Ministers’ conference was a very powerful time in my life. I was stretched In about fifty different directions and grew in a ton of different ways, however the time that grew me the most was the last two nights. Pastor Phil Smithers from overland missions was preaching on having that burning within you for the nations, and I could literally feel the fire within’ me begin to grow. I felt like deep within me I was being branded , and it hurt, but it was also amazing, because as we all know, when you get branded, that sign stays and can never come off.

Growing is often painful in the physical body, so spiritual growing can often have a similar effect in my experience, but when the pain is gone, and all that’s left is that burning desire it’s so worth the struggles. The last night I was seeking God intensely, asking Him where I would go, what was going on with my life and what’s going to happen, I was desperate for answers and God simply said this through the Holy Spirit in a very still, small, but clear voice. “You will go to the outermost parts of the earth, and where you go I AM with you, and lives will be changed and there will be such a freedom as you have never known and everywhere you go, which will be many places, will be changed, have peace these things will come to pass”.

I was thoroughly amazed at the wisdom of God, and also very happy that I could clearly and honestly hear his voice. For years I had heard God’s voice through pastors, ministers and preachers, but for one of the first times, it was just Him and I.

The 2010 Minister’s Conference has been one of the greatest blessings to my life!  As a first year River Bible Institute student I have had to go through severe trials and testings just to get down to Tampa and begin my studies.  The conference was like a right now word from the Holy Ghost to, “Stay focused, trust in the Lord, and hold on to the dreams He’s placed in your heart!”

The presence of the Lord was so strong in every service.  You did not want to miss a single one because of the expectation of hearing what the Lord has in store for our lives individually, and as a nation.  The theme of “no limits, no boundaries” let me know that the Lord has only good in store for His people in both the immediate and distant futures.  This was a very refreshing message at a time when only bad reports are streaming in from all sources of the media.

It seemed like every scripture that I had been studying recently was referenced during the conference, and all the speakers seemed to flow together as if they had collaborated ahead of time.  Knowing that they had not organized their speaking subjects just made it more evident that the Lord is in total control of all of this world’s affairs, and that He is not taken surprise by any of the events that seem to have all of America buzzing.

Coming out of the conference, not only do I have a better understanding of the physical Presence of the Lord, but I am left with a mental peace that lets me know that the Lord is not about to forsake His people in this land.  That no matter how turbulent things make get all around us, there is a secret place that the Lord has for all of those who are willing to take Him at His Word and rest in the fact that He alone is God.