"Everything is going to be alright!"

"Everything is going to be alright!" These were the words spoken to the thousands of people that crowded into the Westin Hotel in uptown Charlotte last night to hear from Brother Kenneth Copeland. Brother Copeland is holding partner meetings around the country and fortunately for Charlotte we were a part of his itinerary. He spoke to us last night about many different things: his walk with the Lord and the growth of his ministry over the last forty years, walking by faith, not looking to the world as to what is going on but remembering that God is our source and then the words of comfort that he spoke to us from the Lord about the fact that everything was going to work out for the best whether it looked like it or not. It was so comforting to hear that from him. For me personally, even though the Lord has spoken to me about the fact that things in my life are going to work out it was nice to hear from someone who has a better and more developed walk with the Lord than I do that he heard straight from the Lord that things are working out. He also said to get in the Word and remind yourself of the promises in the Bible and then to remind yourself when things seem to not be working out that it's on its way! The message was really inspiring. A message of hope during a time when the news is focused on government shutdowns, wars and turmoil, and economic crisis and a continued rise in the nation's unemployment numbers, despite what the media reports. Brother Copeland reminded us that God was not caught off guard by what happened in 2008 or by what has continued to happen since then. He reminded me of something that Prophet Phil Cappuccio, who came to my church in New Jersey, said. He said that God does not have a plan B. God has had one plan from the very beginning and He sticks to His plan because it is perfect. God can see the end from the beginning when all we can see is the missteps and the winding turns and the long stretches but God has the puzzle box lid and we only have the pieces. So we really have no choice but to trust Him if we have made the decision to put our lives in His hands. I'm really glad that I had the opportunity to be able to hear Brother Copeland in person and that his message for us was so timely and necessary. At the beginning of this year I had the opportunity to be a part of some really great services at my home church in Charlotte and then the church that I belong to in New Jersey. I think I expected for my life to take some drastic turns after these services because there were messages of blessings on the way and turning of the tide. And admittedly my life did change, maybe not in the way that I pictured it but it did change. I received a phone call to work on the project that had stalled last year and because of that I was able to add another experience to my resume as well as some cash to my pocket. That was a blessing! And then I feel more sure of what I know this year whereas last year I was struggling because it was a year of great transition, rejection and disappointment. But I was sustained through all of that and had to make a decision for myself whether I was going to believe the circumstances or believe God. I chose to believe the Lord and maybe what I have been praying for has taken longer than expected but I believe that it is on the way and that I am closer to it than I have ever been.

If it was not enough to be able to experience Brother Kenneth Copeland last night this morning my mom and I were able to experience the ministry of Dr. Marilyn Hickey. I remember my mother watching both Kenneth Copeland and Marilyn Hickey on television when I was in elementary school. I never paid much attention to them then because I had no idea what they were talking about. But in the last two to three years I have received a great deal from their ministries as I have developed my own personal faith. This morning Dr. Hickey was the closing speaker at the Faith Alive Conference at the University City Church of God in Christ. I expected an overwhelming amount of people to be at this conference like the one for Kenneth Copeland the night before. But Dr. Hickey addressed a small crowd of maybe 100 or so. What a great experience! How often do you have the chance to have a personal Bible study with someone who has a world renowned ministry and has traveled to over 125 nations! Not very often. And her message fit a logical progression of messages that I have had the opportunity to partake of this week. First I heard a message from Charles Stanley last week entitled "Intimacy with God." And he explained that without an intimate relationship with God you cannot experience all that God has for you. An intimate relationship with God is one where you are completely open and honest with Him and then also listen for Him to speak to you. I was definitely struck by the fact that I had not been listening like I should have. I had been talking more than enough but when it came to listening I could do much better. On Wednesday night I attended a Bible class by Pastor Gool at Victory Christian Center in Charlotte where he instructed all of us to search for wisdom. He spoke of what happens when you find wisdom and make it a priority and he spoke of what happens when you don't. We should search out wisdom like jewels. He used the illustration of the fact that if you had a million dollars in your back yard you wouldn't stop searching until you found it and that is what we should do to find wisdom, not quit until we find it. Then Friday was Brother Kenneth Copeland's message and today Dr. Hickey spoke about vision. She used the story of Joseph to speak about how God gives each of us a vision for our lives and He not only does that but equips us with all the tools and abilities to be able to do what we need to do to accomplish that vision. The problem is that we want what we want when we want it and too often we need to go through a process to be ready to accomplish the vision for which He created us but we would think that this process should only take a day or a night or a week or a month or a year max. But the truth is that it may take all of this and more. Joseph is a prime example of this. It was 13 years from the time he had a vision to the time it was actually fulfilled and then there was still 9 more years after that until the vision was completed. Joseph could not see how all of this was going to work out for his good but he trusted God in every situation, in Potiphar's house, in prison, and serving Pharaoh. God had the box top and Joseph had the pieces. The first thing we have to do is have a vision. Prophet Cappuccio spoke of this when he came to LOJ also. If you don't have a vision pray for one but the good news is that God has a vision for every one's life. Dr. Hickey reiterated something else that he said as well which is that God does not make mistakes. If you are here it is for a reason. God doesn't make people and then try to figure out what to do with them once they are here but rather you are here because there is something that God has for you to do. Very good news! So this morning Dr. Hickey walked us through the story of Joseph and illustrated the points of her message about having vision. The most important thing that stuck out to me about what she said was that we have to hold on to the vision. She pointed to Habakkuk 2:2 which says that you should write the vision and make it plain and even if it tarries (takes a long time) wait for it for it will surely come. I think so often we get caught up in how long things are taking and we mistake that for it not being the right thing for us or it takes a long time and due to our impatience we stop waiting and try to take a short cut or make it come about in our own way which usually will not work out so well. Joseph knew from an early age that he was called to interpret dreams and he also had dreams that he saw and told his family about. Throughout all the hardships that he had he never lost sight of the vision that God had given him in his youth. It took a long time for him to be able to see exactly how God was going to use his gift and fulfill what He said but it happened and it happened because Joseph didn't give up! Don't give up! This of course had me thinking about my own life and I felt that I at one time had a clear vision for my life but because my life has taken so many twists and turns I have often wondered if I was supposed to have a different vision or if I have missed opportunities that were a part of God's vision for me. But I am thankful for all of these wonderful ministers in the last month or so who have spoken into my life and have helped me to see that God is in control and I don't have to worry. I have to do what I can do with what I have but not worry about completing it in my own strength. That's very good news too! So that is my new prayer, for clear, direct vision as to what God would do with my life. Not my will but His be done!

This morning as I was getting ready for the meeting with Dr. Hickey, I was thinking about how my attitude had been during this time of preparation (which I haven't always looked at as a time of preparation). In the very beginning and probably up until the last year I really felt like a victim. I felt like God was punishing me for something I did or didn't do. I identified with Job. I didn't lose near as much as Job but it was the only story that I could think of that seemed remotely close to mine. I felt stripped and I was stripped. I felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me. I felt betrayed and I felt hurt that things seemed to be headed in the "right" direction or rather the direction I thought that they should be headed in and then all of a sudden things just went south. It felt so unfair and I wallowed in self-loathing and self-pity for far longer than I care to admit. But then something great happened which was that the situation forced me to look to God for answers because no one around me had any, if anything they were demanding answers of me that I had not a clue about how to answer. And I began to learn and read and develop. I started reading the word seriously for the first time. I started with the New Testament. And the more I read the more encouraged I felt. I started to pick up some Joyce Meyer books and I realized I was not alone in my situation. That there have been people before me and with me who have walked this same path. The more I learned the more I let go and I didn't need to know so much I could just trust that the Lord would lead me. And I am not saying that I have been perfect at it because I definitely have not but I have learned to endure and to trust in a way that I have not had to before and I have learned to have an appreciation for the Lord that I have not had before and I have learned to encourage myself in the Lord like I have not had to before. All of this led me to the realization that I had thought of myself as a victim of the economic crisis and that because of what was going on in the world that was why I was affected. I think now that God used the economic crisis to put me to the test. I had no idea there was an economic crisis coming and had no idea that I would be a part of it in anyway. But now I can see that like Joseph said, "God meant it for good." It's been a proving ground for my faith and it has been a faith walk. Many times it felt as though I were stumbling in the dark and going to fall but I made it through the dark times. So I am really thankful for the messages of this past week and especially of these two days that have reminded me that God is in control and that, "everything is going to be alright!"