I wanted to share with you what the Lord has been speaking to me regarding this next season. It’s actually something He’s been speaking to me about for quite some time, but apparently, I wasn’t taking it as seriously as I should. What I keep hearing over and over again is: “BE STILL”, “WAIT”, “REST”. As I stated before, this is something the Lord has been teaching me for several years, but it seems as if His instruction has gotten more intense over the last few months, and especially leading up to the end of last year (2014).
As I began to seek the Lord more earnestly in December, I felt the Lord impressing upon me strongly to come into His rest…to “Wait” in His Presence, until I receive His strength. Many times in His word He tells us to "be still" or "wait" on Him. We are reminded in Psalm 46:10 to “Be still, and know that I am God…”, and in Psalm 27:14 it tells us to “Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord”. The word of God in Isaiah also tells us, “Those that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31), and "In quietness and trust shall be your strength" (Isaiah 30:15). Since the Lord began to speak to me stronger about this recently, I began to study all of these scriptures (and many more) concerning waiting on the Lord, and being still before Him. I noticed in the passage in Isaiah 30:15, that “quietness” in Hebrew (“shaqat”) means “to be quiet, be tranquil, be at peace, rest, lie still, be undisturbed”. I began to realize that this is a key element, and definitely something we need more of!
As you can see from the passages above, many times when it refers to “quietness” and “waiting upon the Lord”, it also states that this is where we will find our strength. The Lord began to impress upon me, and I heard the Lord say that “we will need this type of strength in this next season…more than ever before!” We know how to pray, how to intercede, how to fast, and even how to worship…but do we know how to wait? Please understand what I mean when I say “Wait”. This is an eager expectation that is filled with hope. It is when we come into His presence, and we become still before Him, until we are endued with His strength, and we begin to see things from His perspective. This is what the Lord is calling us to…a time of stillness before Him, where in our weakness His strength is made perfect. It is here in His presence that we hear His instructions for the future, and the answers to our most difficult questions. It is in this place that we hear His voice clearly, and the vision He has given us becomes clearer than ever before!
I realize that many of you have had this experience of waiting in His presence, until He became as real to you as the very air that you breathe, and all the troubles of this life seemed to fade away. Perhaps like me, you simply struggle to find the time to come into that stillness and quietness on a regular basis. Life can be so busy…trust me, I know! With a business to help run, ministry engagements, family time, as well as helping take care of my father, time is not a luxury I have very much of. However, although I do spend quiet time alone with Him, I have felt the Lord speaking that I need to make it a higher priority in my life. Let me admonish you to do the same. We will need the strength, instruction, and inner peace that can only be found in His Presence…especially during this next season.
If you are one of those who have never been in that place of stillness before the Lord, I encourage you to make time to do so. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you, and focus your soul and body on becoming still, as you wait on Him. It can take time to train yourself to do this, but as you “practice His Presence”, it will become easier and easier to do.
The Lord has also revealed to me that there are hard times coming in this next year, and in the subsequent years following, but for the Body of Christ, they will also be the most amazing years we have ever experienced! If we will allow the Lord to strengthen us, if we will take the time to receive the refreshing & direction that only comes in His Presence, we will have the power and grace to complete the destiny that He has ordained for us! Could it be, that you were brought into the Kingdom for such a time as this? I believe so…and the best part of your life is yet to come!