and it stopped and the other picked up.  By Friday afternoon, I could feel my earlobes touching my shoulders (metaphorically speaking). I felt depressed and anxious. My chest felt tight, my head felt like it was on fire and every muscle in my shoulders and back felt like they were in a million knots. 

I finally came to the end of my day where my evening devotions take place. The past several days seem to have been about suffering, but on Friday night (Sabbath eve) there it was in black and white on March 2: There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. (Hebrews 4:9) I knew in my heart that God would help me.

Not only was Saturday a beautiful day of rest, but today has been as well.  I was able to read two wonderful study books about the Messiah's work from a Jewish standpoint: Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus by Spangler & Tverberg & Jesus Rabbi & Lord by Robert L. Lindsey.  I feel that through reading these books, my eyes have been opened for a deeper relationship with Yeshua and a love for His teaching.