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Fighting Away

Have you noticed that your old fights have lessened as you’ve come increasingly into God’s wisdom (Ja 4:1)? 

I’m amazed how God lightens our loads and brings change for the better as our hearts are made more right with Him—when all we feel toward past afflicters is mercy; and He releases us into more of His joy and glory, as we keep our eyes on Him.

Holy Spirit is breaking open His greater glory for those who’ve had to fight through, reminiscent of Jesus on the cross when He realized a glimpse of the joy set before Him, saying, “Forgive them for they know not what they are doing” (Lk 23:34). 

The finish line is where the value of purposed tribulation is broken open and realized. It’s where God releases His greater good exponentially.

He has made us ready for the outward shift into a more glorious realm.

In particular, this is a time where we’ll come to know God as our burden bearer in a new way. There’s a lifting happening, where we’ll experience His faithfulness to meet needs more swiftly in the outworking of His promises. 

It’s a new time and place of awesome wonder, where we can put our trust in Him to prove out what He has done in us behind the scenes.

Even as Jesus asked that the cup be taken from Him and then intentionally submitted to Heavenly Father’s process for the greater glory, Father God has seen our yield to His ways and has firmly decided that it’s enough (Matt 26:39).

God has grown us into His appointed time and place that are in eyeshot before us. Within nine months, many will be fully released from what God has been working for them all along. 

Believe it.

Just as Jesus’ journey began in a humble setting and ended on high, so, too, will Holy Spirit lead us to follow His path to completion for a new beginning. Former assignments will end, leaving us with exponentially more than where we began. To this, God will add even more forward to offer all that’s needed to flourish in new assignments. They will involve a distinct ending and a distinct new beginning at two separate times. 

Regarding our former places and times, I hear The Lord say, “Don’t worry about what was or what could have been or should have been. This is the enemy’s trap. For I have made you wiser, so continue to follow My wisdom and leave all else to Me.”

God is exalting many with a powerful new mantle to see miraculous breakthrough for others forward. What has been hard for them will be made easy as God’s power flows through His anointed ones. 

Those who reach for God will receive their rescue. And it will be mighty.

I hear the Lord say, “I have built you for this and you are ready. You will be in position to help others fight the good fight of faith and experience breakthrough, because I have taught you firsthand how to do it. You will hear My voice and understand what to do next. Your new prayer will be, ‘Lord, in it all, make them stronger in You as You have made me.’ For I AM the One who saves and I shall rescue them.”

I hear The Lord say that He has commissioned you to go forth and do as He would do. He has given you the breaker anointing to see others set free. And it will be a joy to your heart, as it is to His. 

I hear The Lord say that “There is a holy ease to your new assignments. Darkness will tremble when you walk in. It will fall away as you are led by Me and continue to follow Me. Just as I delivered you out of places of darkness, it will have no place in them. You will walk in victory, as I AM victory and have set victory before you. I have made you into My Joshua and you will go forth and win battle after battle, as you continue to obey Me. For there is no lack in My victory.”

I sense God is also forewarning us to be mindful to not step into invitations that are not of Him, like the proposition the Gibeonites made to Joshua. God is under no obligation to fight such entanglements, because He doesn’t honor the idolatry of ways outside of His own. It must be HIS plan with His orders all of the way. So, let’s not endanger ourselves or mislead others by getting off course to “help” in ways that are not specifically of God for us.

He and His ways are enough. He has preserved us for such a time as this, and we can do it with Him. We need only to believe, take courage and step out with Him.

So, Lord, let it all be according to Your will. Lead us and show us the way to go. To You be all glory, honor and praise. Amen.

This devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.

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Finishing Up

God likes good endings.

If we pay attention, as we work right alongside Him, we can see that He’s finishing up loose ends to complete some promises He made to us awhile back. In this, we can remember that every finish line He brings us to is a victory marker for His grace of a new beginning. 

God has some surprise blooms for us as His ways continue to prevail. He’s giving us a new outlook as He lightens our loads and makes life more enjoyable.

I believe many will hear the echo of Matthew 25:21 NIV: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

As we have kept our eyes on Jesus and delighted His heart, He’ll continue to bring us into rewards. 

Many are stepping into the outworking of true freedom they’ve never had. What seemed to allude them their whole lives will finally be theirs. All the deep work was leading up to a better life and even public expressions of God’s glory.

I believe our Lord would say to His beloved, “Continue to step into the light and do not fear. I’m with you all the way.”  

It’s imperative that we remain faithful throughout. Because, when we slip into fear, we tend to do things our way, opting for impatience and taking the reins away from God. After all, we’ve been waiting a long time. And sometimes, it feels easier on our flesh to trust our reality of personal experiences more than God in the unknowns. 

But don’t fall for this temptation to give up on God.

Paul is quick to warn us through Galatians 3:3-4 NIV, saying, “Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain?” 

The word “flesh” here means opposition to Holy Spirit. And the word “experienced” here means suffered. So, Paul is, essentially, asking the Galatians: After all you’ve been through, are you so mindless and unwise to think that you can turn away from God and still win?

Also, in Galatians 6:8 NIV, Paul reminds us that “Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” 

It’s a John 10:10 choice of God’s ways over any other way, including our own. And we’ll be tested in this, as Holy Spirit ties up loose ends and escorts us more fully into the new He has for us (Ga 5:13).

Paul strongly encourages us to make the suffering we endured count for more than surviving prolonged pain. 

The heart of Jesus is that we trust Him to bring us all the way to His finish line in His way and time and enter into His outward blessings as our new reality, which is a beautiful and honorable reflection of Him (Ga 6:9).

Just as brighter lights and elevated roles await runners who cross the finish line of victory, God is turning up His light on those who were faithfully refined by His Glory fire in the last season and have completed their courses. They’ll begin anew and join others, who also aligned with God. 

2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV has been on repeat lately and says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

Even as I hear Mac Powell’s New Creation song (again on repeat), many are beginning to see distinct changes for which they have prayed. God is on the move and many will even experience physical relocations to new places, events and roles they’ve dreamed of for a long time as God’s grace comes into place. 

For many, there will be a sense of coming full circle, with relationship dynamics made better than before, because of the deep grace work God has done over the years in people’s hearts. Many will see, even more, that God has built them in wisdom and expanded their reach. 

Many will experience God’s kindness in new ways, new areas and on new levels. It may feel strange at first due to all the past hardships. But God desires that we leave it all behind and step into it as it awaits us, without hesitation; because this is the future for which we have prayed. 

Not only will you have help for the near future but also for right now. God is surprisingly stirring people to help with tasks at hand. They may even be people who wouldn’t have stepped up in the past but are now ready. Part of their motivation is God’s new grace making their lives easier, too. I believe we’ll see a lot more of this as He continues to bring us more into His wholeness.

So, we can keep expecting God’s best and continue to pray His protection over these helpers and ourselves as He progresses us.

To Him be all glory, honor and praise. Amen.

This devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.

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Foundations Lifting

I’m seeing evidence of people getting unstuck from areas they stepped into in the past season. For some, it’s happening little-by-little. For others, it’s happening suddenly. 

God is lifting off former weights and breaking us into new places full of bloom.

Holy Spirit revealed to me that He’s releasing grace to those who have felt trapped and weighed down with the cares of this world when they turn their eyes back upon Jesus and release it all. 

God desires to break us out of the double-vision and double-mindedness that distracts us from a full focus on Him and dilutes His power in our lives. Spirit, soul and body, God is freeing us to remain with Him on a narrow path of destiny.

In this journey, it’s important to remember what Paul says in Philippians 4:4-9 NIV, which is to:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

What’s especially interesting here is that Paul writes these encouraging passages from a prison in Rome. He knew what confinement and escape felt like, but Paul also knew how true freedom worked. Yes, he understood to trust God to deal with circumstances around him. But he also understood that the same Kingdom of God in his heart surrounded him as the greatest Presence (Lk 17:21 AMPC).

Paul knew that anything less than God had no greater power over him. He knew how to fight against the spirit of darkness by leaning into the Spirit of God. Paul understood how to stand on the Rock and praise God in the face of impossible and all that would try to come against. He knew that the attitude that honors God invites His blessings. He knew Jesus as his secure foundation. 

So, how can we fully dwell with God when the foundation of the heart has cracks of un-resolve? How can we praise God and have a right attitude toward one another if we’ve allowed darkness into our hearts, possibly even from an early age when we didn’t even know better? After all, Luke 6:45 tells us that from the heart the mouth speaks. 

When we don’t dwell with God consistently, it’s easy to drift into gray areas, like worry. Sometimes, it’s so subtle, we don’t notice it. But eventually, dwindle and delay get our attention. Worry is an open door to a stranglehold. When we find ourselves in a stranglehold, it’s difficult to praise God with our mouths, like Paul (and Silas) did when they were supernaturally released from prison. 

Jesus clearly tells us twice in John 14:1, 27 NIV to not let our hearts be troubled.

So, if you have a troubled heart, it’s time to simply allow Holy Spirit to restore your foundation by shining His light on any area(s) of your heart that you’ve forgotten about or cordoned off from Him out of fear or trauma. 

That’s what I did many years ago when Holy Spirit revealed an old wine cellar of darkness in my heart in the area of marriage. He was bringing me into new wine but, before I could progress, He had to restore hope in my heart in this area.

When I chose to trust Him enough to let Him touch my trauma, He lifted me with His light and life again. And He’ll do the same for you. 

So, if you need Holy Spirit to fix your foundation, pray with me now:

Dear Lord, 

I turn to You this day as my solid Rock, and hand You all of the pieces of my life. I release over to You every weight of worry and its effects. I renounce all darkness and cancel evil’s plans against me. I choose to trust You and invite You into my soul to fix and fill every void, nothing withheld. I welcome You to search my heart and restore it all to Your wholeness. 

Help me keep my eyes on You and see the higher joy that You have for me now and forward. Help me know Your peace as my guard.

Thank You for Your mercy and grace that meets me and lifts me with a restored foundation so I can bloom in honor of You.

In Your Holy Name, Jesus, I pray.

Amen. 

This devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.

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Discontent vs. Satisfied

The title of this message describes states of being. So, we can be either discontent or satisfied. This, in itself, is something to ponder, and we can better see what God is saying here when we break it down.

So, let’s begin with definitions of these words.

First, dis (as in discontent) is an action word itself. According to Dictionary.com, when used along with an object, dis demonstrates disrespect or belittling. As a noun, dis is an insult or a criticism.

So, dis is not just a slang term. In mythology, Dis is the name of a “god of the underworld,” and references “the abode of the dead.” The Greek equivalent of “Dis” is the word Hades.

If this isn’t creepy enough, dis is a variant of “di,” as in the word di-vision, and it’s also an abbreviation for the word distance. DIS is also the trademark of the global entertainment company known as Disney.

As a prefix, such as in the word, discontent, dis indicates reversal, removal, lack or deprivation. Words related to dis are: disconnect, disembark, dissimilate, distrust and disgrace.

The outward expression of discontent is contention, such as conflicts of strife and stubbornness. When we look at these definitions, it’s easy to see how we can grow to be discontent when our focus isn’t on Jesus.

Discontent is rooted in thoughts and actions of false pride, which is basically choosing our arrogant ways above God’s, precisely the attitude of Lucifer. And, like Lucifer, when we operate in a lack of grace (or disgrace), we can find ourselves falling (from grace), just as he did by his own volition.

Since God is our Source for contentment and satisfaction at all times in our John 10:10 battle, His grace purposes to work on our behalves. After all, when we have Jesus, we already have it all; and believing anything less is believing a lie.

Vine’s Dictionary confirms this. When we look up the word “content,” we find that it means “to be sufficient, to be possessed of sufficient strength, to be strong, to be enough for a thing”; hence “to defend, ward off.” So, we see here that to be content is to be equipped and well-able for battle in life. Content also means to be satisfied. Holy Scriptures specifically reference being satisfied in regards to wages, food and what we have (Lk 3:14, 1 Ti 6:8, He 13:5).

In all of these truths, I’m reminded of God’s sufficient grace for us in 2 Corinthians 12:9 and that He’s well-able to accomplish the impossible in our lives. With this, I’m made even more aware of God’s offering of faith to us and His invitation to activate it as a bridge to His gift of powerful grace at work for us.

I’m reminded that, when we don’t operate in God’s grace, we operate in another type of dependency, which is usually our flesh. We know that the flesh is prone to various types of lust (strong desires) and addictions that produce opposition to God’s best and, ultimately, discontent and dissatisfaction.

This is a revealing of what we follow. It’s proof of what we value. As believers, our worth is found only in Christ and received by faith, which begs the question: Who or what are we following? The Spirit of Truth and Grace Himself (Jesus) or the enemy through disgraceful lies?

If we’re determined to experience God’s best, the false god of “my way” (self), or any way other than Jesus, must go. When we live in submission to Him daily, He will transform us into His beautiful likeness, as He renews our minds by bringing us into all truth.

When we intentionally choose to go deep with Him and get to the root of our personal issues, as He leads, we’ll discover He was there waiting for us all along. Breakthrough comes as His light overtakes the dark areas of the soul when we firmly decide to trust Him enough to allow Him into those deep recesses and relinquish all pain to Him.

This is deep calling to deep. It’s how trust is built and how we come to know Him more intimately as our all-in-all. This is how we overcome inward afflictions of discontent. His truth is the only way that completely delivers.

As we walk forward with Him, we must consistently make Him—as Provider of all our needs—our focus; because we become what we behold. We must grow in this truth of Him as our more-than-enough, the only One who doesn’t disappoint.

God is for us and calls us to be un-provoke-able through this journey of contentment and satisfaction in Him. His way of faith in His grace pleases Him. And it’s the way to His greatest blessings.

Therefore, we must settle any distrust we feel toward God, knowing it’s not of Him but from the enemy of the soul, who tries to negate God’s blessings in our lives. We must let go of any disappointment that we either brought on ourselves or was imposed on us by others. Although He will use it for good, it was never a reflection of God’s best for us. He invites us to discern this truth, so we can be delivered from unholy alignments and agree with His vision for victory in divine appointments forward.

Dear Lord,

We submit to You this day. Search our hearts and settle our matters for Your glory. We welcome You and thank You for doing that which only You can do.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name,

Amen.

This devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.

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Future Events

Holy Spirit is touching on divine assignments near and far to reveal specific next steps and mysteries to pray forward. He’s even releasing next steps for Words He issued years ago, as He brings His faithful followers into His perfect timing for blessed manifestations in their lives.

This is an outworking of Colossians 3:9-10 HCSB, which says, “…since you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator.”

As He leads you into your next assignment (that will lead increasingly into bigger assignments), He’ll also release more understanding of what He brought you through, so you can experience another level of peace for your past and also be able to articulate your testimony forward.

You’re finally entering into a place and time where you’ll be able to practice, even more publicly, what you have learned and practiced privately. God is opening doors to platforms that are new to many individuals.

For once, it’ll feel like you don’t have to plow the hard ground, as many who have gone before you have already done it and are extending a helping hand to you from the goodness of God’s heart. In this, you’ll experience God’s lovely grace of ease. So, you can expect to see increased beauty without it being as hard as in the past.

This is because God is “condensing” the process for your future time and date. He’s boiling it down for you in precise elements, offering you the compact version. This is not to say that what God has to offer through you will be any less innovative than those who have gone before you. As the Spirit of Revelation rests upon you, you’ll walk out your assignment with The Spirit awakening your audience, and multitudes will benefit.

In an instant, God will help you understand specific processes you need to know, and it’ll actually be enjoyable. At the same time, He’ll dispel lies of the enemy that try to lead you in a different direction. In an instant, you’ll sit and stand and rest in God’s comfort of truth. Both foolishness and fears will disintegrate, and your eyes will open to see the beauty of it all.

There are divinely designated moments up ahead—appointments set by God—where an exchange will take place to advance His Kingdom on earth. God will position you at the right place in the right time for these exchanges. He’ll work you into it and through it, so you don’t have to worry. The burden is on Him, not you. It’ll prove easy to you due to His promised grace coming into place, for which you have waited.

You’ll experience the outworking of Philippians 1:6 TPT, which says, “I pray with great faith for you, because I’m fully convinced that the One who began this gracious work in you will faithfully continue the process of maturing you until the unveiling of our Lord Jesus Christ!”

As you give, it will be given back to you—pressed down, shaken up and overflowing (Lk 6:38). For all the times the enemy tried to press you down and shake you up, our Lord is bringing it back in his face in greater measure as the Kingdom of God is advanced.

Remember the 100-fold return in Matthew 13:23 NIV, because you’ll also walk this out, as God has brought your heart from rocky soil into good soil and made you steadfast. Our Lord is about to demonstrate Himself as Redeeming Love in ways that will prove off-the-chart to you (Is 43:1). It’ll be awestruck wonder and result in tremendous life-giving gratitude that’ll perpetuate increase to build your new reality.

“Get ready for a whole new world,” says The Lord of Hosts. “Your whole world is about to change and nothing will be the same.” I hear these Words again, as I received them 20 years ago. God proved accurate then, and He’ll prove Himself true to His Word in this new cycle.

In summary, know that there are blessings forward that God has not revealed to you yet, not directly or through prophetic ministry. He’s beginning to reveal them to you now in terms of roles and purposes in which you’ll serve His Kingdom. And as you continue forward in your faith walk with Him, He’ll reveal specifics as you need to know them. These new opportunities may surprise you in terms of never really entertaining yourself in such roles.

But in all of this, The Lord says, “Remain focused on what I reveal to you. Let nothing come against.” He’s positioning you in a community that will prove helpful in practical ways. You will not be alone. I reiterate that there’s support and a Holy ease by His grace to help you flow in what God has for you now and forward, as He continues to grow you in faith in Him.

To God be the glory.

Amen.

This devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.