Today’s Reading:
Psalm 18
Psalm 139
18 “I love You, O Lord, my strength.”
Psalm 18:1-3 NASB 1995
2 The Lord is my [b]rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
And I am saved from my enemies.
The Spirit of the Living God says,
Quiet yourself before Me. Take up residence inside Me, inside the circle of My arms. My grace is sufficient for you in the nighttime. My grace is sufficient for you in the darkness and in low visibility conditions. My voice and My hand will guide you through the fog and the dense darkness. Though the inky darkness around you seems impenetrable, it is not for your detriment. It is for your benefit. I use the darkness. I Am using this inky darkness, this vast dark covering and the heavy fog that surrounds you to conceal your approach. I have hidden you in the darkness.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will [g]overwhelm me,
Psalm 139:11-12 NASB 1995
And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even the darkness is not dark [h]to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.
The darkness is not working against you. It is working for you. The low visibility is for your heart, for your character, for the station of your ego. If you knew where we were going, if you could see the path I have laid out, if you were visible in this moment, brutal attacks would be against you as you grew, made mistakes and took your early steps to build the framework I have called you to build. I Am using the darkness as covering to shield you and the work I have put your hands to from the view of those who would be out to destroy. I Am letting you build in darkness, so that you have built something that is strong, sturdy and unshakeable when the revealing comes.
13 For You formed my [i]inward parts;
Psalm 139:13-18 NASB 1995
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, for [j]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My [k]frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.
I have hidden you, and I Am concealing you for the sake of your character. This is a slow, grinding, sanding, wearing down of the old man ways, burning off and grinding off the former identities, former titles, former mantles and former positions. I Am using this time in darkness to hone you into a more pure vessel, into one whose heart and motives are based in Me and for Me and My Kingdom and My Name’s sake. This process is wearing off ego. It is wearing off pride. It is wearing off your care for certain professional name brand titles and associations. It is wearing off you being the go-to person in certain areas. It is making you the true, essential, honestly pure you. It is making you a lump of clay in My hands once again who can be molded and shaped into a glorious and pure vessel of My choosing, That’s what you laying it all down has done. That’s what the seasons of surrender were for — to get you here to this dark place, this covered place, this hidden and low visibility place of building.
28 For You light my lamp;
Psalm 18:28-36 NASB 1995
The Lord my God illumines my darkness.
29 For by You I can [m]run upon a troop;
And by my God I can leap over a wall.
30 As for God, His way is [n]blameless;
The word of the Lord is tried;
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
31 For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God,
32 The God who girds me with strength
And [o]makes my way [p]blameless?
33 He makes my feet like hinds’ feet,
And sets me upon my high places.
34 He trains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,
And Your right hand upholds me;
And Your [q]gentleness makes me great.
36 You enlarge my steps under me,
And my [r]feet have not slipped.
The vision here is in your heart. It’s not with your eyes. But I will pierce this dark time with My bright light at the moment that I desire for you to be revealed. At the moment I desire for both the enemy and those with us to see you advancing in power, in strength and with great force. Until then, be content in the hidden place. Build faithfully in the darkness. This is not a darkness to punish. It is a cloak of protection and covering. This is the darkness where you hide in Me.
How to Respond
- Be faithful in the calling and work the Lord has given you.
- Ask the Lord if greater surrender of your life, purpose and work is needed.
- Pray, Holy Spirit come. Comfort me and give me a greater awareness of Your Presence. Sometimes the darkness and low visibility is disorienting and frustrating. Help me to stay anchored in You, so I don’t waste the precious time that You have set aside for me to build under this provision of covering. Help me to hear Your voice clearly, so I can build and be faithful to the vision You have placed in my heart.
- Declare, great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. He owns the darkness and the light. He uses them as He wills. His darkness is a great protector of me and concealer of the work He has called me to do in this season.
- Decree, I will be faithful to build in these low visibility conditions. I will be faithful to praise the Lord and lay my life and my former identities and titles down in this place of darkness. The Lord is helping me to build in a way and a place that is protected and shielded from attack, so the work of my hands is strong, powerful and can withstand what will come in the revealing.
For more encouragement from Glory & the New Wine, check out the post from this day in 2022: The Lord Is Raising Up Fierce Priests of Purity in the Catholic Church
And in 2021: Change Is Riding on the Wind
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