San Diego had a jolt and some shake yesterday - 5.9. Peter and I ran downstairs and out to the front yard, just in case. I wrote in my diary that even as the earth is shaking, so are God's people being shaken in their lives. Yesterday I received at least three news of "troubles" or obstacles coming to His people which caused them to be troubled, angry and worried, a natural human response. I looked up to the Lord and asked, " Is the All is well word timely? (see my July 7 blog, God's net of blessing) If it is, what more do you want to show us?"All I know at this point is that God is going to show us new things. The word I got today is Revelation 4:1, Come up higher and I will show you... Every challenge or trouble only presses me to go higher - to see, to hear, to know what our Father God/Commander-in-Chief/Comforter-Friend is preparing for us all. He is training His bride in the art of "coming up higher" so we can have clarity.
This is the clarity that I sense is from Him: that indeed all is well and that God is preparing us to take dominion or authority over the earth for Him. He had asked Adam to do that, but Adam forfeited his call. I don't see us like Adam losing our inheritance, or getting victimized. Instead, I sense that He is calling us to take a bold step forward, come up higher to seize hold of our inheritance.
I see God taking us into greater glory as in Isaiah 60:1-3, Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
I see Him showing us how to leap across chasm and accomplish unusual feats. Or I see Him taking us on unexpected twist and turn and suddenly our vision expands before us. But most of all, I see us coming into what we are made for. That is just about the most powerful thing to happen to us - when we know who we are in Christ with all our talents and gifting, and then we present ourselves to Him as living sacrifices. That's when the kaboom! takes place in our being and we become fully passionate towards God.
This is the year of breakthrough, and many are coming into their breakthroughs in so many ways. God is all about such breakthroughs. The Bible is full of stories of God in partnership with humans to bring us into unbelievable success stories - Joseph, David, Moses, Abraham, Ruth, Peter, Paul, John all reaching their full potentials. When I use the word "success" I mean "bearing much fruit." I have been experiencing the sense of success and favor as my gifting and talent come into fuller use by Him. He wants to do that for every single child of His - musicians, surfers, jewelry maker, inventors, investors, bankers, businessman, postman, cook, wife, mother, doctors, scientists, all. He so wants to be the wings that carry us higher. He has brilliant ideas to share with us, no, to put in us, to give to us. He wants to help us to implement these ideas. He wants to open doors for us, get us connected to the right people, bring us the loan we need, because He is in all these endeavors. He created us so we can be creative like He is. We are like Him when we are being passionate with our talents and gifting. He rejoices over us with singing and it gives Him such joy when we succeed in all our enterprises. By doing what we are gifted to do we are fulfilling the Lord's prayer, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven because we are His sole agents to take dominion over the earth.
But first He must train us to know Him, recognize His voice and not the voice of the enemy who poses as angel of light, which produces the religious spirit, a counterfeit spirit. He needs us to be so in love with Him that we are one with Him. That's how He can take us higher - when we are so in Him and for Him that we would move as one with Him in all our endeavors on earth. No longer will we be split up inside us - swayed by the system of the world, and driven by selfish ambition, tormented by fears and doubt. We will be so still in Him, gazing into His eyes, all our being in sync with His Spirit. When He moves up into the air, flying high, we will be in Him, enjoying every move and every nuance of joy and exuberance that He feels. We will see what He sees. We will hear Him telling us things we have never known before.
Jesus said, I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)
