FOR THOSE who listen to PID Radio, you may have noticed that Derek and I have taken a hiatus from producing daily PIDcasts — what we lovingly call our ‘blathers’. I’ve received numerous emails from concerned listeners since we made that decision, so rather than send individual responses, let me share here what Derek and I have decided is best for PID at this juncture.
About two weeks ago, I began to notice a growing sense of weariness creeping into my bones. Many of you know that I suffer from Fibromyalgia and several other related conditions that sometimes flare up. FMS (Fibromyalgia Syndrome) is a nasty bugaboo on its own, but the mixture of problems sometimes sends me into a ‘pain and fatigue’ spiral. Not surprsingly, when I began to experience this most recent bout of fatigue and migraines, I assumed that FMS, et al was to blame.
Now I know differently.
One day — about ten days ago — Derek and I each experienced the same phenomenon — one that had to be a spiritual attack. I won’t go into the details of the attack here (suffice it to say that it was very real), but neither of us knew the other had ‘felt it’ until later that day, when we shared lunch together.
I mentioned to Derek that I felt ill, that my bones felt poisoned, and that it seemed as if a huge load rested upon my shoulders and back trying to crush me. Derek’s eyes widened as he told me that he, too, had felt the same oppressive weight all that morning. And he shared that morning’s spiritual attack and how he had prayed earnestly for God’s deliverance (I was sleeping, and the attack took form — on my end — as a series of five ‘waking dreams’ — very real and disturbing dreams where I believed myself to be awake, when I was in fact asleep). Derek told how he felt that gravity pulled down upon him in a way difficult to describe, yet I knew what he meant, for my bones felt as if they weighed a ton.
Needless to say, we prayed about it and talked about it, and we decided to speak more about the problem later in the day. By that evening, God’s response to our prayers was clear — we were to stop in our tracks and listen to His plans for us.
Producing PID Radio and maintaining the Watcher Magazine website and our other sites has been a tremendous source of joy for us these past 2+ years, but there are days when the stress pushes harder than others. Not only is PID a financial burden, but it’s a taxing one mentally and physically. Still, we rejoice in the privilege to serve the Lord through the resouces He’s made available to us.
Hearing that we were to ‘Stop and Listen’ certainly took Derek and me by surprise.During this course of prayer and ‘listening’, we heard from several trusted friends who shared that they, too, felt an ‘oppressive’ presence, and that they felt urged to ‘stop and listen’ in their ministries.
Within a matter of days, we heard the message — clear and clean, and here is what Derek and I have decided to do:What we heard from the Lord is this: Consider the message of Elijah.
Do you remember when Elijah told Ahab that a drought was coming? Afterward, Elijah disappeared rather than stay available to minister. God commanded Elijah to escape into the countryside where ravens would feed him, and Elijah would drink from a brook.
In I Kings 17:3-7, we read this:
Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that [is] before Jordan. And it shall be, [that] thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that [is] before Jordan.And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
After much prayer and many conversations with the Lord, this is where Derek and I are — we are at Cherith’s Brook. I told Derek that God has given me a clear vision of this as a ‘rest area’. If we think of our ministry as a journey, then Derek and I have just pulled into ‘Cherith’s Brook Rest Area’, where we will be fed and watered through God’s Word. That’s what I’m doing now like crazy — spending hours and hours each day reading God’s word and letting it nourish me.
In truth, Derek and I had been traveling on nearly empty tanks for the last few miles, but we hadn’t realized it. We have been warning our listeners about the spiritual battle and that a time is coming SOON when the battle will come to our own doors — for the days spoken of by the prophets is nearly here — we are entering the final days before Christ’s return.How long will Derek and I remain in ‘Cherith’s Rest Stop’? I don’t know. Truly, I don’t. Neither did Elijah know how long he would remain there — but ‘after a while’, the brook dried up, and God commanded him to move into another phase of his journey.
There is a similar episode in Elijah’s life that is significant here. In I Kings 18, Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal to a contest. This famous showdown ends with Jehovah God as winner — and it culminates in the return of rain to Israel. This miracle sent Elijah into a deep depression, for the miracle didn’t end in Ahab’s conversion, but rather it enraged Ahab and his idolatrous queen Jezebel. Elijah was to be hunted like an animal — he felt alone and friendless.
It’s here — in the shadow of victory — that Elijah once again is ministered to in a miraculous way.
We read this in I Kings 19:4-8
But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I [am] not better than my fathers.
And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise [and] eat. And he looked, and, behold, [there was] a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise [and] eat; because the journey [is] too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
Once again, Elijah is commanded to seek spiritual nourishment. He is fed by an angel, and with this spiritual food in his belly, he journeys 40 days to Mount Horeb, where he speaks one on one to God.While neither Derek nor I claim to be anywhere near to what Elijah was, all ministers of the Lord grow weary at times. God’s word to us has become clear, and we are obeying by cutting back our ministry while we ‘tank up’ in this wonderful rest area. God has revealed to us that He has more for us to do, so we know this time of nourishment is limited. So, please be patient with us while we seek God’s guidance and instruction.
For now, Watcher Magazine may not be updated. PID Radio may even stop producing Sunday shows. We have three more ready, but after that we are leaving it up to God.
Honestly, Derek and I are excited to see what road God plans for us to take once we leave ‘Cherith’s Rest Stop’. We believe something very BIG is coming — it’s the weight that lies heavily upon us, and it seems to be pushing down upon others in ministry as well, for we have received numerous confirmations.Do you know Jesus as your personal Savior? Christianity is not earned, it is not inherited, nor is it absorbed. It is a personal choice, based upon Christ’s substitutionary death upon Calvary. Because of that gift, we can choose eternal life. Have you made that choice? If not, consider this — by not choosing, your choice is made. Either you serve God or you serve His enemies — there is no middle ground.
Joshua 24:15 puts it this way: “Choose you this day whom you will serve… as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Thanks to everyone who lifts us up in prayer. Perhaps now is a good time for all of God’s people to pull into ‘Cherith’s Brook Rest Stop’ — get into the Word of God and seek His face.Something BIG is coming — perhaps there is ‘a drought’ in the wind.
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