As one who has walked through many seasons of war and has been under spiritual attack so fiercely in this last season, I have learned one thing that is crucial to victory…to lock eyes with God. 

The times when I feel as if all may be lost and I just might not make it through, are the times when I realize that I’ve lost eye contact with God.  Just like Peter on the water, I must maintain full and focused eye contact with the Father, if I’m to make it through life’s battles unscathed. 

I lock eyes with Him in a storm.  I lock eyes with Him when I’m at a crossroads.  I lock eyes with Him when I wake up in the morning, because He knows that every day, I need Him. 

He is there. 

Every morning, every evening, all day long.  He’s there when I lay down and when I rise.  He’s there when I’m high and when I’m low.  He’s there when I succeed and when I fail.  I can choose to lock eyes with Him at all times. 

Can you feel Him right now?  I suddenly am very aware of His abiding presence in the room right now.  I hope you can feel it too, wherever you are.  He is offering you an opportunity.  A chance to move toward a deeper connection with His heart.  Will you accept?

As He moves toward me, my heart stirs.  His Presence is exciting and peaceful all at the same time.  Can you feel it?  He extends His hand to me, and I place my hand in His.  I accept His invitation.  Will you?

I’ve learned that so many things about God are presented as invitations.  As a Gentleman, He always asks.  Invites.  Waits.  Stands attentive. 

I didn’t plan for this devotional to go this way, but as I kept pressing in, all I could think about, see and hear was Him inviting you into something more.  Do you want more?

I long to be like Enoch.  I long to walk so closely with Him daily, that one day I’m just whisked away with Him.  Don’t you?

It all starts with these invitations.  Opportunities to move closer to Him.  Opportunities to draw near.  Choices.  Life is full of them.  This one is most important. 

It’s always in God’s heart to bless us, it’s us that are not always poised to receive. 

Let that sink in.

It is us that sometimes are unable to receive a good thing.  I’ve been pondering this for months.  I’ve been intentionally posturing my heart to be receptive to the blessings.  This can be hard when you’ve had a lot of disappointment.  But I’ve been striving to return to the original place of joyful expectation.  When I first entered into the deeper places of God, I expected good things to come.  I watched so many doors open.  Then it was time for me to mature, and the way God does that is through walking us through the trials of life.  We must guard our hearts in these times, lest we forget His goodness.  He allows the trials to mature us, so we are complete and lacking nothing.  But in the midst of the trial, we must still lock eyes with Him and remember His goodness. Remember what it feels like to be blessed.

Today, imagine yourself leaning back on the Father.  Let Him wrap His arms around you and pull you tight.  Then look up.  Do you see them?  His eyes.  What reflection do you see in them?  It’s always something beautiful and lovely…it’s you!

You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.  The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock- the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.  Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.  You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.  The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you.  They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.  The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to.  The Lord your God will bless you in the land He is giving you.  The Lord will establish you as His holy people, as He promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in His ways.  Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you.  The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity- in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground- in the land He swore to your forefathers to give you.  The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of His bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands.  You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.  The Lord will make you the head, not the tail.  If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.  Deuteronomy 28:3-13

I don’t care what battle you are in the middle of, I don’t care what trial you are pushing through right now, one thing is assured this storm will end.

Praise Jesus that no storm lasts forever.  I breathe in that reality and watch as it clears out the fog in my heart that says this isn’t ever going to end.  I soak in the truth that no storm has ever lasted forever, and I have power and authority through the name of Jesus to speak peace to anything that I come across.  I rest in the arms that protect my life.  I lean into the chest of the One Who breathed life into my lungs, and I listen to the steadiness of His heartbeat, and it gives me courage to face another day.  He alone makes the crooked paths straight.  He Who has written my entire life in His book, will show me the way into my next chapter.  I can confidently rest on these thoughts.

I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler.  No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.  The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.  Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your sorrow will end.  Then will all your people be righteous, and they will possess the land forever.  They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.  The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation.  I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly.  Isaiah 60:17b-22

No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate.  But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah, for the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married.  Isaiah 62:4

Today, I simply want to release a prayer of endurance and hope over you.  Will you join me?

Abba, I adore You.  Thank You for always being everything I need.  Your Spirit is perfect, and Your ways are true.  I lean into Your heart to receive the peace that I need today.  God, today I truly need hope for tomorrow.  I need hope that things will not always be this way.  I need hope that no matter what, You will never leave me and I will always be held.  God, I ask for a glimpse, a vision of the future.  Would You please release a vision of the future over me to help sustain me? To give me direction.  To give me hope.  I choose, this day, to believe You.  I believe that every word, every promise You’ve spoken over me will be carried out as You have said.  I refuse to deny Your promises.  Your promises are truth.  Wrap me in a blanket of Your promises and let that warm my heart in the midst of this long winter season.  I look forward to spring with joyful expectation.  I am surrendered to Your seasons.  I trust You.  Thank You for loving me.  Help me to love You even more.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so, they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.  Isaiah 61:7

I had a vision as I was praying recently.  In it, I saw this new year as a snow globe, and I asked the Holy Spirit to come fall on 2022 and to rest on it.  As I prayed, the snow globe flipped upside down, shook and then turned upright again.  I watched as the snow fell from the top and then came to rest on the display inside.  The shaking made the snow move all around the globe and interact with every part of it.  And isn’t that true with our lives?  It’s in our shakings that we become acutely aware of God in us- Holy Spirit.

This may seem a very simplistic vision, but I saw it as a wonderful representation of the way Holy Spirit is with us.  Holy Spirit lives inside of us and when life is turned upside down, we often notice Him more.  We see Him more clearly and feel Him falling on us, and then we rest in that Presence. 

Holy Spirit is my best friend.  Never a day goes by that I don’t talk to, look for, or notice Holy Spirit.  Since I have become more in tune with Holy Spirit, I live life from a much more peaceful place.  I see things that most others don’t notice, and I am able to discern so much more.  I am better able to hold onto the peace that surpasses understanding.

When you are more aware of Holy Spirit, then you’re more aware of God’s goodness all around you.  You are better able to see blessings in everything, and to believe in God using everything for your good.  When my heart is in lock step with Holy Spirit, then I feel much more confident in my choices.  He makes me brave. 

“But now listen, O Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen.  This is what the Lord says- He Who made you, Who formed you in the womb, and Who will help you:  Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.  For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.  They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams.  One will say, ‘I belong to the Lord’; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’ and will take the name Israel.”  Isaiah 44:1-5

Today God, we ask You to flip our snow globe upside down and shake Your Spirit around and then let Holy Spirit fall upon our year.  Let our lives in 2022 be saturated by Your Spirit, and the evidence of Your Presence be stronger than ever.  Lead us, Lord.  So many voices and personalities are screaming for our attention.  So many leaders are not leading from Your heart, rather from their desire for personal gain.  Help us to quickly and easily discern the wolves.  Protect us with the guidance of Holy Spirit.  Let our hearts be so in tune to Your voice that we immediately recognize all frauds, and then give us the courage we need to walk away from them.  We no longer want to participate with any fraudulent voice, no matter how popular they are.  We don’t seek popularity God, we seek You.  We don’t desire man’s praise, we desire more of Your heart.  Lead us God.  Apart from You, we can do nothing.  Without You, what meaning does life have?  You are our purpose.  You are our song.  You are our Guide.  You are the Truth.  Wrap us in Your wraparound Presence.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

As I sat down to write another day’s devotional.  I gazed out the window and my soul stretched toward heaven, asking for God to comfort me.  I’ve been sick for several days and my body is very tired, and I am feeling needy.  I asked God to hold me.

Immediately, I saw myself in a large, castle-like den with a beautiful roaring fire in the fireplace.  The entire room was covered in the warm glow of that fireplace.  I felt safe.  Then I saw myself wrapped in a soft blanket and I was sitting in Abba’s lap.  He was holding me, and as I was writing He was directing my hands and pointing it out when I needed to add or change something.  This is the tone I hope all of my writing will have.  I long for it to be evident that they come from a position of relationship with the Father.  A place of knowing who and Whose I am.

Maybe you’re wondering why I’m telling you about this encounter.  I’m so glad you asked.  It’s because I want to convey the importance of position.

The Bible gives us glimpses of our position, but I wonder if you’ve ever really taken hold of it.

But because of His great love for us, God, Who is rich in mercy, when we were dead in transgressions- it is by grace you have been saved.  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  Ephesians 2:4-10

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the Chief cornerstone.  In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.  And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.  Ephesians 2:19-22

It can be a lot to comprehend, but we are even now, seated in heavenly places. 

I wonder how much your life would change if you fully understood that you are seated in heavenly places.  How would this affect your next step in life?  How would this affect your dreams and the way you pursue them? 

This year I have many dreams I will be pursuing.  Things that are way outside my comfort zone.  Things that I know I can only accomplish if I continually return to the lap of the Father.  Sitting in His den and gazing at the fire.  Being held.  I will live life from this position.

How will you be positioned?  Let’s take a minute and invite God to show you how you are positioned in Him.  To feel His love.  To give your love to Him.

Abba, I am consumed with affection for You.  I love to abide in Your presence.  Thank You for Your greatest gift of love…Jesus.  Thank You for sending Him to die for my sins, so I can be close to You.  You made me part of Your family through Jesus’ sacrifice.  Thank You.  Help me to see myself the way You see me.  Show me what dreams You have for my life and give me courage to reach out and embrace them.  Teach me how to walk confidently wrapped in Your acceptance.  Thank You for loving me.  Help me to love You better, every day.  I know all I have and all I will ever be, is solely because of Your gift of love for me in Christ Jesus.  Thank You.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

In an extension of yesterday’s devotional, I want to continue with the theme of moving forward.  Releasing the past.  Letting go so that new things can come.

Molting means: to shed old feathers, hair or skin, or an old shell, to make way for new growth.  For hair or feathers to fall out to make way for new growth.

Have you noticed things changing lately?  I certainly have.  Things have been changing in the world in a seemingly rapid way.  The church (universal) appears to be at a molting point where those who are believing believers and those who are unbelieving believers are being revealed.  The molting in the world is revealing the roots of many things.  Exposing has been occurring for many months now.  God had told me we were in a season of exposing and that He wouldn’t stop until all the roots had been fully exposed.  But He also admonished me not to be afraid.  He told me to trust the process.  This exposing has been way bigger than I anticipated, but He already knew I’d feel that way and that’s why He spoke to me that I shouldn’t be afraid.  What a good and loving God He is, isn’t He?

In my own life I’ve felt the molting.  I feel constantly drawn to release the old seasons of my life, so my hands are empty to receive what is coming.  The intensity of God revealing to me that I must let go of the past, has been very real and has led to many deliberate, although challenging decisions being made.  He’s been in the process of leading me to set unshakeable boundaries around myself and my family.  Places where we will refuse to compromise.  Things that are non-negotiable, so any request that violates those areas is an automatic “No”.  I see that having those guards set up in advance allows us to have much more freedom.  And we will waste far less energy fighting against others or having to mull over decisions.  When your mind is made up and God has established clear and defined boundaries, then you can rest so much easier.  He’s also allowed me to see some roots that had still remained intact within my heart.  Things I thought I had been completely healed and released from, but in reality, their root system was still under the surface and threatened to trip me up in the future.  He wants the “letting go” to be complete.  What I am seeing now, is that places where I have been asking God to bring feeling to, inside my heart, He’s now revealing that those places were covered by these roots that must be pulled out completely. 

Will you allow for the fullness of the molting season? 

Watch as the scars of the past are revealed and then they fall away.  If you will make a conscious decision to allow for the revealing and release, then rest assured, He will bring a fullness to you that you never imagined possible. 

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.  The wild animals honor Me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to My people, My chosen, the people I formed for Myself that they may proclaim My praise.  Isaiah 43:18-21

There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.  Proverbs 23:18

Before we move any further into this year, there is something we need to address…the past. 

I have a strong burden on my heart.  That burden is the knowledge that we can only move forward in this season if we will let go of the hurts and disappointments of the past.  Imagine it this way, when we refuse to forgive and let go of the past, then it’s as if we are tethered by the ankle to a tractor trailer full of all the things we refuse to let go of. 

God reminds us of this…

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.  He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.  As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him; He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.  Psalm 103:8-14

We must be willing to forgive ourselves and to forgive others. 

I was recently struggling over some things God had asked me to lay down, and when I faltered, I repented to Him and asked Him to pull me out of my muck and mire.  Then I saw Him.  He reached into the mud and pulled me out…what was shocking though, was the fact that I was already completely clean and pearly white as He was pulling me up.  My sins are forgiven.  I am clean.  That was a reminder I truly needed because the enemy is a professional accuser.  It sometimes feels like his full-time job is to accuse me of any and everything.  But God doesn’t.  I was made new at the cross.  I have given myself to Him. 

This encounter also began to better shape the way I see others.  We are all “in process”.  None of us is perfect and all of us are a work in progress.  You have no idea how far I am in God’s process for my life, and likewise, I have no idea how far along you are in His process for you.  Therefore, forgiveness should be a constant in all of our lives.  Even toward unbelievers.  Especially toward unbelievers. 

As we move into today, and the rest of our journey through the year, let’s come to the bonfire and release the past.  Our own past offenses and let downs, and those who have hurt or offended us.  Let go of all disappointment and delay.  Today is a new day.  Tomorrow is replete with promise.  Will you pray with me?

God, I love You.  Today, I ask for Your forgiveness for any time that I have held onto offense, disappointment, self-loathing and unforgiveness.  I surrender each of those to You now.  You are not only a good Father, but an honest Judge.  I trust You with my entire life, even the pain of betrayal and disappointment. 

For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.  Praise the Lord.  Psalm 117:2

He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.  He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.  They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support.  He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.  Psalm 18:16-19

This morning it occurred to me that many of our favorite foods/drinks in life are so much tastier once they are crushed.  Coffee beans are ground and then they become wonderful coffee.  Their aroma fills the air much more potently when crushed.  And they make the thing most of us long to sip on first thing in the morning, only after being crushed.  Fruit is delicious, but most of us love when it is crushed and made into sweet jams and jellies too.  Crushed herbs flavor our foods, bringing that extra spice of life.  Yes, crushing indeed enhances the flavor of many things.

The same applies to us.  For those of us who are willing to endure the crushing, there is a great reward.  I have realized more over the last 5 years of my life than ever, that crushing is a largely voluntary process.  We have chosen to walk the steady walk of obedience to the Lord in the midst of crushing, but I realize that at any moment, we could have stopped and decided to take some matters into our own hands.  It was a great measure of self-control that has led us to restrain and refrain from certain things.  God has called me to not work outside of the home.  I’ve known this for quite some time.  Years ago, He spoke to me that if I would step out of work to tend to my family, then He would bless our business. 

I can hear some of you thinking….”Well, you don’t have a business anymore, so I guess you missed that word.”

I understand you feeling this way, but you couldn’t be more wrong.  I knew that my stepping away and choosing obedience, would bring crushing before it brought the richness of abundance.  But even as I type that, I know I’m wrong.  What’s actually happened is, obedience brought immediate fruit to things in our household.  No, it hasn’t exactly reflected in our pocketbook so much, but we’ve discovered treasure beyond the things that rust can destroy.  Family blessings.  Closeness.  Depth. 

In a world consumed with titles, glorifying busyness, being an influencer, etc. We have opted out and have found something far greater.  It’s in the slowness and the stillness that God is found.  It’s in the quiet that He is heard more clearly.  It’s in serving Him, not my schedule, that a healthy rhythm of daily life is discovered.

Yes, I have tasted and seen what this world brings, and it pales in comparison to the fruit of the Spirit.

Crushed.  Yes, I have been.  But I wouldn’t change it because I’m emerging from this season as a sweet and tender spirit that knows Him even better than before.  He’s the honey poured over my crushed fruit to sweeten it into something truly pleasant to the pallet.  He’s the scalding water poured over the coffee grounds of my life, as they lay crushed before me, bringing forth the daily drink of awakening.  He makes EVERYTHING beautiful in its time.    

Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins.  If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined.  No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.  Matthew 9:17

He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  Ecclesiastes 3:11

Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good. Let us, Your servants, see You work again; let our children see Your glory. And may the Lord our God show us His approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful. Psalm 90:15-17

A couple of weeks ago, I was praying about some things I’ve been struggling with and suddenly (almost with my earthly eyes) I saw this giant black figure standing in front of me.  It was holding a black leash and it was attached to a black collar around my neck!  I was so startled and taken back that I didn’t know what to do.  I immediately began praying and asking God what it was, why it was allowed to have a hold of me, and what I should do about it.

“I break this in Jesus’ name”, I said.  But I knew it wasn’t gone.  So, I kept praying, but I told nobody.  Not a single soul, because I felt a mixture of shame and fear, wondering all the “what’s” and “why’s” you could imagine.

This week, as my kids and I were praying together over their dad’s work, one of them said, “I had a vision.”

Then they went on to describe the exact same figure with the leash and collar, but when they saw it in their vision, the collar was around their dad’s neck!  Imagine my shock as I knew this was definitely God showing us something very significant because none of my children knew anything about what I had seen previously.

I told all my kids that I had seen the exact same thing over myself and as it moved it yanked me around.  The figure was so large that I was practically helpless to resist. 

They all prayed with me about it, but we really didn’t receive answers except…when they prayed over both their father and me, they saw us defeating it with the Word of God.  They saw Chris with the Bible coming up behind his collared self and as he wielded the Bible it turned into a literal sword that broke the collar off.  They saw me with the Bible coming up behind my collared self and when I wielded it, it became a painting of a sword and that obliterated the hold of that black figure.

So, I continued to pray for days and days, until this morning.  Here I am at 5am.  I woke up seeing that figure and hearing, “shadow of doubt”.  I knew I needed to get out of bed right away and share all of this with you, because I now know that this is likely a problem for many of us.

Today, we are going to break the hold of the shadow of doubt. 

Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”  Immediately, the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”  Mark 9:23-24

Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  James 4:7

God, I come before you now.  I ask for Your forgiveness for any unbelief in my heart and mind.  Lord, I DO believe, help my unbelief.  Right now, I sever, break and destroy any hold that the shadow of doubt has over me in Jesus’ name.  You said, “Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)  I resist now in Jesus’ name.  I resist the shadow of doubt.  I see that what I doubt is not You.  I fully believe in You and all You do, but it’s me that I doubt.  I doubt my abilities.  I doubt that I can fulfill that which You have called me to.  I doubt the influence You have said I would have for Your kingdom.  I doubt my own self.  Today, I stand before the shadow of doubt and say, “I curse you, doubt.  I bind you and curse you to the dry places.  I am no longer led about by your whims.  I am no longer at your mercy.  I stand before you in the spirit of the living God and say, leave me and never return.  I was bought with a price and created to accomplish many great things for the kingdom of God.  I will not be thwarted.  I will not be defeated.  I will not relent until I see ALL accomplished that God has laid aside for me.  Not for my glory, but for His.  The Father of lights surrounds me as a shield and right now, I break any and all agreement with doubt.  I stand in faith.”  “Thank You God for loving me enough to show me this spirit.  I ask for You to fully defeat it.  Lead me in boldness and certainty today and every day that follows, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

I feel the burgeoning bud of success throbbing within the confines of my heart.  I feel marked for “more.”  I feel that everything I truly put my hand to is successful.  Today, Lord I come before You and ask that You would remove any and everything from within me that would eschew success.  Any kind of self-defeat, self-loathing, false humility, poverty spirit, shame, guilt or anything else that would rob me of the success and advancement You have set aside for me, must be gone now in Jesus’ name.  I reach past all family lines and break through all generational curses in my bloodline and I grasp onto the Vine.  The One that I have become grafted into.  I no longer live from an earthly generational line.  I am one with You.

I am the true vine, and my Father is the Gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.  You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.  Remain in Me, and I will remain in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.  I am the vine; you are the branches.  If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.  This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples.  John 15:1-8

If I remain in You, then I am assured to have unthwarted success in all I do.  I will bear fruit in any season when I walk closely with You. 

Remove all doubt from within me.  I can do every single thing You ask of me.  I will accomplish ALL You have planned for me.  You are the One Who makes the crooked places straight.  God give me a plumb line into Your heart.  Keep me so centered upon You that I am no longer distracted by the world.   Awaken my spirit to know Your plans for my life.  Expand my mind to receive the height, depth and width of Your desires for my life.  I know sometimes I struggle to follow You because where You are leading me seems far too good to be true.  Yet, other times Your plans are so far out of the box that my mind struggles to see so far off the beaten path.  I surrender to You, my idea of success.  I surrender to You my ideas for the future and ask that You would breathe into my mind, clear out the fog and let me see clearly into Your ideas.  You say, I have the mind of Christ…So let me see.  Let me see what You see.  Give me a glimpse through Your eyes.  I am desperate to move further into Your kingdom.  I am consumed with desire to dive into the deepest place within Your heart that I can.  Don’t leave me wanting, Lord.  Come and pull me under.  Take me to places that I don’t even know exist.  You are so infinite that I know so much of You has yet to be discovered.  Reveal Yourself to me.  I long to know you better and better.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

There is an enemy of our souls.  He stalks about looking for those to devour.  Some deny his existence.  Some give him far too much credit.  Others even feel sorry for him…I can’t even imagine this.  He is real.  He does hate us.  But we are not subject to him. 

Like a lion without teeth, he walks around proudly boasting of himself.  Wreaking havoc wherever and whenever he can.  But I know a secret.  He only has power when we agree with him.  Let that settle into your heart, and I will write it again so you can read it again. 

He only has power when we agree with him.

“Agree with the enemy?!”, you say.  “I would never agree with him.”

Would you not?

Every time fear, doubt, disbelief, discouragement, bitterness, unforgiveness and many other things, speak to us and we entertain them, we are agreeing with the enemy.  Every time you believe less of yourself that what God has intended for your life, you are agreeing with him.  When you live out of a poverty spirit, you are agreeing with him. 

Now that you realize this, what will change in your life?

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.  2 Corinthians 10:5

DO not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- His good, pleasing and perfect will.  Romans 12:2

We are called to take every thought captive.  To renew our minds.  To acknowledge the power of our tongue.  We must begin to take this seriously.

God has far too many unrealized plans for all our lives, for us to waste time agreeing with the enemy of our souls. 

To steal, kill and destroy is his agenda.  But I know One Who has come to give you life!  Not only that but He desires that you have abundant life and live it to the full!!

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.  John 10:10

Today, I want you to drown the enemy.  Imagine you are standing in the Fountain.  God’s truth and His peace are gentle flowing all around you.  As you take a step closer to the gushing water in the Fountain’s center, you suddenly wince.  You’ve stepped on a pebble.  Where did that come from?  A previously idle thought begins to stir within you.  The Fountain isn’t for you.  You’re not good enough, or strong enough, or holy enough…Whatever the thought is, it carries a feeling of unworthiness.  Now imagine yourself picking up this offending pebble.  Hold it in your hand and look at it.  Are these thoughts you’re having true?  Still holding this pebble, extend your hand out to the Father and show it to Him.  Ask Him what He thinks about this thought that you suddenly stepped on.  Is it a truth?  Is it a lie?  Once that determination is made and the pebble is revealed as the lie that it is, see yourself handing it to the Father.  Let Him remove it from you completely.  Now, ask Him for a truth.  What does He think about you?  Close your eyes and ask Him to show you how He feels about you.  And now, this is the hardest part…believe what He says.  Don’t try to qualify it or say it’s too good to be true.  No.  Instead, let Him speak His love over you, and all you need to do is say, “Yes.  Thank You.”

Look in your hand now.  There’s a pearl in it. 

When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!  Matthew 13:46

From this position of being blessed by God, go out and enjoy this day and all that it holds for you.