Today’s Readings:
Psalm 81
Isaiah 54
6 “I have removed your backbreaking burdens
Psalm 81:6-7
and have freed your hands from the hard labor and toil.
7 You called out to me in your time of trouble, and I rescued you.
I came down from the realm of the secret place of thunder,
where mysteries hide.
I came down to save you.
I tested your hearts at the place where there was no water to drink,
the place of your bitter argument with me.”
Pause in his presence
The Lord says,
You feel the wounds from the battle. You feel the toll it has taken upon your heart and mind and spirit. You are battle weary My dear one. Your eyes are filled to the brim with tears, and your heart is bruised and hurting. Look up My child. Look up to your Creator, the Lover of your soul. You can look up. I will help you, for I Am the Lifter of your head and the One who anoints your soul with gladness. Allow yourself to release this last season. Allow yourself to loose your grip on your weapons and release the battle. The battle is won. I Am the Victorious One and Lord of All.
Shed the remaining tears you have, for the next tears you shed will be ones of great and inexpressible joy. Cry out the vestiges of sorrow that cling to you from this battle torn season. I Am causing it all to be swept away by My Glory, by My victory and by My mighty right hand. Offer up to Me the tenderness of heart and the vulnerability you are feeling at the end of this hard fought, bewildering and sorrow-filled season. Offer them up to Me, and I will replace them with the oil of gladness. I will bless you double for all of your sorrows. I will restore joy to your heart and cause you to dream and sing and dance again.
Let go of this season. Let go of the survival mode and survival mentality you have lived from in this season. It is time to release these and look out at the wide open expanse before you. It’s time to take on the mindset of a conqueror who has conquered. It’s time to take on the mindset of a pioneer who has established his homestead and has the boundary stakes firmly planted in the ground. It is time to put on the mindset of freedom and victorious living in Christ Jesus. It is time to make a right turn toward celebration, toward planning for a future, toward day dreaming and building.
2 “Increase is coming, so enlarge your tent
Isaiah 54:2-4
and add extensions to your dwelling.
Hold nothing back! Make the tent ropes longer and the pegs stronger.
3 You will increase and spread out in every direction.
Your sons and daughters will conquer nations
and revitalize desolate cities.
4 Do not fear, for your shame is no more.
Do not be embarrassed,
for you will not be disgraced.
You will forget the inadequacy you felt in your youth
and will no longer remember the shame of your widowhood.
We have left the former season. There’s much you can drop and leave behind there. Travel lightly. Cross over into this new season with the essentials only. I Am making all things new here. Don’t bring that old beat down stuff — those mindsets, habits, identities and tendencies. Leave them. You will learn new ways of operating and living here — freedom ways. They will fit you much better. They will suit your freedom lifestyle and your freedom and celebration days.
11 “You unhappy one, storm-tossed and troubled,
Isaiah 54:11-12
I am ready to rebuild you with precious stones
and embed your foundation with sapphires.
12 I will make your towers of rubies,
your gates of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious, delightful stones.
Walk forward in confidence. Leave the vestiges of sorrow and pain, of exhaustion and worry behind. These freedom days — this new season — will bring glory and joy, victory and light such as you have never experienced or imagined or even heard about. Be willing to leave the battle stance behind. Be willing to leave all that you’ve clung to so tightly behind; and walk forward lightly with Me — into freedom, into a place where the air is light, where the atmosphere is clear, where it boasts the abundance of spring and where your heart can soar and dream, run and leap and dance freely again.
14 You will be established in righteousness.
Isaiah 54:14
Oppression—be far from them!
Fear—be far from them!
Yes, terror will not come near you, nor will you be afraid.
Leave the disappointment and the loss of this season. Acknowledge it, but don’t carry it as a heavy burden forward into this freedom place. It doesn’t fit there. Bring only cherished memories. Leave the painful bits behind. They can’t enter into this new place with you.
2 Let the celebration begin!
Psalm 81:2-4
I will sing with drum accompaniment and with the sweet sound
of the harp and guitar strumming.
3 Go ahead! Blow the jubilee trumpet to begin the feast!
Blow it before every joyous celebration and festival.
4 For God has given us these seasons of joy,
days that the God of Jacob decreed for us to celebrate and rejoice.
You have been running a hard and treacherous race. Your body and soul are weary, and it’s been a very disorienting season. But you have crossed the finish line. You are now walking around beyond the finish line. You are exhausted and looking for refreshment and rest. This is the in-between season we are in now. We have left the hard place.
16 But I will feed you with my spiritual bread.
Psalm 81:16
You will feast and be satisfied with me,
feeding on my revelation-truth like honey
dripping from the cliffs of the high place.”
After such a long race, and such a hard fought battle, it can be hard to switch gears and mindsets. Find an inviting grassy place to sit. Fill yourself with refreshment in Me. Fill yourself with songs and scriptures that remind you of My faithfulness and encourage you to hope again. After this time of rest and refreshing, you will leave behind the gear from the race and the battles, and you will walk lightly into this freedom era with Me. Take heart. The battle is over. It is done, and we have the victory.
How to Respond
- Take the time you need to reflect on this past season of strife and difficulty and battle after battle.
- Give yourself room to mourn the losses and disappointments that this season of trials and difficulty and battles has brought.
- Seek rest and refreshment in the Lord.
- Ask Him to help you leave anything behind that you don’t need to bring into this new season.
- Ask Him to anoint your life with the oil of gladness and to fill your heart with joy and hope again.
- Ask Him to give you fresh vision and to stir a desire for celebration and planning for the future in your heart.
Recent Comments