Not Missing Opportunities

Hi Dan,

Thank you for your wonderful blog.

I have to admit that I don’t understand much of the concepts, especially when it comes to scripture. I wish someone would summarize your intellectual writings.

I read this Prison to Praise a couple of months ago. It was a nice sunny quiet day, and I felt compelled to read it.

Towards the end, it talks about giving praise to God, even for the furnaces we’ve gone through.

I had a good career, interesting job with a good salary. I didn’t know I manifested it, and at some point I believe I attributed it to “luck”, that I somehow didn’t deserve. Well, I then lost the job through a stressful “bridge of incidents”, and was moved to a much lower administrative position. I then went through 10 years of financial difficulty. I was angry, sad, jealous, confused and stressed to the maximum.

Luckily, I “forgave” those others a long time ago, as I did something stupid that caused it, so I accepted “my” role in the demotion.

So after reading Prison to Praise, and although it seemed contradictory to do so, I sat down, thought deep inside, and praised God for allowing me to experience all the hardships I went through. I got to the point, where I did mean it.

An inner voice said to me, “It is finished”, meaning those hard times were over. I cried like a baby out of thankfulness and relief that it was done and finished, and that my life would improve.

I then thought that perhaps I only imagined that voice, because I WANTED this message. The inner voice said to me: “Why would I lie to you”. That’s when I knew it was the God within me.

My life has improved dramatically after that. I became aware that I was the operant power, and people only react to me as I believe they would.

My question is this, why would we need to be thankful for the difficulties in our lives, and is it a requirement of becoming “ I AM”, or of manifesting? I know Neville Goddard talks about the furnaces we go through, but I haven’t heard him speak of the necessity of thanks.

Feel free to answer this in a new blog, with scripture explained. I believe people would be interested on why we would need to be thankful for our difficulties, as that appears to be against human nature.

Thanks, Steve
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Steve,

Thank you for writing. I discovered Power in Praise before Prison to Praise, though I had read Victory on Praise Mountain (1979 Logos International) probably 20 years earlier. Time expands quickly behind us, doesn't it?

You mention furnaces. Pull out again the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel chapter 3. Why would we need to be thankful for the difficulties in our lives? You seem to answer the question yourself, but to clarify, you would not have known the humility, brokenness, and surrender to God which was your salvation if not for going through depredation and its effects in your life. I.e., in the bad time God had his hands on you, and his wisdom for your life specifically got you converted from being a participant in darkness to being a participant in light keyed toward resurrection. Grief got you here, because in that bad time God had his hands on you. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego saw it coming. Coming, in, or going, when you see it, THANK GOD FOR IT, AND DANCE WITH THAT FOURTH ONE. This shows realization and faith. Strengthens you also for tomorrow when you face new problems: "What are they? Ha! Posh! Is that the best you can do, Devil? Pathetic. God will see me through these; and if not, I'll be with him."

"Do you believe that I have you and your loved ones?" Furnaces are what we need to become refined. Sorry. Being proactive in love, trust, and faith is the only alternative: we are either in the furnace or on the water. Either way, the answer need be, "Yes."

Neville taught to absolve the past, to forgive it and let it go, as your I AM is the New Heaven and the New Earth you have assumed to be real. For God is working all things together for good to those who love him and are the called according to his purpose: "We know then that those who love God in everything, He helps them toward goodness, those whom He consecrated beforehand to be called" (Romans 8:28 Alexander). EVANGELIZE!!

Anyway, if "who love God in everything" is you, praise God in whatever situation you find yourself in FOR that situation he has his hands on you through. You want better pay, a better situation, power, recognition, security, serenity? You might have to be fired or demoted, humiliated, falsely accused, or whatever to get it! Or to be thrown into a fiery furnace, where your dancing will betray you (that isn't bad). You're innocent? Praise him and believe he is working all things according to his promise: "I will lift you up."

Why would we need to be thankful for our difficulties? Because THAT is faith.

Dan Steele