Life Following Loss - E-Books

³⁶ Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; ³⁷ and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. (Luke 2:36-37)

The bible calls Anna, a prophetess. In the New Testament, the first person to be called a prophetess was Anna. She was the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. Bible scholars tell us that the women from the tribe of Asher were apparently so beautiful that men from all the tribes of Israel wanted to marry them.

Men of the highest stature in Israel, such as the high priests, sought their wives among the daughters of Asher. Even though there is no record of what Anna’s husband did for a living, we can speculate that he was a significant figure in the community.

Seven years into their marriage, Anna and her husband enjoyed a happy and fulfilled life together. Then came the unthinkable event that would alter everything forever: Anna's spouse passed away. Her status changed from that of a wife to that of a widow in the blink of an eye. Her hopes and ambitions of becoming a mother were abruptly dashed when an unplanned incident occurred.

We can only imagine the questions, the grief, and the fear that flooded her heart and mind:

“Why me, Lord?

Why this?

I did everything right! What now?

What about my future?

How am I going to survive this?”

What steps do you take when an unexpected crisis arises in your life? How can one pick up the broken pieces of their life when the one thing for which they have been preparing and dreaming suddenly slips through their fingers like sand? How is it possible to climb out of the valleys of depression and despair when the pain has clouded your view and your life has descended into these depths? What should you do if a dream you've had for your whole life is abruptly snatched away from you without any prior notice and for no fault of your own?

There is a lot of advice out there and some of it is good. But allow me to share the best way to overcome every unforeseen crisis is found in the One who is the overcomer: Jesus. Lord Jesus tells us in John 16:33, “In the world, you will have tribulation. But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.”

If you have been told that if you follow Jesus, all your earthly problems will be solved; that’s a false gospel. Lord Jesus never hid the facts. He clearly said, “In this world, you will face crisis; but the good news is that because He overcame, we too overcome what we face.”

There was another man called David in the Bible who took his crisis to the Lord. He had received prophecies and also made prophecies. Today, there are people who have received amazing prophecies, but when a crisis hits them, they immediately begin to question all that God has spoken to them.

Look what David says in Psalm 59:16

For You have been my defense

And refuge in the day of my trouble.

David again says in Psalm 9:9

“The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble.”

You can throw it all away by saying, “God, I feel you did not come through for me so I don’t want anything to do with you or you can take your crisis, your loss to Him.”

If you read Psalm 107, four times (verses 6, 13, 19, 28) it mentions “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distresses”. This is not just Israel’s story, but ours as well.

Everyone goes through a crisis in their life at one time or the other. What sets you apart from the failure, sets you apart from stagnation is your response to the crisis. Crisis produces tenacity, and hope and builds character. More importantly, a crisis will also reveal your character. The true test of a person's character is how they behave in the most trying of circumstances.

Like Anna, you must believe that there is still hope and that your future will not be cut short! Then you will not only survive but thrive.

Today when parents want to name their children, they go to the internet. But when Jewish parents named their children, they knew it was a special thing and they would fervently seek the Lord. They knew that a child's name was significant in forming his or her identity; going through life.

For example, Genesis 35:18 tells us Rachel (Jacob’s wife) had a hard labour, and “As her soul was departing, for she died, she called his name Ben-oni [son of my sorrow]; but his father called him Benjamin [son of the right hand]. Jacob did not want to renew the sorrowful remembrance of his mother's death every time he called his son by his name and so changed his name,

A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. (Proverbs 22:1, NIV). In the Bible, a name is tied to your identity.

Jewish parents have always held the belief that a child's given name has a significant role in the development of their child's identity. They held the belief that a child's name should declare who they are, what they are like, and where they are going in life.

Anna means “grace” and her father’s name, Phanuel, means “vision of God” or “face of God.” So prophetically speaking, through grace, you will see the face of God. You can see from Anna’s life how the grace of God took her on a journey to literally see the face of God, Lord Jesus Christ.

Anna was not a high priest, not even a priest and yet she served God without a title. She did not elevate, draw glory, honour and recognition to herself but to her master. Many people write to me asking, “What am I? Am I an Apostle, Prophet, Pastor, Teacher, Evangelist?” I tell them, “serve God even without a title” This is what Anna did and so should you as well.

In those days, girls would marry around 15 or 16 years. Anna lost her husband after seven years of marriage. This means she was not an old widow. She might have had passions just like women her age but she made some hard choices, “I will serve the Lord.” Instead of feeling sorry for herself, instead of getting bitter and angry toward God and men, she took her loss to the Lord. She used her life to show compassion for the brokenhearted and those dealing with loss. Anna did not flee from the presence of God but rather ran straight into it. This is how she dealt with her loss.

Paul the Apostle wrote in Philippians 3:7-8

But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ.

The anointing of Anna is available today. The Bible says in Romans 2:11 (Amp), “For God shows no partiality [no arbitrary favouritism; with Him, one person is not more important than another].” If you allow it, God will do the same for you. He will bring forth in your life a sense of destiny and purpose, as well as the opportunity to perform remarkable things for Him.

Dear mothers, you need this anointing. When this anointing comes on you and you start interceding for your children; your children will be in high places. Isaiah 44:4 says, “They will spring up among the grass like willows by the watercourses.’ Uncommon favour will be upon them.

Now this anointing of Anna is not available for women only because in the New Testament, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28) This means the anointing of Anna can also come upon men.

There was a man of God called David Yonggi Cho, in Seoul, Korea who spent 5 hours daily praying for his church. Amazing things began to happen. People in the multitudes began to turn to the Lord and revival broke out. God can do the same through you as well.

Prayer Missiles:

From this day onwards, I will encounter and experience God like never before. He will reveal deep and secret things to me, in Jesus’ name.