Wisdom for Social Media - Periscope

God has been speaking to me about connecting with people through live video, so I've begun teaching via live video on a platform called Periscope. Some of you are familiar with Periscope but some aren't. I know that new social media platforms can be intimidating, so here's what you need to know if you want to join me:

First, you don't need to have a Periscope account to watch my videos. You can view them on the Periscope website without logging in. Just bookmark this link: Praying Medic Periscope and you can view my videos whenever you want.

There are a couple of advantages to creating a Periscope account (and it's easy to do): If you download the periscope app and follow my account, you'll receive a notification when I go live. And if you catch me while I'm broadcasting live you can leave comments and questions in the live chat and I can answer them.

Periscope is not a perfect platform. Users do experience connectivity problems now and then. If you're trying to watch a live broadcast and you can't connect, the easiest solution is to close out of the video, wait a few seconds and then rejoin.

I'm considering doing 2 live messages a week—probably on Sunday afternoon or evening and either Wednesday or Thursday evening. I hope you'll consider joining me

Here's my latest video:

 https://t.co/FnACTwndr6

— Praying Medic (@prayingmedic) April 20, 2017

The Not So Obvious Nature of Breakthrough

Breakthrough.

That moment of sudden victory.

And a word that's become cliché.

It's hard to find a prophetic word these days that doesn't promise breakthrough. But after hearing the word for years, many people have given up on it. They've been disappointed too often and don't want to have their hopes dashed again.

I wonder if our disappointment isn't because we don't understand what breakthrough really is.

I received a prayer request yesterday. The request was for a blessing. A woman asked that her niece would never suffer hardship, never be attacked, and always be protected from harm. I know what it's like to want your children to be blessed and protected. I've prayed for my kid's safety and protection many times. But I've come to realize that safety and protection don't always do the kind of work God needs to accomplish His purposes.

It would have been easier for Jesus to avoid the temptation in the wilderness. And the betrayal of Judas. And the scourging. And being nailed to a cross. But all those painful, humiliating things were necessary. They were part of the process of learning obedience and being conformed to the will of the Father. After he had endured it, he stepped out of the tomb, more alive than He'd ever been.

The breakthrough had arrived.

A bystander who knew nothing about the Lord, on seeing Him emerge from the tomb might have assumed the resurrection was an event disconnected from a process. A random miracle. But we know better. Without the suffering and pain, the breakthrough never would have happened.

How often have we looked at a person who achieved a great victory and wrote it off as divine favor or luck—never considering what it cost them? Many times, what seems to be a sudden breakthrough is merely the last stage of a long, grueling process. Emerging from a lonely and difficult walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

Not everything is a process, but many things are. When we're sick, it's often because we've ignored eating right and exercising which could keep us healthy. But we don't want all that. We just want the sickness gone. When we're stressed out, we don't want to change our circumstances. Change is a hassle. We want the peace. Without the process.

God is more interested in our growth than our comfort. We want a life that's free of difficulty. He wants transform. The difficulties we suffer are intended to cause growth. (I would make an exception for sickness and injury, which seem to lack redemptive power. If they're meant to transform us, Jesus did more harm than good.)

Maybe the process is a humbling situation designed to rid us of pride. Or a weekend in the psychiatric ward where He heals us of shame. The process is uncomfortable. But if we avoid it, we never grow. And if we don't grow, we're robbed of our breakthrough. When we submit to it, when it's done its work of transformation, we get our breakthrough.

If you're looking for breakthrough, you might also be on the lookout for a process that God wants you to submit to. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it.