Sunday, April 23, 2017

Separated From to be Separated To

Hello everyone!

The other morning I woke up before my alarm clock...don't you just love it when that happens!  To be honest, the night before, I wasn't feeling so bright, and had thought it might be good to give myself a little extra sleep in the morning, so I planned to wake up a little later than usual.  But, in spite of my intentions, I awoke bright and early with a song on my heart!  Extra bonus!!  The worship song by Hillsong Worship, called, "What a Beautiful Name", was playing over and over in my mind.  So, lying there with eyes half open, enjoying my private worship session, I suddenly remembered that I had planned to sleep in a little longer...and the tug-of-war began.  But not for long, because as clear as ever, I felt the Lord whisper in my spirit, "Come be with Me."  Well, that immediately got me to my feet and out the door, eager to sit at His feet and hear what was on His heart for me.

You see, over the past couple of years, our lives, as a family and ministry, have taken on some significant changes.  My husband is by far the visionary out of the two of us, and over the 25 years of being together, I have learnt to trust and follow His lead.  Oh my, the series of changes that have been taking place have been so huge and a touch out of my comfort zone, that I have found myself, on many occasions, overwhelmed by them.  When you follow the call of God, especially into new, unknown territory - there are moments where you feel isolated and alone, unsure of just about everything.  Consequently, I have more than often, been in need of alone time with the Lord, seeking His reassurance and clinging to His instructions for my very 'next step'.  With my natural eyes, that 'next step' can be pretty difficult to see, so having Him shine light on my path, is essential to me.  It's those seemingly 'little' instructions that I cling to with my whole heart and swiftly obey.  They are like rays of light and hope, showing the way for me to step, when everything around me feels so unfamiliar.

So when I hear Him so clearly, and lovingly call me to come away and be SEPARATE, alone with Him, ....wild horses won't keep me back!

You may be able to relate to my experience,  needing alone time with the Lord too.  The thing is, with lives that are so busy with pressing demands and distractions - how do we ever find ourselves not being caught up in it all?  How do we get to a place where the effects of the world around us don't influence us to become cynical and overwhelmed, clouding our better judgement about the choices we need to make to remain in God's perfect will for our lives?  Well, I believe John 17:17, has the answer!  Jesus was talking to the Father about those who would receive and believe in Him, once He physically left the earth.  Yip, that would be us.  In His conversation with the Father, He discusses the very predicament of us being in a world that we are clearly not supposed to conform to, or have our minds contaminated and influenced by its decaying, degenerative ways. Then He prays: "Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, SEPARATE THEM FOR YOURSELF , make them holy] BY THE TRUTH; YOUR WORD IS TRUTH."

When we became born again, the Bible says we were spiritually SEPARATED FROM the Kingdom of darkness and SEPARATED TO the kingdom of light.  Now, even though we are spiritually separated from death, physically and mentally we can be pretty close to saturated with it.  We can be born again in our spirits, but living in poverty, sickness, worry and fear in every other area of our lives.  In fact, we look just like everyone else in the world, upset and confused and affected by the things around us.

But Jesus said it's the Word of truth that has the power to SEPARATE us From those negative effects, even though we are living in the midst of them.  It has the power to constantly wash away the mindset of anxiety, sickness, fear, hatred and all those dark, negative thoughts that have become second nature to us, like an old habit.

I read a powerful message by Kenneth Copeland on this very thing, and what excited me so much, is coming up next!

The Word of Truth not only cleanses and separates us from the negative influences of the World, it SEPARATES US TO THE THINGS OF GOD!  Listen to this wisdom, "You can't simply separate yourself from any old destructive habit without separating yourself unto something else...that is stronger."  I just love that!  The Word of God is full of wisdom and life and peace.  It brings joy and hope.  The more attention we give it, the more it produces the powerful force of faith in our lives - faith to believe and overcome!

It's so easy to fall in love with God's Word.  It's so easy to become addicted to its peace.  And when it comes alive inside of us - there is nothing in this world that can compare to the way it makes us feel inside, or the way it goes to work for us outside - in our circumstances.

So, why put it off a moment longer?  Make a choice to put the Word of Truth first place in your life. Let it become your place of safety and the shelter from the storms of life that threaten to steal your peace.  Let its wisdom become what you love most in this life, because it will always cause you to triumph.  And most of all, let it show you the true character and absolutely beautiful nature of your God, Who loves you completely and cares more about you than you realise.  He has already provided a way of prosperity and a life well worth living for you.  When everything around you makes no sense, HIS WORD IS TRUTH, and it has the power to SEPARATE YOU FROM the gloom of despair and SEPARATE YOU TO the freedom and victorious joy of the Lord!

Love you dearly,

Jenny

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