(part 2 – continuing from same day)
The urgency of these messages was only further amplified in a series of messages we continued to receive over this past weekend – where God let us know this was no time for strollin’ when He’s put a 9-1-1 on us (I believe this is a corporate word for this hour – He’s sending out a 9-1-1 in the Spirit, both for the lost to get saved and for the church to fulfill our assignments. I believe TD Jakes words (shared in part 1) – “WHEN YOU’RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME…” words were also confirmation of this same theme of the urgency of the hour. God is giving all of us the 9-1-1 because we are truly running out of time):
Don’t Be Strollin’ When I’ve Got a 9-1-1 On You!
This next post is about a devo from John Paul Jackson that the Lord brought across our paths that spoke to some of our specific questions and cries:
Don’t Miss the Forest for the Trees
What I didn’t mention in this post is that, in addition to the obvious confirmations, JPJ used a specific word that I had been hearing in a dream the very same morning. As the dream faded, I awoke hearing a word from the dream resonating in my heart/mind – “MOVEMENT!” I asked the Lord what it meant (coming up with some possibilities in my mind) and then came downstairs and saw this devotional, discussing, once again, how God at times calls us to MOVE/TAKE ACTION NOW even when we don’t yet have all the answers and as JPJ suggests ~ even when the next step is not yet visible!! ~ We Walk by FAITH and not by SIGHT! Help us Jesus!
(I just realized when I typed all this up that TDJakes also said “Bust a MOVE” AND I noticed this weekend that a movie we watched had a logo at the beginning and end in BIG LETTERS that said “BE MOVED.” …Whether this is talking about a literal change of location for us or just another confirmation of “TAKE ACTION NOW” remains to be seen, but it seems to go along with the following…)
One of my friends commented on the John Paul Jackson post that it reminded her of the phrase:
“Don’t ask God to guide your footsteps if you aren’t willing to move your feet!”
I had replied:
“Reminds me of similar phrases about Him not being able to steer a parked car or a ship that’s in the harbor – we have to launch out and START MOVING so He can direct as we go….”
Little did I realize that later that day the Lord would preach the exact same message to me again – through my own past writing. I think He’s quite amused by this approach of bringing both confirmation and conviction through our own words – since He’s done this consistently throughout the editing process. (This has also been an astounding evidence of His divine orchestration to us.) As we were putting the final (please Lord) editing touches on the last chapter of the first book on the Holy Spirit book, I knew it was no coincidence that we found ourselves reading ~
“God desires us to be totally dependent on Him (truly we are, but He wants us to know it). He may give us an overall picture of what He wants to accomplish, but reaching the fulfillment of it will require us to stay in daily relationship, continually walking with and hearing from Him. As we abide in and seek Him, He gives us light for the next step. We recently went through a situation where the Lord had called us to a “mission impossible.” We had been seeking Him intensely for more than a month, having received clarity on “what” He wanted us to do, but wanting Him to lay out all the details of “how” He wanted us to do it. Earlier in this chapter, I mentioned that God will let us know if we’re continuing to press for more information and confirmations when He knows we’ve already understood enough to take the next step. That was the case in this situation. He had already given us some specifics of “how,” so when we persisted in seeking rather than stepping out, He finally began to surround us on every side with messages about having to take RISKS. He told us that if we waited until we knew how to do our assignment so well that no one could find fault with it, we’d never do anything. He told us repeatedly not to be afraid to make mistakes but to “get out of the safety zone” and “keep moving forward!” Sometimes the Lord has given us as much information as we need to get started and He can’t continue to effectively guide and instruct us until we get out into the midst of what He’s asked us to do. So with the “what” and some idea of the “how,” we had to begin taking steps (which He actually described as “leaps”) of faith toward obeying what He had asked us to do, trusting that, though we may feel we’re free falling, He will either be our parachute or teach us to fly. …” (from chapter 14 in the first Holy Spirit book)
(as you know – in addition to the themes of RISK and starting to MOVE so that he can guide/steer you – leaps of faith and free falling have also been recurring themes).
So now MOVING ON to confession #13. Though I feel like we could spend more time on the last, the Lord’s already given us this next confession twice in our reading this week AND has already begun to bring confirmations as well. So, since He seems to be telling us to MOVE – Here’s Confession #13:
“I know that apart from Jesus I CAN DO NOTHING. But I am not apart from Jesus. I purpose to REMAIN IN HIM and to let HIS WORDS REMAIN IN ME. Therefore, I receive whatever I ask of Him because I ask in His Name in confident faith based on His Word in Me. I bear MUCH FRUIT, glorifying God, and showing that I belong to and follow Him and that He lives in me! He has chosen and appointed me to bear fruit that will last! THROUGH HIM I CAN DO ALL THINGS! (John 15:5-8, 16; 16:23-27; I John 5:14-15, Philippians 4:13)”
Blessings and Prayers! Laura
