Tag: #Ecclesiastes 3:11

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Until Now

Three times, very recently, Holy Spirit highlighted the title of this devotion to me. We know that “until now” implies a continuance of something up to a point and that a shift is present or imminent.

According to Strong’s (#5704, #6258), “until now” can mean at “this time.” And it can also reference a limit of quantity and measure, even in the area of “no more” suffering.

This is what I believe God is saying in this hour:

The completion of your assignment has begun, and it’s not just for you. Some I AM calling home to Heaven. Some I AM reassigning on earth. And in all cases, I AM calling my beloved higher.

Official documents, that you may have to file, are your certificates of completion, as well as the evidence of what I have been leading you out of. Also, there are additional steps of closure I will bring you through in the days and months ahead.

Until now, you have seen gradual change. But I am bringing you into a fast-approaching close. Therefore, focus your time and energy on Me and what I instruct you to do, so you can keep pace with Me with the least amount of stress.

What I have instructed you not to do is equally for your benefit. It isn’t that I AM against your activities. It’s that, if you work your own list, you won’t have time for Mine.

You have patiently endured persecution (1 Co 4:12-13). And now, I AM completing your mission impossible with a good ending. Your suffering, as you have known it, is over.

Because you have prioritized Me as your First Love, I AM blessing you in My “beautiful and appropriate” time, where you will experience greater measure of my divine purpose (Ec 3:11).

I AM releasing that which has been held up, including, but not limited to, finances. You will finally encounter the expanse of your dreams and the embrace of approval.

I will give you a short rest before I open up your next assignments, where you will experience a whole new freedom of rejoice.

Just as Boaz gained insight to Ruth and offered direction for My newness during Harvest time, so, too, am I giving you insight, direction and clarity forward (Ru 2).

As you move increasingly toward your new assignments with Me, know that what is in front of you has a new heart, as I have renewed yours. It will not be like before, for I have made all things new. I have been working in others’ hearts to facilitate new covenant connections that are waiting for their moments in time, as well.

I will deliver you into your new assignments by My redeeming love, and I will not stop with the heart. You will see manifest miracles in soul and body in those for whom I have given you a heart and identified to you. For I AM bringing you into more of My power and what delights Me.

I AM bringing the Kingdom breakthrough you have longed for. And, as it was for Ruth, there is a fullness of harvest for you there. I will not stop short. It will be all that I have revealed to you and more. It will be light and legacy for My Glory.

So, continue in My ways, and you will be victorious, as I cause your efforts to prosper.

I AM with you all the way. And you will not be alone.

Your new time and place await you. You are almost fully there.

Friends, whatever your story, God will get you where He desires you to be. I encourage you to take His hand, follow Him wherever He leads. Trust Him and rest in Him. He will get you to your destiny and will not fail you. He loves you with an everlasting love and delights to surprise you in the best way.

So, pray with me if you will . . .

Dear Lord,

Thank You for the power of Your gracious salvation operating in my life. Thank You for breaking the enemy’s death grip to free me from confinement and bring me into Your expanse. I trust You to show me Your way, to help me to rest in You and stay the course.

Thank You for forgiving me for much (Lk 7:47), for bringing much-needed change and for protecting me all along the way (Ps 3:3). Thank You for giving me an undeniable identity in Your Son, Jesus, and for helping me walk it out.

In His Mighty Name I pray,

Amen.

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

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Keeping Secrets

I love that God reveals Himself and His secrets to us. I’ve learned that keeping them or sharing them depends on the wisdom of God in regards to purpose, people, approach and timing.

When I think of the secret that Mary, the mother of Jesus, carried and the responsibility of such divine purpose, I can barely imagine it. The life or death level of obedience that was required of her to deliver God’s big promise to the world amid threatening surroundings must’ve felt impossible at times. Not knowing exactly what would happen next, as she fled to safety, surely caused her to cling to God even more.

And, just like with Mary, God sometimes keeps details that threaten us from us.

In my own life, I’ve learned that God, in His kindness, will reveal elements of life to me to set my heart on His righteous expectations. It’s more than a holy gesture and an outreach of love. It’s His guidance for divine protection and provision to the point of life over death. It’s to help keep my focus on Him so I keep the faith and make righteous decisions amid chaos.

Even when Jesus grew up and began His ministry, as we know it in the mysterious Gospels, His identity was relatively hidden from the world until it was time for it to be fully revealed. Father God knew the impact and persecution His Son would have as He was increasingly presented to the world. Every marker was graciously timed and purposed.

Likewise, when God prepares us to enter into our destinies, He prepares us for new beginnings. Only after we’ve entered into a thing do we receive the sustaining grace to be developed and established in it. If you’ve ever gotten married, you know what I mean. It’s a process that happens progressively. This is why we feel like we don’t have all the answers to accomplish a thing at the forefront. It’s a trust walk above fear, where God reveals His secrets to us as we walk with Him. He also keeps secrets for a time along the way (Lk 24:16). But He has us the whole way.

When I think of Ruth, I’m reminded, especially of her courage to keep choosing life after death for a new beginning, to keep moving forward when all seemed lost. I think of the wise guidance God provided for her through Naomi and the faith it must’ve taken for her to keep believing, to keep heading into a new land to find a new life. I think of the growth and level of spiritual maturity it surely required and the days of gritty work. But the beauty of it all is that God graciously worked on her behalf the whole time to provide a kinsman-redeemer as she kept moving closer to Him daily.

Likewise, every day that we choose faith as we live our lives, God is working on our behalves to bring us into new life and greater life. As we trust Him and move with Him, He will show us which way to go, leading us to safety and fulfillment of His purpose alongside Him. The secrets we hold in our hearts fuel us. The ones He reveals to us in the secret place.

When I think of Esther, and how she risked her life approaching the king to save a nation of people. How so much was plotted against her and them. But how God took care of them all—protecting and working to give Esther overflow favor for her obedience, as she risked her life for divine purpose beyond herself.

When I drill down into Luke 8:17, I see the core of Esther’s story. The ESV says, “For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.”

The word “hidden” here means “secret parts, inward nature (character),” according to Strong’s (#2927). The word “secret” in this verse means stored up and treasured (Strong’s #614).

So, from the purposed time Esther entered into and served out her role as queen, God secretly developed her character, revealed His treasure and pierced the darkness with His light (Es 7:10). God’s priority was the purity of gold and it prevailed. So, where the mixture of Vashti was banished, Esther aligned with God and reigned victorious (Es 1:19, 8:15).

Like Esther and Ruth and Mary and Jesus, we can carry God’s secret plan and make decisions that align with His will (Ro 16:25 NLT). When we know God’s secret, we can rise in His strength of truth in the midst of impurities and let Him graciously work it all out for His Glory. And we can trust Him in the areas we don’t yet understand, remembering that He makes everything beautiful in its time (Ec 3:11).

Pray with me if you will . . .

Dear Lord,

Thank You for choosing me to carry Your purposed secrets. I embrace Your ways and choose to take courage to step out into Your Kingdom assignments for Your Glory. Help me to steward Your secrets wisely, with great honor to You. Thank You for revealing Your wisdom and “remarkable secrets” to me that I didn’t know about things to come (Jer 33:3 NLT).

In Jesus’ Mighty Name,

Amen.

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