Dear People Who Keep Company with God,
Last year the Lord told me “Make your plans, but hold then with an open hand because I may change them.”He did exactly that, much of what I had hoped and planned for did not turn out as I expected. After seeing this pattern emerge I asked the Lord, “What is the use in making plans if you are going to change them?”Many times in life when things do not work out the way we thought we get disappointed and discouraged which results in withdrawal from pursuing the Lord with passion. Several years ago I heard Arthur Burt say “a major cause of depression in God’s people is because we do not get our own way”. There are other causes of depression for sure, but in my own experience I have found Arthur’s words to be quite true.
Through this the Lord taught me this valuable lesson; we live in a divine tension in this world. God has a plan for everyone’s life therefore we should plan as He is a master planner, however at the same time God is very spontaneous and free flowing and expects us to be flexible and willing to flow with Him. Change is a part of His long term plan.
With all the shaking going on in the world a lot of believers are wondering about their future. Making plans is more challenging now. It just proves how much we are dependent on natural things to accomplish some of the spiritual goals we have. That is not wrong as the Lord gives us the natural to serve the spiritual. However, God may remove some things from us which may cause some temporary difficulty and seemingly setbacks in our lives, but if we will allow it we will be much better because of it.
I spent a lot of time asking the Lord about my own future and the future of our church and the more I sought Him the more restless and burdened I became. There is a fine line between planning based on being prudent and becoming anxious about tomorrow. My heart was to be a good steward and take care of people and things God has entrusted to us, but I slipped into worry due to the uncertainty of what is going on in the world. Finally the Lord reminded me of something Jack Taylor said; “If you claim to know what you don’t know, you will never know what you do know”.
I do not know what this year holds for us on many levels. I do not know what God will do with us economically. I do not know if we will see our dreams for revival and spiritual awakening come to pass this year. I do not know what our church will look like at the end of this year. I do now know when or how we will build and occupy the facilities for The Father’s House. But I do know the Holy Spirit whispered to my heart something about 2009. He said “Psalm 27 is a key for you this year. It is to be a time for you to interact with Me”. Psalm 27 has a lot in it, but based on what He told me we should start by interacting with the Holy Spirit.
My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “LORD, I am coming.” Psalms 27:8(NLT). That is what is meant by interacting with Him. It is a time to get to know Him better.
For the last two years I have watched some of you laugh, weep, scream, jerk, and lay motionless as you have received the Holy Spirit’s touch upon your lives. It has been a time to learn how to receive from Him. It is an absolutely wonderful grace that we will never grow out of – I hope, but now when the Holy Sprit comes upon us He wants us to interact with Him. What He is doing or saying when He comes upon you is a key for understanding what He intends for your life in this time. There is a grace to interact with Him available. As He comes upon you He will bring revelation to interact about if you will allow it. I have found revelation to be positional. You have to respond to fully know what He is saying. Interaction coupled with response is a key to receiving revelation and insight from the Lord concerning your life.
Peter had a tremendous revelation and interaction with God on the roof of his friend Simon the tanner’s house (Acts 10), but it was only when He went to Cornelius’s house that He clearly saw what God was revealing to him. Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God doesn’t show partiality.” Acts 10:34.Receiving from God is a very wonderful experience, but interacting with Him and responding to Him will usher us into a whole new realm of clarity and order for our lives. That is where God wants to take us this year. I am going.
Many Blessings, BW