Brad Huddleston’s Blog & Podcasts

I arrived last week in Brisbane, Australia. I’m always exceptionally tired after 35 straight hours of travel to get here not to mention that we’re 14 hours ahead of Eastern USA Time and it’s winter here. This time I was even more tired due to being sick three days leading up to my departure. As I wrote in a previous blog, I thought I might have to postpone the flight due to a fever. I was pretty sick so I started off tired and not only that, being in bed prevented me from getting some last minute work finished and that added to the stress levels. I knew what to do. I Emailed several close friends who intercede for me. Although the healing was not instant, it did come and know it was Jesus touching me. I was in a battle and it was spiritual. Somewhere deep in my spirit I knew this illness was an attempt of the devil to hinder what God wants to do during this trip. I am so thankful for friends who help me battle when these attacks come. I hope you’re being motivated to fight because any Christian worth his or her salt will face these battles when you make up your mind to be used of God to spread His awesome Kingdom. I also want to remind you that God always answers prayer even when it seems slow to us. We also need to always be available to reciprocate when our friends call on us for prayer and intercession.

Although my fever had finally broken, there were lingering effects of the sickness as I went through one airport after another. I was very uncomfortable. I would try to eat and then nearly get sick all over again. I was starving. I’m not writing to evoke sympathy. I’m so humbled when I read all that the Apostle Paul went through and then he said ‘these are but light afflictions’. I’m only trying to encourage you to press in hard to the Lord when the enemy raises his ugly head. Humble yourself and ask for prayer. We simply can’t do this alone.

Sometimes its the little things that God does for us that can so easily be overlooked. The flights from LAX to Australia are always crammed. This time however, I was sitting in the middle section of the 747 where there are four seats. God had arranged it so that there were two empty seats in my row and the only other person sitting my row graciously agreed to move to the other isle seat so I could lay across the empty seats. That NEVER happens on this flight! God is so good. I was able to lay down all the way to Australia. Unbelievable (except that we serve a God who has every hair on our head numbered). The other thing the Lord arranged for me was an office with a high speed Internet connection to help me get caught back up on the work I had missed due to being sick. So, I went to the church office with my good friend Pastor Delroy Hodson the same day I arrived in Australia. Normally, I would never be able to do that except I was able to lay down and sleep all the way down here! God will truly walk with us every step of the way when we’re ‘about our Father’s business’. He will never leave nor forsake us.

After getting settled in and sleeping very well the first night, I got up to go to the church office again with Delroy (who runs Strikeforce Bible College from Caboolture Christian Church). As we were driving away from the house, I saw two kangaroos, one sitting and one hopping, beside the car and I had to smile because I truly believe it was the Holy Spirit letting me know that the battle was worth it and I was at the right place at the right time. I preached Sunday morning at Redcliffe City Christian Church (Pastor Neil Grady) and by the grace of God, approximately 8 people responded for either salvation or rededication. The Sunday night service lasted approximately three and a half hours. The manifest presence of the Holy Spirit was powerful and yet sweet. It’s so good to be back in the Great Southland of the Holy Spirit.

Brad