Moses answered the people, do not be afraid.  Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today.  The Egyptians you see today - you will never see again.  God will fight the battle for you.  And you?  You keep your mouths shut. Exodus 14:13-14a (MES)

I recently the honor of serving on a prophetic ministry team. For several days, I sought God for a word of encouragement for specific individuals.  My process of preparing looks something like this:

• get still (Gather every single thing I might possibly want or need for the next hour - coffee, blanket, bible, journal, pen, glasses, computer...you get the idea.)

• pray (Talk to God about how desperate I am to hear what He has to say.)

• listen (Try to stop talking and wait to see if something comes to mind.)

• pray again (Talk, talk, talk - tell God what will happen if He doesn't speak.)

• listen, listen, listen (Make a decision to cut it out, be quiet, put the pressure on God to speak and on me to be still.)

• journal (Write down any and everything I hear, see or sense.)

• repeat

It isn't a very smooth process for me.  It's a bit fraught with my own anxiety and need to "do well".  Once I begin to calm myself, put the expectation on God rather than on me, it's like a slip stream.  I step into a flow I can't explain and I become aware of impressions, words, scriptures, and images that "speak to me" of God's heart.

On Tuesday morning as I finalized my preparations , I felt God had a personal word for me.  I turned the page in my journal and started writing.  Here's what God said:

"The restoration has begun.  The rebuilding is underway.

The pain lessons.

The meds decrease.

The rest is sweeter.

The hair reappears.

The nails transform.

I am faithful, Jan.  I don't just heal or rescue.  I restore."

Restore: 

to bring back, reinstate, reestablish, repair, renovate, fix, rehabilitate, reconstruct, redevelop, overhaul, resurrection, regeneration, the end of one thing, the beginning of another, born again, new beginning

I also remembered the verse from Exodus quoted at the opening of this blog.  The Israelites were standing with their back at the Red Sea and their faces toward an overwhelming enemy.  There was no escape for them.  They could find no battle plan of their own.  They began to panic, complain and believe that they should have stayed in bondage.  They said it was better to be bound than to be dead.

I love how Moses responded.

He didn't try to break them up into units for battle.  He didn't lie to them.  He didn't try to figure it out on his own.  He didn't succumb to their own conclusion.  Rather, he boldly declared that God alone would be enough to deliver them.

"God will fight for you."

Especially if they would shut their mouths.

It's true for you, too.  If your back is up against the wall, close your mouth and stop agreeing with the enemy.  No matter how hopeless your situation appears; no matter how large the army that is advancing against you; no matter how much you second guess the steps that led you to this place...

God will fight for you.

God has indeed fought for me.  While I stand still (resolute) and wait (quite), He is delivering me, fighting for me.

When the red sea parts, we escape and our enemies are crushed.

Then it is the time to speak.