Funny sometimes how ironic God can be isn’t it? It so astounds me how often He teaches us about the fullness of His provision in the Spiritual by having us walk out the exact opposite in the physical. My month in Malaysia was just that…a complete lacking in the physical realm and in turn such a full supply of provision in the Spiritual that my cup now overflows!
The month began with a complete upset of all things normal (or what you can call normal on the Race). We came into month 5 with whole new teams, having all comfort-ability of relationships previously established for the first half of the race all stripped away and replaced with the vast unknown that new relationships hold. Yet in the unknown, the anticipation of the Lord to show up in new ways was so rich. The Lord lovingly placed me on a team with 7 beautiful women of faith that continue to sharpen me daily in my walk with the Lord. He absolutely knew what He was doing when He formed this powerful dynamic of women (warriors) of the Lord. Hell hath no furry like a woman deeply in love with Her redeemer! The Lord is definitely preparing to move mountains in the spiritual realm with this band of warriors I can assure you that!
So as the teams shifted and we stepped into the unknown of this new dynamic, the Lord tenderly spoke profound prophecy over this new season of my life. He spoke to my heart that the place He was moving me into with Him would be a BEAUTIFUL season. He was calling me, alluring me, to sit at His feet and fall deeply and desperately in love with Him again. He led me into a wilderness season physically, so I could be led into a season of utter dependency on my first love that became such a time of divine acceleration of growth and springing forth of new life in the Spiritual. What a beautiful season to be in!
Again, here comes the irony of our Lord. Malaysia is a closed country, meaning we could not evangelize or even speak out the name of Jesus in public for the danger it could be to our ministry contact and potentially us as well. Christians are not welcomed, their voices silenced by the government; or more accurately, the enemy. There is such a stronghold over the land that Satan reigns by keeping the church silent. If Truth is not allowed to be spoken, then Truth is never known; lies and deception prevail. Well as you can imagine, that did not set well with my spirit at all. I’m quickly learning that the Lord has given me a warrior spirit, and when I see the enemy having any type of reign or authority over anything, my warrior rises up from the ashes. All authority in Heaven and on Earth belongs to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! So I was determined not to be silenced, I was set on proclaiming the name of Jesus and declaring the truth of His authority into the atmosphere! And you can't imagine the chains that were broken this month, by the authority of Jesus Christ! How good is our God!
Let the irony continue…
“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.” Psalm 34: 8
At the start of this month the Lord called me to a very significant task. He asked me to fulfill a vow to Him and to step out in bold faith by fasting for our entire time of ministry in Malaysia. Now I recently found out at debrief that AIM's protocol is for a person not to fast for more than 3 days, so my deepest apologies to AIM for not respecting their standards, but in all fairness I truly had no idea there was such protocol and the Lord did very specifically place this calling on my heart, so I went for it. This was the most profound journey I have ever taken with the Lord. Ever single day I fell to my knees at the foot of His throne, laying open my hands and bowing low my heart, in true humility and deep yearning for Him to move powerfully in and through me as a cleansed vessel for His kingdom. Oh, how faithful the Lord was to answer my hearts cry!
“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16
I sat at His feet every moment I could last month; interceding on behalf of my family and our ministry, praying over the Lord's will for my life, crying out for wisdom and depth of knowledge and understanding of the Holy, and petitioning the Lord for the strengthening of faith so that I could truly walk out my royal calling. He was so faithful to meet me exactly where I was in every moment and fulfilled His promises to me of providing for every need. The fasting I had embarked on, left my physical state weaker and less satisfied than id ever been in my life. Yet, the Lord proved truer to me than id ever experienced by satisfying the depth of my being with all that He is. I have never been more nourished, sustained, strengthened, fulfilled in my entire existence! IRONY!
The Lord chose to remove all physical fulfillment in order to show me how nothing in the physical will sustain and fill me like even an ounce of nourishment in the Spirit will! I became so in tune with the Spirit that I could sense His movement and presence all around me. I could tangibly feel that it was the strength of the Lord alone that allowed me to serve throughout my days. I could audibly hear Him speak to me in every moment. My heart became so in tune with His that my very heartbeat was beating to the rhythm of the Father's! It is the most beautiful thing I have experienced on this earth! I could see the Spiritual with the eyes of God, I could think about every matter with the very mind of Christ, I could hear clearly the very words of God spoken through every audible sound I encountered, I could feel the beating of the Father's heart for every lost soul we interacted with and how deeply His heart broke for the chains of the enemy that reign over this place. And because of all of this revelation from the Lord, I could take up my calling as a warrior, and pray powerfully against the oppression of the enemy and for the freedom of the power of the Lord to move over the land, and He did! The Spirit was breaking through like crazy and Satan had to flee and chains began to crash to the ground, in our lives and the lives of all those we ministered to as we broke through with pure light!
Chains in my own life, that had been nearly strangling me to death for my entire life, fell forever to the ground by the freeing authority of my Jesus. He walked me into a place of complete trust in who He says He is, and in turn how that defines who I am. The I AM defines who I am. Again, my warrior spirit rose up when I realized that Satan had kept me chained in this pit of self hatred, hands clenched around rocks of lies about my worth, my beauty, my standing in the kingdom, my value, my calling, etc. In that moment, realizing the authority that I have in Christ over the enemy, I rose up and declared the truth of who I am in Christ and claimed the freedom that was bought for me, and I opened clenched fists and let every rock roll to the foot of the cross so I could reach, hands open, for the hand of my savior to carry me to my place of victory over the enemy. I stood triumphant, in full knowledge and understanding of my standing in the kingdom as a royal bride, a diadem in the hand of the Lord for the display of His splendor, on the solid rock that is higher than I. In that moment the atmosphere shifted as heaven came to earth. How I'm known in heaven, the words spoken over me, my inheritance and calling that stand firm in the heavens, all came crashing down victoriously to reign on earth! Oh the earth trembled as my spirit resonated with the Holy Spirit in all Truth and authority!
Oh the irony! In a country where the Truth is silenced, the Truth was proclaimed over me more powerfully than ever in my life. In a place where the enemy has so many chains wrapped around the people, suffocating the life out of them, my chains were all broken free in order to usher in the most abundant life that heaven can offer. In a state of complete physical denial and lack of strength, I was more sustained by the almighty than I could have ever comprehended possible!
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you…then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy!” Isaiah 60: 1;5
Oh how my heart now throbs and swells with such an overflow of joy in my Jesus! I have indeed tasted and seen that the Lord is oh so good! I now know that the prayers of the righteous have the power to bring the authority of Heaven crashing down to Earth! My God reigns! Praise the Lord oh my Soul!
