And SuDDenly GOD!

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God. Psalm 43:5 

My message to you is, Don't you ever QUIT!

Praise opens the door to God. From the time of prayer until the answer manifested, there is a waiting period for the answer. But when it does come, it often appears SUDDENLY. God is the God of “Suddenly!” 

Suddenly can mean:

• quickly or unexpectedly
• instantly, all of a sudden 

Acts 12:7 “and behold, an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands.”

Have you ever experienced a time when you felt your hands were tied and you could do nothing? Peter was thrown in prison. He was held in chains awaiting trial with soldiers surrounding him. The situation seemed hopeless, but not for God. 

Then suddenly, God showed up and delivered him. 

God has a never-ending supply of suddenly breakthroughs for all His children. God knows we certainly need them! 

Acts 9:3-4 Now as he journeyed he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed about him. And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 

Acts 22:6 “As I made my journey and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?

Saul was on his way to Damascus when he experienced a SUDDENLY! Saul persecuted believers and even watched (the church’s first martyr) while he was being stoned to death. Saul, who later became Paul, experienced a SUDDENLY with the Lord Jesus as he was on the way.

What a difference a SUDDENLY encounter with God makes!
Paul and Silas were imprisoned. 
Acts 16:25-26 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and every one’s fetters were unfastened.

Notice the suddenly happened as a result of praying and singing praises to God while still in prison! 
Our God is the same One Paul and Silas called upon, so just as in Paul’s day, the Lord has a suddenly breakthrough for us too. And it will happen when we least expect it, A Suddenly God moment!

For a Suddenly to occur it is necessary to REMEMBER:- 
God is good! 
Have a desire for the Word of God. 
Let go of the past and let go of the disappointments. 

Do not let bitterness and rage, set in, thus losing your heart. 
Be willing to hope and trust again. 
Dream again!

Do not lose your sense of awe and wonder. 

Be willing to say a “YES!” to the great promise.

Don’t give up on your dream!

This is the Season of the Suddenlies.”

God moves when you least expect. God can send you a sign or He might give you a vision. He might even give you a dream. That is God telling you to get ready because He is going to move fast. Have you ever been fearful when you thought you were not up to it and God said ‘yes you are?’ 

Genesis 37:5-7. “Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they only hated him the more. He said to them, “Hear this dream which I have dreamed: behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf arose and stood upright; and behold, your sheaves gathered round it, and bowed down to my sheaf.” 

When you are surrounded on all sides and you are all by yourself, remember God is with you. 

ACTS 2:2-4 “And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. — WOW! And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

Those 120 people had obeyed Jesus. He said to wait until the Spirit comes. They were waiting. They were praising and encouraging one another. They had an expectation in their heart. 
We need to have that expectation in our heart that God is going to move suddenly in our life. God delights when you have that kind of faith. 

Suddenly: the Angel and the heavenly hosts appeared.

Luke 2:8-9 And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 

Luke 2:13-14 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!”

God has bigger dreams for our lives than we could ever imagine dreaming ourselves. 
Between the dream and the reality of the dream to come true we have to wait in patience, remaining faithful to God and His calling, trusting Him in all things. Joseph could have given up on the dream and sunk into a pit of despair, but he didn’t. He remained faithful against all odds, in a foreign land, believing that God was with him. 

Joseph’s dream was frustrated many times, but God was with him. Ultimately the dream was realized. 
We must pursue those dreams that God has given us, faithfully awaiting their realization.

Joseph spent at least 14 years between the time of his dream and the realization of his dream. Part of that time, he spent in slavery and the other two years he spent in prison. But the dream still came true. God positioned Joseph in a place where he would be able to save his entire family, and all of Egypt as well. Joseph could have given up on the dream. He could have committed adultery with Potiphar’s wife. He could have taken glory for himself upon the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream. But, instead, Joseph remained faithful, believing that God’s guiding hand was at work. 
And one day, probably when he least expected it, in walked ten men from far away, bowing low to the ground in hopes of purchasing food during the famine. Joseph immediately recognized the ten men as his brothers, who sold him into slavery. As the brother’s bowed down there Joseph, must have immediately remembered the dream about the sheaves of grain bowing down. Because of Joseph’s faithfulness, God provided salvation for his entire family during a time of need. 

Between dreams, life happens. And one day, when I wake up to that bright and glorious morning, I will know that God did work His purpose out in my life. 

God is faithful! Let us pray that we learn to be faithful too.