GN 1184 FD/MM/FM

By Maria 3610 7/06

Dear loves,

1. I have some very good news for you in this GN. Our Husband has given some counsel about the joy of the Lord and how He wants you to have it in much greater abundance. I'm very happy about being able to share this counsel with you, because I believe if you will take it to heart and put it into practice, it will help you to have a much better life, a lot more strength for the huge job you do for Jesus‚ and a lot less of the negative that the Enemy just loves to pile on you.

2. We all know about the joy of the Lord, the joy of our salvation, and the Lord has spoken to us before about how important it is (see "Shooting Straight, Part 1," ML #3499:150-165, and the "dig deeper" links listed). But the Lord wants us to take this concept further and realize that we need to fight for our joy of the Lord, that it is part of the strength we need in order to accomplish the task before us in these Last Days.

3. (Jesus:) My loves, your joy, your happiness in Me‚ should be one of the constants in your life. If it's not, if it's missing, if you find it comes and goes, then something is wrong. Because regardless of your circumstances, regardless of what is going on around you, joy in your heart, joy in your life‚ is one of the things I've promised you. It's one of the fundamentals of knowing Me and being Mine. So when you are lacking that joy, that should be an automatic sign to you that something is off, that something isn't right.

4. There are many things that the Enemy tries to use to steal your joy. I'm going to remind you of some of them, because I want to expose them. My joy is one of your rights as My bride. It's one of the things you can count on, expect, and that you should really claim in the spirit as part of your heritage, part of your reward for all that you give for Me.

5. And by "claim it‚" I don't mean running around trying to find joy, or trying to make yourself happy, but I mean doing My work and My will with joy and not letting anything crowd out My joy or take it from you. I mean praying for My joy to fill you‚ and then doing your part by being on guard against the things that would steal My joy away from you. You should zealously guard it and defend it as something you shouldn't have to do without. My joy is your strength, and I want you to have it in great abundance (Neh.8:10)!

6. What do I mean by "My joy"? There are many things that contribute to it or are a part of it:

15. The Enemy tries so many things to steal away your joy: weariness with the battle; stress; trying to get you to take the problems on your own shoulders; trying to get you to look at things in the negative and keep you from seeing the positive; trying to destroy and distort the way I want you to see things and instead getting you to look at what's around you and let circumstances dictate your happiness.

16. But, My loves, it doesn't have to be that way. You don't have to let him warp your mindset. You can choose to retain your joy and just not let go of it.

17. And that's what I expect from you. I want you to realize that joy and peace and happiness in your heart should be constants in your life for Me. They should not be dictated by how things look or what is going on around you. There's no reason for them to be!

18. If you would learn to recognize the Enemy's attempts to steal your joy, if you would learn to guard and zealously fight to maintain your joy and happiness—which comes simply from maintaining a heavenly perspective—then you would have so much more strength with which to fight the battles. You would be so much stronger in the spirit. The Enemy would be able to bother you so much less!

19. This is well worth fighting for and focusing on. It's well worth throwing off his weights of condemnation and weariness and negativity and having the goal of being happier, more joyful in Me. For in that simple change‚ you will find your strength multiplied; you will find your endurance multiplied; you will find your spiritual stamina and resistance fortified; and you will enjoy your life for Me so much more! (End of message.)

20. (Mama:) Our faithful Husband understands that there are many things in life that are weights and difficult to bear; they aren't joyful, and are difficult to deal with. But they all fall into two categories: Those that you don't have to deal with and that He wants to deliver you from—for example, condemnation, stress, negativity, and comparing. And then there are those that are simply "trials of life," which we will continue to have until the day we go home to Heaven, but which don't have to touch our joy; we can continue to be joyful in spite of them, once we realize that our joy of the Lord is our right as the Lord's bride.

21. On some of those bigger topics that the Lord wants to deliver you from, like stress and condemnation, I have more counsel from the Lord for you, which will be coming out in future GNs. But right now, today, you can at least recognize that those things are not of the Lord, that they are hindering your joy, and thus you don't have to give place to them in your life!

22. He called those things "unnecessary chains that the Enemy has placed around My children, hampering them and hindering them in their service to Me." He said‚ "This is a day of liberation! This is a wonderful day of rejoicing in the heavens, for the children of David will go forth with renewed strength and vision, which will last not just for a day or a week or a month, but that will help them during the rest of their time on Earth! In that sense, this need to fight for your joy and retain it could be called a revelation. For even though it's an old and faithful principle, I want them to see it in a new way—a way that will throw off the blindfolds they have been wearing in the spirit, and help them to see their life for Me in a new light. This is indeed a joyful message!"

Enter into My joy

23. (Jesus:) I've told you that My joy is freely available to you, and that you're entitled to have it, feel it, live it, and that it will be your strength. But the Enemy is trying to hinder many of you from grabbing ahold of this joy simply because you don't think you feel very happy or have very much to be happy about.

24. The key to having My joy in your hearts, My loves, is to remember that this joy is My joy, not yours. It doesn't mean that you're happy with everything in your life exactly the way it is; it means that I'm happy and have promised to extend that happiness and joy over you so that it can envelop both of us. Thus it's not a reaction that comes from inside of your heart, it's a reaction that comes from My heart given to you when you ask for it and make room for it.

25. The first thing to do is to realize that what makes Me happy is very different from what you think makes you happy. My joy isn't based on fleeting things that come and go, or your circumstances. My joy is based on the happy future, what will come to be, what potential there is in each situation—in you. My joy is based on the eternal things, on loving and reveling in all the words of Heaven, the joy of My creations‚ the joy of love, and all the other healthy, eternal joys that money can't buy.

26. Learn to find your joy in these things too, because that's where My joy lies. If you want My joy, ask for it, and ask Me to help you to see the things that are worth smiling about, and that can help to make you feel more carefree. If you base it on how you feel, well, you may not feel very joyful, because the Enemy is sure to bring obstacles and worries and condemnation and guilt trips and stress and many other joy–killing tactics so you won't have that special strength that comes from My joy.

27. But if you're feeling any or all of those negative emotions, look up and rise above to where My joy is. My joy enables you to be happy even if things aren't perfect in your earthly situations‚ because it sees beyond that. If I can be happy despite your weaknesses and whatever messes you've made‚ can't you be happy too? If I can be happy for you, because I know that things will turn out all right in the future, and that I have strength available for you in the present‚ can't you also avail yourself of that joy if I give it to you?

28. Yes, you can, My loves. I want to make you happy even if things aren't perfect yet, or if all the physical circumstances around you aren't lined up to the point that you feel you can be physically happy. You can be happy if you rejoice with My joy. My joy allows you to be happy and praiseful and carefree even when you are surrounded by many cares, because it comes from the highest heavens‚ way, way beyond any of these earthly problems.

29. There is so much joy to be found with Me, so much happiness, so much love in Heaven, so many successes and triumphs in your future, and so many blessings and wonderful things to be found in your present. There really is so much to be happy about, which is why the Enemy tries to get you to only focus on the negatives, on all the things keeping you from being happy. So the essence of My message to you about receiving My joy is that I'm allowing you to be happy even despite the seemingly unhappy things, because there is a world of joy beyond yours, yet not out of your reach.

30. I'm your bridge, your door to that world. Through Me and claiming My joy—which you are entitled to through being My bride—you can gain access to that happier world, no matter what's going on here. You can be happy anyhow, and rise above—not just through your tears, but with peals of heavenly laughter ringing in your voice!

31. To have this happiness you must accept My love, and accept that I want to free you from the things that weigh on you and make you sad, and that I want to make you happy and joyful and free for Me! And then you have to act like it! And the first step of faith to receiving this joy is to not focus on the negatives.

32. I'm holding out My joy for you‚ and the Enemy is holding out a big stinky pile of negatives and junk and discouragement and condemnation. If you keep looking at his crap, you'll never be able to see what I'm offering you, and I won't feel like you appreciate the gift I'm bringing if you can't even pull yourself away from Satan's offerings long enough to look at what I have for you.

33. Refuse to look on the negatives! Refuse to let those things—stress, negativity, comparing, condemnation, or whatever the Devil is using—hold any further sway over your life, heart, and emotions. Rebuke and resist the Enemy.

34. You have to make an effort to enter into this joy, and when the Enemy is fighting you and trying to keep you from it, you're going to have to fight him harder. The Enemy isn't just going to let you walk away with My joy; rather, he's consciously determined to keep you depressed and discouraged and pressed down with all the reasons why you shouldn't be happy and live a joyful life for Me.

35. There will be obstacles, many‚ many physical and emotional reasons why you think it's illogical and impossible for you to be happy and light and feel free—but don't focus on those things, focus on Me! Focus on the fact that you love Me and that the love we share together enables you to share in My joy‚ peace, happiness, faith, love, heavenly perspective, and all the joys of Heaven, as you rise above. My love sets you free from the need to ever feel condemned‚ or discouraged, or stressed, or any of those joy-killers, because My love loves you anyway!

36. My love loves you when you're bad, or late, or behind, or sinful‚ or unloving, or disappointing. My love never stops loving you, and most important, never stops having the faith that victory is right around the corner, because it is. My faith in you, which is based on the rock–solid foundation of My love for you, enables Me to be joyful even when things are looking pretty bleak‚ because I know the best is yet to come, and that you're going to come through for Me in the end.

38. You, as earthly humans, sometimes feel that you can't be joyful unless all the problems are gone, and as long as something is weighing on you‚ it steals away your joy and makes you feel that you can't have fun or be free or even just feel good about living and being alive. The minute something negative crops up, it pokes a pin in your joy balloon and you feel it can't exist any longer.

39. But My spiritual joy is based on so much more than that. I'm happy during the rainstorms of life because I know that above the clouds the sun is still shining. I can see that and know that for a fact, but you can't unless you tap into it. I say, "Hey, you don't have to sit here getting rained on. Come fly with Me and I'll take you above the clouds to where it isn't raining anymore, to where it's sunny and happy and joyful and free." But if you don't tap into that and take Me at My word and accept it and act on it, then you'll stay stuck in your physical dimension where your joy is so fragile and easily lost.

40. So you must resist the Enemy and his negatives. You have to fight condemnation and depression. You have to fight to stay free from stress. You have to fight to see things the way I do rather than comparing. And then you have to reach for My joy by acting as if you have it. Proceed by faith by doing all the things that you would associate with being joyful. Enjoy yourself! Smile! Praise Me! Love others! Have a great time serving Me and act like you are free‚ and you will become so.

41. In fact, My true joy is even more real and genuine than all the negative doubts you're striving so hard to push from your mind. They're alternate realities, two different ways to look at life, and you can flip the switch fully to one and make it so that the other hardly exists. If you choose to live in the realm of happiness and freedom, then none of that other stuff can touch you. But conversely, if you decide to dwell in the dens of gloom‚ then My happiness seems so far away as to be almost a fantasy. Either reality can consume your mind if you let it.

42. So why not fly with Me and let Me take you away from anything despairing or doubtful? I can cover you with My blanket of joy that can help you to not only enjoy all the little, beautiful, fun things in life, but can also shield and insulate you against all the bad things in life that tend to suck your fragile little earthly joy away.

43. Start looking for the things in each day that I bring along to make you happy, to give you pleasure or enjoyment or satisfaction or contentment. There are big things too, but focus first on the small things. I want to see you enjoying these gifts of My love guilt-free, because they are all part of My love for you. I want to see you take pleasure in every blessing that I've given you. But I also want to teach you a more permanent joy, a more lasting happiness that isn't dependent merely on earthly things.

44. The happiness I bring is faith–based; it sees beyond the moment and revels in the eternal nature of My love for you. It's the essence of the quote: "If we know that God loves us, we know that everything is going to be okay." And then I take it a step further to add that if we know that God loves us and everything's going to be okay, then there is nothing to hold us back from having the time of our lives seeing what God has in store for us, how He's going to bring victory, and how He's going to make us so happy.

45. My joy is also activated through praise. When you burst out in praise to Me and really lift up your heart with some bubbly joy, it shows Me that you've claimed My joy and are living in it‚ whether you feel like you have or not. A lot of things in this life are faith-based and I ask you to step out and claim a gift that I'm offering you, even though there is nothing tangible there. This joy is the same. If you reject the joy-killers, and put on a smile, and then burst out in praise to Me, then you have put on My joy, and it is there for you.

46. You can be happy; you're allowed to be. You're allowed to enjoy life again. You're allowed to live. You're allowed to be hopeful for the future even if you've made a mess of the present. You're allowed to believe that I love you even if you think you've disappointed Me. You're allowed to give and share large portions of love, because you're never going to run out. You're allowed to have fun and let yourself relax, because these things are good and healthy and I love to see you do them. And very important, you're allowed to never, ever have to listen to the Devil again and let him tell you how no-good and worthless you are! You never have to listen to that message of doom and gloom.

47. My joy is a state of mind—something that you can consciously choose to put on and accept from Me. It's not something you'll wake up in the morning with, unless you've already made an effort to put it on the previous day. It's not even going to be something you're always going to feel like doing. Your flesh and mind might feel sad, and if you're sitting around in that sadness waiting for My joy to strike you like a lightning bolt, it's not going to happen. You have to go get that happiness and joy.

48. It's like faith in that way. Faith doesn't just hit you; you have to work for it. You build your faith by reading My Word and making an effort to believe. Then you step out and put that faith into action even if you're not sure you feel it there. You know it's there, and you're putting Me to the test.

49. It's the same with My promises of joy: My joy is here for you and you can be free and happy! You can take it on anytime and keep it with you for the rest of your life. That's how I hope you live always. But don't go by feelings, because in that land of flesh My joy is often obscured. Look to the spirit, and that's what will set you free. (End of message.)

50. (Mama:) Those are wonderful promises! I want you to stop now and think about that message, and read it again if you need to. Those are promises from our Husband to you. He means them‚ and wants you to take them up and hold Him to them! He wants you to be happy. And nothing in your circumstances needs to change before you can start being happy. All you have to do is accept the joy and relief and encouragement the Lord wants to give you, accept His promises, claim them, and change your perspective. And that can happen instantly‚ the minute you reach out with faith and believe.

51. Of course, the whole victory isn't won in a minute, and there are more long-term changes you will want to make in order to live in the Lord's joy more fully, and to completely eradicate from your life some of the attitudes you've made a part of yourself, which kill the Lord's joy. For example‚ learning how to stay free from stress, no matter how busy things get. Or realizing that you're driven by accomplishment and you need to get your priorities straight. Or recognizing that you tend to fall into condemnation easily and relinquish your joy to the Enemy.

52. These are things the Lord mentioned briefly above, and I'm going to be putting together some further counsel from the Lord for you to help expose these tactics of the Enemy to steal your joy, your strength, your fulfillment and comfort and happiness. But you don't have to wait for further counsel before you accept the Lord's joy and His perspective on life. You can have it right now, today, just by asking Him for it and claiming it! And then, slowly, let Him speak to you and show you the things that are stealing your joy‚ or that need to change. Let Him work with you.

Battle wounds

53. A related topic is battle wounds. Often when you go through a very difficult, intense or busy time in your life as a soldier in the Lord's army, you get some battle wounds. The Lord wants to explain this concept so that you can learn to recognize your battle wounds, and so He can give your spirit healing. I think that simply hearing the Lord's perspective on this, and accepting it, will give you much more joy in your life. You will be more encouraged and at peace, and have more strength to do what you need to do for Jesus. And as you obey the Lord's counsel and find healing for your battle wounds, you will become stronger than ever, and will have fewer negative things popping up and trying to steal your joy.

54. We each go through times when we have to fight intense battles in the physical or the spiritual, and during these fights you're going to suffer some "battle wounds." Those are things the Lord has defined very simply as things you've suffered because of fighting that particular battle. They can be spiritual things or physical things. They're hurts, losses, difficulties that you've faced that are specifically related to having to fight a particular battle, or to going through an intense period of spiritual warfare, or a stressful period in your work or Home. They are things that might have turned out differently if you hadn't had to invest so much in fighting a particular battle.

55. Everyone probably has some areas of their life where they need healing from battle wounds; that's nothing to be ashamed of. While the Lord wants us to live as balanced a life as possible, and He has given lots of counsel about not going too much to any extreme, He understands that sometimes it's impossible to focus equally on everything, and so sometimes we suffer loss, or get "wounded," perhaps because we weren't able to take care of everything as well as we should have.

56. For example, during a battle of persecution you can grow stronger spiritually, and your sheep and contacts can be strengthened through your being forced to give them the meat of the Word in answer to their questions, and a lot of "mass witness" gets out through the media. But maybe what gets neglected is the organization of your Home, or some people's individual needs. Maybe everyone is very busy and there isn't as much balance in your Home as there should be. Once the media storm or persecution situation starts winding down, you have to realize that there are other areas that need extra attention and "healing." Those areas that have suffered or need some extra attention now are battle wounds.

57. Or maybe during these last couple of years of the restructuring you have given your all to getting your Home set up, electing your new Steering Council, fulfilling the criteria‚ investing in your children, and all the many things that have needed to be done. But perhaps you're now feeling a bit spent and you have some questions in your heart that you've been pushing to the side and haven't had time to get the Lord's answers on and strengthen your faith in the Word, because even your Word time has had to be focused around the immediate needs of your Home and work. Those questions you haven't had time to receive answers for, and that spiritual exhaustion, are battle wounds.

58. It's important to recognize this principle in your own life when you go through a time that's very busy or intense for any reason. When circumstances start to change, stop and ask the Lord if you have any battle wounds, any areas in your Home or life that need extra attention. And then make an extra effort to slow things down and give those areas that attention, to ask the Lord for healing in those areas, and get things balanced out again.

59. If you don't, they will become weak areas. For example, if you go through a push of needing to move houses, it's most likely "all hands on deck." Maybe you and your mate have to be apart for a while to house-hunt and care for the children and take care of things. You're within the Lord's will, and He's taking care of both of you‚ but when you do get back together, you need to realize that there might be a few "battle wounds" in your marriage, and you might need to make an extra effort to reconnect with your mate, do things together during your times off, etc. If you don't, later those sensitive spots between you and your mate, or the distance between you‚ could grow and eventually cause you to lose faith to continue as a marriage.

60. Another example is with your children. You might go through a busy time in preparation for hosting a camp or retreat‚ for example, during which your children have to spend more time with others, and when they're with you they don't get as much quality attention as usual, because you're not focused on them; you're focused on the preparations for this retreat or camp. It's natural that you can't focus on everything at once‚ but once that camp is over, you have to stop, realize that you can't let things keep going as they have been, and spend more time with your kids to show them how much you appreciate them being good soldiers for those couple of weeks. That way the Enemy can't use it to weaken them or cause them to be hurt.

61. Battle wounds happen. They happen to all of us. They're part of a soldier's life. The Lord honors us for our sacrifices, and in describing them as battle wounds, He's making it easier for you to recognize them and not be ashamed to bare them and ask for help or prayer from your loved ones‚ and take whatever steps He shows you to take for healing.

62. The Lord wants to heal your battle wounds. He wants to strengthen you, and recognizing your battle wounds is part of that strengthening. The Lord gave the following message in relation to the last two or three years, which have included a lot of intense times for everyone, extra work, and extra spiritual battles. The Lord required a lot of each of us, and I know you've felt it. You've been "in the heat of battle" so to speak‚ as you have been working hard to be strengthened, to live the criteria, to build winning teams, etc., so it's understandable that you probably have some hurts or sensitive spots that need healing.

63. (Jesus:) Some of you might hear the term "battle wounds" and feel that that's just a new label for failings, things you've fallen short in, or areas that you've let get out of balance in your lives. And if you want to look at it from that perspective, there is some truth to it, and it's mighty discouraging. But the way I look at it is that if you were giving your all to the overall war effort, which was a dire need, then you probably couldn't focus on everything at once, so some things in your life got out of whack. Those things that suffered are like sacrifices you made in order to win the battle you were fighting.

64. It's also happened that some of you have been hurt by others, and in some cases that's because they were giving everything to the battle and didn't notice that they were accidentally whacking you every now and then, so you suffered some wounds at their hands—also fruit of the war effort.

65. So I'm calling all those things battle wounds—things which maybe you could have done better at, but you didn't have time to try. Or things that maybe would have been done differently in less intense times, but because you were in the middle of the fight, things had to be taken care of quickly. In emergency situations‚ even if everyone is doing their best, sometimes there are still side effects.

66. That's how I'm looking at it, My loves, and if you'll look at it that way, I think you'll be a lot more encouraged and filled with faith to now go ahead and claim healing for those wounds, because you realize that it wasn't really your fault. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt by saying that if you hadn't had to focus on the war effort you would most likely be stronger in those areas, because you would have had more time to invest in them. If you hadn't been fighting so hard on one focused front, you probably wouldn't have left your arm or your side or your leg unguarded and gotten those wounds.

67. I want you to see that I'm not judging you for these areas in your life that have become weakened or these hurts that you have suffered—even if those hurts are because you are a little proud and you got sensitive, or if you got wounded because you didn't take enough time with Me. It's not because you were slacking off somewhere; it's because you were fighting hard and just couldn't do everything at once, so you made a few bad calls here and there. That's okay, My loves. That's just human! Overall, you've done wonderfully!

68. If you can believe these words, it will give you a whole lot more faith to look at your life and see where you might have gotten wounded, and not be ashamed of it. Rather, realize that all your mates, every single person who has been fighting hard, has some wounds just like that—maybe in different places on their spirit, but everyone has been wounded, and it's nothing to be ashamed of. Take off your battle garb, come into the healing pools that I've set up, and find healing!

69. And‚ My loves, I want you to look at one another with those same eyes of faith and admiration with which I'm looking at you. If you've had a rough go with someone and you feel they're "not getting the point" in a certain area, realize that it's very possibly because they just haven't had time to focus on it, because they've been busy fighting a big battle too. If someone hasn't told you something that you felt they should have, or you haven't been consulted about a decision that you should have been, or someone did something that really, really hurt you, look at it from a little different angle and see how hard they've been trying in other areas. Give them the benefit of the doubt, that they have likely been giving their best to save the Family just as you have, and there were some things that they couldn't focus on; because if they had tried to focus on everything at once, they wouldn't have done anything well. Every single one of you has suffered hurts because of having to focus on the war effort and therefore having to neglect some other things.

70. If you can see any rifts or lacks or weaknesses more as I see them, you'll have a lot more compassion and understanding. Instead of being hurt by someone and their actions, you'll want to go to them and help them to dress their wounds. You'll want to kiss and love and make up, knowing that they were doing their best for Me just as you were, and as you were fighting back to back to save the Kingdom‚ they just accidentally swung their sword a little too far and nicked your shoulder. They didn't mean to hurt you‚ and you didn't mean to hurt them. It's a battle wound.

71. My loves, if you can see it this way, it will give you a whole lot more faith for healing and progress and change, and that attitude of humility and faith will do so much to bond you together and heal the past.

72. So this is a general call to put any hurts, rifts, or weaknesses into the "battle wounds" category and let Me help to heal them. You're not going to be perfect; you're still soldiers in a fight to the finish, and you'll always incur battle wounds. But you can keep seeing them as battle wounds and have the faith to bare them before your co-workers and let them help you dress them and clean them. You can ask for your shepherds' help, knowing that they understand. You can see others' battle wounds through eyes of compassion, and rush to their aid when they call for help rather than being bugged at them.

73. Realize that you can only focus on so much at once, and when your heart is right with Me and you're fighting big battles for the Family, or for those in your Home‚ or your children, or your sheep, or the work, or whatever fronts you're giving your all to, I see the things that fall through the cracks as battle wounds, as things you'd love to take care of if you could, but you've only got two hands, so you do the best you can. That's how you should look at it too.

74. Does that make you feel better? It should. I love you and want to heal your wounds, and I want you to help heal others' wounds. There's healing for everyone, now and forever‚ through Me, and through humility, love, and forgiveness. (End of message.)

*

75. (Jesus: ) When I speak of battle wounds, I'm talking specifically about areas that you would have done better in if you hadn't been so busy working on what I asked you to do to save the Family, or making sacrifices for My work's sake. There are some NWOs that fall into the battle wounds category, because you were doing your best and you just couldn't do everything. And there are other NWOs, which everyone has, that they know they should do better on, but they just aren't yet willing to make the sacrifices or dig in and change, or humble themselves to ask for help‚ or give up their addictions, or whatever the case may be.

76. Be aware, My loves, that I want your life to be balanced as much as possible—that is My will. But if there are times when you have to focus intensely on something‚ when I'm asking more of you in some area, then take time to hear from Me about it‚ to evaluate the need, to counsel with your Home and shepherds‚ and make sure that you're investing what is needed, but not neglecting other necessary aspects. Then, when you have My blessing and the confirmations of My will that are needed, you can trust and claim My promises that whatever you spend, I will repay.

77. I'm giving you this counsel about battle wounds because I want you to know that I understand that things aren't perfectly balanced for you all the time, and part of having a healthy life is learning to bring things back into balance as often as possible. I don't want you to feel guilty about those things that get a little out of balance from time to time. I want you to be relieved, comforted, and encouraged to do better than ever! (End of message.)

Exhausted and wounded, but strengthened

82. (Mama:) If you've really felt the battle over the last couple of years—which everyone probably has—and you're recognizing that you might have a few battle wounds to get healing for, you might wonder if you're really stronger after all that, or weaker. The Lord called the last year the year of strengthening, but for most people it was pretty much a knock-down, drag-out type of fight. So we asked the Lord how we could have been strengthened even through such intense battles, and here is His encouraging answer.

83. (Jesus: ) My precious loves, you must walk by faith, no matter what you think about yourself or how you feel about your battle wounds—how many you have, or how deeply you have been wounded and exhausted through the fight. You must have faith that I am strong in you‚ and even more so, that My strength has been made perfect even through the wounds you have suffered.

84. You've got to hold on to the truth of My promise, that My strength is perfected when you are weak, even when you take a hit on the battlefield. Even when you faltered and fell—that's exactly when you became strong‚ because that's when you cried out to Me for the help you needed to go on.

85. Each one of you has gone through so much. You have felt the blows of the Enemy as you fought each battle. You have had to make sacrifices that might seem like they caused you to become weaker instead of stronger. You have had to give everything in order to win this stage of the war for the saving of the Family, and you might wonder if in the end you have come out weaker than ever.

86. My loves, you have many battle wounds, and I see each one, but just because you have been wounded, that doesn't mean you are now weaker than before. Wounds heal, and in the spirit, they can heal completely and become strong areas. All the areas in your life that have had to take a hit as a result of the war, and yes, have actually been wounded and temporarily weakened, will heal‚ and that healing will make those areas of your life even stronger and tougher.

87. I'm a commander and a warrior and I know how to push My army, both on Earth and in the spirit world, in order to win the battle. But I'm also your healer and your comforter. There is time now for healing of every wound, time for the balm of My comfort and encouragement and strength to be poured upon you to wash and cleanse and purify all that has affected you negatively.

88. Don't worry, My loves, that all the fighting and being wounded has permanently hurt you—because if that were the case, then My power would be pretty puny.

89. You are My loves, My brides, My darlings whom I love and cherish, and with each weakening that you have had to undergo in order to win the battle, I have poured out My spiritual blessings upon you as a reward. I do not let you suffer needlessly, but I reward you and strengthen you as a result. I strengthen you with My power and My anointing. You might not think that you have become stronger and you might not "feel" it in the natural, but you just have to take it by faith because it is My promise. Whatsoever you spend, I will repay, and that payment to you‚ My loves, is in the form of the anointing and strengthening that you need in order to carry on.

90. If fighting did nothing but make you weaker, you would have given up the ghost long ago. Your battles make you stronger, not weaker. You're stronger because it is My strength in you that you must call on in order to go on‚ and My strength is very strong—it's perfect‚ it's all strengthening‚ and it's all that you need.

91. My darlings, do not fret about the many battles you have had to fight‚ and even the ones that are still ongoing and that you must face, but look to Me for My strength, and call down My anointing, and you will go from strength to strength. You are strong warriors in the spirit, no matter how you feel in the flesh. You are glowing for Me in the spirit, no matter how dirty you feel from fighting. All the dirt that you have picked up during the war does not make you less worthy or insufficient fighters; it makes you more worthy and it makes you fighters of distinction.

92. After a long and heavy battle‚ it's natural to feel so tired and worn and to wonder if you will ever recover. It's natural to think that because you're so spent you'll never be able to go on, or to even fight as well as you did before. But you must have faith, My loves—faith in My word; that I give power to the faint and to them that have no might, I increase strength. I am your strength.

93. Each time you felt weak, I became your strength; each time you felt hurt or pain or suffered, I became your strength. Your strength is in Me and I will never fail to be strong through you. I will not allow the battles you have fought for Me to harm you in any way, as long as you look to Me for the purifying and healing of your wounds. They will strengthen you, My loves, for that is My spiritual principle and that is My promise.—Out of weakness you are made strong; from your battles you gain spiritual strength.

94. You must trust that you are stronger today because of the battles you have fought. Even your wounds will work together for good if you will be faithful to come to Me for healing and cleansing. A healed battle wound is a tougher one, so the more wounds you have‚ the thicker the skin you develop. (End of message.)

The year of jubilee!

96. (Mama:) You'll remember that for the Jewish people in Bible times‚ every 50th year was the year of jubilee. (Lev.25.) That was the year when the slaves were set free. The Lord spoke recently and called this a year of jubilee, because He wants to set you free from any burdens you've been carrying which have been stifling or smothering His joy that He wants to give you.

97. (Jesus: ) This year is going to be a year of healing. This is going to be a year when all the qualities I have formed in your lives over the last years of war will begin to show themselves as the jewels of great price that they are.

98. It's a year of jubilee, when the slaves of pressure will be freed, and those bound to heavy burdens will find My strength making them light. It's a year of jubilee when I want to set the past behind and begin anew. It's a year of jubilee when each can again find restored in their hearts the joy of their salvation: the simple joy of knowing that there is nothing beyond My power and love to touch and make right and whole again. It's a year of jubilee to celebrate the peace that goes beyond understanding and pulls down every need and desire of your heart from My throne.

99. (Mama:) The Lord gave this message in April of this year, and when we asked Him what He meant by 'this year," He encouraged us by saying:

100. I have marked this as a year of jubilee, but it won't take nearly a year for you to get this point. This point can be gotten instantly, and the rest of the year can be spent in healing and rejoicing in what I've given you and delivered you from. By "this year" I mean right now‚ today, this year, you're going to see and feel the difference. But any time you need another gift of freedom and jubilee‚ just ask Me. I came and died for you in order that I might free you, and freedom is one of the gifts I love to give you the most. It's one of the principal reasons I took on human flesh and became a man and died a human death‚ so that I could take your place. I paid the price, and you never ever have to be in bondage again.

101. So while this year will be special in that many of you will see and feel the difference, you never have to be in bondage one day longer than you want to. Any time you cry out to Me‚ freedom is there for you. Freedom from condemnation, freedom from addiction, freedom from stress, freedom from being bound to the opinions of men, freedom from discontent, freedom from hurt and pain, freedom from discouragement—the list is endless, My loves. I died to set you free, and nothing gives Me more pleasure than freeing you from what the Enemy would use to try to harm you or keep you away from Me. (End of message.)

102. (Mama:) I asked the Lord to tell us more about this year of jubilee, and He said:

103. (Jesus:) This has been a year of war; the coming year will still have its battles, but they will be different. It is a time of deliverance from the spiritual pressure that so many have labored under. In a war there are turning points, decisive battles in which one side takes dominance and the tide of battle turns. There are still battles to fight, but the attitude of those who have gained the upper hand changes. They gain a renewed determination. Fear and desperation that comes from the looming threat of imminent defeat and destruction are replaced with new vision, encouragement, and a spirit of hope and victory on the horizon.

104. This is where the Family is at. You haven't completely routed the Enemy, but you have delivered a steadily increasing number of defeats to his forces. You have stopped his forward movement and have started to drive him back. Now it is a time to rally and attack—not out of desperation born of a sense of despair as before, but in militant assurance that you are going to utterly crush the Enemy.

105. This will be a year of healing. It is a year of healing for the Family as they learn to set behind them the mistakes of the past‚ both their own and those of others. Some of these mistakes and failures were partly responsible for the state of near defeat, but it is now time to set all that behind and to strive to heal the wounds of others and be healed of your own wounds.

106. Just as in the Gap vision (ML #70), it was in setting all else aside to unite against the common foe that turned the tide of battle. And although there was still work to do to secure the victory completely, the strain and drain, the weakening brought on by a lack of unity that had threatened your very existence, is being replaced by a renewed power and vision that over this next year will assure victory.

107. This is the healing I speak of. All have failed in some way; all have been hurt or suffered loss in one way or another in this war. But all that needs to be set behind by every member of this army. Just as the rains of cleansing and healing in the Gap vision purged away the filth and soot, so the rains of forgiveness and oneness in Me must purge away the filth and ashes of past mistakes‚ failures, and wrongs. This is the healing that can now give each person the power to finish the battle.

108. In the year of jubilee, debts were forgiven‚ wrongs were forgiven, and slaves were freed from their bondage. My children have been enslaved by the pressure of living and accomplishment. Many have struggled long and hard, and have subjected themselves to a battle more intense than necessary, because they have placed themselves under the bondage of their own strength and trying to gauge their love for Me and their importance by their works.

109. There's a great difference between working hard and struggling hard‚ just as there is a difference between being tired‚ even exhausted, and being weary in spirit. It's not that this is a year to cast aside all work, but it is a year to cast off the burdens, the stress, the weariness and feelings of pressure that bring a lack of inspiration, a lack of vision, a sense of hopelessness and being overwhelmed. It's a time to rid yourself of the frame of mind that "this is what I have to endure to serve Jesus."

110. You may have tests and battles, but if you have lost the joy of your salvation, then you have lost sight of Me; you have missed the point of living for Me. Many have lost sight of why they are here. They see their work as the most important thing. This drains you of your joy and zest for living, because while wholehearted work for Me has a purpose, when that work takes priority over Me, then it loses My blessing and becomes hollow, empty, and unsatisfying.

111. I want to restore in each one the joy of their salvation. What is that joy? Can you remember the last time you felt it? Was it a joy at all the wonderful works and endless hours you were going to put in for Me? Was the moment you found Me overwhelmed with ecstasy because you could now raise lots of money and become a financial power? Was it the thrill of all the burdens and cares of life and striving to feed and care for your family that filled your heart and mind with a happiness that words couldn't express?

112. Or was it a deep‚ abiding sense that you were somehow home? That you had found something more real than anything you'd ever known? Was it a sense of being loved so much that you didn't care about anything else? That you just wanted to stay there with Me forever?

113. Is it possible to get back to that deep, abiding joy? With all the cares of life pressing on you, can you have that peace that passes the understanding of your mind? Can you find that simplicity that allows you to look past the circumstances of the moment and praise Me with genuine joy? It's not only possible but necessary if you are going to make it through the days to come.

114. For many of My second generation, this statement of returning to the joy of their salvation is a difficult concept to grasp, because they were too young to remember the moment of salvation. Their lives at such a young age were not crowded with cares and pressures. They accepted Me at such a young age that there was virtually no contrast between the "before" and "after."

115. To you, My second generation brides who have not fully grasped the depth and breadth of what the joy of your salvation is, here is a chance for you to ask Me to fill you with just such an experience. For those who did have such an experience but have long ago forgotten its power and impact, ask Me and I will again fill you with that joy unspeakable (1Pet.1:8).

116. It is a joy that isn't contingent on others, or things, or position, or circumstances. You can feel it when all is going well or when your worst fears are facing you. It takes the pressure out of your life, no matter what weights are trying to burden and crush you.

117. Imagine every care and concern as something you can take and place outside the room, even if just for a moment. Let them all go and imagine yourself seeing Me for the first time. You don't need to understand all the deep things of the spirit, or all the requirements of discipleship, or what I expect of you. You just know that all you feel around you is a sensation of complete, unconditional, total acceptance and love.

118. There's nothing to prove, nothing to do, nothing to say. All you can do is melt into that feeling of complete acceptance. You don't even think about what you are or how you look. There's no sense of yourself at all. That is My love for you. That is the love that saved you, not because of anything of yourself. That is the joy of salvation.

119. You do need to work. You do need to face responsibility and tests. The cares of this life are still going to be there. But what you have to hold on to if you want to keep all else in its place is this joy‚ this understanding that ultimately you are Mine. My acceptance of you is unconditional, and My love for you can override any fault, any failing, any mistake. My love seeks to lift the burdens you struggle with. My love longs to free you from the bondages you tie yourself to.

120. But My love can only do that as you accept My help. I can't wrestle you to the ground and insist that you stop and focus on the joy of your salvation. It has to come from your own heart‚ your own desire, and when you do, it brings all the cares and pressures and stress of life back into focus. It restores that simple trust so that things lose that hurried spirit of Satan who is always trying to push you faster, because he knows that if you pause and let that joy be restored, even for a moment, he has just been defeated.

121. Learning to refocus and get back that joy however you must will help you to work hard, play hard, and enjoy life. There will be tough times, but those things can't overwhelm your heart and mind. Because when they try, the reminder is always there in your thoughts and heart: you only need to return for a moment to the understanding of My love for you.

122. Many are slaves to guilt and punishment, but that is not My way. Who is the author of judgment? Who is the accuser of the saints? Who seeks the law? Is that what Paul described Me as? Did he say law and judgment came by Jesus Christ? Or was it grace and truth that came by Me? (John 1:17). I brought you truth that sets you free, and grace, which is the unconditional gift of God to all who will accept His happiness.

123. I teach, I train, I even correct—but in all this, what is always the goal? Do you train your children to make them suffer? Do you teach them so they will fear you? Do you correct them to inflict retribution for their mistakes or outright wrongs? If you truly love them as I love you, then the answer will always be no. The goal is to draw them to the right things‚ because your love for them seeks only to make them as happy as possible, and as strong and capable as they can be, so that they can be blessed to the limit. That's not judgment, but unconditional love.

124. I've said this many times, that the nature of the world—which is Satan's realm—is the reverse of this perfect love. Your mind and your logic rebels in pride against My love. It longs to suffer for its failings‚ because only then can it pretend to be strong and justified in itself. Even now many resort to this frame of mind without realizing it.

125. Rather than simply coming to Me, your failings in hand, and gazing up into My face, sorry for how you have tried but failed and letting Me forgive and teach you the better path, so many of you feel that you have to endure and suffer loss and agonize over your mistakes and even willful outbursts.—Whereas if you would accept the love and forgiveness I hold out to you, you could use that time and energy in learning to do better next time.

126. Oh, how I long to free you from the bondage of works! How I long to bring the full deliverance promised in this year of jubilee into each heart. It would transform you, My Family, into a piece of Heaven on Earth. But to accept that unconditional love and forgiveness, and to then step forth to carry on the best you can, requires the humility of spirit that is willing to accept such a gift that goes beyond what your mind tells you is possible.

127. It's the key to the door of freedom from the bondage of the mind. It costs you nothing, but it costs you everything, because to accept it you have to accept that you then owe Me everything—your will, your tongue‚ your body and spirit. That's what you gave Me when you accepted salvation‚ but so many of you spend the rest of your life trying to prevent Me using what is rightfully Mine.

128. This is My year of jubilee for you, and I free you to choose. I set you free. Do you remember the talk David gave about love slaves? (ML #2134:28-40, Vol.18). When a slave was freed, he had the choice to launch out on his own and make his own way, or to choose to voluntarily give himself to the one who had freed him and become no longer a slave, but a love slave—one who voluntarily chose to serve, and was therefore honored and rewarded for his service.

129. I go even further in making you My Own beloved and bestowing on you the honor of a wife who shares in all that I am and do. To many whose lives have been flooded by the attitudes of the world, this voluntary submission to another would seem ridiculous. But when you take into account that I have offered you everything in exchange for your dedication, your love‚ and your complete abandon in Me, then the truly wise can see that it's the best opportunity they will ever have.

130. What will you choose? I love your service, motivated by your sincere love, and I long to fill that service with a joy unspeakable. Consider the early days of the Family. What was always present—even amid the mud, the tents, the poor food and cramped conditions? What stands out above all else are the smiles and joy that shone out of their eyes. They were so thankful for the joy of My salvation and freedom from the bondage they'd lived before‚ that even when their lives were hard and filled with sacrifices, they hardly noticed.

131. What did they have? What made everything else secondary in their hearts and minds and enabled them to have a deep, abiding joy no matter what the situation? It was the joy of their salvation, their joy at being rescued, the joy that comes from yielding everything to Me and finding that I am enough. You can have it too! Why not try it? (End of message.)

132. (Mama: ) I know you want what the Lord is offering here, dear loves, so don't let anything keep you from it! Ask Him what specific things are keeping you in bondage or stealing away your joy, and how you can see them differently. And then do it! Look at them as the Lord has told you they are, and not as they appear to be. Ask for prayer for healing, and take advantage of this tremendous opportunity of the year of jubilee to be set free in the spirit and regain the joy of your salvation, the joy of the bride who has just wed the Husband of her dreams! As the Lord said earlier, "My true joy is even more real and genuine than all the negative doubts you're striving so hard to push from your mind. They're alternate realities, two different ways to look at life‚ and you can flip the switch fully to one and make it so that the other hardly exists."

133. I love you, my dear friends and co–workers, and am so thankful that I can share this message with you. I pray you will study it and live it, because it will change your life and make a huge difference in your strength and fulfillment and hope for the future.

Looking forward to all that the Lord has in store for us, and resting fully on His promises,
Mama

134. P.S. If you want more motivation and instruction on changing your thought processes and fighting to retain the Lord's joy in your life, please see the Letter Links file.

Letter Links