He Speaks

I am doing a bible study by Priscilla Shirer called "He Speaks to Me". And He is. I have been absent from my blogging for a bit. I had a revelation that I was starting to blog through compulsion, and not from a leading of the Holy Spirit. The whole reason I began to blog was to commune with God..hear from Him, write what I felt He wanted me to write. But I began to write what I wanted to write out of compulsion. Instead of waiting on the Lord, and waiting for Him to lead me, I began to feel the need to write to fill the silence. I still wrote what I thought he would have me say about a topic, but it was from me, not Him. So I took some time to reflect and draw near to Him. I don't want to write to please others, I only want to please Him. I surrendered to the thought that perhaps I wouldn't write a blog anymore even though I love it. I love hearing from Him in this way. I had to give in to the idea that my desire to please Him should outweigh my desire to even please myself. I found out that God doesn't just speak to me through blogging, but that if I really listen He speaks to me in many different ways.

The one thing I recently discovered is that God has been speaking to me my whole life, He set me apart for Him. He sets all of us apart who are believers. One thing He has been speaking to me about is how we tend to put Him in a box..we set boundaries on Him..how He should act, How He speaks to us, how He moves. I just finished reading a book by James Goll called "The Seer: The Prophetic Power of Visions, Dreams and Open Heavens" and all I can say is "Yes!". I was drawn to the book while perusing our local Christian bookstore. And as I started reading it I realized that it wasn't a coincidence that I found it. I had been seriously contemplating how God speaks to me, to all of us. We tend to put God into a cookie-cutter image of  what is acceptable ways to hear from Him, and any other ways that deviate from the standards are not from Him. Who are we kidding? This is God we are talking about. The Alpha and the Omega. The First and the Last. The Creator of all things. There is no thing, no one thing, that is separate or apart from God's ability to touch. He can do anything, move any way...there is no boundary. So what makes us believe that He can only speak to us in certain ways? He can speak through us using our feelings..ever have an overwhelming urge to laugh..to cry? I know I often tear up in church during a service. That is the Holy Spirit kids..moving. He uses our "intuition"...secular way of saying "the urging of the Holy Spirit". Whatever label the world comes up with, it is still God..moving..speaking. Some people actually audibly hear God speak to them. Are they strange? To the world..maybe. God also uses dreams to speak and to guide. Many times in the bible God speaks through dreams...Jacob in Genesis 28:12-15, 31:11; Joseph in Genesis 37:5-7,9; 40:20;41:1; 41:8; Gideon in Judges 7:14-15; Solomon in 1 Kings 3:5-15; Nathan in 1 Chronicles 17:2; Daniel is full of dreams and visions imparted by God; Zechariah 1:8..the list goes on and on. I love Job 33:14-18, "For God does speak--now one way, now another--though man may not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds, he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, to turn man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride, to preserve his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword..." He speaks through music, words, visions. Yes, even today. Why do we respond with doubt? When someone has a vision, a dream, a word from God..why are we so skeptic? Of course, we should always test it with the scriptures. If it contradicts God's word it isn't from God. But if it gives glory to God, rings true to how God works and tests true to His character, if it encourages and uplifts, even at times rebukes..it is from God.

I believe we are in the last days and God is choosing to speak to us more than ever through dreams and visions. As it says in Joel 2:28 " And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions." Why are we insistent on denying God and His word for us? I believe we are so scared of the enemy that we construct these walls to keep him out, which also blocks the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We need to be smart about this. We need to seek God first, ask for knowledge and wisdom in these matters. If you have a dream that you believe is from God..ask Him. "God is this dream from you?" "What are you trying to say? What does it mean?" "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding" (Proverbs 9:10). By looking into His word we gain understanding of who He is and thereby gain understanding and insight into His will.

Lately, not only have I recognized Him speaking to me through dreams, but also through memories...painful memories that I consistently try to ignore, deny or bury. I have been getting bombarded with memories from my past which I am not proud of. Back in my bar days. I cringe thinking of those days. I keep getting playbacks of me drunk, partying..thinking I was "all that"...flirting with guys and disaster...so very close to disaster. Of life back then..and life now. Thank you Precious Jesus! Every time I get these playbacks I cringe..I pray to Jesus thanking Him for saving me from my sins and bringing me so far from that pit...and I ask Him to take these thoughts from my mind. Oh, and the enemy is having a hay day with all these past sins...he is busy accusing, pointing his finger at me, calling me shameful, lustful, filthy. He's telling me to hang my head in shame. Oh, but God is good. So good. You see, He loved me while I was still a sinner. And the enemy has no power over me any longer because Jesus died for me and stole the enemy's power to accuse (Rev. 12:10). Jesus is my intercessor in God's court. I've been ransomed and found clean! Praise you Father! So I thought that these memories were the enemy's doing to try to make me feel less in God's eyes...and maybe they were. But they also reminded me how far God has brought me. They reminded me of God's faithfulness. Of His protection. How He protected me even when I didn't know I needed protection. Thank you Father! It reminded me that I shouldn't doubt God. That I shouldn't fear. That He has been in my corner all along. That He doesn't move because I request it of Him, the truth is, He's already been there. That before I know the risk, the fear, He has it in His hands. He's taken care of it. That no power of the enemy can withstand Him. All belongs to Him and He reigns! Hallelujah! I needn't fear...anything. He holds me dear...haha..I thought that was a spelling mistake..I was trying to write that He holds me near. Wow. God speaks even through what we think are mistakes. Thank you Father!