– Joe Fornear
We all face mountains in life that seem impossible to budge.
Whether your mountain is cancer, a financial struggle, or a relational issue, you’re convinced it’s bigger than you! Maybe you carry the disappointment of an unmoved mountain from your past. You desperately hoped and prayed that God would remove it … and He didn’t. The fallout is a new mountain which continues to overwhelm you today. Don’t despair, there is hope!
Zerubbabel was governor of Judah after the return of Israel to their land around 500 BC. He had started to build a new temple for Israel, yet there was a very discouraging 15 year delay due to criticism, opposition and total lack of interest. With only the foundation laid, finishing the temple seemed impossible, even laughable. This was a mountain of a task.
But the Lord stepped in. He said Zerubbabel would indeed finish the temple, yet not with military or human strength, but that it would be by His Holy Spirit filling, guiding and strengthening Zerubbabel and the workers.
“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the LORD of hosts. “What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’” – Zechariah 4:6-7
God Himself is talking to us here about our mountains. With His help, mountains become plains! Now this doesn’t mean every circumstance turns out exactly according to our preferences – that only happens in heaven. It does mean that supernatural resources will lift us through whatever troubles we face. So don’t gut it out and expend all of your human energy until you’re exhausted. Step back and invite His power to flow in and through you. There is a surrender which produces rest, as Jesus said:
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. – Matthew 11:28-30
Now someone might think, “I’m just too weak and my faith is non-existent.” Yet note that in the Zechariah passage above, after the temple was completed with the top capstone, shouts of joy over God’s grace would fill the air. Grace is God’s undeserved favor. We don’t earn His Spirit’s supernatural assistance – this empowerment is a gift! He loves to give to the weak, humble, needy and sick. The irony is He works best when we’re weakest. As Paul said, “And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). So let’s relax and ask Him to teach us how to tap into His power!
New Book by Terri Fornear
Terri Fornear has published her caretaker side of the story of the Fornear cancer battle. Abiding Through the Shadows, A Caretaker’s Struggle with God’s Goodness, is not about her courage and strength, but rather how God met her at her weakest points. She pulls back the curtain to transparently reveal her false concepts of God, which created extra turbulence during that hard time. She shares how the Lord graciously and gently walked her through it all, setting her free from lies about Him.
If you are, or have been, a caretaker of a cancer patient or someone who is in crisis, we believe you will benefit from this book! Stronghold Ministry has joined with Terri and I to offer this book to you free. Simply reply to this email with your full name and address and we’ll send it to you. If you insist, you can make a donation to Stronghold Ministry here. Or you can purchase the book here.
Here is another excerpt from Terri’s book. After learning Joe had been misdiagnosed as not having cancer for months, she was obviously upset and concerned, but she also saw through the lie about God which she needed to replace with the truth:
Mind Renewal
Lie: Man’s mistakes have more power than God and prevent Him from working.
Truth: Romans 8:28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him have been called according to his purpose.
We invite you to acquire this book and abide in our tremendously good God together with Terri.
