DOUBLE BLESSING CONFIRMED
Are you praying? Or Stressing? Most of the time, I do pretty well with optimism. If there was a group that was too optimistic, I would be a member but, when I cannot instantly fix a situation, I get a little stressed.
Once upon a time, I lived on a barrier island in a mobile home. My home was not insured because Insurance companies do not cover mobile homes on barrier islands for good reason; they would lose money. But I didn’t have much choice. I had been hit by a car and was disabled so my home was all that I could afford.
Eventually, my home – which had been there for decades with no problem – was hit by a hurricane. After evacuating because of the hurricane, I returned home after dark. Upon first glance, I breathed a sigh of relief. There didn’t appear to be any damage but the electricity was still out so I had to feel my way through the house to find a candle. On the way to the bedroom where I kept my candles, I stumbled over a large mound in the middle of my living room that should not have been there. Once I found the candles, I saw that there were several six-inch high mounds under the carpet throughout the living room.
At first, I couldn’t figure out what happened but, when it began raining the next morning, I quickly figured it out.
As I sat with my morning coffee, listening to the rain, suddenly water came pouring into my house from several spots. In the same spots that the water was pouring in, the particle board sub-flooring had swelled into large mounds.
Several days later, the mounds – that had swelled from the rain – crumbled and left huge gaping holes that were only covered by the carpet and laminate flooring. Where the mounds were, my carpet now sunk into each one resembling sunken “bowls” throughout my living room.
At the time, I was disabled and a full-time caretaker for my grandson who is on the autism spectrum. This meant that my income was minimal, daily living consumed all of it, and savings was not an option. When the bills and basic grocery shopping needs were taken care of there was nothing left, so I had no idea how I would pay for the repairs.
Needless to say, I was stressed. I had no idea what I was going to do and thinking about the problem was the catalyst for an enormous amount of stress stirring up inside of me. My thoughts were like a hamster on a wheel. I just kept thinking, over and over, What am I gonna do? I can’t leave it, it will get worse. But I couldn’t do anything about it either.
For me, making a plan to solve a problem is a stress reliever. Normally, if a problem comes up, I just make a plan and fix the problem. However, I had no plan to fix this problem because the resources were just not available. The cost was going to be enormous. This problem was out of my control. I needed a miraculous answer. I needed God to make a way because, without His help, there was no way. And if God wanted me to take care of this little boy, I needed help.
After allowing this particular hamster to run on its wheel far longer than necessary, I realized that I needed to put up my shield of faith. I recognized that I needed to do, as Barney Fife says and, NIP IT. YOU GOTTA NIP IT. YOU GOTTA NIP IT IN THE BUD.
So, I stopped what I was doing (laundry, happy to stop), and I prayed and remembered that GOD promised that if I seek His kingdom first, all these needs will be provided.
But, I still wanted Him to comfort me, I NEEDED HIM to comfort me, and that’s when I remembered a miracle that had happened just a week earlier.
One night, while I was asleep, I felt a message playing over and over in my spirit: The confirmation for Zee’s funding is a yes. The confirmation for Zee’s funding is a yes. Over and over and over, it just kept playing inside of me. From experience, I knew that I was supposed to get up and send the message but I was still tired so I ignored it. When the message didn’t go away after some time, I knew it wasn’t going to until I sent it. So I rolled over, grabbed my phone and wrote, ‘Confirmation for the funding is a yes.’ Along with a question for him that said, ‘Is this something you’re praying about?’
His reply was instant, “Sister, the Holy Spirit had me out of bed at 4:45 am to pray about this very thing.”
It was just after 6 am and I realized that close to the very moment he got out of bed to pray was probably about the same time the message started playing over in my heart. As soon as Zee asked God for comfort, God sent it. And, by 11 am that same morning, he had his funding!! Out of nowhere, someone messaged Zee with the answer to his prayers.
The part that struck a chord with me while I was stressing over my current dilemma was that Zee sought God for comfort and help, and God responded. God sent Zee comfort and confirmation in advance so that Zee would know it was God who did it all.
Remembering this story reminded me that I could ask Him for comfort. It reminded me that I have a Comforter and not seeking Him for comfort was beyond silly.
ASK AND RECEIVE. SEEK AND FIND. KNOCK, AND IT SHALL BE OPENED.”
You will call to Me and come to pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares The Lord. (Jeremiah 29)
Realizing that I have a GREAT GOD who has never let me down, Warrior Me said to Buttercup Me, ‘Suck it up, Buttercup. You know that God’s got a plan.’
I felt my heart say, If I know God will work it out, then there is no need to stay in a mess of emotions.
So, I stopped thinking about the thoughts that were increasing my stress and simply asked God to please send me confirmation that I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing and to confirm that where I am right now is a part of His plan. As long as I know I’m following Him, I know it will all be okay.
That night I had a vision. I saw words written on my hallway wall. The words were about 12 inches high and looked like wooden decor hung on the wall in my hallway. Seeing the vision woke me right up but I couldn’t remember what the words said. So I prayed, God, if that was you, please send the message again.
I fell back to sleep and had the same vision again but this time I remembered it.
The words on my wall said: DOUBLE BLESSING CONFIRMED.
My heart burst wide open. God heard my prayer!! And I burst into tears.
It was so comforting to know that God knew what I was going through and He had a plan. Hearing from Him when I felt so scared and desperate was one of the best moments of my life.
The next day, while making dinner, I had a revelation about why the words were on the hallway wall. God revealed that I was in a place of transition and I was almost through.
Two days later, Kathleen Elliot, who knew nothing of my dream and interpretation, or about any of my problems, sends me a message that says, “I’ve been thinking about you for a few days. I feel there is a transition going on. You are in a place of transition.”
I almost fell over. My mouth hung open and my spirit soared! Her message confirmed the interpretation of the vision that God gave me. There was no doubt that I was in a transition and headed toward double. So, not only was I getting double, God sent double confirmation that double was coming.
I originally posted the above message on October 4, 2018.
When I wrote all of this, I had no extra money, no way to borrow money, and it was guaranteed another hurricane would be coming before I could fix the damage. My anxiety was overwhelming.
But God said that a double blessing was coming my way, AND IT DID!
But before it got better, it got worse. Much worse. After this post, I lost everything that I owned, and it looked like the opposite of doubly blessed. But, like Lot, everything that I went through led me to my double blessing! As promised, God gave me back double EVERYTHING!
Now, instead of an old mobile home, I have a beautiful completely renovated ranch on four acres in the most beautiful spot imaginable. My home is beautiful. Its location is absolute heaven, the view is amazing, I have a much better vehicle, I have a beautiful fifth wheel (waaaaay better than the one I had before), and every possession that I own, furniture included, is doubly better than it was before. Everything that I lost was replaced with something doubly better.
Not only did God replace what I lost, but he tripled my income without me doing any more work than I was doing before. It was amazing.
And God didn’t just replace the material things, he changed me. God used everything that I went through to help me inside and out. Nothing in my life is the same, including me and my relationships. Every broken relationship was restored and my life is forever changed. It’s so much better than I could ever have imagined, and it was all God. He just forced me to leave my home and everything behind and sent me to a place where He had everything prepared and waiting for me. He did it all. I did nothing to make any of it happen. It was all just offered to me out of the blue from the most unlikely source imaginable. When I needed it, it was there. It was all just given to me without any searching or making it happen on my part. Literally, EVERYTHING in my life, including my relationships, is doubly blessed and so am I.
When I was under attack, the comfort God gave me was priceless, and the double blessing was amazing. He who promised is faithful. I walked through the valley of the shadow of death but on the other side was the table prepared before me in the presence of my enemies, exactly as He promised.
THIS PART IS FOR YOU
If you’re struggling right now with things that are out of your control, ask God for comfort and expect an answer. Read the story about Jacob and how God sent him signs through dreams, and expect that the same God who comforted Jacob through dreams will comfort you one way or another – He may use dreams, He may use people, or He might speak directly to you. Just know, that God wants you to be encouraged and to know that if you seek Him, you will receive comfort and an answer.
“I Myself said,
“‘How gladly would I treat you like my children
and give you a pleasant land,
the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.’“
‘Then, all your sons will be taught by the LORD, and great will be their prosperity.‘
NEXT CHAPTER: A miraculous lesson on faith from God.
Featured image by: “Double Rainbow Found” by Viewminder is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0