Prophetic Insight - 17th August, 2023
From Striving to Surrendering
Having lived my entire life striving in my own power, I began to feel the weight of the world laying heavily upon me.
It all began to feel like too much, every day was a battle, life felt like a constant fight and despite taking two steps forward, it always seemed to be followed by one step back.
I began to grow tired and didn't want to struggle anymore, there was no joy to life and the rewards no longer felt worth the effort.
I had been reading the Word and learning about God for many years and whilst my knowledge was wide and deep, I was still living in the world, as opposed to living the Word.
But how to change the habit and practice of a lifetime?
Meditation on The Word
One day my friend (thank you Gershwin!) encouraged me to meditate on the higher things, whilst asking the Holy Spirit to join me.
This isn't a concept that one can wrap their head around as it's experiential, and despite my avoidance tendencies, I decided to just sit and be still for a while, in the arms and Presence of God.
In that moment, I felt calm and at peace, a state of being that was quite alien to me as my life was focussed around doing, there was never a moment's peace and no time to be still.
As I sat, I began to receive what I can only describe as downloads in the form of answers to questions and solutions to challenges I was facing.
I realised that the presence of the Holy Spirit was the presence of peace, and that having no time or space for God, was the source of my problem.
Not By My Power or Might
I had reached a plateau that my personal might, merit and power wouldn't allow me to go beyond, the next step had to be spiritual rather than physical.
After beginning by means of the Spirit, we cannot then try to finish by means of the flesh (Galatians 3:3).
And we cannot achieve anything by our own might or power, only by God’s Holy Spirit (Zechariah 4:6).
It wasn't possible for me to continue in my old ways, I'd known that for some time, and this new way of being was part of receiving the new wine in the new wine skin.
I began to realise that the secret to doing more and living well, paradoxically lay in doing less and being still, allowing myself to be guided by the gentle pull of inspired action at the right time.
Getting To Know God & His Holy Spirit
As I looked through the scriptures, I began to get a greater understanding of who the Holy Spirit is and how He works within us.
I became aware of the peace, prosperity and power that only God can bring and how, if we rely solely on our limited vantage point, our success will be thwarted and limited.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight (1 Corinthians 3:19).
It is therefore critical that we make room for God, for without Him, we fight an uphill battle that He may not be in, and if God is not with us, our efforts are in vain.
This is what I had been experiencing and the error and futility of my ways became clear.
If God Is For Us, None Can Be Against Us
If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31).
But without the Holy Spirit, we can do nothing.
Yet with Him, no weapon forged against us will prevail and we will refute every tongue that accuses us.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is our vindication from God (Isaiah 54:17).
As I deepened in knowledge, understanding and wisdom, I began to realise the undeniable, unlimited and abundant power of God's might, power, glory and grace.
Single-Minded Focus
The following day, I made the decision to make the Holy Spirit my single-minded focus.
Indeed, Jesus says that the first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind (Matthew 22:36-38).
Prior to this, I had been double-minded and was feeling the instability that came from having my feet straddling and firmly rooted in worldly ways.
This created a shift from being led by my ever expanding to do list to being led by the gentle urgings and serene stillness of the Holy Spirit.And from this space, peace began to emerge.
Total Surrender
Never being one for half measures, I surrendered myself fully, allowing the Holy Spirit to breathe for me, walk with me and direct my every move, a practice which would take considerable time to master, maybe even a lifetime.
And then I remembered the scripture about the easy yoke and light burden and my heart jumped for joy.
Jesus urges all who are weary and burdened to come to him, and he will give us rest, as we take his yoke upon us and learn from him, for he is gentle and humble in heart, and his yoke is easy and his burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).
God tells us to call to Him and He will answer us and tell us great and unsearchable things we do not know (Jeremiah 33:3) and that everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened (Matthew 7:8).
Let us therefore surrender and rest in the strong, gentle and loving arms of the Lord.
A Change of Pace
At first, following a flurry of activity, I found that I'd ground to a halt as I struggled to balance this new way of being, which was an antithesis to my old way of doing.
I remained stationary for a few days, seemingly part of a transition period, and then I slowly eased back in at a calmer and gentler pace, which felt more focused and clear.
Despite this, I resolved to remain under the shadow of the Most High, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in order to find solace, protection, wisdom, clarity and strength.
A lofty endeavour indeed, what can I say, I'm an extremist, no pressure!! But as an aspirational goal, there was no other focus of greater importance.
Of course, there would be times when I needed to catch myself until it became a natural part of who I am, but in order to begin, one must begin.
The Same But Different
My work remained the same, but the power and precision that is generated from a higher Source carries us much further and much faster with greater ease and joy.
Whilst this pace was alien to me and took time for me to settle into and recalibrate, I felt less hurried, less pressured and less stressed. I noticed that a slower and gentler pace created more energy and peace and less resistance.
I was able to enjoy each encounter as opposed to rushing through life at a rapid rate of knots, somewhat akin to the cartoon character the Tasmanian devil who travels so fast he creates a tornado!
And pleasure, calm and happiness returned.
My Peace I Give To You
To really embed this deep into my DNA, I decided that my sole intention, on a day-to-day, moment-to-moment basis, must be to seek God's guidance first, before doing anything.
This immediately took away all the anxiety and strain that came with non-stop doing, because the key to this is peace and pace.
Peace is calm, slow and steady as opposed to frenzied, fast and inconsistent. Peace is being the tortoise as opposed to the hare, remembering that the tortoise won the race.
And so I wondered about the peace that Jesus referred to when he left us with his and gave it to us, but not as the world gives, and told us not to let our hearts be troubled and not to be afraid (John 14:27).
And I realised that the peace that Jesus left us with and gave to us is the peace that comes from the Holy Spirit of God.
Seeking Fellowship with the Holy Spirit
Keeping in step with the Holy Spirit becomes an act of fellowship, whereby we are united with the Lord and one with Him in Spirit, bringing grace and God's love for us deeply into our lives (2 Corinthians 13:14).
Living by the Spirit is the opposite of living in the world, being driven by our emotions, passions and fleshly desires, all of which are weak and impossible to tame on our own steam.
Keeping in step with the Spirit requires us to let go and trust, as we are led by a higher power, into a present and future that only He knows.
This results in a change of priorities from our will to God's will and as we align with the Source and Creator of everything, we step into the blessings and the promise that God has for us.
For God’s plans for us are to prosper us and not to harm us, to give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).
Living By The Spirit
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25).
But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17).
If we are united with the Lord and are one with Him in spirit, God who is within us becomes the source of our power, and there is no greater power than God Himself.
It is futile to fight in our own might and there is no sense fighting a losing battle when we can walk with God, the Most High, Almighty and all mighty.
And what an honour and a privilege that is.
Access To The Father & The Mind of Christ
The Holy Spirit allows us to access the Father and is the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).
For through Jesus we have access to the Father by one Spirit (Ephesians 2:18).
Therefore, the Holy Spirit is an indomitable Source of Power that we cannot be without, if we are to be truly successful.
To access the Father and to have the mind of Christ is the ultimate attainment.
Instead of meaningless striving in the world, we must strive for unity, fellowship and intimacy with God, the Source of wisdom, grace and blessing.
Filled with The Knowledge of God's Will
As we strive to fulfil God's will and not ours, we continually ask Him to fill us with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that we live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way:
Bearing fruit in every good work; growing in the knowledge of God and being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that we may have great endurance and patience;
Giving joyful thanks to Him who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of light (Colossians 1:9-12).
Pleasing God naturally becomes our sole endeavour, and we must dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly to this lofty pursuit.
And so we change course from the meaningless pursuit of worldly aims to an epic journey of purposeful meanderings on the path that God has called us to.
The Holy Spirit Transforms us Into God's Image
Inviting and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead is so much bigger than anything we can grasp.
As we contemplate the Lord's glory, the Holy Spirit transforms us into His image, with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18).
To be transformed into the image of God is the ultimate goal, as we seek God's face and the shining of His face upon us.
The journey of atonement.
At-one-ment.
Becoming A Dwelling In Which God Lives
Seeking guidance naturally leads to changing the way we view ourselves and our bodies, which are temples of the Holy Spirit.
We ourselves are God's temple and God's Spirit dwells in our midst (1 Corinthians 3:16).
Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in us, whom we have received from God (1 Corinthians 6:19).
We are not our own, we were brought at a price, therefore, we must honour God with our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:20).
And in him we are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit (Ephesians 2:22).
Becoming One With Source
May the Lord turn His face towards us.
May we welcome Him into our lives and walk behind Him.
May his glorious and brilliant light penetrate us to the very core of our being.
May we light the way for others, may God’s glorious light envelop the entire planet, casting out all darkness and may we one day become the light.
As we become one with the Source of everything.
Amen.
Further Reading
This was such an all-encompassing Word that I needed to split it into three parts.
The accompanying parts are:
The Indomitable Power of The Holy Spirit
Getting To Know The Holy Spirit of God
Please read these next if you feel to for further powerful insight into the divine power of the Holy Spirit of God.
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