Today’s Readings:
Psalm 97-98
Jeremiah 31
Isaiah 52
10 Hear the word of the Lord, you nations,
Jeremiah 31:10-14
And declare it in the coastlands far away,
And say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him,
And He will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.”
11 For the Lord has ransomed Jacob
And redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he.
12 “They will come and shout for joy on the height of Zion,
And they will be radiant over the bounty of the Lord—
Over the grain, the new wine, the oil,
And over the young of the flock and the herd.
And their life will be like a watered garden,
And they will never languish again.
13 Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance,
And the young men and the old together;
For I will turn their mourning into joy
And comfort them, and give them joy for their sorrow.
14 I will refresh the soul of the priests with abundance,
And My people will be satisfied with My goodness,” declares the Lord.
The Lord says,
Let joy bubble forth. Let joy and hope bubble up and out of your heart. Let it touch others and be contagious. This is a new day. This is a new season. This is a new era. And life is going to be different here. Let your anticipation and your excitement bubble forth. Live like little children on a road trip who are leaning forward to get there sooner, peering over the front seats to see if they’ve arrived yet. Live with that kind of anticipation, that kind of uncontainable excitement about the destination.
16 This is what the Lord says:
Jeremiah 31:16-17
“Restrain your voice from weeping
And your eyes from tears;
For your work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord,
“And they will return from the land of the enemy.
17 There is hope for your future,” declares the Lord,
“And your children will return to their own territory.
Take pride and joy in the work that I have put in your hands to do. Reach out to the people around you. Don’t shy away or hold back. Real connection is important in this hour. Real outreach into people’s lives who need a touch of encouragement is important in this hour.
Live from the overflow of the joy that I have placed inside you. Let your life and your face shine with the light of My Presence, My greatness and My goodness to you. Shine with confidence that I Am here, I Am moving, and I Am bringing the change. Keep your hands to the work I have called you to do. But keep peering out ahead to see what is coming. We are almost there. This is a full blown new day now.
9 Look! Here he comes! The Lord and judge of all the earth!
Psalm 98:9
He’s coming to make things right and to do it fair and square.
And everyone will see that he does all things well!
Live from this place of joy. Allow My joy to fill your heart and body and face. Allow My joy to drive you and cause you to dance. This is a new season. We are pulling up to it now. This place is one where celebration is required. Celebration will be the natural response of arriving to this new place. And you will dance and sing and shout for joy. The joy is coming up out of you even in advance of seeing the change. Your spirit can sense the change before you eyes can see it. Change is here. Change is now.
8 Listen! Your watchmen raise their voices,
Isaiah 52:8-10
They shout joyfully together;
For they will see with their own eyes
When the Lord restores Zion.
9 Be cheerful, shout joyfully together,
You ruins of Jerusalem;
For the Lord has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord has bared His holy arm
In the sight of all the nations,
So that all the ends of the earth may see
The salvation of our God.
Don’t keep your tent pegs firmly staked in this place. Allow them to be picked up and moved into the new season. Don’t hold tightly to this season or this identity or this role. Be one who is agile and can quickly pick up sticks and move into the new season. What is there here to stay for anyway? It’s time for change. It’s time for new. It’s time for a shift. And it’s time to advance.
Be ready to change course at a moment’s notice. Be ready to pack up and move into something different and new and unfamiliar at a moment’s notice. We are pulling up now to this new thing. Can’t you sense it in your heart and your spirit? We are on the precipice of all things being new.
3 He never forgets to show us his love and faithfulness.
Psalm 98:3-4
How kind he has been to Israel!
All the nations know how he stands behind his people
and how he saves his own.
4 So go ahead, everyone, and shout out your praises with joy!
Break out of the box and let loose
with the most joyous sound of praise!
Choose to be new here. Choose to let the old things and identities, ways and personas, labels and monikers go by the wayside. Choose to be new here. Choose reinvention. Choose to break off the cocoon that has been binding you, and choose to be the butterfly that you have been growing into during this now outgoing season. Choose to be a more refined, more true and more authentic you. There is baggage that you would do well to leave in this season. There are relationships that you would do well to leave in this season. There are habits, mindsets and reflexes that you would do well to drop here and never pick up again.
10 Listen, you lovers of God! Hate evil,
Psalm 97:10-11
for God can keep you from wrong
and protect you from the power of wickedness.
11 For he sows seeds of light within his devoted lovers,
and seeds of joy burst forth for the lovers of God!
Move lightly into the new season as a more authentic you. As you move, go with less baggage and with fewer ties binding you to unprofitable things. This is a season for authenticity and freedom. Peer over into it. Strip off those things that are holding you hostage and dragging you down. Leave them here, for we are moving over into the new, and you get to be a more purified, more joyful, more authentic you there. Let these old bits and pieces that are not you but have claimed to be you fall by the wayside. You don’t need them. They are parasitic and many carry death. Leave them here. Walk lighter into the new. Walk cleaner and truer, purer into the new. We are right at the very threshold of the new.
How to Respond
- Live from a place of joy. If you don’t feel joyful, stir it up in your spirit.
- Choose to reach out to neighbors and friends and strangers who could use encouragement.
- Ask the Lord to show you what you what you are holding onto and calling part of yourself, viewing as your identity, or seeing as a defining aspect of you. Ask Him to show you how to get rid of the ones that don’t line up with His view of you. Be willing to put these in His hands and walk lighter forward. It doesn’t have to be hard or dramatic or require counseling. He is the Great Counselor and Deliverer. He can set you free in an instant. He is more than able.
- Determine to leave behind all the notions, mindsets and habits that are unhelpful.
- Declare that we are on the precipice of change and all things are being made new.
- Declare that you refuse to bring old baggage into this new day, and you are choosing to leave it behind.
- Declare that the Lord is more than able to bring a more pure, more authentic, more free you into this new season.
- Acknowledge all of the work He has been doing in you in this outgoing season, and thank Him for it – even though it has been painful.
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