This is a powerful time to hear God. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, and it is the Hebrew year 5783, for those who are counting. It begins at sundown on Sunday, September 25, 2022, and ends at nightfall on Tuesday, September 27. We are no longer under the Jewish Law of Moses, but God still uses the Jewish calendar to speak seasonally. This is the time, historically, that the Lord begins to reveal your assignment for the upcoming year.
Here's an honest confession: I struggle to rest in the Lord. Maybe I'm a bit compulsive, but I find it difficult to be still and know that God is working when I can't see what He's doing. When I need the Lord to do something in my life, I tend to "help Him" do it. But I have come to realize that God doesn't need my help! In Old Covenant times, God instructed His priests to dress in linen garments instead of wool so they wouldn't perspire while they worked. Ezekiel 44:18b (NASB1995) says: "They shall not gird themselves with anything which makes them sweat."
In the book of Genesis there is a story about a man named Joseph. Joseph was favored by his father and his father gave him a coat of many colors. I believe that this was a metaphor of the Lord placing a prophetic mantle upon his life. The Lord gave Joseph two dreams in which He showed him his destiny. His brothers hated him because he was highly favored, and when he shared his dreams with them, they hated him all the more. They threw him into a ditch, took his coat of my many colors, put goat's blood on it, and took it to the father so that the father would think that ferocious animals devoured and killed him.
Do you ever feel exhausted trying to find the positive in what seems like such a negative world? Do you feel that no matter what you do you just can't seem to find the good in life? Well, if so, I assure you there's a much better way forward. To my dear friends and ministry partners and to all who have a love for the things of the Spirit, I have exciting news! My newest book, Healing from Negative Energy is now available worldwide wherever books are sold.
Jesus has come to give us the abundant life in His Presence. It is always there for the taking. He is no respecter of persons and is "The Rewarder" of those who diligently seek Him. Thank God He is a rewarder! You can see that God knows that we need something called "incentives." You see Jesus giving us incentives to be generous, to seek Him, to love and follow Him in all things. He created us and knows what motivates us. How does God motivate or give us incentives? Start with giving. He says, "Give and... what?" "It shall be given to you - even a good measure, pressed down shaken together and running over." (Luke 6:38) Why would He say this to us? He is motivating us!
The wind is a funny thing. We do not know where it comes from nor where it goes. We cannot see it, but we can see and feel its effects. Wind can be gentle and refreshing, cold or hot, strong, and dangerous, and everything in between. When the wind blows, we must decide our stance. Will we stand and face it, turn against it, or get out of it altogether? It depends on the behavior of the wind. We know that we cannot control it as it will blow where and when it pleases.
Learning to hear from God, especially prophetically, is not easy. In fact, there is much abuse that is even not understood. But it's worth the price, to get closer to Him, but it's also hard. I have a friend who was seeking God about a business deal that he needed. He had a company going and it was blessed, but to do more, he needed quite a bit more money. He really had the strong desire to do more. He found a friend who was willing to go in on it, but the friend did not really have the zeal he did. For my friend, this was all for the Lord, but for the friend, it was a convenient investment, and more for secular reasons.
"Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He will destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine. (Isa. 13:9-10) I recently spent a couple of weeks in Egypt. It was a blessing to be in that ancient land that is still filled with youth and life. Everywhere I went, I saw young people enjoying their lives and their days. I saw them work hard and I saw them enjoying themselves in their evenings. God has certainly blessed that land as He has blessed all lands.
The enemy has been sharpening his fiery darts, strategizing, and striving to sow discord among God's people. I had a vision recently where the Lord placed me in "the situation room" in the pit of hell. It was quite the experience to say the least. A truth emerged from that encounter that I believe is going to empower you to defeat the plans of the enemy against your life! I was able to see the enemy brainstorm and produce a booklet of sorts. As I looked, there were seven or eight demons huddled over the booklet trying to figure out their tactics, when, suddenly, a more imposing demon came striding into the room proclaiming, "Our plan will work for Caleb!"
We often think of resting as the opposite of being active. It's no surprise that it's one of the last things that comes to mind when we think of things we can "do" to sharpen our spiritual hearing. Rest, however, is a quiet but essential weapon in our spiritual warfare arsenal. When we are "reborn" spiritually, we are tasked with one thing: to grow in Christ. My 7-week-old son reminds me that growth in the natural typically looks like rest. Infants and children sleep way more than adults for one reason: they are growing. We also sleep more in the natural when we are trying to heal. Why, then, does rest not match our image of spiritual growth?
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