And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.-Revelation 12:11
I have often found that the process of growth can be messy and, at times, painful. We serve an all-wise, all-knowing God who knows exactly what He is doing with us. When we submit to the process of growth, there is no stone He leaves unturned in our lives. Lately, our church community has discussed sharing parts of our stories to encourage those around us. Many of us are coming to terms with parts of our past and are permitting ourselves to be open, perhaps for the first time. What I love about the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit is that He confirms the work He is doing in us through others. Before our pastor introduced the conversation to our community, the Holy Spirit had already been preparing me. Isaiah 55:8 says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.
God never ceases to amaze me. He's always doing something different. I have been in a season of maturing and healing, and admittedly, at times it's been difficult to track what God has been doing. Because parts of my past have been so painful, I've learned to be guarded as a coping mechanism. Consequently, when you're guarded, people can't see who you truly are, and they don't know your heart. They are forced to make assumptions about who they see before them. The root of my guardedness is rejection. The spirit of rejection will prevent God given relationships from forming. It will attempt to prevent you from aligning your will with God's will. It will produce in you a fear of man. When you operate from that place, you see everything through the lens of rejection. So you hold people at arm's length, and you question the motives of everyone who attempts to build a connection with you.
Because this spirit is cruel, it causes you to be vulnerable with the wrong people, therefore perpetuating the rejection. Beloved, I am in this place of maturing, and the Holy Spirit is exposing the spirit of rejection in me now because it's time for me to move into a different level of ministry, and He's upgrading other areas of my life. All of which requires making new connections and finding favor with the right people. Luke 2:52 said that Jesus found favor with God and man. This has to be true for us as well. What has God been attempting to reveal to you? Beloved, if you submit to Him, He will heal and strengthen you. He will expose what's hampering your growth and development. Surrender to the process.
Prayer
Father, we submit to the work of the Holy Spirit today. We surrender to you today so that you can heal us and equip us for the work ahead of us. In Jesus' name. Amen
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