Dear People Who Keep Company With God,
During the trying times of the last couple of years many faithful believers have done exactly what Paul told us to do in evil days like this, “having done all, to stand. Stand…” Ephesians 6:13-14. We must commend those who have been diligent to not give up the ground in their hearts that God has given them. It is a wonderful testimony of the grace, goodness and faithfulness of the Lord. For those of us who may feel they did not hold their ground very well, don’t fret, His grace is sufficient. I believe the Lord is beginning to shift the season now and we must prepare our minds for a different strategy (1 Pet. 1:13).
When we visited the persecuted church back in the spring I had a very profound experience with the Lord. I saw the beauty of the Lord in way I have never seen Him. It touched something in me on a deeper level and one of the practical outcomes of this experience has been a time of cleansing, healing and restoration in my heart. C.S. Lewis captured what happened to me when he said, “When a man is getting better he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him.”
This led me to the cross. I saw with new eyes the intense suffering and violent death of Jesus on the cross and the practical and profound impact that can have on our lives. My time at the cross has renewed my passion for the Lord and the desire to radically give myself to Him and His purposes with revived energy and focus. From this came the thought of taking ground.
I believe the Lord is calling us to shift from standing and holding our ground “to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to us” Jude 3. King David had a time of standing and holding fast in his kingdom, but there came a time, “when kings go out to battle…but David stayed at home” 2 Samuel 11:1. This proved to be one of the most tragic errors of David’s life. He was doing the wrong thing in the wrong place at the wrong time and because of this it brought a lifetime of problems and sorrow on him, his family and the nation. David became a victim of wrong choices and circumstances. We must not allow ourselves to become victims of this troubled world, our flesh or the devil. Jesus paid a huge price to deliver us from ever being victims again.
Taking Ground begins in our own heart. Jesus said, “The ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing (no place) in me” John 14:30.The time of a deeper cleansing, healing and restoration of our hearts is absolutely critical to be able to withstand the lies of the enemy and to further advance the kingdom in the spheres that God has assigned to us.
So, here is a key from the cross for taking ground – righteousness. Righteousness is an issue of the heart (Eph. 6:14). A heart covered with the conviction of righteousness makes us conscious of who we are in Christ (Jn. 16:8-10), which is fundamental to walking in your true identity and destiny. That always leads to advancing the kingdom of God both within and outwardly.
Do not let the devil fool you; you are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). We may not always think or act like we are righteous, but that does not mean we are not! It just means we are acting or thinking contrary to our true identity.
Those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17
The word righteous is actually a legal term meaning “to position oneself rightly”. At the cross Jesus gave us a gift of being positioned rightly with the Father, but we have to choose to take that position, that is why the definition of righteousness includes positioning oneself.
Let’s rise up and shake off the dust of this troubled world from our hearts and take our rightful position as those who reign in this life with Christ.
Many Blessings, BW