Today marks day 3 of our Jericho walk.
As we march around the wall in our soul, I feel like today is a sort of letting go and leaning in to birth the new. It’s a bittersweet moment when the old is no longer enough, but we must fully let go to embrace what’s to come. We must empty our hands, so we are poised to receive the new portion.
Let go of the past, of offense, of the need to be justified, of the need to be right, of needing to be in control…whatever it is, let go. Right now, imagine yourself walking up to the Lord and in your hands, you are holding whatever it is that you need to let go of, and you lay it down at His feet. It’s your offering. Now, see yourself bowing with your face to the ground and arms stretched out before you and your hands open with palms facing up. Now, take the time in your owns words to tell the Lord you are laying it down and are now ready to receive the new portion.
Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore, I will wait for Him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him. Lamentations 3:22-25
Today is the day to surrender it all to God. Allow Him to work things out in His way, not ours. Sometimes it won’t make sense to our earthly minds. Other times it might seem He is asking us to do the opposite of what we see as the right way forward. Friend, He is the God of all things, He alone sees everything, if He is asking you to do something that feels hard, stretching or opposite…have courage, take heart and just follow Him.
The bittersweetness of this moment could be knowing that He is asking you to do something that others won’t understand, and you’re worried about being misunderstood. But what is more important to you, being understood or being in the center of God’s will for your life? We must let go of the need to be understood…when the ways of God are often a mystery. It’s part of the beauty of Who He is. He is mysterious, but we do know He is good and wants good for us.
For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9
We must stop being worried about how we look to others and follow Jesus no matter what. Imagine what new area of breakthrough you could move into if you let go of how you are seen? I’ve been seeing God in that place. He’s been constantly convicting me of my fear of man and challenging me to simply follow Him. I am in process with this, but I’m committed to seeing it through…as a result I’ve faced a lot of spiritual warfare over this and have been bombarded by thoughts of others and their perceived opinions of me. But what I’m noticing is that God is using it all to set me free. To help me get past my own vanity and pride, and to move deeper into His presence.
God, I surrender all to You. You alone are worthy. You alone are eternal, so why would I be concerned with the thoughts and misunderstandings of others? I trust that Your spirit will bear witness to all You direct me to do. I trust you completely. In Jesus’ name, amen.
365 Days in the Presence 