New Year…New Baby…New Blog!

Today my gorgeous baby number five is four weeks old. He’s the baby the medical profession told me I could never have. He’s the baby I prayed for, longed for and believed God against the odds for.

Judah (his name means praise & breakthrough – for praise always leads to breakthrough) was born out of a season of great personal loss, pain and suffering. A year and a half ago I miscarried and heaven gained our precious little child. I use the word “loss” very loosely for I have come to know there is ultimately, and in the light of eternity, no loss in God, only gain! You may well say “show me evidence of this in the Bible, Christine” and you would be right to ask as all such statements should find their foundation and credence in God’s word. Well, in Proverbs 12:21 God promises: “No (actual) evil, misfortune or calamity can come upon the righteous…” ! You see, we can believe and receive God’s goodness in and from every situation. Our negatives will always equate to a positive when we trust Him with the final outcome. After a battle that raged for over a week where I almost died, I experienced the presence of God and emerged a changed woman in many ways. What I encountered during that battle is a story for another day!

I will never forget the Consultant smiling at the bottom of my bed and saying “whatever was fighting to take your life has gone”! He was the same Consultant who I asked with tears, “what are my chances of having another baby?” Nothing could have prepared me for his harsh response, as his smile changed to a concerned scold. Who would’ve thought just two words, “1 %”, could deliver such a decisive blow. As I reeled and agonised on the inside, what came out of my mouth was my attempt to smile through the pain, to trust my great Creator through the misery and rain, as I choked, “There’s a chance then, I’ll take that 1% with Jesus”! A second opinion rendered the same verdict from another Consultant. I pleaded with my husband to still reconsider another child; with all the love in the world and in an attempt to let me down gently he told me, quite rightly, I needed to get well and strong again, recover from the blood transfusions and then we would talk about it. His eyes told a different story and resounded an emphatic “No”!

Where can you go when you hit a “No”? I went to the one who holds every “yes” in His hands. I went to the one the Bible speaks of in 2 Corinthians 1:20 when it says, “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us”.

We see here that God’s promises are yes and amen (amen means so be it). It is vital, that in order for us to survive and thrive in the midst of life’s challenges and crossfire, that we find God’s word, promise and “yes” for every situation and that we echo His will for our lives with our faith and “amen – so be it”. I went to my Heavenly Father and asked if He would speak to me and grant us another baby. I told him straight that for me to bail out on childbirth on a low was not part of my theology for my God is the giver of life and although I am thankful our miscarried baby lives on in heaven I needed to know if it was His will for me to birth another child to enjoy here on earth? God wants you to know that He is big enough and tough enough to handle your questions and reality. My tears were real and my pain was raw, but faith and hope rose up inside me again as I opened my Bible and the words from John 15:16 leapt of the page and into my heart, bringing healing, direction and clarity out of utter confusion and despair. “I have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He will give it to you”.

I knew in an instant the Doctors verdict was not decisive. My God would have the final say! What a beautiful promise filled with all the cushioning and reassurance my heart needed! God has called each one of us to fruitfulness in our lives, in every area. Whether you are believing God for a baby, financial breakthrough, relationship restoration, a home – take God at His word, sow the seed of faith and harvest the fruit you are believing for. This pleases your Father – He is the giver of increase, multiplication and favour. There is no ultimate loss or lack in Him – what’s more, He promises your fruit will remain! Tell the dream stealer to put that in his pipe, take it back to hell with him and smoke it! God has ordained and chosen you to live a fruit”full” life. If your experience is not a life full of provision, never ending supply, answered prayer and miracles then today God is saying, “I love you too much to let you stay there; allow your pain, discomfort and failure to move you on to a place called fruitfulness and gain”!

In March 2016 I was on what has become an annual speaking trip to Parliament and Churches in Ghana, Africa. This involved an evening crusade where I had the privilege of preaching and seeing hundreds of people respond to the good news of Jesus. As I reflected the following day, overwhelmed by the response, I wept tears of joy when I realised from my journal all those souls were birthed into the Kingdom of God on what would have been my baby’s due date. I thanked God from the bottom of my heart. What a victory – no ultimate loss in God only gain and on the very day I was due to give birth physically to one, I gave birth spiritually to hundreds. You can trust God to turn your biggest loss into “multiplied many”. I remembered the verse God gave me in hospital and treasured the spiritual fruit that God promised would remain. I was more than happy for this to be the fulfilment of His promise to me in hospital those months before but a short time after returning home from Ghana I received the surprising news I was expecting again! During a season of continuing to be about fulfilling God’s desires for my life, behind the scenes God was miraculously fulfilling mine. God wants you to know that when He says ‘yes’ over your life – there is not a ‘no’ in the world that can prevent His purposes from coming about. He will burst every dam, remove every hinderance, breakthrough for you and do what only the power of his word can do!

At just 6 weeks pregnant the Lord spoke to me as clearly as I have heard His voice. The fear of loss haunted me (I’m human), so many questions bombarded me, and horrific lies invaded me. His voice alone calmed me with the most powerful words that became my sword to fight every enemy that came against my baby and I throughout my pregnancy. “This child is preserved, protected and perfected within your womb”! His voice – His promise – became more than enough for me! At 36 weeks I was induced and Judah Cruz Elisha was born naturally-supernaturally – 4 weeks ago today.

What ‘no’s’ have been spoken over your life, what negatives does God want to turn into positives for you, what fears contain and refrain you from living your dream? Don’t take no as your final answer; find your final answer in God’s word and no matter how impossible it may look, echo a faith-filled “yes” and watch God do the rest!

As I birth this blog it is my prayer to be His Living Word – His Word in action and activate many to believe in God and take Him at His word for their own lives, situations and challenges. As you allow His revolutionary Word to be more than enough for you this year, get ready for multiplied miracles to be be birthed in and through you!

Prayer:

Father, I am trusting you to do what only you can do (name your situation) this year. Breakthrough is mine, the miraculous is mine, that which is impossible is now made possible through you. In Jesus name. Amen.