As I began seeking the Lord about 2022 almost immediately I heard in my spirit the same scripture he spoke to me prior to 2020.
When I heard the Holy Spirit say this, I knew there was another re-ordering from the Lord that was about to take place on earth.
The Sovereign Plans of the Lord
Starting early in 2022 we will yet again begin to experience God’s sovereign plans taking place in lives and in our world. As I took time to look back over the last two years with the Lord, I had a knowing that a 2 year cycle had now come to an end and a new one was about to begin. I sensed this the last week of December; a transitioning out of a completed 2 year cycle.
The transition has already taken place and I am already seeing things flesh out the way the Lord showed me.
Hindsight Gives Insight, Insight Gives us Foresight
At the very end of January in 2020, I was awakened one morning to the voice of the Lord speaking to me. He was very clear in what he said.
You have entered into a new place and things will never be the same. It will not go back to the way it once was.
After years of journeying with the Lord I have learned to recognize his voice; although understanding what he says is still an enigma to me at times.
As I have shared many other times I spent that entire day walking around almost in a daze, like I was navigating a whole new place-a whole new spiritual territory.
Change
Since March of that year our world has not been the same. And as the Lord said we will not return to that place in time. Change is hard for all of us but when it’s worldwide change we experience it in a whole new way-together and that can be harder than just personal change.
Everyone has been experiencing change together and it has taken its toll on all of us in one way or another.
Of course at the time I heard God say those things, I thought he was speaking just to me. I had no idea what was about to take place on the world stage with Covid fastly approaching us.
These last two years have taught me many things but the one thing it should’ve taught us all is the necessity of staying in close communion with God. As we learned in 2020 sovereign times brings with it a lot of change and shakings and those shakings can be hard to handle-especially mentally.
Last fall, I sensed a leading from Holy Spirit to begin ministering from the book of Hebrews. Rest and faith was heavy on his heart for his people.
We know we can trust God for our future as he is the One who goes ahead of us and secures it for us. But it’s the daily mental and physical battles that challenges us all.
I truly believe God has been preparing us for these uncertain times. But because there’s been so many mental challenges and so much fear, worry anxiety and uncertainty about the future I think sometimes we’re not picking up on the ways that he’s trying to prepare us.
Over the next several weeks I want to break up into several blogs the ways the Lord wants us safeguarded for the days ahead.
In this weeks blog I want to focus on humility.
Humility
The Lord has really been dealing with me about watching our communications in 2022.
Communications on every level. Those on social media and the daily interactions with others. I believe the Lord is bringing to the surface every impurity in our lives and is giving us the opportunity to recognize our pride, anger and whatever else is coming to the surface-so we can repent and be healed.
Don’t be surprised when things start to surface in your life that you didn’t know was a problem with you. Don’t let pride keep you from receiving the healing and deliverance the Lord has for you. This is the time to get set free.
The Greek word for humility is similar to the first definition of the Hebrew word:
It is the “disposition of evaluating oneself appropriately, especially in light of one’s sinfulness.”
The problem with pride is that it doesn’t allow us to see our sinfulness. Pride sees the sinfulness in others but not ourselves.
For the Christian, deliverance from pride will require a daily dying to self and full submission to God.
We must start taking our discipleship seriously.
Being a disciple requires daily dying to self, daily acts of surrender and submission and most of communion with the Holy Spirit. He is in charge of our spiritual formation but we must submit to him daily-not just when we gather for worship on Sunday morning.
He is the One who guards us from lifting up our hearts in pride.
Humility requires us slowing down and allowing the Holy Spirit to show us what we’ve been blind to.
Pride will insist on having the first and the last word in communications -but humility seeks to serve, love, protect and prefer others over one’s self and most of all one‘s own opinions.
“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” James 1:19-21 NIV
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you slow down in your emotions and in your responses. Ask him to put a guard over your mouth in the days, weeks and months ahead.
All of us have witnessed the darkness in this world over the last two years. As disciples of Jesus we must be salt and light and do everything we can to help others be hopeful during such uncertain times. But pride will hinder just that.
We must humble ourselves dear ones and allow Gods amazing grace to empower us to live the cross shaped life in a time that is prideful and mean. God is wanting to free us from every unfruitful work of the flesh so we can show forth his glory light in the dark world around us.
“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”Psalms 139:23-24 NIV
Watch over your words and guard your tongue.
“Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth.” Psalms 34:11-16 NIV
Forsake prideful speech and don’t get caught up in unfruitful agreements or in prideful communications. We don’t know what we don’t know.
Guard your opinions from being voiced in prideful and certain ways. No one except God knows what is truly going on in this world or inside us. Guarding our hearts and especially our tongues are areas that will need constant attention in 2022. We do this by staying in communion with Holy Spirit. Leaning into him moment by moment. Slow down in your responses or better yet-not responding at all. Holy Spirit will help you if you ask him. He is helpful, generous and kind.
Take time to get in the Holy Scriptures and allow the Words of Jesus to wash you clean.
““How blessed are the poor in spirit! for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” Matt. 5:3 CJB
Allow Holy Spirit to soften your heart and illuminate your eyes to see what has been blinding you so you can go forth as salt and light. As he does this you will be able to humble yourself with others and apologize when necessary.
God is wanting to bring us to a place of true humility and repentance, in the way we relate to him and to other people. He’s wanting to help us understand what it means to truly be human, so we can carry and manifest his glory like they did in the garden of Eden.
Friends I believe God is purifying us with his fire right now. Holy Spirit and fire.
““I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”” Matthew 3:11-12 NIV
My prayer for you is that you bear much fruit in 2022 and allow Holy Spirit to have his way in your life.
Love and prayers,