As a minister of the gospel I'm privileged to meet many new people, and I am always awed to discover their passions. Yet I can't help but notice how many are deeply wounded as clearly evidenced by their reactions, attitudes, and the way they talk about the church. Such deep wounds are incredibly challenging to overcome and tend to color everything else.
I believe that in 2012 God wants to get to the root cause of those traumatic wounds. He wants to go to the source and heal and restore. He won't just cosmetically cover the scars inflicted by the church . . . He is going to the root! He is going deeper in 2012! Why? Because He wants His bride to be a healthy, well-balanced and mature, without spot or wrinkle. In fact, I believe God will heal every wound if we will allow it. The remarkable truth is that we no longer have to be victims, scarred and incapacitated, stuck in the ravages of our past.
I see in the spirit that some carry a "mental clip board" to church. During church they scan the list and check off things that have the potential to hurt them in the same way they've been hurt in the past - as if bracing themselves for the inevitable. They also have a tendency to stay on high alert, guarding themselves from such things. After all, if a pastor or a church hurt them once - it can happen again. So they check the list, analyzing every detail, every decision, every move, and every hidden motive--searching beneath the surface for anything that could signal trouble. When finally they dig deep enough...they find what they have been looking for.
Healing Negative Mindsets
In 2012 God wants to heal those old, negative mindsets and reactions. He does not want you to walk through life like an IRS agent . . . rigid, negative, and judgmental, pouncing on minute details. Instead, He wants you to be a "fruit picker" who picks the good fruit and quickly discards the bad. In order to reflect God's love, we must not be on the defensive, on guard and negative, because that is not who God is. Rather we must be healed, and set free from suspicion and judgment, so we can love freely and let our yes be yes, and our no, be no. We must allow God to heal us and remove the walls of suspicion and negativity that have been hallmarks of our lives in the past, and replace them with love and compassion for those around us. Then if problems arise at that point we simply cast those feelings upon God and deal with the issues as healthy, well-adjusted adults who respect one another.
As we let go of those things that hinder us we will see the chains of the past fall off. Fear, anger, resentment, bitterness toward the church can be restored. He will redeem all of that if we let Him. That doesn't mean the church is perfect . . . it truly does need a transformation . . . but that won't happen if its people hold onto bad attitudes, stuck in emotional ruts that they won't let go. Throw away your clip board and allow the love of God to transform your mind. Please, my friend, don't start 2012 gazing in the rear view mirror with blame on your mind. Instead, allow God to heal your hurts by giving Him permission to address the root cause, so you can start brand new. Let Him heal your mind, soul, and emotions so you can worship Him in spirit and in truth, withholding nothing. Trust again. Try Again. Take a hold of the Master's hand. He loves you and will never leave you the way you are if you allow Him to transform you.
Take Advantage of the Grace He Offers
In fact, let me go a step further. If you think you can hold onto those old wounds and the bitterness that accompanies them, think again, because the Lord will not humor us if we fail to take advantage of the grace He freely offers. And to look at it another way, realize that the Devil walks in the open doors wounds offer, and hinders and manipulates us when we fail to go to God for healing.
I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to quit and throw in the towel regarding the church, in the past twenty-five years. At times that dark spirit of hopelessness paralyzed me, but I had to choose to get up again . . . to try again and to trust again. I had to refuse to become a wooden Indian for Jesus--doing nothing. Though I was paralyzed by fear and unbelief I had to shake off any hurt, apathy and even laziness caused by past wounds. I had to give God the broken pieces, the broken mentalities, the broken attitudes and trust Him to make all things brand new!
Consider this: God wants to pour out His spirit on all mankind, but until we let go of our right to be hurt, holding something against the church or each other, God can do nothing. Did you hear that? Let me say it again-it's that important! We actually hamstring God, preventing Him from going to work on our behalf when we fail to allow Him into the dark, infected places in our hearts. Only as we repent of the need to hold onto them, and turn away from those old, sick ways of reacting, can God change our hearts, heal our wounds, and make us new. The stunning truth is that you get to choose whether to let go or hold onto the garbage that drags you down and keeps you from God's best.
Hearing Well Done
Perhaps you're like me. I hope so. I desperately want to hear God say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant--you finished the job I gave you to do. You didn't bury the talent I entrusted to you because you wouldn't let go of the wounds of the past. You finished the race! You, My child, are an Overcomer. Welcome home!"
In my spirit I've felt that 2012 would be a year of "Great Preparation" for the coming visitation of the Lord. He is preparing a bride who will be humble, holy and intimate with her Groom. I believe the body of Christ will be transformed in 2012. He will prune: that is--expose, uproot, and cut off the dead branches in our lives to make us that mature bride. The Lord will deal with the hidden things in our hearts---not as a mean stepfather----but rather a loving Daddy God who only desires to bring His chosen Bride closer to himself. He is a holy God who hates sin, sickness and bitterness, and because He is holy, He must have a holy bride--prepared for His coming, eagerly looking for His return, putting away the things of the flesh. (See Revelation 19:7-9.) I don't believe He will force us to follow a rigid, harsh system of rules, but rather a "coming up" (See Revelation 4:1) into a higher level of understanding of the deep things of God. This will result in transformation. The changes will come through relationship and intimacy, not by coercion or rigid rules. This great preparation will usher in a great visitation of the Spirit that will bring in a gathering of lost lambs and those who have fallen away.
The Prayer of Jabez
In the Year 2012 Pray "The Prayer of Jabez" over your life and mind.
1 Chronicles 4:10: "And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested." This prayer is composed of four parts. First, Jabez asks God to bless him. Second, he asks God to enlarge his territory or increase his responsibility. Third, he prays for God to be with him and stay close. Finally, Jabez asks God to keep him from evil/harm, in other words--wrong attitudes and bad choices so that he will never get off track in his walk with a holy God.
Scripture says today is the day of salvation, but let me add that today is so much more than that. Today is the day to run to God to get set free from garbage and wounds that hold you down, and keep you tethered to earth when God wants to set you free, to absolutely soar in your spirit, so that nothing can tie you down! To that end I would encourage you to soak in the spirit, worshiping and praising God, and give Him permission to search out every hidden compartment, every nasty corner of your heart, transforming it, making it shine like the multifaceted diamond He intended it to be. Only then will He use you to fulfill your destiny and live out the purpose for which He created you. I pray that you will seek God with all your heart, and let Him manifest Himself to you in ways you've never seen before, for it is in those times He will begin to let you move in signs, wonders, healings, revelations, deliverances, miracles, visions and dreams. What could be better than that for 2012? Let Him touch you and fill you with His glory!
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea!
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