I woke this morning before my alarm clock, excited to spend time in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Ipod playing prophetic worship, I settled into the pillows of my bed with Bible and journal in hand . . .
expectant.
As I prayed silently I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit settle in around me. Joy, Peace, and Love wrapped around me like a blanket. I began reading in Matthew. I stopped on the 23rd and 24th verses of chapter 4.
“And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people . . . they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them.”
Then I looked back up to verse 17:
“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'”
He proclaimed the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The gospel he preached- the same gospel we should be preaching- is the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, in short:
“It’s here! It is at hand. Bring your sick, your afflicted, your oppressed. Receive healing from death and decay, the kingdom is here! Jesus is here! His reign and his rule bring the kingdom! Stop trying to do it all yourself.”
In the last 48 hours it has taken all that I have to pull myself out of bed. My head weighs 1000 pounds. My throat, sore; my nose red and raw for how many times I have had to blow it. To top it all off, I sound like a man. I have felt exhausted, utterly.
Today, the most forceful grasp on the kingdom of heaven that I can muster is proclaiming health over myself, praying for his kingdom to come to this mortal body of mine, and listening to him as he teaches me how to pray for myself in this time of sickness.
BUT . . .
It has been a phenomenal day. My head still feels like it weighs 1000 pounds, my throat is still sore, my cough hasn’t gone anywhere, I’ve sneezed more times today than I have in the last 3 months, and I still sound like a man, but the sweet, sweet presence of the Holy Spirit has been so near. He is speaking and stirring. He has given me things to journal, words to speak out, and prayers to pray over others.
I have not had much strength or much to offer the Lord today, but he has not ceased offering me good things from the time I woke up until now!
. . . that is kingdom.
