As I sit here i this Mediterranean retreat center, there is a warm wind circling the sea. It's quite windy in the mornings on the Island of Cyprus, but soon those winds will turn into the feel of a warm springtime. The changing of seasons brings about a special feeling that touches the body, spirit, and soul. It is a sense of HOPE. Things are changing. Things will not stay the same. I am not STUCK here. As we step into spring, I hear the Lord with an encouraging word for the body of Christ.
IT'S TIME
If you have been around the Prayer Movement or an IHOPKC prayer set, you have at some point may have heard Isaiah 62 declared.
“You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called Hephzibah and your land Beulah.”
I hear the Lord saying it is TIME to walk in your calling! It is time to break free from old mindsets and patterns that are keeping you going around loops on the same mountain. It's time to break fixations with past failures, inadequacies, and lies that are really excuses keeping you in safe, yet stagnant waters. It's time to breakout of the mundane routines and WAKE UP. He is handing you a gift today, that gift is STRENGTH.
ASK AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN
Ask for strength. He is for you. He wants you to succeed. He put everything in you that you need to carry out the calling on your life. It is HARD WIRED into you! Are you facing doubt? Lack? Feeling weak? Incapable of carrying out the vision you once had that seems familiar, yet distant from you now? ASK Him for STRENGTH and watch Him deliver!
“May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality].”
REALIZE WHERE YOU ARE
The Lord has been leading me into this over the last six months, and I want to share this with you. This is going to help you. Close your eyes and picture yourself on one side of a wall. Wait a few seconds.
Now look at the wall again, and see it is made out of translucent cloth, not sheetrock, not wood, or any other hard substance. It is clear. Let it become more clear as you imagine it. Just sit with that for a few seconds.
When you turn behind you, you see all the armies of heaven, the resources of the Father poured out, and Jesus beside you. You are on the Lord's side. You are not separated from Him or His favor. He is with you, all heaven is accessible to you. Realize where you are standing. He is for you.
Begin to shift your thinking, you are not the person who is stuck, held back, withdrawn, or victimized.
You are powerful.
You are called.
You are anointed.
God receives glory when you succeed, when you step out in faith, when you take risks and go where no man has gone before. God is glorified when you believe in yourself, in the destiny He's called you to, and step out toward it.
TODAY IS THE DAY
Instead of focusing on redeeming the years that the locust has stolen, today, be the person you have always desired you'd become. Move into the future. Let go of the past. Ask yourself, "What would the person I want to become say in this situation?" or "How would the person I want to become spend this day?"
That mindset will help you change the way you think and prioritize your efforts. In this way you will fill up with strength and run the race with momentum. Begin making simple declarations over your days, leave NO ROOM for disappointing thoughts, doubts, or negativity to camp out in your mind. Today is a new day. God has GOOD things in store for you. You don't have time to wallow in stagnant waters anymore. ITS TIME! Step out!