by Glenice Mills
Stop!!! Consider!!!
We are in the midst of changing times, for us to get an understanding of it we need to know we are positioned exactly where the Lord wants us to be, so we can be most effective in advancing His kingdom here on earth.
We are in a season of grace, of His grace, to seek Him for revelation of where and how He is wanting to use each of us in such a time as this.
Old ways of doing things, staying in our comfort zones, and clinging onto those things that have given us security will no longer suffice. That is why it is time to stop, and to consider. To consider means to think or deliberate in order to decide, it is to contemplate mentally especially in order to reach a conclusion. How can we do this if we are too busy and too distracted to actually hear, and begin to put into action the new thing the Lord is requiring of us in these times and the times to come. It is about being prepared for the ‘very shortly’ because very shortly we won’t have the same opportunities the Lord is giving to us now. Perhaps one of the most dangerous times and places to be, is where we think we know best, where we are like the ‘fat cat with a happy contented smile on its face because it ‘feels good’. It has grown fat on the good things of life forgetting that one day it may not be so comfortable.
We know there is a shaking taking place in many areas of society at this time and it is being done by God’s hands. So, if we are too busy, how can we know what He is requiring of us both individually and corporately when we are caught in the ‘mouse on a wheel’ syndrome? We will tire and get burnt out, making us ineffective, and setting us up to be easy targets of the enemy. That is what the enemy wants and we must be more on guard than ever before because he hates what is happening to many of God’s people at this time. There are pressures put on us by God because He is wanting to arrest us in order to get our attention, and there is pressure from the enemy that is designed to derail us from the purposes of God. That is why we must stop and take time to consider. Many are in a season of meditating and waiting on God. This may seem a ‘waste of time’ however nothing, that is, no thing is ever wasted in God. That is man’s judgments and opinions. However when we consider, it is about reaching a conclusion and putting a plan into action. As the Lord has been speaking to me and as I have been walking in learning to ‘consider’ there are two key words that have come out of this time of considering. They are crucial for what is coming in the days ahead but they are also a challenge to what we have known, and held onto dearly. There are times when I feel the weight of what the Lord is saying and this is such a time and such a word. I pray that you would not take this lightly when you read it, but go and consider and seek the Lord as to what He is wanting to change and adjust in your life.
The two key words are CALLING and COST. The reality is the two go hand in hand. You cannot come into your true calling in God without there being a cost involved.
CALLING:
There are many in the body of Christ that God is ‘arresting’ at this time because He is wanting to get our attention. Many are in dire straights, things are not working out for them, and it appears that no door is opening. They are quite literally between a rock and a hard place. That is because the Lord is wanting them to stop, and to consider.
There is a terrible sense of helplessness, of vulnerability, of frustration because it appears that things are inactive and there seems no advancement or apparent way forward. Hopelessness has taken root and it is like being in a dark tunnel with no light to guide a way forward. There appears to be no direction ahead and it feels like the blind leading the blind. It is easy to believe the lie of the enemy that ‘you have missed it’ and feel burdened by what appears as a negative thing. However, the truth is, the Lord knows the perfect plan for our lives and He is organising and arranging us so we are positioned, ready for the days of battle. There are many in the body of Christ who have been in the wrong position in the workplace, where they live, or church they are a part of, and that has been alright for a time, but it is changing. That is why the discomfort, because there is an urgency for many to come out of, and away from, what has held them back. It is a divine time of repositioning because it is about coming into the high calling of God, of His kingdom purposes for our lives.
The following Scripture is for this time and together we should pray that we each come into our destinies in Him.
2 Thessalonians 1:11,12
Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of the faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
COST:
For us to fulfil our destinies there will be a cost. It is about the divine exchange that needs to take place in order to move in our calling. There is a serious requirement on us all at this time to consider if we are prepared to give up some things in order to come into a greater measure of His call on our lives. A divine exchange is and will be the constant challenge for us in these times. Exchange means the act or process of giving one thing and receiving another in its place. It is about complete surrender of our lives to Him. It is about giving up some things in our lives in order for the Lordship of Jesus Christ to have greater rulership in our lives. It will involve change: change in our attitudes, behaviours, relationships, securities, habits, cultural ways, in order to bring the ‘higher way’ into every area of our lives. It is about being a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are instructed in the Word to take up our cross daily, and for us to be who we are called to be the cross of Jesus Christ will and must be central to all we say and do. It is about our individual and corporate obedience to the leading of the Lord!
There is an urgency, it is time to consider how serious we are about serving God and how much we are prepared to give up in order to be true men and women of God.
We have choices and now is the time to consider what the Lord is requiring of us.
Are you positioned for growth both personally and spiritually?
What is the passion of your heart? Are you preparing to move toward fulfilling the passion or have you given up on it because you don’t think it has any merit?
Do you talk yourself out of your passion, negating every move forward in order to bring about its fulfilment. Maybe there is someone dependent on you actually coming into correct position, coming into your call so they can be blessed by your unique expression of the Lord? Maybe there is a window of opportunity open to you right now and you are considering your options? It is not about ‘your options’ but rather about whether or not you are prepared to give some things up. Maybe in the natural it does not make sense, but the passion and urgency won’t go away.
Perhaps you had a dream and hope of it ever coming to pass has died. You have lost your passion and your vision has been snuffed out perhaps by others blocking and stopping its fulfilment. Time is short and you may be the crucial person needed to bring something to fruition. You dare not hold back because you will feel burning frustration that will eat away at your vision bringing increasing discontent.
These are serious things to consider!!!
The Lord has a plan and a strategy for you to come into all He has planned and destined for your life. He does not want you to give up hope and He does not want you to hold back from being all He has called you to.
Remember:
Jeremiah 20:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Can I encourage you to consider your future direction. It will mean stopping and considering where you are right now and seeking the Lord for the way forward in your life. It will take time aside with God, and it may require change in your life, but the rewards of walking in His will for your life will bring peace and rest to you.
The Lord is raising up His army, ones who have counted the cost, who have been obedient to all that He is requiring at this time. There have been many tests for these ones to pass but the time of increasing reward for faithfulness is near.
Do not lose hope!!! The time is near for the fulfilment of your dreams!!!
I want to finish on the following Scripture as it gives us keys to keep us on track.
Consider it.
Ephesians 4:1-4
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Amen!!!
