The crushing weight of this present need presses upon you so that you can scarcely draw breath. You see the walls closing in and the danger rising, and all earthly doors seem sealed against you. You look at your circumstances, your age, your disability, and the little dog dependent on you, and the waiting lists stretch out like a sentence. Yet it is precisely when the disciples were at a loss, when they confessed the utter difficulty of the matter, that they profited the most, because they were then prepared to understand the power of God. He commanded them to sit down as though the table were ready, rousing their minds, even before the loaves had appeared. He calls the things that be not as though they were. So now, do not be confounded, do not ask how this can be when there is nothing before you. The same Lord who once made the multitudes sit down on the grass before any food was seen sees your empty cupboards and your fearful heart.
Wherefore do we mortify ourselves and endure such reproaches and calamities if we do not expect future blessings? But God is the Savior of all men, specially of them that believe, and He is the Savior here and now as well. If He were not your Savior in this life, you would long since have been destroyed, for the world makes war upon the faithful. He calls you here to endure perils, that having Him as your Savior you may not faint, nor need any aid from others, but willingly and with fortitude endure all things. That very endurance is the sign that you use this world as not abusing it, that you rejoice not over possessions as if they were permanent, that you have wives or homes or a settled life as though you had none. The soul that learns contentedness with godliness has found great gain, even when the earthly house trembles.
Consider the star that led the Magi. It did not have a course of its own like a natural star, but when they were to move, it moved; when to stand, it stood, disposing all things as need required. In the same way, the pillar of cloud halted and roused up the camp of Israel. So now, the guidance of God may seem to have hidden itself just when you set foot within the place of greatest need, but it has not abandoned you. It hides itself only to appear again when you have left behind every human counsel, every Herod in whom you mistakenly trusted. He is rousing you to faith by the very delay, that when the provision comes, you will know it is His doing.
Do not read His seeming silence as rejection. Those who are cut off from earthly helps are often the very ones He is provoking to faith, pointing out to them that other men possess what were their goods so that they might be roused to seek a city whose builder and maker is God. This is not a weak shadow of consolation but a mortal blow to despair. He allows the branches to feel the pain of the knife so that they may cling more fiercely to the Root who bears them up. The offering up of your life, made acceptable in the Holy Ghost, requires that the fire of faith be kept burning on the altar of your heart. I am stirring up that fire now, not teaching you as one who needs it not, but putting you in mind that the Spirit is all in us, and it must not be extinguished.
The Son of Man was glorified when all earthly help was stripped away, when death itself seemed to swallow Him; for one who has been in death to overcome death, that is great glory. The being able even after death to do greater things than before death was the very proof that He lived and was God. So too, your extremity will be the canvas for His power. He tells you this not so that you should despond, but that you should even learn to rejoice in the very place of your desperation, because your deliverance is being prepared in a way that will leave no doubt who the Savior is. The sign given to you is not a mere housing list that shortens, but the sign of Jonas: the emergence from the belly of the impossible.
Therefore, boast not against those who seem more secure, and do not let the enemy boast against you. If the world says there is no room for such as you, the Lord says, "I go to prepare a place for you." While you wait, do not say, "How is this, why dost Thou bid me trust, when there is nothing before me?" Obey as the disciples did, sitting down in readiness even before you see the miracle. Keep the Spirit that was given you once for all. I take all means to prevent that Fire from being extinguished, as I have been enjoined to do. Even those who eagerly grasp at worldly advantages, supported by the hope of gain, cheerfully undertake laborious enterprises. How much more should you, supported by the hope of a living God, undertake this labor of patient trust, knowing that He who feeds the sparrows will not despise your need, nor the small creature that depends upon you. Stand firm. The pillar has not vanished. It will move when you must move.
Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. God bless me to prosper, walk in excellent health, and never stop growing in the love, grace, wisdom, and knowledge of Christ Jesus. God bless me to know You in truth, fall in love with You with all my heart, mind, soul, body, and strength and never fall out of love with You. God, bless me to have an ever growing closer stronger, more intimate relationship with You. Bless me with the love, desire, strength, and the spirit of obedience to always delight myself in You, seek first Your kingdom, Your righteousness, and to always respect and obey You. Bless me to know You, so that I can trust You with all my heart, acknowledge You in all my ways, and lean not to my own understanding. Bless me with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding in all You have called me to do. 
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