The dream woke me up in the wee hours. I wasn't frightened. I knew the dream wasn't a foretelling. I knew right away that God was revealing another layer of healing He wanted to do in me to bring me into a greater measure of wholeness. In the dream, my husband and I had been promised a ministry position that was very promising. However, after we were in the position, we found that we had been deceived and that the pay was only fifty dollars a week. The dream continued on, I couldn't tell you the plot in story form, only that suddenly the next turn of events was a betrayal by someone we loved and trusted. When I woke up, memories of different times in our ministry where we were promised things that never happened and instances of betrayal came immediately to mind. Lying there in my bed before the sun was up, I knew exactly who God was pinpointing that I needed to forgive. The Lord then targeted some areas of fear in my life that He wanted to heal.
If you come here regularly, you may already know that I felt led by God to embrace the word listen as my word for 2016. My prayer has been that I will grow in listening to God's voice, heeding what He says, and obeying Him wholeheartedly. We're not even a full month into this listening journey, God and I, but He's already rocking my inner world. It's not as if the things He's been speaking to me about have been a surprise or that they are things I've been avoiding dealing with in the past. Rather, it's been as if He's taking me another layer deeper, like He's digging up some of the stubborn roots.
In the verse in the photo above, Jeremiah 7:23, it speaks to God's desire for us to listen and obey, but what stood out to me when I read this verse was God's desire for us to walk in the WHOLE way that He commands us. However, the meaning of the word whole that sprung up in my spirit wasn't the standard definition of entire, though we should certainly listen to and obey God entirely. What I felt that God was speaking to me was that He wants me, wants us, to walk in the whole way, as in undamaged, as in complete inner health and freedom. When we listen to and obey God's voice we are marked as His people. Shouldn't it stand to reason that He wants us to walk in WHOLENESS, that, as stated at the end of the verse, He desires it to be well with us? He desires it to be well within us, too. So, since I know that my Father has nothing but good intentions for me, I'm willing to listen and yield to His processes within. I'm ready to allow Him to get rid of those stubborn roots, even if He has to speak to me through a dream to do it.
still following,
Some news from blogger about following justfollowingjesus.com-
"We encourage you to tell...readers (perhaps via a blog post), that if they use a non-Google Account to follow your blog, they need to sign up for a Google Account, and re-follow your blog. With a Google Account, they’ll get blogs added to their Reading List, making it easier for them to see the latest posts and activity of the blogs they follow."
You can also follow my blog via email subscribing which you can do on the sidebar link, or add to your Feedly or Blog lovin' blog reader, also on the sidebar.
God is so good to us, revealing the roots that we would have tripped over had His lamp and light not shown it at the right moment in our journey with Him.
ReplyDeleteMy Word this year is Grace with a huge emphasis on His goodness. Love you friend!
God is so good to us, revealing the roots that we would have tripped over had His lamp and light not shown it at the right moment in our journey with Him.
ReplyDeleteMy Word this year is Grace with a huge emphasis on His goodness. Love you friend!
Love you, too! I want to know more about how God gave you your word.
DeleteI love the way you have shared - with God-honoring discretion - your experience of betrayal and healing. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Michele!
DeleteAnother incredible & encouraging post about how truly awesome our God is! He can take ashes & turn them into beauty. He is the One who can restore all including us. Last year He shared with me that I am a flower in his garden. All the lies, betrayals, are the weeds trying to choke out the beautiful garden. Your words about the roots made me reflect back on that. We have to be diligent & obedient in removing those things in our lives to have the beauty revealed. Thank you for being obedient & sharing what He's doing in your life. Looking forward to seeing what He does on this journey :-)
ReplyDeleteLove you, friend, and appreciate your encouragement so much!
Deleteoooohhhh, I like this. I, too, have been meditating for many months on the spiritual practice of listening--finding God in the quiet moments when the Holy Spirit will uncover and speak to my heart. Sounds like you're on a wonderful journey!
ReplyDeleteJody, isn't it wonderful how God often deals with us all in similar ways. We are a body after all!
DeleteInterestingly, one of our daughters and her husband (in ministry) is facing a similar difficult situation to the one you dreamed about. My heart breaks for them, but I know God is using it to shape and prepare them for the future. AND I didn't know that about blogger. I'm so tired of change. Guess I'm getting old.
ReplyDeleteRebecca, I'm so glad your daughter has you that she can talk to and you can pray with her. So much of the pain of ministry is feeling alone and not knowing who to talk to.
DeleteI think you should write a book of devotions, Elizabeth!
ReplyDeleteI'm working on something like that now!
DeleteThank you for this post. God gave you and your readers a sweet gift when He revealed His connection between listening and whole. The word "whole" is very present in my mind these days. I had been praying about my book title and the Lord dropped it in my mind a couple of weeks ago. "Whole" is in my subtitle. I have written a bit about wholeness in the book, which is tricky because my target audience is the general market. Anyway, I greatly appreciate your post.
ReplyDelete