HIDDEN IN THE DARKNESS ARE TREASURES

After darkness comes light. And when light is introduced into darkness, there is sight — the ability to see.

Hidden within darkness are treasures, but those treasures remain unseen until the light is introduced. And that light is Jesus.

 Isaiah 45:3–4

 “I will give you the treasures of darkness

And hidden riches of secret places,

That you may know that I, the Lord,

Who call you by your name,

Am the God of Israel.

For Jacob My servant’s sake,

And Israel My elect,

I have even called you by your name;

I have named you, though you have not known Me.”

God is saying to you: You are not coming out of this situation empty.

You are coming out stronger and with treasures—not only spiritual, but physical.

There are treasures hidden in darkness; that’s why God allowed you to go through that phase. He knows the process will help you dig deep—through prayer, study of the Word, personal development, and upskilling yourself—to uncover the treasures He has placed there.

Scripture says He knew us and named us even when we did not know ourselves.

We often say, “I know myself,” but when the Lord begins to reveal us to ourselves, we realize how little we truly knew.

From when I was young, if someone asked my favorite color, I would say, “I don’t know.”

Then one day, I had a dream—I was wearing an emerald green gown with gold, and it was so beautiful. Though the dream had a deeper meaning, one thing stood out: God showed me the color that suits me. I later noticed that whenever I wear green, I receive many compliments and look radiant.

The Lord knows us completely. He is aware of the darkness we walk through, and He is bringing you out of that chaos—not just with fire to help others, but with treasures and evidence—so that all will know you have encountered God.

Stay Revived!

The Breaking of the Gates of Brass

In life, many times we come face to face with blockages. We try so hard with our human efforts to break through, but it often feels as though these barriers are made of brass—the more we try to break them down, the harder they seem.

But God has already made provision for every brass door or gate we encounter in the journey of life.

In Isaiah 45:2, the Lord declares:

 “I will go before you

And make the crooked places straight;

I will break in pieces the gates of bronze

And cut the bars of iron.”

Brass represents blockages, barriers, and bondage. In ancient times, brass (or bronze) was a strong, resilient material used for fortifications, making “gates of brass” a powerful symbol of strength and resistance.

In the journey of life, we often face gates that seem unbreakable—but the Lord has already made provision for them. He is saying that we are not alone in this walk; He has gone before us. Brass can represent sickness, delay, setbacks, or fear—but God has seen it all, and He has gone ahead of us to break them.

Notice that He didn’t say, “I will weaken the gates,” but rather, “I will break them in pieces.” That’s how I know sickness is shattered, disease is shattered, delays are removed, and setbacks are cleared—because the Lord has gone before you to break the gates of bronze!

That false sense of security—the “brass” that seemed like godliness but was really a trap from hell—receives the fire of God and is broken to pieces!

The first time the gate of bronze was mentioned in Scripture was in Psalm 107:16:

“For He has broken the gates of bronze,

And cut the bars of iron in two.”

It speaks of the shattering of these gates.

So, friends, gird up and pray your way through! Do not be silent. If you ignore it, it will continue—but don’t let it remain. The Lord God has already gone ahead of you; He’s waiting for you to rise, pursue, and confront that demonic gate.

Stand up and pray till you sense the shattering of this gates. 

Stay Revived!

When the Lord Calls for Ark Builders

It’s very easy to hear a prophetic word and, because it births that which we desire, we run with it. Just recently, I caught a prophetic word for this season, and since then, I have been doing that which I think is the best posture to take.

But as time went by, the structure didn’t quite settle in, and in that very moment, all I could think of was—what if this could be an ark? What if the Lord didn’t just want to bring His people into places of upliftment but rather set up an ark—a center of preservation for the generation He wants to birth?

The enemy is on a rampage, and he has hidden in several ideologies. Through this, he is tainting God’s seed so we are unable to birth that which would bruise the head of the serpent. But here is God saying again: At the very first moment I gave you the business idea, I gave you the marriage, I gave you the job, I gave you the relationship, the contract, the property—so it would be a seed to bruise the head of the serpent; an ark, a safe haven for a generation constantly plagued by the devices of the enemy.

If I could create cartoons, then as God’s child I would see that a loophole has been made by the enemy. And so, my counter-response would be to birth a counter-warfare strategy—to bruise the head of the serpent so a generation doesn’t get wiped away by identity crisis and misinformation, beloved, can you just pause—I just did—and ask:

“Lord, what kind of safe haven would You like me to build?

What kind of parenting strategy would You have me use?

What kind of wife would You have me be?

What kind of husband would You have me be?

Is this leadership strategy I use lethal enough to bruise the serpent’s head?”

God isn’t just looking for partnership; He is also very interested in people who would seek Him to build a partnership that becomes a warfare strategy.

For everything we do is God’s warfare strategy—even in the way we love.

Would you allow God to go to war using the very seed you just birthed?

Stay Revived!

What did you say?

How did you respond when you saw the dry bones?

I have been on a study of the book of Ezekiel 37 for a while now, but today, as I wanted to move on to chapter 38, I felt the Lord lead me back to it again. And for the very first time in over twenty days of reading the same chapter, this question jumped right at me: "What did you say to the dry bones?" Ezekiel's dialogue with God moved from a conversation with God to a conversation with the bones, the winds, and then to Israel and her crisis.

For a conversation that started with this question:

Ezekiel 37:3 (NKJV)

And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”

The conversation became more of a battle of words. The Lord kept asking Ezekiel: *Can this? Can that? Say to the bones, speak to the wind… But for every word Ezekiel obeyed and spoke, it became a different reality — they lived.

Ezekiel 37:9 (NKJV)

Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”

What did you say when the car broke down? You cursed and swore, "It’s definitely going to be a bad day. I knew it." But that was just a car — something that enhances your journey. What about your life?

There are moments I feel so stuck, and then I self-sabotage: "I knew I wasn’t good enough. I knew I would fail. I knew the business would fail. I knew I wouldn’t get the project." But today, God is saying: Say what I say.

I know you're tempted to describe the deadness and dryness of your situation, but you know what, Ese? You can speak *God’s own words* to this situation that’s leaving you feeling lost.

Don’t say what you feel. Say to the situation: "I know you are this way, but my God said He would cause breath to enter into you, and you will live."

I didn’t fail the interview because I was a failure. My God has a plan — all I have to do is align with it, because the four winds give life to every part of my existence. And so, I live.

I don’t live based on man’s standard; I live because God is my life. So I say: Live.

Today, choose to say to that life-threatening situation: Live!

Stay Revived!