As I navigate this season, this is what I’ve been receiving as of late:
- GO FORWARD! Exodus 14:15 And the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.”
- A new thing.
- Hope
- Thanksgiving. (Btw, the Hebrew definition for “thanks” will surprise and encourage you.)
- Meditate on the word.
- Surrender.
- Be still.
- I forgot to add “Persecution.”
Reminder 1: It’s not enough to run your race. How you run it also matters. At the beginning of 2020, the Holy Spirit told me “at this level, it’s you against you.” And how right He has been.
Let’s stop preaching the gospel of “everything is acceptable because God loves me.” God has standards and the bar is high, not because God is a task-master but because you were BUILT to be more. It is possible to operate in excellence in all areas of life. Don’t accept mediocrity or sloppiness from yourself. Don’t let anyone pity or sympathize or coddle you out of doing the painful work to change. Stop calling people/receiving advice from people who co-sign any of your bad habits. Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re doing too much or that you’re a fanatic just because you want to give God your best. Don’t allow anyone to make you pick a lane—I truly believe that in the near future, God will cause many to operate in multiple streams. <– feel free to consider that a prophetic word
Reminder 2: I want the church to understand that not everything can be a group activity. Climbing the mountain is a lonely and single affair. We must learn to be alone. We must learn to work and walk alone when necessary. We must learn to be alone with God without looking for outside stimulation. The fellowshipping I see within the body is too much! The socializing is too much! This is not the time for fellowshipping, being on the phone and attending every get-together advertised. This is a time of expansion (this was highlighted to me), separation, intercession, preparation and filling. I am so grieved to see the church carrying on, business as usual.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11 Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. 1 Corinthians 15: 10 – 11 NKJV
The word labored—kopiao—described hard work, the type of activity that makes someone tired. Rienecker and Rogers (p. 440) defined it as “work to the point of exhaustion” and this term can describe both mental and physical labor. “It points to the weariness which follows on this straining of all his powers to the utmost” (ibid, p. 440). –studylight.org
So then, come on!