Special Guest Articles

Do You Ever Wonder If God Is Good Or Bad

Cindy Cavender

Do you ever wonder if God is good or bad? I know there have been times in my life I really was not sure. As a young child, it was once said to me, “ooh, you are going to hell cause you did that.” Well, me in my young mind, I believed them. I didn’t know why God would send someone to hell, but they said it, so it must be true.

I would like to share with you about a time in my life when I discovered how good God really is. As I am sitting here listening to worship music, these thoughts come to mind and I feel compelled to write.

Years ago, I was a young woman and had made some choices that resulted in a pregnancy. I was not married. That season brought a lot of pain and joy all at once. The joy of giving birth. The pain of not being a mom to this child, as I chose adoption for his life. The joy of a bright future ahead. The pain of not knowing what life held without this child, as all I ever wanted was to be a mother. I didn’t really trust too many people because of some circumstances in my life. Therefore, me getting outside help, counsel was limited. It is tough when one has buried grief. No one knows why you hurt and at times the pain was so deep, I just wanted to die. I wanted the pain to end.

In 1990, this precious baby boy was born. It is such a joy to know his life has meaning and purpose and God gave me the strength and grace to choose life.

What got me to thinking is where I am today. Along the journey there were a few ladies who have the same name and each one, chosen by God, to keep me moving forward into God’s purpose for my life. The first one was sent with her daughter at a women’s retreat. It was post adoption and the speaker happened to be an adoptee.  I remember their incredible kindness. What surprised me about that retreat is how God turned it into a time of healing for birthmothers, adoptees and adoptive mothers. I encountered God in a very real and tangible way.

I think at a separate retreat, I was pretty buried in grief and my son had turned 4. I didn’t know how to go forward. My heart was broken and in the word of God, it says He binds up the brokenhearted.  After I left the retreat, the attorney’s office who handled the adoption contacted my friend who I had lived with while pregnant. They had a letter and current photos. That brought so much joy to me. I needed to know he was okay, that I had made the right choice. The desire to be a mom persisted in my heart.  It would be a couple more years until I became a mom with my husband and God graciously allowed this son to be born the day before my birthday. I believe He was God’s gift to me, such an incredible gift to fulfill that desire to be a mother.

Through each of these encounters with God, I came to learn that He is a GOOD God. He showed the highest form of love when He sent his one and only son to the cross to take the place for our sins and make us right with God. I love that He pursues us and desires relationship with us and wants us to KNOW Him intimately, what He is like and how He thinks.

My prayer is that you will seek Him and find Him.

Coming to Know Yahweh – Abba Father

Cindy Cavender

Most of our lives we were taught about growing up and becoming independent. However, I believe that Abba Father, the God of the universe had something completely different in mind. What if we were to teach our children to lessen their dependence on us and increase their dependency upon Him. Ultimately, our whole lives are about coming to KNOW Him as He is (John 17:3).

This thought came to me as I was spending time with the Lord and asking what He desired from me during this season. Several years ago, I remember having an opportunity to go to a woman’s conference far away in another state by myself. I cannot tell you I was too keen on this opportunity. I was encouraged by one sister in Christ, “have you ever asked God what He desired?” and my reply was “nope”. The title of that conference was The King’s Desire and the year was 2010. I bravely chose to go and sleep in a hotel not with the other ladies at the castle, because my trust levels just were not there. I already had so much anxiety about going away from everything I knew as familiar and comfortable and secure. That conference was a turning point for me about learning who God really is. I had been taught he had so many expectations of me and to keep my sin ledger short and other things. This was not the God that I encountered at that conference, nor has it been the God I encounter daily as I talk with Him about all that concerns me. There are days I feel like I am drowning, that I can barely keep my head above all that comes my way. Those are the days I know that I would perish apart from my relationship with Him. There have been many accusations in my mind: my own thoughts/imaginations, other’s words, and the accuser of the brethren’s accusations. In spite of being wounded by other’s actions and words I continue to trust Abba to teach me to trust people again, the ones He leads me to, to build me up and encourage me.

This morning as I was asking Him what He desired for this season, He told me that He desired I spend time with Him, for me to depend on Him and to trust Him. I had to look up the word depend, and it said to place trust, support, help, like a child depends on their parents. This is what made me desire to write this article.

I know there was a season of my life when I was a much younger lady and I thought I was ready to fly and be on my own, it was post high school, going into college. I was wrong. I was not ready for that next season and within 7 short months I was back at home trying to figure this adult thing out.

I continued to make not so great choices as I tried to figure out what I was supposed to do with my life. There were things I desired to do or be but lacked confidence in my ability to do so. A lot of my younger years, I lived in the shadow of my older brother who excelled in a lot of things, especially academically. Sometimes, he was a really hard act to follow. There came a point in my life, many years later when I was looking at the success of my brothers and the failure of my own life that a sister in the Lord said the following, “what is stopping you? You have the same DNA running through you that they do.” My reply was, “I guess I am”. I have never really seen my life as too significant. It seemed like others were better at this or that and I was just trying to find my place and what I was good at. I know from the time I was a young girl I wanted to be a wife and mom. That desire did not diminish as the years progressed. God granted that desire of my heart. I also desired to teach, and God granted that desire by allowing me to homeschool our older son. Now, I am in a new season and I was totally not prepared for this day. I did not have vision beyond the prior season. My days of being a mom are coming closer to a close as our youngest is 17 years old. I have anxiety wondering what the next season will hold and will I be any good at it? There are certainly times I have felt I have failed as a wife and mom. Recently, our older son affirmed that I had done well and would continue to do so with his younger brother. That was very encouraging on a day that I was dealing with some really negative thoughts.

Every time we face a situation in life, it gives us an opportunity to come to know God on a more intimate level and discover who He truly is.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article.

I pray that your relationship with Abba Father will become closer and closer, and that you would discover how much He truly loves you!

Prayer for Reconciliation

Cindy Cavender

Father, thank you that you are the God of reconciliation.

Thank you that You first want to reconcile us to Yourself and then to one another.

You want us to walk in love toward one another.

Give us a greater revelation of Your love for us individually, so that we can forgive those that have wounded us as freely as You have forgiven us. 

Help us to be as tenderhearted as you are  – Ephesians 4

Thank You for Your embrace and Your courage to allow You into those deep wounds that sometimes only you see, where words have been spoken and actions taken that caused us to recoil and reject.

Father restore our souls!

You paid for this in Your body on the cross.

As we cast our cares upon you because you care for us may each of our relationships

become what You had in mind when you created all of all creation because all things are possible with you!

In Jesus name I pray

Amen

The Firestorm Community is blessed with very talented people.  Our purpose is to prophetically train the saints of God with a particular focus on prophecy and prayer.  We get excited when members of our community step “out of the boat” and share their heart and what Yahweh is saying to them.  I believe you will be encouraged with Cindy’s article.  We would love to hear from you.  If you have a teaching, article or prophetic word you would like to share with the “Firestorm community”  please send it to me at beccacard05@aol.comor Bonnie Nelson at bonnienelp@aol.com.

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Coming to Know Yahweh – Abba Father

Cindy Cavender

Most of our lives we were taught about growing up and becoming independent. However, I believe that Abba Father, the God of the universe had something completely different in mind. What if we were to teach our children to lessen their dependence on us and increase their dependency upon Him. Ultimately, our whole lives are about coming to KNOW Him as He is (John 17:3).

This thought came to me as I was spending time with the Lord and asking what He desired from me during this season. Several years ago, I remember having an opportunity to go to a woman’s conference far away in another state by myself. I cannot tell you I was too keen on this opportunity. I was encouraged by one sister in Christ, “have you ever asked God what He desired?” and my reply was “nope”. The title of that conference was The King’s Desire and the year was 2010. I bravely chose to go and sleep in a hotel not with the other ladies at the castle, because my trust levels just were not there. I already had so much anxiety about going away from everything I knew as familiar and comfortable and secure. That conference was a turning point for me about learning who God really is. I had been taught he had so many expectations of me and to keep my sin ledger short and other things. This was not the God that I encountered at that conference, nor has it been the God I encounter daily as I talk with Him about all that concerns me. There are days I feel like I am drowning, that I can barely keep my head above all that comes my way. Those are the days I know that I would perish apart from my relationship with Him. There have been many accusations in my mind: my own thoughts/imaginations, other’s words, and the accuser of the brethren’s accusations. In spite of being wounded by other’s actions and words I continue to trust Abba to teach me to trust people again, the ones He leads me to, to build me up and encourage me.

This morning as I was asking Him what He desired for this season, He told me that He desired I spend time with Him, for me to depend on Him and to trust Him. I had to look up the word depend, and it said to place trust, support, help, like a child depends on their parents. This is what made me desire to write this article.

I know there was a season of my life when I was a much younger lady and I thought I was ready to fly and be on my own, it was post high school, going into college. I was wrong. I was not ready for that next season and within 7 short months I was back at home trying to figure this adult thing out.

I continued to make not so great choices as I tried to figure out what I was supposed to do with my life. There were things I desired to do or be but lacked confidence in my ability to do so. A lot of my younger years, I lived in the shadow of my older brother who excelled in a lot of things, especially academically. Sometimes, he was a really hard act to follow. There came a point in my life, many years later when I was looking at the success of my brothers and the failure of my own life that a sister in the Lord said the following, “what is stopping you? You have the same DNA running through you that they do.” My reply was, “I guess I am”. I have never really seen my life as too significant. It seemed like others were better at this or that and I was just trying to find my place and what I was good at. I know from the time I was a young girl I wanted to be a wife and mom. That desire did not diminish as the years progressed. God granted that desire of my heart. I also desired to teach, and God granted that desire by allowing me to homeschool our older son. Now, I am in a new season and I was totally not prepared for this day. I did not have vision beyond the prior season. My days of being a mom are coming closer to a close as our youngest is 17 years old. I have anxiety wondering what the next season will hold and will I be any good at it? There are certainly times I have felt I have failed as a wife and mom. Recently, our older son affirmed that I had done well and would continue to do so with his younger brother. That was very encouraging on a day that I was dealing with some really negative thoughts.

Every time we face a situation in life, it gives us an opportunity to come to know God on a more intimate level and discover who He truly is.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article.

I pray that your relationship with Abba Father will become closer and closer, and that you would discover how much He truly loves you!

Travailing Prayer

Becca Card

 Scriptures that talk about tears: 

Psalm 42: 3

Psalm 56:8

Psalm 126:5

John 11:35

Acts 20:19

Acts 20:31

Definition of Travail: 

• Painfully difficult or burdensome work.
• Pain, anguish or suffering resulting from mental or physical hardship.
• The pain of childbirth.

Isaiah 42:13 – 14 – The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.  14-  I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destaroy and devour at once.

I Kings 18:41-45 – And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.

⁴² So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,

⁴³ And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.

⁴⁴ And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down that the rain stop thee not.

⁴⁵ And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. 

Scriptures where see that Yahshua travailed:

Luke 22:44 which is prophesied in Isaiah 53:11

Hebrews 5:7

Luke 19

Other travailing prayer scriptures:

Isaiah 66:7 – 8

John 11:33 – 24

Galatians 4:19

John 16:20 – 21