2023 - Coming, ready or not!

Are you ready to go?

Looking back over my new year posts from the last few years, (you can check a couple of pertinent ones out HERE, HERE and HERE) it seems quite plain that these years have been times of preparation, times of cleaning out the old, the unnecessary, the unhelpful, or just plain past their “use by” date. For many of us, we have been doing this in the physical, the emotional and the spiritual. It might be ways of doing church, ways of thinking or seeing, how we do relationship, even how we process life and our circumstances, or simply that jar of Vegemite still at the back of the pantry with “Best Before Sept 2008” on it that we have been dealing with. However, I believe we are at the tail end of this process and now it is time to move.

A couple of months back, as I went through my morning routine, the words “boots on the ground” randomly popped into my mind. With it was the sense that “it’s time”, that it is now. It has become the theme of my latest painting (still in process, but you can see the central portion here), and I have been ruminating on it since: “what does this look like for me, Lord?”

Getting “boots on the ground” was a term associated with the armed forces, but like many such terms, we have widely expanded its use. One dictionary source explains it to mean

“people who are physically present in a place doing the work to achieve something”*

which resonates deeply with what I perceive God is saying in this season. The picture I see is like a board game, where He has put all the pieces and parts into place and set up it all up, and now it is time to start playing for real.

Most of us are well aware of the analogy of the church as an army. More often than not it has had negative connotations. Countless individuals, groups, governments and everyone in between have abused this concept to justify many an atrocity over the centuries. However, here we can focus on the positive side of what it means to be serving in God’s army.

First and foremost, an army has authority to carry out the activities assigned to them. Not more, and not less. That in itself is a bit confronting.

Secondly, an army has tactics. Ours are to look like outrageous, unconditional love and generosity in the face of those we see as our enemies. God continuously invites us to respond in love and generosity no matter how badly we are treated. And, of course, the fruit of the Spirit are always available in unlimited measure, as long as we keep the supply chain clear – get rid of all bitterness, rage, malice, envy, hatred, unforgiveness…these are the disobediences that grieve our Lord the most.

For an army to perform well, we must ruthlessly eliminate self-protection and self-promotion. Both these lead to a continuation of failure, and defeat by the enemy of our souls as he whispers in our ears then steps back and allows us to destroy ourselves and each other by our unhelpful responses to any perceived misdemeanour from another.

We must put our money where our mouth is and trust God both to position us correctly and to be our protection where He places us. We must turn from (repent!) transactional relationship (where I will only support, love, encourage, help you if you do right by me – if you offend or hurt me, I will happily disconnect at least at some level from relationship with you), and turn to covenantal relationship, where I choose (covenant) to respond lovingly no matter what, and will actively pursue relationship with those who offend me. (OUCH!)

Finally, taking a quick dive into Ephesians 6, (one of the most examined passages about the spiritual war we are in), given the repetitive use of the verb, “stand” (four times in some translations), it might be inferred that our main action in the battle is simply to stand firm. We are to stand firstly with the belt of truth firmly buckled around our waist – perhaps holding the rest in! And an important aspect of the truth we need to hold on to, one which the enemy will repeatedly attack, is around our identity in Christ.

When we have a deep understanding and belief about the fact that we can have the fullness of Christ dwelling in us (see Eph 3:14-19), meaning that we have everything that He has at our disposal, the enemy knows we will be unstoppable. If we are not secure in this knowledge, it is a prime weakness that impacts every other area of our lives. If you are struggling to live out of this knowledge, ask Him to show you what is blocking you from agreeing with Him on it and how to deal with it. It may be breaking another agreement you have made, either with an emotion (the idea that the emotion tells you the truth), or some other lie, or it may be someone you need to forgive – or both. It is time to clean out this stuff, so that we can run the race unhindered and light on our feet.

There is so much more coming in the year to come. Have you got your rucksack packed? It’s time to finish with boot camp and it’s time to march out. Get excited, because this is what you have been training for!

“Finally, grow powerful in union with the Lord, in union with his mighty strength! Use all the armour and weaponry that God provides, so that you will be able to stand against the deceptive tactics of the Adversary. For we are not struggling against human beings, but against the rulers, authorities and cosmic powers governing this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm. So take up every piece of war equipment God provides; so that when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist; and when the battle is won, you will still be standing. Therefore, stand! Have the belt of truth buckled around your waist, put on righteousness for a breastplate, and wear on your feet the readiness that comes from the Good News of shalom. Always carry the shield of trust, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. And take the helmet of deliverance; along with the sword given by the Spirit, that is, the Word of God; as you pray at all times, with all kinds of prayers and requests, in the Spirit, vigilantly and persistently, for all God’s people.” (Eph 6:10-18, CJB)

*www.dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english

Are you ready for another new year?

As I spent some time reflecting on the passing year yesterday, I was feeling a bit like it might go out with more of the proverbial whimper rather than a bang. Thinking back to this time last year when so many were hopeful that 2021 would be “better” than 2020, it could be easy to feel as though we are barely crawling over this “finishing line” and really don’t have much energy left to hope for anything. So much of the latter part of this year, for us, has felt like treading water after a shipwreck, barely managing to keep our heads above water. And if we weren’t in that place ourselves, we were trying help others from going under. And yet…

One of the activities I like to do at the end of a year is look back to the beginning – it’s hopes, what I have felt God saying, goals I might have set - to see how these played out through the year. This has been particularly helpful this year as so much of the last month or so has felt “lost”. Even as I acknowledged my sense that I “should” have done more, and the list of what I still haven’t done started to flit through my mind, so much of the good of this year, the positive and productive activities and circumstances, the way God opened doors and shifted so much in our lives (even in ways that didn’t feel so much like Him!) started to flood my thoughts.

No, in the middle of the continuing global upheaval of this year, in the middle of the loss, pain, rejection, fear, anxiety and panic that has roared around like a hurricane, I can come to the end standing upright and say, “It was a good year”. Yes, it is far too easy to look at all the issues and negativity, the darkness, but God is still here, still sovereign and still bringing His plans and purposes to fruition. Anytime I like, I can head to that place of stillness in Him, with Him, in the middle of the storm. I can choose to focus instead on gratitude for what is, or what has been good, rather than living in hopelessness and despair.

Heading my mind toward that place of stillness yesterday morning, the first lines of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” started playing in my mind. Looking up all the words, I can’t help but see it as a wonderful prayer for this time (check out the whole song here). The first and last verses are:

“O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Desire of nations, bind In one the hearts of all mankind; Bid all our sad divisions cease, And be Thyself our King of Peace.”

The last verse particularly resonates with me. Oh, that our divisions would cease! And what a prayer that has been through the ages. How that might happen is for next week’s blog, though…

Returning to the beginning of the year, there were a few entries from my journal that hit me again. I had been reading through Isaiah, particularly chapter 40 and 41. These chapters are filled with the promise that God does and will show up. That He will make a way where there seems no way, that every obstacle will be removed out of His path, and much about people seeing His glory in plain sight; that it is time to proclaim Him loudly and proudly; that He will be known by all, throughout the earth. The beautiful picture of dry, barren wastelands and deserts turning into springs, into places of lush growth is a central part of the promise here.

Into these reflections, the word God gave me for 2021 was “peace”. As I have shared earlier, it was not a word I immediately embraced. Peace, like patience (and probably every other fruit of the Spirit), generally requires a good dose of the opposite to experience its manifestation. However, into my little rejection of this word, Yeshua whispered, “Shalom” to me. Going on a search through the deeper connotations of this word we so loosely translate “peace”, excited me no end!

Wholeness, healing, restoration, restitution, integrity, harmony, prosperity, welfare, “righteous recompense”, unbrokenness, fullness, “the days of mourning are completed”.

In fact, going back to Is 40:1 (TPT), it begins,

“Comfort, comfort my people with gentle, compassionate words. Speak tenderly from the heart to revive those in Jerusalem, and proclaim that their warfare is over. Her debt of sin is paid for, and she will not be treated as guilty. Prophesy to her that she has received from the hand of Yahweh twice as many blessings as all her sins.”

This sounds very much like “shalom” to me!

So, 2021 started with much hope and excitement for me about what God was going to do. I must confess, that not much of it has been in the format I perhaps expected or would have liked. In fact, I am still processing how some things could be part of His will, especially as they have seemed to have dashed some of my hopes to pieces. However, I will keep seeking Him for the next step and the next step, with the hope, and even confidence, that His plans are better, even when I can’t really see His hand in it.

I refuse to allow disappointment and unmet expectations lead me into a place of bitterness or retreat.

For each of us, in fact, the only way we can step into this new year with hope rather than despair, with joy rather than bitterness is through gratitude. Our gratitude may just be for the opportunities to draw closer to God, to depend on Him in greater measure, to learn more of Who He is for us; it may be finding thankfulness in the little things, like provision or simply for a beautiful day.

If we want to be well positioned for all that 2022 will bring, an attitude of gratitude is a giant step in a life-giving direction, leading us toward freedom, joy and shalom and most importantly, strengthening our connection with Father God, Yeshua, His Son and Holy Spirit.

“Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.”

"I WANT TO LIFT THE ROOF OFF!"

Sunday morning a couple of weeks back, I was sitting reflecting on how much I was feeling the need to break out, how much my house seemed to be confining me, like the roof was pressing down on me and I just really wanted to be outside. I had been feeling this way for the last couple of weeks and had put it down to the end of a winter being couped up inside. However, as I was thinking, the words “I want to lift the roof off” came into my mind. I sort of pictured a space where you could have a house with a roof that opened out or something and was thinking it was still a little cold and wet for that when it came again stronger:

“I WANT TO LIFT THE ROOF OFF.”

I had the sense that God was speaking to me, that He had more to say, that there was a spiritual aspect to this and so I started to explore this idea. Straight away, I saw two aspects to this.

The first aspect was in relation to those of us who have felt hidden away; for those who have felt that this season of isolation and hiddenness, of doors not opening and things not proceeding will never end; for those who have felt like the “glass ceiling” is holding them back: There is a sense that God is about to LIFT THE ROOF OFF and release each person into so much more than we could ever imagine.

I had a picture of something like one of those clown tricks, where they take a stick and flick it out and it turns in a bunch of flowers. It was like this but that was a really poor imitation of what God is going to do. What I saw was people bursting forth as if out of nowhere and unlike the trick, or an explosion, where once the energy is spent from the spring or device behind it, that is the end, this would not go back in, and it WOULD NOT STOP. The energy in this bursting forth, or explosion will continue to expand exponentially and would be contagious. These people bursting forth in the picture do so with exceedingly great joy and are filled with praise and worship. They carry the Kingdom of God with them and it is CONTAGIOUS, so spreads like a virus (but in a good way!). Like a jack-in-the-box, as the roof is lifted off, there will be a springing forth!

The second aspect of the roof being lifted off is to do with God and our view of Him. What I felt Him say is:

it is time to let Him out of the box or containment that we have had Him in.

Whether it is out of fear of losing control, or fear of the unknown or fear because of past hurts and disappointments, God wants us to let Him out, to allow Him to lift the roof off our expectations and experiences of what it means to be His children, to be His body, to be His bride, His friends; to raise us up to a whole other level, way outside of what we have experienced before.

It is time to stop thinking small and controlled, comfortable and safe and hidden away and time to let the roof be lifted off to be open to His breath of fresh air, the new things He wants to do in us and through us.

For some time I have been feeling so strongly that it is time for us to stop just holding the ground we have, to stop just playing a “defensive” game of “if we just hold on to the final siren, that’s all we need to do and that is all we can expect” to actually being on the offense. That doesn’t mean we get to be offensive (in a bad way) - although we surely will be offensive to some, just as Jesus was – but it means we change our game plan. We go out and be the Kingdom, day by day, hour by hour. We have to be willing to lift the roof off all our self-protection and self-serving, to be willing to be open to the elements and trust God to be our protection.

It is in and from this place that God will show Himself able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.

If you are willing to brave all that it means to have the roof lifted off, join me in this prayer:

Holy Spirit of God, we invite You to come into our homes, into our lives, into our church in Your great power to lift the roof off all that holds us back, all that keeps us boxed in, and all the ways in which we have kept You boxed in. Help us to let go of all our past fears, hurts and disappointments, so we can step with You into all You have for us. Blow afresh over our lives, releasing us into the new level of freedom You desire us to walk in, for the glory of Your Kingdom and You.