 |
| Hang on. Your turnaround is coming. |
.................................................................................................................................................
Prepare Yourself for a Divine Turnaround
When things are shaking and
changing, know that He is in that and setting the stage for turnarounds - some
will be instant, but others will be a process. When things are turning slowly,
we don't sit and we don't quit - we stay active in our assignments because the
vision will come on time - there will be a divine turnaround
Jennifer Eivaz
Samaria had
reached its breaking point.
The ancient
capital of Israel was crumbling under the long oppressive siege by the Syrian
army.
Despair and
desperation took hold of the people in the face of severe food shortages and
runaway inflation (2 Kings 6).
In reaction,
the king of Israel sent a search party for the prophet Elisha with the intent
to kill him.
The Bible
doesn't say why the king wanted to kill him, but an online Jewish encyclopedia
suggests the king would have killed Elisha if he didn't pray to God and get the
famine off the land.
Either way,
when the king of Israel approached Elisha, the prophet already heard the word
of the Lord.
He said this
time tomorrow the famine would be broken (2 Kings 7:1).
It was a
turnaround word and everything the prophet said came to pass.
In just one
day, Samaria had miraculously turned around and the Syrians did not get a
foothold in Israel.
A turnaround
is a "complete change from a bad situation to a good situation, from one
way of thinking to an opposite way of thinking" (Websters).
The word turnaround has
come up in my heart again and again in recent weeks causing me to ask, "What
is God up to?"
In a season of
tremendous change, I believe God is setting the stage for personal turnarounds
as well as a turnaround in our nation.
The prophet
Isaiah proposed a question.
He asked, "Can
a nation be born in a day?" (Isaiah 66:8)
Some have
reworded his question to say, "Can a nation be saved in
a day?"
The prophet
was referencing the nation of Israel, but in the light of the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ we can envision much broader possibilities.
Jesus needs to
get what He paid for. He died, not just for individuals, but He died for whole
nations.
And so, when
it comes to the nations, specifically our nation, we are being challenged to
lift our faith for divine turnarounds.
Why does God
turn something around?
And then, why
do some things never get turned around?
There isn't
one answer to that question, but I do understand seasons.
We are in a
set-up season and not a set-back season.
Jesus didn't
redeem us to reduce us. He redeemed us to increase us.
And so, we
refuse to reduce!
We refuse to
see our nation reduced!
We are to
prepare ourselves for a turnaround, because when God steps into a situation,
everything has to move.
God Does
Turnarounds Because He Is Merciful
The widow told
the prophet Elisha her problem, "The creditor is coming!"
The creditor
was coming to take her two sons to be his slaves and we can only imagine her
desperation (2 Kings 4:1).
Elisha, again,
received a turnaround word and then asked her what she had in her house.
All she had
was a little bit of oil.
Elisha
instructed her to borrow as many jars as she could, pour the tiny bit of oil
into the jar, and then predicted how the oil would not cease as long as she had
containers to pour them in to.
Everything the
prophet said came to pass. She then sold the abundance of oil, paid off her
creditor, and saved her two sons.
God is
merciful, and in His mercy this widow received a turnaround.
Cry Out to God
for Your Turnaround
Knowing that
God is merciful, we don't have to settle for a reduced life.
For example,
King Hezekiah received a prophetic word from the prophet Isaiah to set his
house in order because he was going to die.
The king
didn't settle for that, but cried out to God for a turnaround.
That same
prophet returned with a new word that he would live 15 more
years and his enemies would be defeated.
King David
wrote this, "The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers
them out of all their troubles" (Psalm 34:17).
Some of you
have been in your situation for so long, it's become your identity.
The Word of
God is your identity!
It's time to
get a new word about that situation.
Do you need a
turnaround?
Cry out to
God! He is merciful and in His mercy He turns things around.
Divine Timing
Joseph began
having dreams in the night that he would rule. Unfortunately, those dreams
demoted him when they should have promoted him.
Instead of
ruling, he became a slave. Instead of ruling, he was thrown in prison.
Regardless of
his situation, the gifts and callings of God are irreversible (Romans
11:29).
Even though
his life looked hopeless, Joseph was still on divine assignment to save his
people. When it was time to obey a destiny, God gave Joseph a turnaround.
Habakkuk gives
us powerful instruction about the timing of things.
He had received a vision from the Lord knowing that the vision
was not for now, but for "an appointed time" (Habakkuk
2:3a).
He further states, "If it delays, wait for it; because
it will surely come, it will not delay" (Habakkuk 2:3b).
In other
words, the vision will take time to come to pass, but when it's time for the
vision to happen it won't delay!
Turnarounds
are often attached to destiny and timing.
God did a
turnaround in Saul so he could obey Him.
God did a
turnaround in Israel (Exodus) so the nation could obey Him.
We are often
seeking breakthrough and turnarounds, but a turnaround happens when it is time
to obey a destiny.
It's not to
free us to do our own thing or to make us more comfortable in our disobedience.
When it's time
for the vision to come to pass, it won't delay. Divine timing for an
assignment, then, is what triggers our turnaround.
You Must
Participate
Jeremiah was
predestined by God to be a prophet to the nation of Israel.
"... before
you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations" (Jeremiah
1:5).
Although
Jeremiah was called as a prophet, he still had to participate with his call.
God then
instructs Jeremiah to get up and prepare for action (Jeremiah 1
17).
In other
words, he was not to sit down on the job or make any excuses. He was to get up
and go.
That is a word
to us all! We don't sit in our frustrations or wallow in our problems.
We get up and
prepare for action!
The call of
God does not come with perfect circumstances, but with many challenges to our
obedience.
There will
always be an excuse to not participate with our call.
His kingdom
must come first in our lives because God, Himself, is first and our lives are
to reflect who He is.
Turnarounds
come, then, because we are participating and faithful in our assignment.
We have
decided to be in the right place at the right time doing the right thing.
Turnarounds
Are Often a Process
Some
turnarounds are instant, but other turnarounds are a process.
God is
masterful in how He delivers turnarounds.
He will turn
some things s-l-o-w-e-r when we need time to adjust to our breakthrough.
The turnaround
is simply bigger than our capacity to sustain it.
When my
husband, Ron, and I were assigned to lead a difficult church in a difficult
city, my husband received this promise right from the word.
The Holy
Spirit said, "Little by little I will drive them out before you, until
you become fruitful and inherit the land" (Exodus
23:30).
Along the
journey, we had instant turnarounds as well as mercy turnarounds.
The core
assignment, however, which was to turn a dying church into a life-giving church
came very slowly.
God, Who is
purposeful, did that on purpose! He was making sure we could keep our victories
and not lose them.
God doesn't
want you to have a turnaround only to lose it because you can't sustain it.
That is a word
for us personally and a word to us about our nation.
When things
are shaking and changing, know that He is in that and setting the stage for
turnarounds.
Some will be
instant, but others will be a process.
When things
are turning slowly, we don't sit and we don't quit. We stay active in our
assignments because the vision will come on time.
There will be
a divine turnaround.
Jennifer Eivaz is a
vibrant minister and international conference speaker who carries the wisdom
and fire of the Holy Spirit. She presently serves as an executive pastor with
Harvest Christian Center in Turlock, California, and is focused on raising up a
passionate and effective prayer community that is tempered with love and hears
the voice of God accurately. Jennifer loves the Presence of God and is a
prophetic voice to her church and to others. Her teaching style is authentic
and aimed at the heart, having been built on her personal testimony of God's
incredible goodness and miraculous display in her life and in the life of her
church. She's a featured writer for several online publications including the
Elijah List and Charisma Magazine. She's also written a book
titled The Intercessors Handbook.
