Get Out of The Cave in 2012

by Olga Hermans

The philosopher Plato wrote an allegory in which he compared people to prisoners chained in a cave. The only reality they knew was the tiny space of their surroundings. But if a person would stand up and break out of the chains, they could step out of the cave and into the light. This analogy can relate to our lives spiritually. The Bible says in John 1:5 that God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all!

You could be in a type of a cave. That cave could symbolize fear, depression, shame, or bitterness. The awesome thing is that Jesus has already paid the price for you to be free from the chains of the enemy. God has called you out of darkness and into the light of Christ Jesus.

There are so many distractions that will try to keep you from fulfilling your God-given purpose. You see, the enemy knows the potential that resides on the inside of you and he will do anything he can to keep you in fear of stepping out into something greater.

But you must wake up and realize you have been brought into the Kingdom for “such a time as this”. God has a purpose, an assignment, for you to fulfill. It is time to get out of your cave and be a light in this world.

God called Gideon out of the cave and to step out. “Cave dweller”, that is how Gideon, an Israelite, would have been labelled. The background on why this man was living in a cave is found in Judges, chapter 6. The story starts where the children of Israel had gone away from God.

They had begun to worship other gods, so they got out from under God’s protection. The Midianites (their enemies) took control for seven years, causing the Israelites to resort to dwelling in caves to hide from their enemies. Basically, the Israelites were in bondage and fear.

While in hiding, Gideon’s eyes were opened to the promises that God had for him. The angel of the Lord brought a word that Gideon needed to hear in Judges 6:12.

I love this because “God calls those things that are not as though they were” Rom 4:17, and that is what God does in our lives. Gideon was in hiding and God came and said, “Gideon, you’re a mighty man of God.” And Gideon said, “Who? Me?”

Gideon is wondering why everything had happened to them if the Lord was with them and where all the miracles are that all their fathers told them about. Judges 6:13

So many times we do that as well. We think, Well, if God is really with me, why are all these things happening to me? Gideon was complaining, but the children of Israel actually put themselves in the situation because they had gone away from God.

And so, the Lord turned to him and said: “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!” “But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!” Judges 6:14-15

Gideon did what most of us have done: He began to compare himself with others and say, “But me? I am the weakest. I am the least. What do I have? Why are you choosing me, God? I can’t sing like that person. I can’t do this like that person.”

The Bible tells us it’s not wise to compare ourselves with others. 2Cor.10:12. Why? Because God is not going to help you to be anyone else other than the person He made you to be! God has put gifts inside you to bless someone else, not for you to get jealous or compare your gifts with someone else’s gifts. You better accept yourself as God made you.

Psalm 139:13-15 “The Message” says, “… You formed me in my mother’s womb … I am marvelously made! … You know exactly how I was made, … how I was sculpted from nothing into something …”

You are uniquely designed by God for a special purpose. God has put gifts and talents inside of you that no one else has, and He desires that you use them for His Glory! Don’t let comparison or fear keep you from stepping out into your destiny.

I remember the time that my husband and I stepped out to build a bible school in Amsterdam. I remember how overwhelmed I felt by the assignment and didn’t feel capable, but He saw something in us that we didn’t see. We had to trust God that He would give us the grace in everything that needed to be done.

I felt like Gideon at the time, trying to make excuses of why I couldn’t do it. But then we finally said, “Lord, we will do it, but we need your wisdom to do it.” We knew it was God’s will for us to do it, and He was faithful to give us the grace needed for the task. My husband and I had to choose to get out of the “cave” and depend on His grace and power to help us accomplish what He was asking of us.

Gideon was a lot like Moses. Gideon had a word from the Lord, and he started making excuses of “I’m the weakest, and I am the least.” I thought about the story of Moses in Exodus 3. Moses was the same way with God. Here are two men in the Bible who are listed as people whom God used, and they both made excuses of how they didn’t think God could use them.

Both Gideon and Moses were about to put their lives on the line. They were looking for the absolute knowing that the Lord had called them to take on their enemies and deliver their people.

When the Lord calls us to do something for Him, it’s not a lack of faith to ask Him to confirm the word that He’s told us. Remember, He’s more concerned about your doing the assignment than you are, and He’s well able to send a clear sign to you about how to fulfill it. But He doesn’t want you to hold back in fear. He wants you to use all that is available to you so that you can step out of your cave into something extraordinary in 2012.

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Hold On To Your Dream!

by Olga Hermans

What have you been dreaming about lately? You may not realize it, but the dream on the inside of you is the beginning of the life God has for you. You can’t look at life with a “whatever will be, will be” attitude, because everything begins with a dream. Dreams are the power that push you forward in reaching God’s destiny for your life.

No matter what stage of life we are in, we should never stop dreaming. And once we have a dream, we should never give up on it. Do you have a dream that is burning on the inside of you? Or has it slipped away because of seemingly impossible circumstances?

The book of Genesis records the story of Joseph. Genesis 37:5 says, “One night Joseph had a dream” NLT Joseph’s family was like many other people today. They didn’t understand or appreciate his dream. In fact, it was because of his dream that his brothers sold him into slavery. And Joseph went though many difficult years when it seemed as if his dream would never come to pass.

God had a very special plan for Joseph’s life, which was shown to him through dreams. The Lord also has a perfect plan for your life; He may not reveal it to you through a dream that comes while you are asleep, but He will give you the desire to bring that plan into fulfillment!

When you became a born-again believer, something very special happened to you: you received your birthright as a joint-heir of God with Jesus Christ. You now belong to the Father in heaven. People with spiritual birthrights are called by the Lord to fulfill His plan on earth, and that is why the Lord gives them spiritual dreams. It is His way of causing them to “occupy” and be fruitful until the return of Jesus.

Has the Lord given you a goal? That is a spiritual dream; you don’t have to receive the Lord’s call through a vision which comes in your sleep! Your inner desire to bring a specific plan into fulfillment IS your dream. If you don’t have a specific goal, get one! Without a dream, a vision, you will drift aimlessly along life’s flow. With a dream you will be fruitful and fulfilled.

God gave Joseph a spiritual dream, and his brothers hated him. Right after Joseph told his brothers about the dream, and shared it with his father, Jacob became upset. At first he didn’t understand how Joseph could imagine such things, but then Jacob began considering the contents of Joseph’s dream, and he began to believe that there was something more to it than he had initially realized.

Jacob discerned Joseph’s dream with spiritual judgement, but his sons did not discern it at all; in fact they were plotting against Joseph. They thought he was a dreamer. Doesn’t that sound like what the world has to say about Christians? They sometimes say, “Oh, those Christians are such dreamers! They should stop all that dreaming and get back to reality.”

Be prepared for the reaction of people around you, for they will often misunderstand you. Some people might even think that you’re crazy. So what? You have a dream, a goal which they might not have. Just like Joseph’s brothers, they had no such understanding of spiritual dreams, and when Joseph approached them, they banded together and grabbed him, stripping him of his colourful coat. They hated that coat with a passion.

Right then, Joseph’s life took an unconventional path. After being sold into slavery, he was thrown into prison, accused of things he did not do. But later Joseph realized that these difficult times helped prepare him to fulfill his dream.

Joseph eventually was elevated to second-in-command of Egypt. After his father died, and his brothers stood before him, he said to them, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me in this position so I could save the lives of many people.” Gen.50:20 NLT

Many people have dreams, but they don’t make any preparations to accomplish them. They think that if their dream is from God, it will just happen. But those who have accomplished the desires burning in their hearts can tell you that it didn’t “just” happen. There was some hard work involved.

Preparation time can be difficult. But without it, you can’t step into your DESTINY. I can see that in my own life. There have been many times that it seemed as if what I was doing would not help me reach the dreams that were in my heart. But looking back, I can see how God was in every step along the way.

Preparation is never easy, but when the time comes to step into your DESTINY, you’re ready. When Joseph’s time came, he acted on his dream. Gen 41:14

I want you to notice that Joseph didn’t sit in prison wondering, “Should I do this or not?” You may think that sounds crazy, but many people today sit in the prison of your thoughts, refusing to act on opportunities knocking at their door. Joseph acted on the opportunity presented to him and stepped into his DESTINY.

Are you ready to step up to the plate and accomplish what God placed on the inside of you? I encourage you to endure whatever hardship you are experiencing. Know that it will pay off in the end. And when you finally step up to the plate of your DESTINY, it will outshine the endurance that it took to get there.

That’s why people call the past “the good ole days.” The process may not seem like a good place to be at all. But when their dream, their destiny became a reality, all of that hardship didn’t mean anything anymore.

No matter what you are facing, don’t give up on your dream. It’s worth standing for. It’s worth fighting for. It’s worth enduring the difficulties for until it becomes a reality.

Dream a dream. And let it lead you into greater visions, followed by even greater ones! Stop being critical of other people’s dreams. When you have a dream, don’t let the enemy steal it. Joseph had to wait thirteen years before it came to pass. Purpose for 2012 to be a Joseph; Hold on to your dream!

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Restoration Is Yours!

by Olga Hermans

Have you ever gotten out of bed one morning with a good attitude and a smile on your face, feeling great, looking forward to the day ahead and suddenly everything turns around? Or what about waking up in the morning thinking you can’t do this any more; everything is too overwhelming.

Let me encourage you to NOT give up and to NOT quit. It’s time to pick yourself up, rebuke satan and declare that there is something great about to happen in your life. You have to ask yourself, “Am I willing to wait for it?” No matter how devastating the attack might be, or how overwhelming things might look right now, God can turn things around and cause the blessing to equally overwhelm you.

The blessing can wipe out everything, seriously!! The blessing is no respecter of persons. Deut 28:2 says: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee … The Brenton Translation says it like this: “All these blessings shall come upon you and shall find you….The Heb. says: all these blessings shall reach you…”

There are times that we think we have missed opportunities or blown chances. We can look back and think, why did I spend all those years running with the wrong people, partying, when I should have been getting ahead?

It’s true that some of you missed out on opportunities because you were raised in an unhealthy environment or grew up in poverty. Whatever the reason, when things don’t go our way, it’s tempting to think that you missed all your chances and your seasons. But the good news is that God always has another season in store for you.

He says in Joel 2:25 that He will restore the years that have been stolen. I have experienced a lot of rejection in my own life and on top of all that both my parents died within 2 years before I was 20. My mother in law rather saw me going than coming. It always felt there was no break in my life with people around me that really loved me. But God brought my husband in my life that stood with me through thick and thin. I don’t want to relive my whole childhood, so I want to leave it with that for now.

You probably have gone through things that have you wonder, why am I here on this earth? Wasn’t that what Job asked God? After he started praying for his enemies God turned his whole life around; He will do the same for you!

I am sure that God can make the rest of your life so rewarding and so fulfilling that it makes up for lost opportunities in your past. There are times of restoration. You are entitled to it; it belongs to you.

Let’s have a closer look at Joel 2:25 “And I will restore to you the years…” It talks about years. God says that He wants to restore YEARS that have been stolen from you. Now, be honest, has the devil stolen anything from you over the last five years? Do you want it back? Are you entitled to it? Yes, you are! Let that sink in deep on the inside of you! Everything that the devil has stolen from you.

Start believing God for everything that satan has stolen from you sevenfold!

Joel 2:26 says, and you shall eat in plenty! This is your condition immediately after your restoration. See how your lifestyle will change immediately after God restores everything what the devil has stolen for years; you shall eat in plenty.

Plenty is the nature of God. That has been the plan for you and me since the beginning. It never was the plan of God that we live in the land of “not enough” nor the land of “just enough,” but God has always intended for us to live in the land of “”more than enough,”

Have you ever lived under the shame of not being able to pay your bills? I have and it is not the nicest feeling either! God says in that same verse of Joel 2:26: “My people shall never be ashamed.” The shame of not being able to provide for your family like you really want to. After a while you feel terrible when you can’t do something that you really want to do because you’re limited and restricted.

God said, “When I restore the years, you shall eat in plenty. You will be satisfied. I will deal wondrously with you, and you will never know shame again.”
It is time to make a choice to remove everything that holds you onto your past. You can’t drag your past around with you and expect to enter into God’s destiny for your life.

So let me encourage you and challenge you today. Whatever has been stolen from you, you can get it back – and then some. Don’t get offended by God; it will only delay you restoration. What’s the bottom line of Satan stealing from you? To get you offended at God and delay your victory.

Why? Because when you’re offended at God, you’re not in His presence. And if you’re not in His presence, then you’re not in position for restoration. If Satan can steal from you and get you offended at God and keep you out of God’s presence, then he doesn’t have to repay you.

God is saying to you: “If you will persevere even though it’s difficult and believe even though you don’t see anything happening, then I will step in and do what you can’t do. I will make up for lost time. I will propel you to new levels. I will bring supernatural opportunities. I will put the right people in your path at the right time.

God will make up for your lost time. Every opportunity you’ve missed, every chance you’ve blown, all those years you may have wasted, I declare over you: restoration is coming your way.

God will restore those years. Things are changing in your favor. Your latter days will be better than your former days; I declare the rest of your life will be better than the first part of your life. So choose to receive it by faith!

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