Testimony Cont’d.

Tumblr Post, November 2015

“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
Psalm 46:10 NKJV

February 2023 was one of the few times thus far I’ve perceived the audible voice of God. I remember it vividly. In the middle of a breakdown, five words that would change my walk forever rang in my ears: “I am exalted above all.”

Not necessarily the warm and fuzzy, comforting encounter I was hoping for, but it jarred me enough to stop crying and ponder on the weight of those words. This truth would be an anchor I would run to and hold fast to time and time again.

He was teaching me a lesson I needed to learn early: in the fire, in the midst of the storm and through the shaking, His rightful place in my life was - and always would be - exalted above all. I could not allow anything I gained or ‘lost’; any circumstance, doubt, or voice to dethrone Him as Lord over my life.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” 2 Corinthians 3:17 NKJV

This revelation forced me to take inventory of every area of my life. Was He Lord over my career? Relationships? Time? Finances? Ministry? What was I holding on to and trying to manage in my own wisdom and strength that I needed to surrender to Him? Where the Spirit is Lord, there is liberty. The word liberty (eleutheria) in this scripture is described as “true liberty living as we should, not as we please,” and “freedom that believers have in Christ, contrasting with the bondage of sin and the law.” (Bible Hub) Where we fail to surrender and exalt Him as Lord, bondage awaits.

“We ought to give ourselves to God in both mundane and spiritual matters. We should seek our satisfaction only in fulfilling His will, whether that leads to suffering or comfort. All things are equal to a soul truly surrendered to God.” - The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence

When I first read this excerpt of this book, I had to put the book down…could I really view pain in the same way as comfort? Could I truly rejoice in my sufferings? He’s matured me to a place where the knowledge that He is exalted above all brings a peace that surpasses all understanding. In the place of pain, peace comes from knowing that pain is not defeat - His promise still stands. In those moments, sometimes still with tears in my eyes, I speak His word back to Him: “You are exalted above all.” Remember Joseph’s story (one of my absolute favorites). Suffering looked like the pit, being sold into slavery, falsely accused, imprisoned, and forgotten by the chief butler for two full years. Yet all of it led to the fulfillment of God’s will that was revealed to Joseph when he was 17. When that dream finally came to pass, Joseph said to his brothers “do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.” Genesis 45:5 NKJV. His satisfaction was in the fulfillment of God’s will.

“For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” Habakkuk 2:3

God. is. exalted. above. all. Fix your eyes on Him, and Him alone! The only one who knows your end from your beginning. If the promise isn’t yet fulfilled (in the physical), it’s not the end.

Fully convinced,

Abigail

“Let all the other names fade away,
until there's only You.
Let all the other names fade away,
Jesus, take Your place!”
-Wide as the Sky, Matt Redman