Sing and Shout for Joy

 

Sing, O barren one who did not bear; burst into song and shout, you who have not been in labour! (Isaiah 54:1 NRSV)

In obedience, you have done all that God has told you to do but all your efforts have borne no fruit, and you’re falling into despair because you just don’t understand what God is doing.

Nothing seems to be working out for you.

Everything He has told you to put your hands to has resulted in a dead end.

There’s an emptiness that you feel inside you.

You’ve been mocked, chastised, and ridiculed for continuing on without seeing the results that you expected.

You are so sure that the voice you heard was God’s voice; you know that what you have been following are His instructions, yet the promised birth has not happened and you’re about to doubt.

But God wants you to make a joyful noise to the Lord (Psalm 100:1 NRSV).

God wants you to sing in the midst of your barrenness.

God wants you to break into joyful shouting.

God knows that you can’t hear the voice of doubt if you’re singing and shouting in joyful triumph, all you will hear is your own voice, singing and shouting His praises.

God wants you and all those around you to hear the sound of victory.

God is on the verge of turning everything around. He is about to effect a miraculous change in your life; a change that will reveal His glory to a skeptical, unbelieving world.

So, sing and shout for joy,

He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what He has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD. (Psalm 40:3 NLT)

Amen †

 

 

Shelley Johnson “Sing and Shout for Joy” ©2014 revisited September 12, 2025

A Familiar Verse from a New Perspective

 

Jesus said to him, “If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” – Matthew 19:21 (NASB)

This verse is extracted from Jesus’ parable of the rich young ruler who had, just moments before, professed his strict adherence to the Commandments, which, in his estimation made him complete. But here, Jesus is telling this young man what it would take for him to be truly complete; not in him but in Him.

First the rich young ruler was instructed to “…go and sell your possessions”

He was required to part with all of his earthly possessions, all that he considered of great value in his life.

Jesus was telling him to empty himself of everything he felt he was and had, everything that he defined himself by, his self-exalted identity.

Next, he was required to “…give to the poor”

To give himself, in cheerful service, to those who were in lack; not just in need of the material but who were spiritually impoverished.

Jesus, considering this young man’s vast knowledge of the Scriptures, was exhorting him not to claim ownership of such but to use this knowledge to enrich the lives of others.

Jesus went on to explain that, by taking these two steps, these acts of selfless love, he would be, in fact, depositing the value of the knowledge of God into the hearts of others, and in so doing he will have treasure in heaven, the Kingdom of heaven within [see Matthew 13:44].

Finally, through these acts of compliance, the young man would reveal his intention to become Christ’s true disciple and it’s then Jesus will say, “come, follow Me.”

Beloved, are you willing to empty yourself, giving up all your possessions and give to the poor in genuine discipleship?

When we are willing to give up all that we value most – our independence, our material possessions, our self-reliance, our own efforts, our ‘success’, our friends, our lifestyles, our hard-worked-for positions, our best-Christian perception of ourselves, our “let my light so shine before men, that they may see my good works, and glorify me here on earth” attitudes, and every other ‘valuable’ – only then will we find ourselves complete.

Only then can we firmly declare, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing, because, I am complete in Him” [Psalm 23:1; Colossians 2:9-10].

Amen †

 

 

Shelley Johnson “A Familiar Verse from a New Perspective” © 2014 revisited September 11, 2025

Quenching Your Spiritual Dehydration

 

Are you so dehydrated that even your bones feel dried up?

This is no normal dry spell where a drink of cold water quenches your thirst. You’ve tried everything but nothing you do is satisfying this dryness that you’re feeling.

That’s because your thirst is not physical but spiritual. You’re in a spiritual drought, in the middle of a dry-bones valley with no hope of quenching your spiritual dehydration.

“…the middle of a valley; it was full of bones…and they were very dry.” (Ezekiel 37:1, 2 NIV)

Right now, even though all you see around you is desert, know that there is hope, for God has provided a source of full and everlasting satisfaction for your spiritual dehydration.

Only God can make springs gush forth in the valleys (Psalm 104:10).

water reservoir Chile

Only God can change deserts into springs of water (Psalm 107:35).

And, to anyone who is thirsty, it is only God who gives water as a gift from the spring of the water of life (Revelation 21:6).

This God-given Spring is a spring that never runs dry.

This never-ending flow of rehydration is available to whosoever believes in His Son Jesus Christ.

Jesus Himself tells us of this wonderful thirst-quenching spring of water when He said, “…those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” (John 4:14).

Also, in John 7:37-39 we read, “…Jesus…cried out, Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me, and let the one who believes in Me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ Now He said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive…”

Beloved, this precious water is the Holy Spirit promised to anyone who believes. The indwelling Spirit of God is the source of this spring of everlasting satisfaction. Only He can quench your spiritual dehydration. How wonderful it is to have this bubbling spring of water within you that completely satisfies even to the bone.

Amen†

 

 

Shelley Johnson “Quenching Your Spiritual Dehydration” ©2014 revisited September 10, 2025

Love is a consuming fire

 

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. – 1 John 4:8 (ESV)

for our God is [indeed] a consuming fire. – Hebrews 12:29 (AMP)

So, since “God is love” and “God is a consuming fire”, can we conclude that Love is a consuming fire?

Here’s why…

God, through the work of His Holy Spirit in us, teaches us how to love.

Spirit teaches us God’s way of love, authentic Love.

Now, looking at both Ephesians 4:23 and Psalm 51:10, we could say that God’s love cannot exist in us unless we are renewed in spirit. It follows then that we must get rid of the old ideas, beliefs and ways of thinking which are natural – carnal, of the world – and replace them with a spiritual sensibility.

The only way to do this is by allowing Spirit to renew our minds through the process of purification.

God purifies us by fire, in the form of trials or challenges or tests.

I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. – Zechariah 13:9 (NLT)

Just as gold is purified by thoroughly burning away the dross, so too is the process of our purification where the scum of slag will be removed from our lives (see Isaiah 1:25).

Beloved, this is what God’s Love does in you and to you; the fire of God’s Love consumes you, and you are made beautiful.

Through this often-painful process, He gives you “beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of heaviness” (Isaiah 61:3).

And like the phoenix, a symbol of early Christianity, is burned to ashes and reborn a thing of beauty, you are reborn after experiencing the consuming fire of God’s authentic Love. All that is ugly in you is burnt up, and what emerges is the beauty of God’s Love expressed through you.

Amen †

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shelley Johnson “Love is a consuming fire” ©2013 revisited September 9, 2025

 

The Lord makes the Bitter, Sweet

 

The sojourning Israelites, thirsty, came to a place called Marah (bitterness) but could not drink the water there because it was bitter.

They began to complain bitterly against Moses, adding their bitterness to an already bitter dilemma.

Moses cried out to God about this situation. And under God’s direction, threw a certain tree into the bitter water and the bitter water became sweet.

Then they came to Marah, but they could not drink its waters because they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah (bitter). The people [grew discontented and] grumbled at Moses, saying, “What are we going to drink?” Then he cried to the Lord [for help], and the Lord showed him a tree, [a branch of] which he threw into the waters, and the waters became sweet. – Exodus 15:23-25 (AMP)

The Lord provided the tree that turned the bitter undrinkable water into sweet refreshing water fit for His children to drink.

And when they had finished and fulfilled everything that was written about Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. – Acts 13:29 (AMPC)

The tree at Marah is symbolic of the cross of Jesus, and just as that tree turned the bitterness into sweetness, so Jesus, Whom the Lord provided, turns our bitter situations sweet.

Beloved, is a “bitter waters” situation before you today? Remember all that Jesus accomplished for you on the cross and cast Him into your situation; He is the solution to “bitter waters” situations. Only Jesus can take away the bitterness you’re faced with and make it sweet.

Jesus sweetens all that’s bitter in your life! Hallelujah!

Amen †

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shelley Johnson “The Lord makes the Bitter, Sweet” ©2013 revisited September 8, 2025

What about Leah?

 

When the Lord saw that Leah was loved less than Rachel, he made it possible for her to have children, but Rachel remained childless. – Genesis 29:31 (GNT)

Have you ever loved someone who did not love you? Have you loved someone who made you feel almost invisible? That was Leah’s fate.

Long story short…

You see, Jacob, that same Jacob who, through trickery, got his twin brother Esau’s birthright, was sent by his father Isaac to his uncle Laban’s home to marry one of his daughters. Jacob’s mother, Rebekah, was Laban’s sister.

Anyway, on the long journey, Jacob eventually came to a well, where he met some shepherds, he asked them if they knew Laban and it just so happened that this was the well from where his uncle’s sheep were watered.

While still engrossed in conversation with these shepherds, a very beautiful shepherdess, sheep in tow, approaches the well and Jacob finds out that it’s Rachel, his uncle’s daughter. Elated to have finally found his relatives, he gives his cousin a kiss and begins “to cry for joy”

From that moment, Jacob was smitten.

Rachel takes Jacob home to her father who is overjoyed to meet his nephew.

After a month of living and working there, Laban tells Jacob that he can’t continue working for free and offers to pay him. Jacob refuses to accept wages, instead he tells Laban that he’ll work for him for seven years if he’ll allow him to marry Rachel afterwards.  Laban agreed and Jacob gladly worked for seven years which “seemed to him but a few days, he was so much in love” (Genesis 29:20 TLB).

Okay, so seven years passed and as agreed, Laban hosts a grand wedding. That night the marriage was consummated, next morning, Jacob woke up beside Leah, not Rachel.

Needless to say, Jacob was not happy at all; why would he? As a matter of fact, he was enraged and confronted his uncle, “What sort of trick is this? I worked for seven years for Rachel. What do you mean by this trickery?” (v 25 TLB)

Hmm, the trickster was tricked.

Laban, unfazed, answered calmly, “It’s not our custom to marry off a younger daughter ahead of her sister, wait until the bridal week is over and you can have Rachel too—if you promise to work for me another seven years!” (v 26)

Well, Jacob, truly in love with Rachel, agreed to work for another seven years.

In the meantime, Leah had to live with this man knowing that she was not his first choice or his choice at all. She had to endure the humiliation of watching her husband work hard for seven years to get the woman he loved, when she’d already seen the seven years of labour he’d done before that, again highly driven with the same purpose in mind.

Sadly, we have treated Leah the same way. How?

We, like her husband Jacob, have ignored Leah as we have focused all our attention on Rachel. She seldom receives a mention, not even in passing. Leah is barely spoken of from pulpits and in bible study groups, but we can’t hear enough about her younger sister.

Do we even think of Leah?

Why has Leah’s heartache been overlooked?

She is never the main feature in any sermons, instead she is a dismissed bible character, relegated to obscurity.

But Leah was a real woman with real emotions, wanting to be loved.

Isn’t that what we all want? To be loved? To be seen? To be acknowledged, noticed, validated and valued by the one we love?

You and I have been Leah. You and I have loved but felt unloved. You and I have worn our hearts on our sleeves only to have our exposed hearts trampled upon.

And this is not a woman’s dilemma; men have also been Leah.

But God heard Leah’s silent cries, and He hears yours and mine. God hears us…every unspoken word, He hears.

And God saw Leah’s broken heart, and He sees our broken hearts, yours and mine. God sees us…every indiscernible shard of brokenness, He sees.

And God felt Leah’s anguish, and He feels our anguish, yours and mine. God feels what we feel…every painful ache, He feels.

And, God experienced Leah’s rejection, and He experiences our rejection, yours and mine. God experiences our loveless lives…every drop of the love we’ve poured out that has been spurned, He has experienced.

Beloved, the love of another human being does not define your worth.

“the Lord saw that Leah was unloved” and “he enabled her to have children” (Genesis 29:31 NLT)

The Lord saw and He acted; He sees, and He acts.

God gave Leah love, His own, together with the kind of love that only a child can give to a parent. A love that isn’t seeking anything in return, a love that is pure without the unnecessary attachments, a love that’s unconditional.

God gave her children upon whom Leah could shower her fierce love and who will respond in like manner.

Beloved, it is the Lord who provides our needs, whatever that need may be and in the best manner He sees fit.

He sees and He will act.

God saw the love that Leah required, and He satisfied that need.

We, you and I, always have the love of God. He loves us with an everlasting love (see Jeremiah 31:3)

Leah’s is an example of how God works, how He intervenes in our stories.

Though trapped in a love starved marriage, Leah’s union with Jacob was necessary, for she gives birth to 6 of his sons, including Levi, from whom the Levitical Priesthood emerged, and Judah, king David’s lineage.

Though on the surface Leah is seen as love denied, a deeper dive into her story, reveals aspects of love that surpass romantic love.

Beloved, there is so much more to Leah’s story that we have failed to see but let’s leave it for another day. Amen?

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “What about Leah?” © September 6, 2025

 

 

 

 

Your Reaction bears the Fruit

 

You are going to react to every circumstance that you face, whether the situation is good or bad, you will react. Your reaction in good times is easy, the real test comes when you are facing difficult, unfavorable, and trying circumstances.  The action you take then especially, will determine the fruit that you bear.

That fruit can either be bad or good, and will depend solely on you. In other words you cannot always control the circumstances that come your way but you surely can control how you react to those circumstances.

Will your reaction result in fruit that will be beneficial to you or will it bear fruit for death?

You can decide to indulge your human nature and complain, groan, get angry, hate, use obscene language, be filled with ire, keep malice, become envious, and allow strife to flourish in your heart or you can trust God to work the fruit of His Spirit in you, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (see Galatians 5:22-23), trust Him to work things out, put away all negative responses, count it all joy, thank Him, and praise Him even in the midst of your dilemma.

You have freedom of choice but one way will lead you to bear fruit for death and the other will lead you to bear fruit for life. Proverbs 10:2 says that if you do the right things, then your actions can save you from death.

In Deuteronomy 30:19 God tells us to choose life. Shouldn’t you then, choose life?

Focusing on yourself and the circumstance will result in your reacting in the wrong way but if you begin praising God, thanking Him and seeking His wisdom, your reaction will be very different. God will be occupying your attention and your reaction will be based in faith and trust in God and that will bring out good fruit in you.

James 3:17 says to seek God’s wisdom in every circumstance because God’s wisdom is full of good fruit.

Psalm 1:3 says that when you bear good fruit, you will prosper in all you do.

Beloved, your aim should be to bear good fruit whatever the circumstance. So, no matter what you’re going through right now, find strength in the Lord your God (1 Samuel 30:6), depend on Him to bring you out (Psalm 71:20), wait on Him (Proverbs 20:22), and always react in love (Proverbs 10:12).

Amen †

Shelley Johnson “Your Reaction bears the Fruit” © 2017 revisited September 6, 2025

 

What I Believe

 

under His canopy

The scripture says, “I spoke because I believed.” In the same spirit of faith we also speak because we believe. – 2 Corinthians 4:13 (GNT)

I believe that God cares for me because He takes care of all His creation

I believe that God is intimately concerned with bringing justice to my causes

God, I pray for You to resolve conflicts in my life – I faithfully believe that You will do so

I shall not lose heart as I fix my eyes on God

I believe and trust that God will correct any times I have been taken advantage of

I believe that God is aware of my situation, He knows every detail, and He will right every wrong

God created this world from nothing, so, I believe that my Creator God can and will repair and restore whatever I have lost

I believe that if I cast, completely let go of, all my anxieties on God, He will take care of me

I believe that I am in the hands of the Living God!

I speak what I believe...

Amen †

 

 

Shelley Johnson “What I Believe” ©2013 revisited September 5, 2025

Restore my brokenness!

 

When was the last time you had a good bawl? No, not cry but weep, a snivelling wail from the heart where tears and snot combine and fall from your chin?

You know, sometimes we can be so pious in our crying out to God that it stifles our being honest with Him.

If there’s a time to be yourself, to just let all your defences down and expose the true you, it’s when you come to God.

Beloved, He already knows what’s in your heart. He already knows what you’re carrying deepest within you. So, why not be real? Just be yourself.

You want God to move upon your life, but you’re holding back from Him.

You want God to restore your brokenness, but you approach Him with an air of aloofness.

This may sound foolish but even though God already knows everything about you, He still wants you to reveal yourself to Him. God wants you to let it all out – the anger, the hate, the bitterness, the resentment, and the pain – because that’s how you’ll get free. Don’t you want to be free?

You’ve carried the burden of your brokenness far too long. God wants to restore what’s been broken in your life. Will you not let Him?

Sunrise over Balata Trinidad

It’s a brand-new day, aren’t you willing to be real with God and allow Him to be real with you? Yes, it is painful for you, but it will yield good results.

David, of whom God said was a man after His own heart, was incredibly honest, open, and transparent with God and through it all, remained confident that God would restore his brokenness. Just read the Psalms he wrote, and you’ll see what I mean.

“You have sent troubles and suffering on me, but you will restore my strength” – Psalm 71:20 (GNT)

David held nothing back; his writings express a roller-coaster of emotional highs and lows, joy and sorrow, pain, fear, elation and praise. David poured himself out to God – everything he was, and everything he felt.

We have all been broken in one way or the other. We are like broken vessels, and only God can fully restore us.

Beloved, God is the Restorer of your brokenness.

Isn't it time you had a good bawl?

Go to God, drop your hands down and pour yourself out and shout, "Restore my brokenness!"

 

Amen †

 

 

Shelley Johnson “Restore my brokenness!” © 2015 revisited September 4, 2025

Three Days’ Journey

 

Sunrise over Cane Garden SVG

God says “Restore!”, I say “Restore!”

This is a new day, a new beginning. It’s my time to believe, it’s my time for restoration!

Today marks the last day of our three-day journey. Three days which signalled a call for restoration. It may be the last of the three days, but it is certainly not the final day to see God’s restoration power at work in our lives.

Three days’ journey symbolizes our progression into a new beginning. Throughout the Word of God, we see three-day journeys repeated again and again.

It took the Israelites three days’ journey from Egypt to the wilderness, where they received a new beginning.

“Let us take a three-day journey into the desert…” – Exodus 3:18 (NIV)

Further on, in Exodus chapter 15, we see where the Israelites travelled in the desert for three days without finding water. Then God revived them by making the bitter waters of Marah sweet.

Also, in Matthew 15:32, a great crowd of over four thousand who had been with Jesus for three days without having anything to eat, was miraculously fed with just seven loaves and a few fish.

Jonah’s burial in the belly of a great fish was three days and three nights, after which he was restored to life to continue his journey to Nineveh. It took Jonah three days to walk through this vast city after which the Ninevites received restoration and a new beginning (see Jonah 3).

God says “Restore!”, I say “Restore!”

So too our three days’ journey shall not be without effect. God is about to perform a great restoration in our lives – yours and mine. Just as we have seen the supernatural power of God to restore at work in these instances, know that that same supernatural restoration power is at work in your life now.

Beloved, God has shown us what is possible with Him, if we would trust Him and believe that He exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

I declare,

The Lord is even today working toward my full restoration!

God says “Restore!”, I say “Restore!”

Amen †

 

 

Shelley Johnson “Three Days’ Journey” © 2015 revisited September 3, 2025

The Season of God’s Restoration

 

Sunrise over Hakone Japan

Joel 2:25 (KJV), as it is written,

“And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, My great army which I sent among you.”

God says “Restore!” I say “Restore!”

I believed therefore I speak…

This is the Season of God’s Restoration over my life. Father, Restore!

I experience an unprecedented manifestation of God’s restoration in every area of my life. Father, Restore!

God’s restoration is always greater than the original and I receive His much-more restoration, for God has taught me how to be a gracious receiver. Hallelujah!

This is the Season of His Restoration!

I declare,

God will restore to me the years that the locust has eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm – the swarming locust, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust – His great army which He sent among me and my family. And, we shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the Name of the Lord our God, Who has dealt wonderfully with us; and we, as God’s people, shall never be put to shame. This is God’s promise to me – I receive it in Jesus’ Name. It is already established in heaven. Father, Restore! Restore it all!

I declare,

Everything super-abounds to me and my family! We are engulfed in God’s great restoration power – from broken relationships to dwindling finances, even the hairs on our heads – God has restored it all. Hallelujah!

I declare His restoration over my life. I declare His restoration over the lives of my family members.

I believed therefore I speak…

I have stepped into the Season of God’s Restoration, and I graciously receive God’s super-abounding restoration! Hallelujah! Praise be to God!

God says “Restore!” I say “Restore!”

Amen †

 

 

Shelley Johnson “The Season of God’s Restoration” © 2015 revisited September 2, 2025

Restored Fellowship

 

Sunrise Over Havers BVI

Isaiah 42:22 (NKJV), ...and no one says, "Restore!"

Listen, if God says "Restore!", then you say "Restore!"

The word for the next three days is "Restore!". It must be on your lips, in your thoughts, and deepest within you.

God desires to restore to you everything that has been lost…

“then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes…” –  Deuteronomy 30:3 (NIV)

God desires to restore to you everything that appears to be dead and dry (Ezekiel 37:1-14) in your life.

The life that God made enter the dry bones in Ezekiel chapter 37, is the same life God will breathe into every dead situation in your life. Are you ready to receive resuscitation, revival, and restoration?

What about your relationship with God? Do you even consider that? Has something been lost? Is it alive or dead, or dying or non-existent?

Have you become so mired in life's circumstances that you've lost sight of Father, Son, and Spirit? Do you have a relationship with Him?

The time has come to take an honest look at the life you're living, and specifically, at where God is in your life. Yes, an honest look. And after you've done that, if you decide to go on this journey of restoration, let your relationship with God be your first step.

“…indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” – 1 John 1:3 (ESV)

Adam’s fall from grace in the Garden by his wilful disobedience to God, created a loss of fellowship with God for all mankind which has also placed us in a state of separation from God – spiritual death (see Romans 6:23); but God in His love and mercy has a plan to restore us to complete fellowship with Him and to give us spiritual life.

God’s awesome plan consists of the work of grace through His Son Jesus Christ and is not accomplished through any efforts or sacrifices on our part. Jesus Christ shed His blood for our restoration.

Remember, Jesus paid the price in blood for our reconciliation with God.

Remember, Jesus paid the price in blood to free us from the sentence of spiritual death.

Remember, Jesus paid the price in blood so that we can be born again as new spiritual creatures in Christ.

Beloved, our ultimate destiny is to be restored to the full fellowship of God by recognizing and accepting the finished work of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross.

Now, as you think on this journey of restoration, I pray the Lord of peace Himself gives you peace at all times and in every way. Amen †

Shelley Johnson “Restored Fellowship” ©2013 revisited September 1, 2025