Turn These Sufferings to Grace

August 19, 2020

My sweet family, many of you are going through extraordinary trials right now, and you do not understand why. You have given your lives to God to do with as He pleases, you are praying for our nation and very importantly the election, you are cooperating with grace to live a holy life each day, and this especially confuses you as to why these trials are so intense.

My precious ones, dearly beloved of God, you are standing in the gap for this nation and the world. We are so close to war, and I believe a limited nuclear exchange from Iranian missiles which are part of China's agenda to destroy us...they are in league together against their common enemy...Israel, America and now the Saudis who have made an agreement with Israel. Dear ones, when I heard of this awesome accomplishment by our president, I instantly heard, "They will say 'Peace! Peace!' but there will be no Peace." I hope that was not the Holy Spirit, but my gut tells me differently. By aligning ourselves with Israel and Saudi Arabia, we are provoking the Muslim extremists to retaliate and who is standing by watching all this, trying to jump in on an opportunity to destroy America? China.

So if you want to understand why you are having mechanical breakdowns, losing things, getting sick, strife with those who have been friends in the past, difficulties, opposition at every turn, please understand you are an offering to God and He is allowing these things to release graces to prevent the war to end all wars.

Here on the Refuge of My Sacred Heart, we are experiencing these problems as well. And when we got together on Sunday to share what the Lord was speaking to our hearts, there was a common thread to all that He is saying to each of us and that thread was, suffering. And to illustrate this I shared about a Cursio weekend we went on, which was begun by a Spanish priest. One word we learned very well was palanca, which means lever. As an illustration I used a board which at one end had a little can that had papers in it representing graces, love, charity, perseverance, courage, compassion, talent, understanding, strength etc, etc. These are just a few of the graces we need to overcome the world and our own sinful nature. When we pray for someone, we sometimes fast or make offerings to the Lord to leverage more grace for souls.

Our sufferings dear ones are palancas, or leverage to release more grace, the greater the need the more the grace and often times the more suffering for that needy soul. This is not taught in evangelical circles, but none the less you can see it taking place and you can find it in the scriptures. You will notice that when you are in an especially important prayer cycle, more troubles will assail you then normal. Things like inconveniences, car break downs, lost mail, plans that go awry, delays, broken equipment, and yes, sickness.

Some would argue that this is not scriptural, but doesn't Paul talk about how he suffers for the sake of the Gospel? And doesn't the word of God tell us to pray and fast? Fasting has clout, it is a palanca, a leverage, a tool to release more graces for the cause we are praying about. Yes, it is Scriptural, so don't be fooled into thinking that prayer without fasting or a fast offering such as a suffering, is not needed. The greater the prayer request and the work that needs to be done, the greater the fast offering. And you don't need to believe this dynamic to be engaged in it. It just happens naturally. God sees your loving heart, He sees your commitment to the soul in prayer and He allows circumstances that make life just a little more difficult for you, in order to release more graces for a soul.

I remember when my husband would go into town for a week to minister to people in town. I would stay up on the mountain and things would happen...the well would freeze, which caused a multitude of problems for our sheep and horses. We always knew when he was having successful ministry, by the inconveniences that would present themselves out of nowhere!

So I shared with our community, the concept of leveraging graces...the palanca. Those graces were sitting there waiting to be released when something very unpleasant happened to me and bingo! The lever would throw the graces to the soul that needed them. I wanted everyone and especially myself to keep in my mind that the WORK is in the suffering. It's not in the work that you are doing, it's in the suffering that comes along and creates obstacles with the work that you are doing. It is not a delay, it is a palanca, a leverage to release more graces for the country. It is not something to get upset about, it is something to say, "Thank You Lord for this contradiction, this problem, this delay, this sickness, I offer it to you for our nation."

This perspective which absolutely is biblical has been obscured by Christians who believe that we should always be rich and never sick or suffer. The riches are in Christ Jesus family, not in cars, houses and good health. My husband suffers a great deal, but he is also very deeply united to Jesus, and he wouldn't trade his bed of pain for anything in the world. Not only is God releasing graces through his offerings, but Jesus is fellowshipping with him in an extraordinarily sweet and tangible way, at times.

The Lord is so grateful to those who lovingly offer up their sufferings for the good of a nation, or even a soul needing conversion. He knows how much you suffer and He will from time to time visit you with His sweet presence, in addition to releasing graces for your prayers.

When something inconvenient happens, like a broken axle out of nowhere, we can either throw up our hands in frustration...saying, "Lord, how can I do the work you asked with a broken vehicle?" Or we can say, "Thank You Lord for giving me something to suffer for Your kingdom to come, for Your will be done on earth."

It's our choice beloved ones, it's our choice. How happy we will be if we train our responses and attitudes to recognize a gift from God when it comes our way...although it seems like a contradiction.

Jesus began, "You have discovered the secret to turning suffering into joy. If your heart is truly set on pleasing Me, you will look for opportunities to promote My kingdom on earth. You will rejoice in your chains, your sickness, your lack and your persecution. You will truly count it all joy when you meet with opposition and contradictions. For nothing can thwart My purposes in the life of a soul. All things will work to your advantage, I turn your curses into blessings. The challenge is turning your responses of anger, frustration, and confusion, into moments of joy because I have given you a gift with which you may leverage graces to see your prayers answered.

Is it not written, "Count it all joy 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.... James 1

and ...11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and celebrate, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you. Matthew 5

Paul writes, "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh, I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church." This means the work of redemption is complete, but I still have left room for you to share in My sufferings on behalf of My Kingdom to come on this earth. Is it not true that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church? (that was written by Tertullian, a church father)

Just as an aside, here are some other quotes I wanted to share with you.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. That's 2 Corinthians 1.

8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you. That's 2 Corinthians 4 and later on in that verse it says. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

And Jesus continues here, my Blessed ones, I want you to embrace a whole new attitude about suffering. Rather than cursing and throwing your hands up in despair, I want you to see that the problem is a gift to be used to release more graces. The more you can do this, the happier you will be. You did give your lives to Me, did you not? To do with as I please? Well then, dear ones, learn to receive tribulation with gratitude and know that I will carry you through. Do you not know that Satan sends such things to drain you of energy and hope? Yes, he counts on you falling to pieces when things don't go your way, when unexpected hindrances arise...he is waiting to collect all the energy released by your anger. This is a truth, and a real dynamic in the spirit. You don't want to cooperate with him, do you? Do you want him to take your strength that was meant for serving Me and turn it into something that will hurt others and give the demons more power?

Yes, indeed this is what happens when you get furious and feel drained afterwards. The solution is to thank Me for what Satan meant for harm, and your gratitude will release an abundance of joy and strength to deal with the problem as well as becoming a blessing for souls who need graces in those moments.

You live in perilous times, on the very precipice of nuclear annihilation, I am responding to your prayers by sending you offerings that will rebound in graces to the whole world as well as to your nation. Please Beloved ones, learn the proper response to these sufferings. Cooperate with Me by harnessing the power of suffering to restore the world. I am with you in this. And meditate, share in, and enter into My sufferings on Calvary for your sake. The graces are flowing mightily in these practices. I love you with all My heart, heart dwellers, you are a chosen people set apart to dwell with Me in My heart on both the sorrowful and joyous days.