“Speak faith over your business and ministry in this season. The devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking who he may devour. Use my word to rebuke him.
Behold, I am doing a new thing. The old relationships are gone. The past is gone. This season will look like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Move forward in peace. Pry your hands off the past. I want to bury it. I’ve got good things for you in your promise. I shall bring everything I’ve promised to pass before your eyes.
Raise your eyes. Look up to Me. Your redemption is drawing near. Even now it is at the gate.
You will be a star on your street. In your space. Shine out in the darkness for my glory. Shine bright! I don’t have to tell the stars to shine, they just do what they are created to do. The same is true with you. It’s time. My glory will radiate through you in this season.”
Be Strong and Courageous
The Lord spoke the above to me this morning as I was seeking him for answers to a dream I had last night. In the dream I was in the backyard of our last house; the home where two family ministries were born- the ministry of writing these prophetic impressions and our professional business. In the dream, a small lion was prowling around to intimidate two figures that symbolized these two births/new things that God gave me to steward. I stood over the little lion that was growling and screaming over the two innocent figures. He was following them around and using intimidation tactics, and I remember thinking, “If he actually tries anything I’m going to reach down and grab him by his neck and break his neck.”
The home itself symbolized a part of my family’s past. It served as a time-out away from many things where the Lord would retreat us to heal, receive His vision for our future, and be strengthened. The imagery in the dream was not quite black and white, but close- almost cinematic from a historical context. As I towered over that little antagonist the devil, I was reminded of how God watches over us as we are going through our struggles, ready to reach down a grab him by the neck to keep the devil from harming his children.
But he’s also given us the tools and the commands for how to defeat the devil. He tells us- “Be strong and courageous; Do not be afraid, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). And He is. The Lord is with his believers and his disciples. And He’s given you the weapon of the Word of God to defeat satan.
Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness is a guide for how to engage in spiritual warfare. When the devil comes around, and he will, we are to use the truth that is the Word of God to make him flee.
graphic from comeandreason.com (an excellent read, by the way.)
Jesus answers satan, “It is written…” He did not engage. He did not stoop. He did not allow himself to be drawn in. Was he tempted? Yes. Did he resist? Yes. By the power and strength of God and the power of His word.
New Things
The Lord spoke that this next chapter won’t look like anything we’ve ever seen before. He is burying the past. Old relationships. Past mistakes. He tells us to LET GO and move forward in peace. We won’t always receive the answers we need for closure, but we know that being obedient to his instruction always trumps our sacrifices and good intentions. Our God sees what we can’t see. He stands in the present and the future, calling us to come forth to where He is. This new season is taking shape out of a lifetime of preparation for his remnant. It’s time to be about our Father’s business. Whether the past was a success, a failure, or a mixture of the two, the Lord says it’s time to let go.
He’s bringing our promises to pass starting NOW.
Isaiah 43:16-21 says, “Thus says the LORD,
who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,
17 who ibrings forth chariot and horse,
army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
jthey are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
18 l“Remember not the former things,
nor consider the things of old.
19 Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
20 The wild beasts will honor me,
the jackals and the ostriches,
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
21 the people whom I formed for myself
that they might declare my praise.
Redemption Is Near- Fig Tree Lessons
He is redeeming the mistakes and failures of your past. He is redeeming the time. He is redeeming the things you thought you lost. And at the same time, He is saying that His return is near. He is our redemption.
Matthew 24 articulates the parable of the fig tree. Jesus says, “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door (some translations say “the gate”) I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
This is the time when we should be focused on our heavenly calling. The purpose for which we were created. That’s not to say to hole yourself up in your home and honker down and wait for the Lord’s return.
Matthew 6:19-21 says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
We are to occupy until He comes. We are to use our God-given resources to advance his kingdom, not our own. Time is short and we await a glorious future. He is depending on us to use our voice, our testimonies, to bring others with us.
Do What He’s Created You To Do
He’s created you to shine for him. Think about this for a moment: Stars hover above us all day, but we only see them when it’s dark. As the world continues to grow dark, just do what you were created to do: SHINE FOR HIM wherever he’s putting you. It could be a literal street in your neighborhood. It could be a sphere of influence. It could be the digital space from your home office. Whatever the scenario, you are called to emit His glory in this hour.
Radiate: there are several meanings to the word radiate, but the definition that is most meaningful to me is: (of a person) clearly emanate (a strong feeling or quality) through their expression or bearing.
The deposit of God in you is meant to be a beacon in this dark world, for such a time as this. And by your simple shining, you’ll be a Son-beam of His glory, for His glory in this season.
Personally, when I think of stars, I think of sparklers. In my mind, I have seen a sparkler burning bright in a dark, dark night as a symbol of celebration, much like the firecrackers that many people shoot in celebration of the new year. For a sparkler to shine it has to first be hand-held and then raised and ignited. I see the remnant as being held up into the night by the hand of our loving father as a display of his beauty, splendor, and glory. Yeah, roman candles are great, but there’s just something special about a little sparkler shining bright.
It’s time to shine. Happy New Year.
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