The Apostle Paul wrote: "When this body is buried, it is mortal, ugly and weak; but when raised it will be immortal, beautiful and strong."
So in this faith walk, when something beautiful devours something ugly, it is called grace. Beauty can be given for ashes; God can restore what the enemy has stolen (or devoured) "sevenfold."
God promised through Isaiah:
"O you afflicted [city], storm-tossed and not comforted, BEHOLD, I will set your stones in fair colors [in antimony to enhance their brilliance] and lay your foundations with sapphires. And I will make...all your walls of precious stones. And ALL your [spiritual] children shall be disciples [taught by the Lord and obedient to His will], and great shall be the peace and undisturbed composure of your children. You shall establish yourself in righteousness (rightness, in conformity with God's will and order): you shall be far from even the thought of oppression or destruction, for you shall not fear, and from terror, for it shall not come near you. (Isa 54:11-14)
What do you fear you will fail in LIFE?
RIGHT NOW, you may be tossed by the economy, tossed by opinions, tossed by storms, negative thoughts, fears, bad decisions in your past and not comforted; But you have a promise to redeem:
God will lay your foundation (again) with something more valuable than what was there before.
And when God rebuilds us, He removes the thoughts of oppression and destruction far away from us; In other words, hope and expectation will invade your dreams and destiny again.
Beware the enemy does not fill your mind with waste. You have the mind of Christ; so defend it. This container is not a place of refuse. And while the enemy loves to bring mess to a dump, make a decision that your life is no longer a place where he can just dump things.
When you establish yourself in righteousness; right thoughts, right expectations, right friends, right decisions, right counsel and humility, nothing you fear will come near you and God can lay your foundation once again.
And He rebuilds the foundation with what's already hidden in the ground: SAPPHIRES AND GOLD. In the OT, a sapphire (associated with diamonds and emeralds) was one of the stones in the breastplate of the high priest.
Sapphires, often called gemstones of the skies, were rare and only brought to daylight under laborious procedures.
Excerpts from the film transcript of "The Gold Rush" state:
"When gold was discovered, California was in transition. Gold represented the possibility of starting anew, of being a new person, inventing a new self. It's a metaphor for hope. The Gold Rush turned California into a place synonymous with risk, riches, and reinvention, a place where the impossible seemed likely. But many people arriving in California thought that gold was just lying around on the ground waiting to be picked up. They were not ready for the hard work required."
Job adds an interesting passage: "The stones of the earth contain sapphires and its dust contains gold." (28:6)
When God created you and I from the dust of the ground, He put gold in our DNA.
That's why you can be thrown in the fire and not die. Because there is value in you; And as long as we are in this flesh container, the gold in this house will be refined by fire; this candlestick will be beaten to produce gold. Hard work will be required.
But when you emerge from the fire, your clothes will not smell like smoke. You will not smell like defeat, smell like failure, smell like anger, smell like bankruptcy, smell like dialysis, smell like pity, sickness or your past.
Job said, "When He has tried me, I shall come forth as refined gold (pure and luminous.)"
The GOLD in you demands a trial.
Gold can be discovered in this season of transition. Daniel 3:19 records that when Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury and his facial expression was changed [to antagonism] against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, he commanded that the furnace should be heated seven times hotter than it was usually heated.
Can you imagine hell scrambling when the three Hebrew boys were thrown in the fire?: "Master, we have thrown them into the fire just as you said; the furnace is seven times hotter than normal, but they won't die; and Someone has just appeared and is now walking with them."
God redeems us in "sevens" (by the seventh time):
- Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream of 7 years of famine, but there were also 7 years of plenty.
- Job received 7 times more for his calamity when he prayed for his friends.
- Elisha's servant looked 7 times for the appearance of rain and he saw a cloud in the size of a man's hand.
- On the 7th day, when the people of God marched, God brought walls and promises shut up against them down flat by the 7th shout.
Job 5:19 adds: "He will rescue you in six troubles; in SEVEN nothing that is evil (for you) will touch you."
Today, I decree seven days of miracles over the gold (still contained) in your house.
I declare it shall not waste, it shall not rust; it shall not lose value or burn. Your ideas and dreams are still worth gold. The Presence of God dwells in that royalty.
START A GOLD RUSH-Do something each day for the next seven days to push your dream closer to reality. Finish the chapter, hire the editor, register into that class; record that song, pay that debt off. Whatever is keeping you from your striking gold, take seven steps in the opposite direction of it.
Write the vision or list down on the next seven days of your calendar and just do it.
We would love to hear about your "gold rush" on FACEBOOK.