Today’s Readings:
Psalm 84-85
Isaiah 35
Zechariah 8
35 The wilderness and dry land will be joyously glad!
Isaiah 35:1-2
The desert will blossom like a rose and rejoice!
2 Every dry and barren place will burst forth with abundant blossoms,
dancing and spinning with delight!
Lebanon’s lush splendor covers it,
the magnificent beauty of Carmel and Sharon.
My people will see the awesome glory of Yahweh,
the beautiful grandeur of our God.
The Lord says,
It is a disorienting moment. It feels like the earth beneath you is shaking and swaying, and you have no control. Things that you were once able to rely on are now shifting and uncertain.
11 But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares the Lord of armies. 12 ‘For there will be the seed of peace: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the heavens will provide their dew; and I will give to the remnant of this people all these things as an inheritance. 13 And it will come about that just as you were a curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a blessing. Do not fear; let your hands be strong.’
Zechariah 8:11-13
It’s been a destabilizing time and a time where things that once sparked creativity and satisfied you hold no interest. It feels like the joy has left things that you looked forward to and loved to share. But I Am reviving you, starting with your heart. I Am planting seeds of joy that will quickly blossom into fragrant and beautiful flowers of delight. I Am causing your mind to think creatively again, to hope and to dream and to seek inspiration again. I Am causing you to hunger for adventure and thirst for My Word and My righteousness, My truth and My ways.
84 God of Heaven’s Armies, you find so much beauty in your people!
Psalm 84:1-2
They’re like lovely sanctuaries of your presence.
2 Deep within me are these lovesick longings,
desires and daydreams of living in union with you.
When I’m near you, my heart and my soul
will sing and worship with my joyful songs of you,
my true source and spring of life!
I Am laying the groundwork for a new day. I Am laying the foundation for a new kind of life. I Am establishing you in a place where you live from joy and hope, creativity, inspiration and adventure. In this place you live in unbroken communion with Me as the most authentic version of you that you have ever been.
This is a place where your life and your person is not covered with adornments that try to impress others, or that tries to fit a mold or a label, or even tries to be explainable. I made you in My image. How can you be summed up and explained as a profession, a title, a role, an interest? You are so much more than that. The adornments of these things are not needed or useful and will not be worn in this season. Instead, the light and the color and the awe will come from the way your mind is working like a child’s again – with endless possibilities and wild creativity – filled with hope and goodness. It will come from a vibrancy of heart and perhaps a tendency to forget about the clock. It will come from just spending time creating, day dreaming, building and immersed in conversation with Me.
9 For I know your power and presence shines on all your devoted lovers.
Psalm 85:9
Your glory always hovers over all who bow low before you.
The place we are going, you are austere in your adornments. You are that truer, purer, very authentic you. Your works, your ideas, your desires and your inner life are what is vibrant and brilliant and alive. This inner life is like a a very alive secret garden that draws people in. It’s full and lush, alive, growing and inviting. People will be drawn to and clearly see your inner life – not those things that you once put on – the titles, the professions, the labels and your place in the strata of society. These are all falling to the ground in unimportance. These are being discarded in the transition.
11 Flowers of your faithfulness are blooming on the earth.
Psalm 85:11-13
Righteousness shines down from the sky.
12 Yes, the Lord keeps raining down blessing after blessing,
and prosperity will drench the land with a bountiful harvest.
13 For deliverance goes before him,
preparing a path for his steps.
What’s inside of you is growing and alive and becoming a place of wild adventure and hope. It’s going to change everything for you. And it’s going to draw many to you – those who need to meet Me, those who will be great partners in the building, those who you can teach and those who have something you need. What you are building and cultivating in your inner life, through the seeds you have planted and the ones I have added to your inner garden – these are blossoming inside of you now and they will mark your life in the new season. Start practicing being the truest version of yourself. That’s the only person you will be where we are going.
Hear My calling and let me help you strip away and discard all that will not serve you in the new season. This is the very end of the pruning and refining needed to enter lightly into the new. You’ll do well to get it done quickly.
How to Respond
- Ask the Lord to help you strip away those labels and concerns that are part of your current identity but not part of the essential you.
- Ask the Lord for a revelation of how He sees you and who He made you to be.
- Ask for His help to walk toward that and to leave all of the excess behind – the parts that impress others, the parts that make you feel like you are in a group or that you do belong or don’t belong. These are not who you are. What you do or who you know is not who you are.
- Ask the Lord to help you see what you’ve planted in the garden of your inner life and what He’s planted.
- Ask Him to restore creativity, hope, joy and inspiration in your life, so you can run with them.
- Spend time with the Lord. Commune with Him and seek a deeper understanding of His character and His ways.
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