Winter has an end...

I've come to learn that when the sweet Holy Spirit wakes you up to pray and download from His Truth and Power...you better get up. Here is what the Lord stirred in me on Sunday, March 10 around 1am.

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This winter has been depressing for many people on my different fronts. I know of families who have lost loved ones this winter; individuals who have lost jobs; men who have struggled to grasp hope; women discouraged about having husbands who will lead their families; families dealing with one round of sickness after another, and the list continues. I'm not trying to be a downer here or discourage anyone. The truth is all of these things can happen in any season of the year to anyone at anytime.

Here's my point, especially to those who feel their lives were previously described about.

Winter has an end and it begins with Spring!

God's Word reminds us that there are times and seasons for everything. Winter itself can become depressing with the cold, dreary, and gray days. (Hence seasonal depression)

I love this time of the year, however, when nature seems to scream, "That's enough!" and the bright yellow sun starts to pierce through the melancholy clouds; the snow melts away and spring flowers start to burst through the thawing soil; the air seems to gasp for warmth with one day at 35 degrees and the next at 60! (Don't worry...warmer weather is coming!)

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

What if we joined in the anthem going on in the earth and declared over our own lives "That's Enough!" to the complacency, monotony, depression, loss and fear?

Forgive me for these childish analogies that follow but I'm a father of 4 little ones, 6 and younger, so I'm learning to break things down and keep it simple. I see a cocoon breaking open and a new creation trying to fly. I see a tadpole trying to trade it's old fin for legs and jump like crazy. I see an infant learning to crawl, then stand, then walk because they want to run with their brothers and sisters!

Are you hearing my heart in this? Someone reading this right now is saying to their struggles, their addictions; saying to the devil himself, "LET ME GO! I want my destiny! I want Jesus! LET ME GO!" Here's another analogy to consider. I see a man who believed a lie and allowed the devil to wrap him up in a straight jacket. Now the man is trying to pull a Houdini; trying to break free from the lie he believed.

So, what's the point? Where do we turn? When does this winter end? Where are the refreshing spring rains?

Acts 4:12 admonishes us that "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

Here are more promises from God's Word we can rely on in calling on the Lord:

Psalm 145:18
"The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth."

Acts 2:21
"And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Proverbs 18:10
"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe."

Now, I've said all that to say this: When was the last time you got on your knees and called out, cried out to Jesus? When was the last time you deliberately spent quality time with God? Some of us have spent more time on Facebook than in God's Book! I've grown to know this to be true that if you want to know the health of someone's walk with the Lord...see how wore out their Bible is. Are their knees knobby from constant prayer? Can they worship without music? Is their walk blameless and wisdom sought after by others? Contemplate these questions for your own life.

Let me clarify something from my opening statements. I am not saying that the loss of loved ones, the loss of a job, or having sick children are the results of not spending time with Jesus. My point is that this is where we find breakthrough. This is where winter gives up and spring comes alive. This is where the choke-hold of depression and fear releases and you can breathe again. It happens when you CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD...JESUS!

I've heard many stories of believers who were attacked by a demonic spirit. They've described the attacks as someone sitting on their chests while they are laying down or someone strangling them. And in that place of torment all they could cry out was "JESUS!" And freedom came. You see, your freedom has a name and it's Jesus! (Acts 4:12)

Have you got yourself caught up in the rip tides of temptation; the currents of complacency? Where are you in your walk? Are you lost? If you could measure your faith, what would it add up to? More questions to contemplate and take before the Lord.

My conclusion. A few months ago a new song called The Drought Is Over was born during a revival at Victory Christian Center. It has brought liberation and prophetic release to people throughout Illinois, and now Texas and Nebraska. People joined in the song and said to their own drought, "THAT'S ENOUGH! LET ME GO!" However, my heartaches for those who took their umbrellas out or ran inside for shelter instead of dancing in the rain. (I'm referring to freedom from the spiritual droughts that people have been walking through.) Are you missing your God-encounters? The rains of refreshing are pouring out, so where are you standing...or kneeling?

Start your breakthrough from winter to spring by calling on the Name of Jesus. Stay there until He comes and speaks to you. Open that once-dusty-Bible and begin reading Romans 7 & 8 and let the words rekindle your passion for Jesus. (For that matter, start reading God's Word from cover to cover.) Bow your knees, lift your eyes and hands to where your help comes from.

Jesus is waiting for you. (Read Matthew 11:25-30)

 

Note: Over the next few months, or as long as the Holy Spirit leads, I will be posting and blogging challenging and encouraging words to refresh your time in God's Word, prayer, and personal worship. No more worshipping only on Sundays but developing a life of constant worship...24-7-365. Stay tuned.