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God’s Vision

During quiet time one morning, Holy Spirit guided me to Isaiah 43 and impressed upon my heart that what has felt delayed for a long time is coming on the scene as a gentle lead-in to a restored foundation expressed. In other words, there are outward foundational blessings that God is bringing us into as He has restored our foundations inwardly (Is 33:6).

Can you see Him leading you accordingly in what He prompts you to do right now? It may be toward a new reconnection of an old relationship that’s just beginning again. It may be getting organized for a scheduled relocation. How is God inviting you to come closer right now to Him in what He has for you?

Where it looked dry for a long time, those promised streams will flow as new life comes forth right before us. It will be beautiful, and even more so, than it was as you remember, because God is doing a new thing (Is 43:19). 

The key precept here is Isaiah 43:19 TPT, which asks, “Don’t you perceive it?”

These Words are purposed to invite us to focus on God and see as He sees to be guided in His right direction. His direction will continue to lead us into greater fullness and glory in new-life and even new-legacy areas. 

God is reminding us that what we perceive we will also receive. We are very close, so it’s important to keep our focus on Him. It’s all a leading into promised dreams coming true—the ones He put in our hearts and purposed, even long ago.

God is re-establishing us in all that makes up this new life He has for us, nothing missing, nothing broken. Shalom-wholeness is our portion, and beauty will surround us.

Holy Spirit is even opening our eyes to see this in part now, as He leads us through His new life order. As we continue to work unto Him (as worship), He is clearing a path, making a way for us to enter in even more, and He is giving us understanding in advance as necessary.

In this light, Holy Spirit showed me that it’s important, right now, to accurately discern distraction from elements of what is truly of Him. What may initially appear to be a distraction can actually be a revealing, a clue of the fullness forward. We must see as He sees to know the difference, and this comes from Holy Spirit alone. 

He will turn our mourning into dancing, while He turns evil shouts into mourning (Is 43:14). He has reversed curses and set us up to step into rewards forward. He has lifted us and fitted us with new garments that are more becoming of Him. 

There are people we will meet and re-meet that we couldn’t before because of un-resolve in our souls. By God’s goodness, the areas in which He has grown us—or delivered us incrementally—will be the areas in which He will bring us into the maturity of His new expressions for us. He has all kinds of nouns—people, places and things—waiting for us. Wellsprings of His goodness in areas where we’ve had to re-dig and become re-established. 

These people will have anointings and other giftings to advance us beyond where we can go on our own. They will know God’s heart on matters and how to accomplish His will. They will offer us their best abilities, knowledge and heart connections. They will work alongside us as assigned, not getting in God’s way or ours, but in step with Him as sent ones to help us. Their earnest hearts will prove out as a type of kinsman-redeemer.

We will know them by their fruit, and it will be as God foretold us. We will experience His Presence of peace, His lovely grace-ease. These redeemed ones will be a significant part of our journeys—life- and legacy-changing. Yes, in this new-life order, God is restoring our legacies to be more like what He originally intended. The fullness of what past generations began will be ours when Holy Spirit breaks us through barriers to entry and enables us to steward God’s treasures according to His will. 

We can remember that God’s Presence is everything—in vision and execution. We can remain in the peace of God to know what to do and where to go and when. We can let the past fall away to the extent that it becomes distant, just like it is for God in Isaiah 43:25 TPT, where the prophet Isaiah says God “completely erases” our sins and never sees or remembers them again. Because God has lightened our burdens, we can rise with Him as our greatest Treasure forward, the same Treasure found in His sent people, places and things. 

Pray with me if you will . . . 

Dear Lord, 

Thank You for Your heart of blessing for me. Help me to see what and how You see. Help me not to miss anything that’s of You for me. Help me to discern what is truly of You right now and forward. Help me steward my time and attention according to Your will in all things. Thank You for bringing me into Your best promises fulfilled.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name,

Amen

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

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Goodness Anew

Recently, our Lord highlighted a scripture to me and gave me a Word. 

The scripture is Joshua 6:15 AMP, which says, “Then on the seventh day they got up early at daybreak and marched around the city in the same way seven times; only on that day they marched around the city seven times.”

The Word of The Lord is this: 

Many are on their seventh-day march. This is the day the walls fall and you step into the dominion for which you have contended. By His Spirit, God is destroying barriers to entry and you shall stand above what stood above you to offer up to God what is His. “I AM with you,” says the Lord of Hosts. “I AM bigger and more powerful than any other fortress.” 

God is breaking yokes and removing burdens for a major new beginning, A day of His power and righteousness revealed. A day of His glory shinning all the way through. A day of manifest victory for the army of God. 

In His goodness, our Lord is fulfilling His promises and restoring people to what they once lost. He is making a way for them to experience better, giving them a fresh start, having made them wiser and stronger in Him. He is rebuilding their confidence and delivering them into destiny.

A True Fortress

God, Himself, is a true fortress and none are stronger.

In Colossians 2:5 AMP, Paul describes us as a fortress, as one that stands with God by saying, “For even though I am absent [from you] in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, delighted to see your good discipline [as you stand shoulder to shoulder and form a solid front] and to see the stability of your faith in Christ [your steadfast reliance on Him and your unwavering confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness].”

In 1 Peter 2:9 TPT, Peter reminds us who we are and of our purpose by saying, “But you are God’s chosen treasure —priests who are kings, a spiritual “nation” set apart as God’s devoted ones. He called you out of darkness to experience his marvelous light, and now he claims you as his very own. He did this so that you would broadcast his glorious wonders throughout the world.”

Fit and Enriched

Clearly, it’s God’s goodness that makes us fit for use, morally excellent and a vessel through which God can enrich the lives of others. God’s goodness is a powerhouse of mercy, fueled by selfless love for divine missions.

In this light, we can remember 2 Corinthians 5:18 TPT, which says, “And God has made all things new, and reconciled us to himself, and given us the ministry of reconciling others to God.”

So, He’s giving us a breakthrough opportunity to reach out and change lives in new, expanded ways. He’s helping us establish new territory. He’s settling matters of our hearts as we go, finish the work at hand and offer up to Him what belongs to Him. 

God is blessing us even more in this new-life cycle. The foolishness we faced yesterday will fall away and we will be enriched to enrich others. The march will be worth it. The circumcision of heart will be worth it. The separation from the old flock will be worth it. And the wilderness experience will be worth it all. 

Like Joseph

Our Lord brought to mind Joseph and how God’s goodness was poured into him through his earthly father, Jacob. That goodness contained loyalty that stuck with Joseph. We see this in Egypt, where Joseph expressed this favored blessing to others. It was accepted, valued and honored by them and also was, ultimately, returned to Joseph. So, even though Joseph’s brothers didn’t receive God’s goodness through Joseph initially, others, with whom God connected him, benefited from it. 

Likewise, when our hearts are aligned with God’s goodness, He makes a way for an outward expression of it to reach others for whom we have a heart. It may come in an unusual way or even in an unlikely place, but God will lift us into His marvelous light to be a blessing right where we are, wherever He takes us and also back home in the lives of those we’ve held in our hearts, as we continue to seek and honor Him. In this, we can be certain. 

So, pray with me if you will . . . 

Dear Lord, 

Thank You for a merciful new beginning to experience You in a new way for new assignments. Thank You for lifting me above obstacles to enter into more of Your will and purposes. Thank You that Your goodness makes me fit and enriches my life to enrich others. Help me to fight forward with You to build Your Kingdom as You would have it. 

In Jesus’ Mighty Name,

Amen. 

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

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Time Zone

Sometimes, we forget there are four spiritual seasons, just like there are four natural seasons. The four spiritual seasons are sowing, reaping, pruning and storage.

We may hear of sowing and reaping most often. And we are made painfully aware of pruning seasons when they come. But there seems to be little mention of storage seasons. I don’t know about you, but storage is the season from which I’ve been transitioning.

Storage is when God stores you up for something greater ahead. He separates you out and zones you off unto Himself for a time of intimacy with Him. He pulls you aside to set you apart from something and for something that’s important to you but feels far away, even geographically. This something often involves our biggest, most anticipated dreams-come-true.

Some describe it as a hidden season or a wilderness season. But it’s a gracious time of preparation in which we can revel with God and be transformed by His Word and Spirit of Truth. It’s a time of deeper enjoyment of Him as our greatest Love.

Ecclesiastes 3:11-12 tells us that “He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good as long as they live.”

So, just as in the natural world in which we live, each of God’s seasons flow into one another. And as one facilitates the other, we experience His sequence of time, purpose and corresponding actions. We can know that, according to Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, there is a time for everything and that God makes everything “beautiful and appropriate” in its time (Ec 3:11).

Living this out, we can see there’s no use in struggling to make things happen in our own way and time. We are to be satisfied with what we have at any given time until God brings change. At the same time, we are to hold onto hope in our hearts for more of Him to pour into and out of our lives. As we look for the new, He will add and take away what He knows we need. In doing so, we are made new; and we grow in making Him our greatest priority.

It seems, each year, when the calendar is about to roll over, there’s a spectrum of predictions by well-meaning people. Some are truly Words of God and some are hopes and dreams expressed. But God’s truth is that He has a timing for it all. And He will often reveal His timing for key events to us in advance as it benefits us.

I’ve read prophetic Words on social media that list shifts that will happen in individuals’ lives this year. And if I didn’t know God’s timing for me, personally, 2023 would end in disappointment, as His timing for each individual often varies.

His timing is intricate. There are appointed times and fixed (due) times for events. There are births and deaths. There are mega shifts. There are needs. And in-between these markers, God works in, through and for us incrementally, bringing us into higher holiness. In fact, in all my times of praying for people over the years, I’ve never seen a sudden miracle that didn’t have a trail of increments attached.

We prosper as our souls prosper. And as we seek God, we grow in Him and come closer to the “suddenly” He has for us. For an event to occur, much needs to be worked out in our lives and in the lives of others, who are assigned to be a part of our events. This requires patience and faith in God.

So, it’s imperative that we sync with Him in His timeline for us as individuals and also realize it’s not just about us. Many events simply will not happen until it’s God’s time, because for them to occur, God has to align others, too. They are important to His heart, and the effects are significant.

In this kind of time zone, where we have been set apart, waiting for our big crescendo moments to occur, we can remember that He will not fail us. We can know that we are well-prepared and purposed for what’s right in front of us. And we can trust Him to make it all happen in His standard of time, knowing we’ll respond appropriately and beautifully.

Pray with me if you will . . .

Dear Lord,

Thank You that, as You process us through life, we can know and rest in Your timing for us. Thank You for zoning us precisely where we need to be at precisely Your right time for precisely Your purposes. I trust Your heart for me, including Your timeline.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name,

Amen.

Two days after I wrote this devo, our Lord gave me a Word to share . . .

MANY ARE ABOUT TO BE TESTED IN NEW LEADERSHIP ROLES

There are things God has assigned you to lead but not until His time for you. At times, in your immaturity and impatience, you have felt frustrated. But God is about to open your gate; and when He does, you will know precisely what to do. The strategic downloads, full of wisdom, have already been given to you by God. And just like Joshua and Caleb, you will need to walk them out with a commitment to careful obedience and a whole heart. You will find that you are well able. You will find that you will know what to do, unlike times past. You will find that, even when troubles hit, they will not have the negative impact on you they once did. They will roll off quicker, and you will rise as you run to Me to pour out your heart for the comfort of further guidance.

Trust Me, says the Lord of Hosts. I will direct you. I will command you. I will continue to set you apart for greatness. The great mysteries that are found in My Name, I will reveal to you. You will know what to do and even more quickly than before. I have made you a sharp instrument. Have confidence in this. You will not fail because I will not fail you. Depend on Me, says The Lord of Hosts. Everything you need is found in Me. Turn swiftly to Me. I will be there, waiting for you, as I have been here, mighty man and woman of God. I love you. And I will respond quickly.  -Your Heavenly Father

Jeremiah 33:3 AMP – “Call to Me and I will answer you, and tell you [and even show you] great and mighty things, [things which have been confined and hidden], which you do not know and understand and cannot distinguish.”

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

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Selfless Voice

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I read Christmas advent books into January and Valentine’s Day. This year, there’s one I’ve gotten stuck on . . . in a good way. It’s Pastor Rick Warren’s The Purpose of Christmas.

About midway through, there’s a brief chapter titled, Jesus Came to Save You from Sin and Yourself. 

For me, this says it all. At least right now. 

You see, God has been highlighting selfishness to me lately. And, if you’ve known Jesus for any measure of time, you know that we have to give up to go up. 

We’re always a work in progress. The transformation never ends. Just when we feel like we’ve overcome some major area of resistance, Holy Spirit shows us something else. I feel like I live in daily repentance. And that’s a good thing. 

Before I even began reading this book, right around Christmastime, Holy Spirit had me write a devotion titled, New Order, with “Order” being my key prophetic Word from Him for 2023. So now, as I walk out this physical transformation, I’m realizing, even more, the transformation He’s doing in me. 

And so, it goes, as I work to bring my house into a new order, He’s working in me as His house, His temple. And just like a piece of furniture that needs to be pulled out and cleaned behind, He’s exposing another area and layer of selfishness that has to go. 

I’ve had to discipline myself to not neglect His house as I’ve tended to my own. Holy Spirit spoke to me clearly, several months ago, saying, “Don’t put your house before Me.” I sensed in my spirit that something was coming up ahead, where I needed to have my mind set on what was most important to Him. He knows it’s easy for us to let priorities get messy during transformations, especially for those of us who tend to be task focused.

We know surrendering to Him means that we have to lay down our own ways. 

So, now when surfaces and spaces are made messier in the midst of establishing new order, I’ve had to block out the mess long enough to focus on Him; and make myself sit and be quiet right in the middle of the mess. It has been seriously slowing my natural, hurried pace, but it’s obvious to me that He’s bringing me into a greater Martha-Mary balance and, ultimately, peace.

Holy Spirit confirmed all of this in His Word:

First, in John 14:15 TPT, He says, “Loving me empowers you to obey my commands.”

And secondly, in Matthew 16:24 TPT, which says, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If you truly want to follow me, you should at once completely reject and disown your own life. And you must be willing to share my cross and experience it as your own, as you continually surrender to my ways.'”

Recently, I wrote in my journal that “I need to please God above what pleases me.” Sometimes, we need to be reminded of this and realize what following Him looks like for where we are now. This leads to a key element, which is discernment.

The verse Holy Spirit highlighted to me in this regard is Romans 12:2 TPT, which says, “Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.”

For me, this means to stop occupying myself with activities that focus my mind on anything less important, especially social media and news briefs during work breaks. Some of the images and stories I see there have proved to be distractions in my mind in the sense that they shift my focus off of God and onto pop culture. And since we know that we become what we focus on, this kind of “little thing” has the power to shift us off course over time. So, it’s really not a small thing when we give it too much influence in our minds.

But when God’s selfless voice is the loudest in our heads, He transforms our thinking to align with His. Only in this place of His Presence and Word can we rightly discern what pleases Him most. It’s how we’ll be able to walk with Him, obey Him, follow Him, and live for Him in this new order of life.

He promises it will prove to be more beautiful and satisfying than we could ever do our way. His way is and will always be superior to ours and, graciously, for our benefit. 

So, pray with me if you will . . . 

Dear Lord, 

Thank You for the new life You have for me. I know that remaining close to You is everything. Therefore, let Your voice be the dominant one in my life, so that I remain aligned with You and speak Your true Words for Your greater purposes. Help me to quickly respond to You. And keep me under Your protection. 

In Jesus’ Mighty Name, 

Amen. 

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

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Ascend & Dwell

Very recently, I had a dream early in the morning. It was a nightmare, actually, that was so vivid, I knew God was speaking to me through it. The short of it is that I was out on a vessel in the ocean with someone I knew from my past. It was dark everywhere. At one point, I realized I was in danger and tried to escape. So, I ran up a staircase that appeared out of nowhere. But when I got almost to the top, I ran face-to-face into a demon that stood between me and the door to freedom. Then, suddenly, I woke up and looked at the clock. It was just after 4 a.m. 

I didn’t have to pray for an interpretation, because God revealed the meaning to me as I experienced the dream. I believe it’s not solely for me but for others for whom it may apply. This is the interpretation:

The enemy has stood at the door, between you and Jesus in a certain area, using your flesh against you in terms of you wanting your way, your lack of knowing a better way, your distrust of God, and your fear of letting go. But the enemy at the door cannot stand in your way when your way is Yahweh’s and Jesus is your Door. It’s time for the strongholds of old tethers and coping vices to go. These compromises, these false compensations can limit God from bringing forth His true recompense. They have been causing anxiety, because they have held you in bondage (Pr 1:32 NLT).

But Holy Spirit is now shinning His light on the root to set you free. 

Where you were submerged in deep darkness in this area of your life and the enemy’s “sub-version” has tried to play out, he has now been exposed! I AM is here for the repentant. I AM is The Door of your escape. You can be set free from this falsehood that I AM never intended you to bear. One prayer and the enemy has to go! Where he tried to come between you, as the bride of Christ, and Jesus this cannot remain. I AM is greater. I AM is stronger. I AM is your defender. I AM is your Avenger. I AM is The Living God of Justice, who offers the only true way.

So, friends, our Lord is dealing with a final issue that has prevented some of us from entering into our promised land. He is delivering His beloved from lingering root-level issues, especially ones we’ve held onto out of deep grief for so long that they became part of our normal. These are the underlying enemy operations that have brought a slow despair and delay. 

But God is saying, “Trust My way.”

He is bringing breakthrough once and for all for His beloved ones who awaken to His truth, choose repentance and follow Him up and out of darkness into His marvelous light to dwell with Him in this area. His way will require full submission, nothing withheld, like Caleb, who had a different spirit and a whole heart. 

His invitation is to His higher holiness. His scripture is Psalm 24:7 TPT, which says, “So wake up, you living gateways! Lift up your heads, you doorways of eternity! Welcome the King of Glory, for he is about to come through you.”

Holy Spirit is inviting us to trust Him with our most precious losses and move forward with Him. It’s time to hand them over fully so we can be set free and move into all God has for us. It’s time for the limitations we brought upon ourselves to go because grace has lifted from them.

God has bigger and better fruit forward. It’s time for grapes so big that men have to carry them on poles (Nu 13:23). “How much evidence do you need?” asks The Lord of Hosts. “Shift your eyes and heart onto Me. Trust Me and I will provide more than enough.” 

God will make things right when we surrender our “hold-outs” to His will. We can do what He says, knowing He’ll take care of it all. 

Some call this passing the test. I like to think of it as finding Jesus in the midst to help us get past bondages and rise above limitations. When we choose to go “past and above,” it’ll manifest in our lives, according to God’s timing.

I love the Words of Psalm 118:17-20 MSG that reveal a beautiful new beginning. They say, “I didn’t die. I lived! And now I’m telling the world what GOD did. GOD tested me, he pushed me hard, but he didn’t hand me over to Death. Swing wide the city gates—the righteous gates! I’ll walk right through and thank GOD! This Temple Gate belongs to GOD, so the victors can enter and praise.”

Pray with me if you will . . . 

Dear Lord, 

Thank You for saving me from myself, from the pain and lies that limited Your will in my life. Where I have chosen selfishness and refused You, I repent and choose to submit to You. I lay my sin at the foot of Your cross, Jesus. And I renounce all agreement with darkness and command it to go now, in Jesus’ Name. I choose to receive Your light of life deep into every fiber of my being. 

I ask You, Lord, to infuse me with Your loving-kindness to the extent that all false things will seem as though they never were. Thank You for faithfully forgiving me. Thank You for leading me back to life again to ascend and dwell with You. Thank You for filling me afresh with Your Spirit. 

Help me to trust and obey You for Your glory.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name,

Amen.

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