A New Season

The Lord revealed the next steps Jeremiah was to take to enter into his new season to achieve his future. At first Jeremiah was not able to see his future clearly, his boldness, and clarity didn't come until God removed his fear, doubt, and excuses. We are always so eager to point out our sin, weaknesses, and lack of training, skill, and failures. We are full of reasons why we can't do something, or why we are not the right person for an assignment. We offer excuses when God comes to send us forth in our calling. God was establishing Jeremiah as a prophet. Jeremiah could only focus on his past weaknesses because he couldn't see his bright future. 

Jeremiah 1:4-10 Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." Then I said, "Alas, Lord God Behold, I do not know how to speak, because I am a youth." But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' because everywhere I send you, you shall go, and all that I command you, you shall speak. "Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you," declares the Lord. Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth." "See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." NASU

God's loving persistence with Jeremiah gave him skill and understanding to develop his prophetic eyes to see vision and his ears to hear the word of the Lord. Jeremiah 1:11-12, The word of the Lord came to me saying, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" And I said, "I see a rod of an almond tree." Then the Lord said to me, "You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it." NASU God continued to articulate Jeremiah's potential and refused to allow Jeremiah to focus on his excuses, fears, or failures.

God also speaks to the positives of what we are, and what we can become, rather than emphasizing the negatives. For example, God does not speak to our sickness and disease; he speaks to our health and healing. He does not speak to our poverty or lack; he speaks to our wealth and abundance. He does not speak to our failure or mistakes; he speaks to our triumphs and success. He does not focus on the past; he speaks to the now and to the future. Our yesterdays can not hold us back from reaching our tomorrows unless we allow them to. Our past does not dictate or mirror the future unless we refuse to embrace God's directions. God speaks the language of hope to encourage each of us to succeed. We do not like to be left in the dark so God brings us into the light. He wants us to know the wonderful plans he has for our futures as much as we want him to reveal them to us. Often a new vision is given in our darkest hour. Visions like a photo are developed in a dark space or a dark room. If we will carry that vision through the process we will exit the darkness with clarity, hope, and a new plan for success and true godly prosperity. God's plan is for us to prosper in every area of our life.

When we capture a picture of light and God's goodness for our lives in the midst of the dark place of our existence, we have "vision." Vision releases hope. Hope enables us to change. Change releases destiny. Destiny drives us out of the now and propels us into the future. Once we catch a glimpse of who we are in the future we are able to bring it into the reality of today. This is one of the major ways God is able to accelerate good in our lives through dreams and visions. The more we can see and believe, the more we can become. We must see it to be it! God births dreams and visions in us in order to bring revelation, illumination, and inspiration.

Revelation is the discovery of truth. Illumination is spiritual or intellectual enlightenment. Inspiration is communicating the understood, discovered truth to others. To inspire means to inhale, or breathe in the Spirit to stimulate the mind, to create or to activate the emotions to a higher level of feeling. To spiritually inspire is to guide, affect, or arouse by the divine influence of the Holy Spirit. Through revelation, illumination, and inspiration, the Spirit of the Lord is calling to the Holy Spirit within us as he leads us into the deep things, secrets, and mysteries of God. The DNA within each of us sings a different song.

Psalm 42:7-8 reads: Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the Lord directs His love, at night His song is with me-a prayer to the God of my life (NIV).

God has been speaking to me that "It's time to widen" and advance, to receive his promotion and increase. But, if I focus on the difficulties of my past season instead of the potential of my promising future, fear will stop me from making the necessary changes to step into the new. Isaiah 54:2-8, Make your tent bigger. Open your doors wide. Don't think small! Make your tent large and strong, because you will grow in all directions. Your children will take over many nations and live in the cities that were destroyed. Don't be afraid! You will not be disappointed .People will not say bad things against you. You will not be embarrassed. When you were young, you felt shame. But you will forget that shame now. You will not remember the shame you felt when you lost your husband. Your real husband is the one who made you. His name is the Lord All-Powerful. The Holy One of Israel is your Protector, and he is the God of all the earth! You were like a woman whose husband had left her. You were very sad in your spirit, when the Lord called you to be his. You were like a woman who married young, and then her husband left her when God called you to be his. God says, "I left you, but only for a short time. But with all my love, I will bring you back to me again. I became angry and turned away from you for a short time. But I will comfort you with kindness forever." The Lord your Savior said this.

The past is over; it cannot dictate your potential, expectations, or hopes unless you give it permission to rule your present and future. God has promised to remove the shame, embarrassment, and the reproach that causes fear. God is calling you back to your first love with all of his love.

Deuteronomy 30:11-14, tells us success is in our mouth! "For this commandment which I command you this day is not too difficult for you, nor is it far off. It is not a secret laid up in heaven, that you should say, Who shall go up for us to heaven and bring it to us, that we may hear and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, Who shall go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear and do it? But the word is very near you, in your mouth, and in your mind and in your heart, so that you can do it." AMP

God wants us to decree his word to release favor, breakthrough, strategic alignment, and prosperity. When we decide the past is over, and it is time to step into a new day, in a new way, God's light will shine brightly on the new path. Job 22:28-30, "You shall also decide and decree a thing, and it shall be established for you; and the light of God's favor shall shine upon your ways. When they make you low, you will say, there is a lifting up; and the humble person He lifts up and saves. He will even deliver the one for whom you intercede who is not innocent; yes, he will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands." AMP