Blown Off Course?

How many of you face a financial, physical, or spiritual storm? 

Are you in a place of darkness, uncertain where the safe harbor is located?

Do you need more strength, courage, or resources to continue? 

Where does your help come from in seasons of lack? Drought? Barron places? 

Tune into this episode of Reflective Hour with Tammy Toney-Butler to find a way out and a way forward. 

Scripture guides us to all Truth, and our relationship with Abba Father strengthens us and builds us up to withstand any storm we face. 

The Holy Spirit is our helper, showing us clarity where once confusion wrecked us, causing our boat to sink as the wisdom of this world blew us off course. 

Instead, we anchor into the cornerstone of Truth, safely moored in a cove of promise, resting in His Living Word. Translated from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light. 

Empowered, strengthened, and driven by a purpose, understanding, and peace that surpasses any adversity we face.

Let's explore this and more in this powerful episode. 

Trigger Warning: Content may cause unease for some viewers and listeners. Use Discretion.

Join Tammy Toney-Butler on the Reflective Hour Podcast and YouTube channel for healing support. https://reflectivehourwithtammytoneybutler.buzzsprout.com/

You can purchase her book on Amazon Kindle, "When you know, that you know, that you know there is a God." 

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Tammy-Toney-Butler/author/B0DC1VXP45?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

The accompanying devotional titled A Journeying Journal to Wholeness Through The Lens of Faith can be purchased on Amazon at: 

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DN9VD5NZ/ref=monarch_sidesheet_title


Check out the ministry website at www.reflectivespacesministry.com

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Transcript

Hello, welcome to today's episode of Reflective Hour with Tammy Toney-Butler. But we all know who the real host of this show is, and that's Christ. Oh, Holy Spirit, just come. Have your way in this time that we have together. May they see you and not me. May they draw from your wellspring of living water. and receive the sustenance that they need during the storm that they're facing. May you provide manna from heaven, words that sustain, that guide us into all truth, chart our course, clear our path, and bring us along paths of righteousness for your name's sake. Thank you to everyone that's tuning in all around the world. May this time bring you peace that surpasses all understanding as you pause and reflect. Sit still and listen. to the whispered truth that the Spirit of the Lord wants to bring to you during this time that we have together. Many of you are facing storms, trials, such adversity. Maybe you're in the middle of a financial storm, a physical one or a spiritual one. You're not certain which way to go. Maybe you've relied on your own understanding and your own strength. You've been blown off course. Not sure how to find your way back to that cove of safety. That restful place. Safety. Where there's no confusion. There's only peace. Wisdom, understanding, knowledge that comes from the Word of God, from being in relationship with Abba Father, the Father of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Father of our precious Lord Jesus, who died so we could live. Let's see what he has for us today during this time that we have together. Oh, just rest in his peace. Some of you just need rest. Spiritual rest. Fresh oil. Some of you need fresh oil. Fill them up, Lord. Oh, fill them up. Give them fresh oil. so that they can face what lies ahead. We find ourselves in such times that can be confusing, deceptive, twisted. The path forward looks so unclear that you're not a god of confusion. You're a god of clarity. Unveil the truth to us, Lord. Give us spiritual eyes to see, ears to hear. Help us, Father. Help us, Father, during this time. The Holy Spirit laid on me, on my heart, actually woke me up around midnight and gave me a download. And so I was searching for their truth and their meaning and gleaning from the revealed word of God. And then it just started to manifest and pour out. And I realized that the Lord wanted me to go live and go ahead and do reflective hour now. Because I only, I do it when he tells me. I just obey. And this episode is for someone. I'm not sure who. Because even if the ninety-niners are safe, he goes after the one and you might be that one. Many of you have been that one that have come to, have found in the middle of your own storm you're facing. Maybe you're struggling with addiction. So many are struggling with suicidal thoughts, depression, spirits of infirmary, diagnoses of cancer and other life threatening conditions. We serve a mighty God. He's with us in any storm. The blood of Jesus covers us. Healing is our portion. Sickness is not our portion. By his stripes, you were healed. You've already been healed. The question is, do you believe it? The question is, do you believe it? Will you stop looking back towards the past and look forward to the future? You cannot have one foot in the past and one foot in the future. It takes two feet to walk into abundant life. It takes two feet. Do not be like Lot's wife and look backwards. That didn't end well. It won't end well for you. We must move forward, not look at what lies behind us, but look to the truth of the cross, the word of God, and be in relationship so that we hear the whisper of the Holy Spirit, that we walk by a knowing because the steps of the righteous are ordered. This is a time of ordered steps. This is a time of unity. There's a great deception that's permeated our world. Saturated us. Threatened to drown some of us. But it will not stand. For the truth always shines forth. This is a time of unveiling, of hearts being exposed and individuals being translated from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. This is a time of the kingdom of heaven being brought to earth because it's in our hearts. The truth is in our hearts. When we have the heart of Christ and the mind of Christ, he reveals all truth and we walk in it. For we are his temple, his bride, his church. It's within us. We carry the kingdom of God within us. Therefore, if we carry the kingdom of heaven in us and we know that there's no cancer in heaven, there's no lack in heaven, there's no distress in heaven, there's no fear in heaven, then how can it be in us? Because we're not in this world. We're not of this world, I should say. We're in it, but not of it. Are you going to have one foot in the world? Are you gonna be all in for Jesus, all in for the kingdom, following and obeying, not walking in rebellion, but walking in truth? A blind truth may not always have the answers. You may not always know why you're going somewhere, why you're doing something. Why did you have to face the storm? Maybe your neighbor didn't. Storms come to direct our steps, change our location, cause us to stop and pause and reflect. There's times that we are pruned so that we can bear more fruit for the kingdom of God. Those seasons hurt. They can be painful. They can be confusion, but you must see clarity in the Lord. Where did I stray? Where did I get blown off course? What's no longer serving me? Because what's my goal? To be the hands and feet of Jesus. To unite under the head, which is Christ. We're one body. You may be the arm, I may be the leg. We have to be about the kingdom work in this hour. Not about self-promotion, pride, ego, self-righteousness. We must be about the will of God. Jesus came to do the will of his Father. We are little Jesuses walking around. Therefore, our goal is to do the will of the Father. It's really that simple. Will you follow God or the world? Do you have one foot in the world and one foot in the kingdom? This is a time he's calling you to be all in, both feet planted, knowing this is the way walking it. That's what he's saying to you today. Now, don't take my word for it. Let's look at the scriptures that he gave me. I'm going to be reading out of those scriptures that he gave me. And I'll be reading out of the New Living Translation Holy Bible. I like this particular version. It's the one he's chosen for me now in this season. Sometimes he has me grab the King James. He'll have me grab the New Living Translation. The ESV, I don't question. I obey. And I read what he's called me to read. Because he knows who this message is for. What they need to hear to bring clarity where there's confusion. Feast where there's been famine. Rain where there's been drought. Rain where there's been drought. He's so yummy. All right. Let's look at his word. We're going to start. He placed on me Genesis three. So I'm going to read from you Genesis three, and then I'm going to move to Nehemiah and then Psalm seventy nine and Acts twenty seven. Why? That's the order he gave them to me when he woke me up around midnight. And then again, gave me more information around three a.m. So it was a time of being awake and trusting in the Lord and gleaning knowledge. And may you glean revelation knowledge. And may this word become the revealed word of God to you, bringing in all truth as guided by the Holy Spirit. who can only be our guide in this season and this time that we have. The man and woman's sin, again, Genesis three. The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden? Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, the woman replied. It's only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said you must not eat it or even touch it. If you do, you will die. Now that's a warning. Holy Spirit brings us warnings. Has he been warning you of something? Have you been having a conviction in your spirit, knowing that's not the way you need to go, but you're still doing it anyway? There's consequences, as you're going to see in this story, even with Adam and Eve, any of us that are in open rebellion to the Lord. You won't die, the serpent replied to the woman. God knows that your eyes will be open as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil. Boy, that's where deception started in the garden. And we know a spirit of deception leads to death. And we rebuke any spirit of deception and break it off in the name of Jesus. The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. She trusted on the wisdom of the world, the lust of the flesh, and she wanted the wisdom of the world. Then she gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate it too. Those we're around can corrupt us. We have to be very careful in this season that we aren't holding onto people, objects and things that the Lord is trying desperately to prune out of your life so that you can be fruitful and walk into abundance and abundant life. You can't have one foot in the past and one in the present you got to have both feet in today so that you can step into the purposeful promise of tomorrow then she gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate it too at that moment their eyes were opened and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, where are you? We can try to hide from God, but he sees us. He knows where we are. He knows what storm we're facing and he knows the mess that we've gotten ourselves into. Sometimes we don't choose the mess. The storm comes to us, but we have to face it and walk through it. And it's in our walking through it that we grow, that we learn and gain knowledge and tools that we need The next season. And to bring others. Through. The path of affliction. Into healing. Into wholeness. And restoration. And recovery. He replied. I heard you walking in the garden. So I hid. I was afraid because I was naked. How many of you have been naked? Afraid. Ashamed. Feeling so dirty. that you couldn't come to Jesus. You can always reach out to Jesus. You're never too dirty. And even if you're naked, he'll take that nakedness and he will robe you with righteousness, replacing that filthy garment of sin with a purified robe of truth. Who told you that you were naked, the Lord God asked? Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat? The Lord guides us, commands us. We're soldiers in his army. But are we listening to him or to the world? Are we in rebellion or are we in surrender? The man replied, it was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit and I ate it. How many of us are blaming others for the choices that we make? Then the Lord God asked the woman, what have you done? The serpent deceived me. She replied, that's why I ate it. And he's still deceiving people today. Then the Lord God said to the serpent, because you've done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. Satan is under our feet. We have victory over Satan. We don't need to fear Satan or evil. We have the victory in Christ Jesus. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel. Then he said to the woman, I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you'll give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, and he will rule over you. And to the man he said, since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree, whose fruit I command you, The ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. How many of you are struggling, feeling like the ground is cursed beneath your feet, that you can't seem to get ahead no matter how hard you try? Maybe the donations dry up. Maybe you're suffering a drought in your business, in your personal life. Maybe your children are in states of rebellion and you don't know where to turn or what to do. You're blown this way and that way by the gale force winds. This is showing you to anchor into the truth. Anchor in to the truth. The promises of God and his word. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made, for you were made from dust, and dust you will return. The next section is called Paradise Lost and God's Judgment. Then the man Adam named his wife Eve because she would be the mother of all who live. And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife. See that? And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife. Even though they sinned, even though they messed up and they acted out of rebellion, God was merciful. He still wanted to clothe them and provide their basic needs. He knows what we're in need of before we ask. He knows he's a good father. Then the Lord God said, look, The human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life and eat it? Then they will live forever. So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden, and he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. How many of you have been blinded to the truth, have fallen under the deceptive web of the ways of this world? Maybe you've been cast out of a garden, out of your home. Maybe you committed adultery and you can't go back home. Maybe that life is gone. Maybe you suffer a sex addiction. You can't control yourself. Some other addiction. And those that once offered you safety and refuge have now turned their backs on you. You're facing a storm. You don't know where to go. You don't know what to do. Anchor in to God's word. You're never too dirty to seek the Lord. You're never too dirty to seek the Lord. There's no shame in getting help. There's no shame in going to a meeting. There's no shame in getting counseling. There's no shame in that. There's many wonderful trauma therapists out there, Christian counselors. Many, many individuals that are mental health professionals that help with grief, loss, and those things. Now, he wanted me to go to Nehemiah. So let me go to Nehemiah. These are the memoirs of Nehemiah, son of Helicalia. Nehemiah is concerned for Jerusalem. In late autumn, in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes' reign, I was at the fortress of Susa. Hananiah, one of my brothers, came to visit me with some other men who had just arrived from Judah. I asked him about the Jews who had returned there from captivity and about how things were going in Jerusalem. They said to me, things are not going well for those who return to the province of Judah. They were in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down and the gates have been destroyed by fire. When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted and prayed to the God of heaven. Then I said, Oh Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands. Listen to my prayer. Look down and see me pray night and day for your people of Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned. We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses. Please remember, what you told your servant Moses. If you are faithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations. But if you return to me, I'm sorry, if you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations. But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I've chosen for my name to be honored. The people you rescued by your great power and strong hand are your servants. Oh, Lord, please hear my prayer. Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me. In those days, I was the king's cupbearer. Wow, listen to that. This is a prayer and someone is calling out in distress and weeping and in such a place of rawness and vulnerability and surrender. And it's in those places of surrender. And often a storm comes to do that. It brings us to our knees. We realize we can't rely on our own strength anymore because it's failing us. And it brings us to a place of humility, looking inward to where we can call out to Abba Father, the Lord Jesus to save us. and truly surrender to the will of God for our lives instead of walking in open rebellion to the words that the Lord has spoken to us and through us. And he can speak to us and through us by way of others, which we will see in Acts when he speaks through Paul to warn the sailors of a coming storm and destruction. But they didn't listen, relied on their own intellect and knowledge instead of the word from the Lord through his trusted servant. And they got themselves into a predicament. But again, he's faithful to bring you out. It's his goal, his will that none of us perish. that none of us perish. Let me prove it to you. Now let's go to Psalm seventy nine. Psalm seventy nine. Let's see here. And this is the order in which he gave them to me. Oh, God, pagan nations have conquered your land, your special possession. They have defiled your holy temple. and made Jerusalem a heap of ruins. They have left the bodies of your servants as food for the birds of heaven. The flesh of your godly ones has become food for the wild animals. Blood has flowed like water all around Jerusalem. No one is left to bury the dead. We are mocked by our neighbors, an object of scorn and derision to those around us. Oh Lord, how long will you be angry with us? Forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire? Pour out your wrath on the nations that refuse to acknowledge you or on kingdoms that do not call upon your name. For they have devoured your people Israel, making the land a desolate wilderness. Do not hold us guilty for the sins of our ancestors. Let your compassion quickly meet our needs. For we are on the brink of despair. How many of you calling out to the Lord, seeking his compassion, his mercy, and you're on the brink of despair. He sees you. He's not forgotten you. You have to believe that he's heard you and step forward into the promise that he's spoken over your life. Do you believe in yourself? Do you believe you have the strength to do what he's called you to do? I do. Help us, O God of our salvation. Help us for the glory of your name. Save us and forgive our sins for the honor of your name. Why should pagan nations be allowed to scoff asking where is their God? Show us your vengeance against the nations for they have spoiled the blood of your servants. Listen to the moaning of the prisoners. Demonstrate your great power by saving those condemned to die. O Lord, pay back our neighbors seven times for the scorn they have hurled at you. Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture. Lord Jesus is a good shepherd. He leads us. He guides us. He strengthens us. He leaves the ninety-nine for the one. It's his love that transforms, heals, and redeems and restores. All hope is not lost. Jesus is on the throne. We are seated to the right side of the Father in heavenly places. We too are on the throne. Royalty. We have the power. He gave us the kings of the kingdom here on earth to carry out the will of Lord Jesus, which is the will of the Father. We have the keys. We have the victories. But do we believe it in ourselves as believers? Do we walk in believers' authority? Or do we yield to the ways of the world? Are we trailblazers for the Lord? Or are we succumbing to the trail of tears left behind by the ways of this world, by the great deceptions? Then we, your people, we sheep of your pasture, will thank you forever and ever, praising your greatness from generation to generation. Glory be to Jesus. Glory be to Jesus. Glory be to Jesus. And then the last one that he put on me to read is in Acts, and it's Acts twenty-seven. Paul sails for Rome. When the time came, we set sail for Italy. Paul and several other prisoners were placed in the custody of a Roman officer named Julius, a captain of the Imperial Regiment. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was also with us. We left on a ship whose home port was Adramithium on the northwest coast of the province of Asia. It was scheduled to make several stops at ports along the coast of the province. The next day when we docked at Sedan, Julius was very kind to Paul and let him go ashore to visit with friends so they could provide for his needs. The Lord will send us destiny helpers. Are you a destiny helper? Has the Lord called upon you to help another, to bring his will, his kingdom? to fruition on earth as it is in heaven? Are you being called to sow seeds of hope, love, and truth where the darkness has been? Are you being called to be the light? Step into your calling. Step into your purpose. Somebody is waiting. Somebody is waiting. Putting out to sea from there, we encountered strong headwinds that made it difficult to keep the ship on course. So we sailed north of Cyprus between the island and the mainland. Keeping to the open sea, we passed along the coast of Cilicia and Pamplia, landed at Mir in the province of Lycia. There, the commanding officer found an Egyptian ship from Alexandria that was bound for Italy, and he put us on board. How many of you have been blown off course? How many of you have boarded the wrong ship, taken the wrong job, joined the wrong ministry, the wrong nonprofit? How many of you have found yourself drifting, not certain to where you belong? When you rest in the stillness that the Lord brings and refuse to let your circumstances chart your path, then you will be brought into a peaceful truth. You will know this is the way walking. We had several days of slow sailing, and after great difficulty, we finally neared Snidis, but the wind was against us. The wind was against us. How many of you have had the wind against you? Circumstances, one blow after another, coming your way. How many of you are weary? So we sailed across the creek and along the sheltered coast of the island past the Cape of Salmon. We struggled along the coast with great difficulty and finally arrived at Fairhavens near the town of Laysa. We had lost a lot of time. Many of you feel like you've lost so much time that you can never make it up. that you can't make a difference, that you've thrown so much of your life away that there's no way you could ever repair it or be of use to anyone. That's a lie from the pit of hell. You're fearfully, beautifully, and wonderfully made daughters and sons of the king, ordained and chosen with a purpose. He knew you before he formed you, before you were created and placed in your mother's womb. You have a purpose. You're never too dirty. You're never too old. full of shame, to where you can't carry out the assignment he's placed on your life. The only thing stopping you is yourself. Do you have one foot in the past? Refusing to put both feet in the present to walk into your abundant life? You have the choice. Will what happened to you, the words they spoke over you, the lies, the hate, the deception, stick with you? Or will you know the truth and the truth shall set you free? The weather was becoming dangerous for sea travel because it was so late in the fall and Paul spoke to the ship's officers about it. Here's that word that often comes through another. Men, he said, I believe there is trouble ahead if we go on. Shipwreck, loss of cargo and danger to our lives as well. The God sends a warning. to us who profits through his people? Are we listening to the warnings? Are we judging the person that's bringing the morning? He has spoken to me through a homeless man that I met in New York when I was doing COVID relief. He has spoken to me through so many individuals. If I had judged them and overlooked them, I wouldn't have got that word that I needed at that moment. And I had to choose to listen. And that comes from a place of surrender, a place of humility. But the officer in charge of the prisoners listened more to the ship's captain and the owner than to Paul. They trusted in the one that had the power and control the money the resources the ones that own the boat instead of trusting in god and the word that came by way of his faithful servant and since fair havens was an exposed harbor a poor place to spend the winter the most of the crew wanted to go on to phoenix farther up the coast of crete and spend the winter there, Phoenix was a good harbor with only a south wind and a northwest exposure. They trusted in their own understanding. They were looking for greener pastures, safe harbor. When they were in fact safe where they were, it may not have been a desirable place. It may not have been the place they would have chosen. Maybe the area of ministry God's calling you into Is it something you would necessarily choose, but it's where He wants you to be in that moment? Because it's going to bring you through a storm that you'll be facing. Or by staying there, you'll miss a storm. We have to be guided by the Holy Spirit. not by circumstances, not by the lust of the flesh, not by the shiny little thing that's calling us, but to be guided by the truth. You may not always get to choose where you weather the storm. Storms can come up suddenly. They can blow in from nowhere. They can be gale force. Are you going to be anchored into the truth, into God's word, in a relationship with him? Because he will order your steps and he will keep you from destruction. He tried to protect them, but they didn't listen. They didn't listen. When a light wind began blowing from the south, the sailors thought they could make it. See, they're relying on their own strength, their own intellect, their own power. So they pulled up anchor and sailed close to the shore of Crete. But the weather changed abruptly. A wind of typhoon strength called a northeastern burst across the island and blew us out to sea. The sailors couldn't turn the ship into the wind, so they gave up and let it run before the gale. We sailed along the sheltered side of a small island named Kata, where, with great difficulty, we hoisted aboard the lifeboat being towed behind us. Then the sailors bound ropes around the hull of the ship to strengthen it. They were afraid of being driven across the sandbars of the surface off the African coast, so they lowered the sea anchor to slow the ship and were driven before the wind. The next day, as gale force winds continued to batter the ship, The crew began throwing cargo overboard. The following day, they even took some of the ship's gear and threw it overboard. The terrible storm raged for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars until at last all hope was gone. They were in a very dark place. They'd lost all hope. They were in such a low place, such a desert place. Their only choice was to rely on God. Many of you are facing storms. What are you holding on to? What is God trying to purge out of your life, prune out of your life? Economic times are never certain. He will start preparing you for what lies ahead. And it becomes, it comes down to, is this a want or a need? Is it a want or a need? I know that I've gone through such a season of pruning, even in our ministry. Do I have to have this or can I save money here? Can I save fifty bucks here that will allow me to do something here that's going to bear more fruit for the kingdom of God? We really have to look at our ministries during this time and at our nonprofits. in our personal lives, in our businesses, where can we trim? What's not bearing fruit for the kingdom of God that needs to be cut off? What relationships, what people that we surround ourselves with? Maybe they were there with us for a season, but they're draining us now, spiritually, physically, financially, and we aren't to carry them in to the next season. We're in a spiritual war, a battle. We're soldiers. We have to make decisions that are difficult as leaders. We have to trust in the Lord that he will guide us into all truth and put us on the path of righteousness for his namesake. For the steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord. No one had eaten for a long time. Finally, Paul called the crew together and said, men, you should have listened to me in the first place and not left Crete. You would have avoided all this damage and loss. But take courage. None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down. For last night, an angel of the God, an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me. And he said, don't be afraid. Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar. What's more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you. So take courage, for I believe God it will be just as he said, but we will be shipwrecked on an island. They would be alive, but they would be on an island. Maybe not having all the comforts of life. Maybe downsizing. trimming off anything that needs to go, that they would be protected. And it says here, take courage, take courage. Don't be afraid. There's no fear in perfect love. The sailors relied on their own strength and intellect and not the word of the Lord. And again, they had warning after warning from Paul. but were they listening? How many of you are shipwrecked, following a path in your own strength and intellect that may be led to disaster? How many of you are in a dry, thirsty place, hungry where they were? How many of you need financial fortitude, strength, resources, healing, spiritually, physically? Let the word of truth be your guide. Take courage and trust in the Lord. Do not be afraid or dismayed. The Lord is with you. Do not quit. The Lord is with you. The Lord is with you. That's the word that he had me bring to you today. Some of you are facing difficult days ahead. Maybe you've gotten a diagnosis that's terminal. I don't want you to believe it. It's not the God we serve. We serve a God of healing. He sent his son to die on the cross so that you could be set free. You're not under the curse of the law, those plagues, those illnesses. By His stripes you were healed. You just have to believe it and receive it. Don't let anyone speak death over you. Choose life. Choose to believe in the work of the cross. It will see you through. The next doctor's appointment, you'll find that you've been healed. Miraculously healed. Because you believe this word. And through faith, we've called it into existence. Trusting in it. Coping it. Knowing it's true. God's word never fails. Sharper than a two-edged sword. Penetrates bone and marrow. We speak life over you. We speak financial blessings over you. No more lack. We speak clarity where confusion lies. And in knowing this is the way, walk in it. This is the way, walk in it. This is the way, walk in it. Step into abundant life. Choose the creator of all things who spoke the world into existence. Trust God. Lean not on your own understanding. Trust in the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth. Don't be afraid to prune off anything that's holding you back. Keeping you tethered to the past. to the deceptive lies of the enemy. Today we break that spirit of deception. We bind the mouth of the lying serpent, cut it off, and declare that it will no longer affect you. You have power, love, and a sound mind. The heart of Christ, the mind of Walk into abundant life. He's waiting. He's waiting on you. Thank you so much for this time that we've had together, for listening to this word that the Lord had for you. As Paul warned the captain, those on the ship, I'm warning you now. Prune. Get rid of anything that's not bearing fruit. You need to be strong in every way to weather the storms, the northeasterners that blow in out of nowhere. He's with you. He will guide you, strengthen you, and raise you from the dead. that's been holding you in that kingdom of darkness and bring you into the kingdom of life where freedom is. Where freedom is. Thank you, Father. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Glory be to Jesus. Glory be to Jesus. Oh, Father, let this word heal. Let it strengthen. Let it bring clarity where there's confusion. Let it produce much fruit for the kingdom of God and bring forth joy in the hearts of your people. In the mighty name of Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen. Thank you so much for tuning in to Reflective Hour. I'm Tammy Toney-Butler. Remember to like and subscribe, to follow us on Facebook, follow us on LinkedIn, follow us on Twitter, follow us on YouTube, even under Reflective Spaces Ministry, our YouTube channel, so that you will know when we go live and bring a message and a word, a right now word for someone that's struggling. You never know when you're the one he's using to reach the one. You never know. You might be the answer to someone's prayer. You might be the one he uses to bring about that miracle. Never lose hope. Trust in God. He'll see you through. God bless you and keep you. He loves you. And I love you. Thank you.