Life in His Presence

Meet me at the wrecking ball, wrecking ball

Wear something pretty and white

And we’ll go dancin’ tonight

Lyrics by: Neil Young

I awoke several nights last year to the Lord singing these lyrics to me. I felt the song deep in my spirit. The words are beautiful, and I have long loved this song. Its writer, Neil Young, is one of my favorite artists. His music career really took off in the 70’s. He was a pioneer and music was his vehicle—a true poet.

When the Lord sang it to me, I felt that there were layers of revelation He wanted to share. As is true most of the time with me, I had no idea of just what was in store.

Truly, I have been to the wrecking ball and have stood face to face with its judgments. I’ve crumbled under the sheer power it wields and wept over what was revealed in my life after the outer layers were broken away. I’ve mourned over the darkness in my life and how I’ve hurt those I hold most dear. I have been utterly ashamed of how deep the roots of pride entangled my every decision and how quick I’ve been to judge.

But another swing of the wrecking ball revealed more. Suddenly, I could see more clearly than ever how beautiful the Lord’s judgments are upon those He loves. I have kissed the face of mercy and been swaddled in grace. The hands of heaven swept down and saved me from a whirlpool of self-pity and despair. Never have I seen a smile so beautiful as the one on His face. It was as if He never saw any of the ugliest things about me. It felt like spring rain falling on the dead, wintry ground—its sole purpose was to bring forth new life.

One look at His face and it was so clear that He had already clothed me in something pretty and white. I am ready to go dancing with my Beloved tonight.

In Him,

Cheri

“…the only thing we have to fear is fear itself….” Famous quote from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first inaugural speech.

Most of us can quote it even if we don’t know who originally said it. I heard these words echo in my mind. Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted by the Lord speaking to me. He said, “He was on to something, you know.”

I then began to intently listen to what the Lord was speaking because I knew there would be something for me to share from this.What I began to understand was that FDR was on the right track in what he was saying, and as children of God we can take this revelation to a whole new level. Let me elaborate.

There is Nothing to Fear

Many of us have been gripped by paralyzing fears of what could have happened or what might happen: fears of sickness, accidents, failure, desolation, phobias, economic hardships. The list of things that people fear seems endless.

As believers, we know that the things we fear are just lies from the enemy meant to cast doubt on our hearts and paralyze us from fulfilling God’s plan for our lives. We know that fears are an assignment from the enemy meant to immobilize people from fulfilling our destiny in the Lord. But we can’t stop with just the realization that fears are an illusion from the enemy and go on fearing the enemy that tries to plague us with them. We don’t have to be afraid of Fear itself! The Lord gave us all authority over Fear when he conquered death through his resurrection. That’s Good News!!

We are Seated in Heavenly Places

If you find yourself struggling in these times with lies that Fear is throwing your way, you must remember the price that Jesus paid for us. His death opened the way for His Spirit to live inside of us. We are seated with Christ in heaven. Everything that is a part of heaven is now inside of you. You have free access to all the things of God.

Is God Afraid of Fear?

If someone were to ask you if you think God is afraid of Fear, what would you say? That’s absurd! God would never be afraid of Fear. Then why do we so often give in to the lies of Fear rather than listening to what God is saying? The choice is ours…it always has been. Let’s stand up and make a choice to go after the dreams God has placed in our hearts.

Forget the Fear and Follow the Fire

Maybe the Lord has given you a dream to work with kids, minister to elderly in a nursing home, build a business, pray for the sick in hospitals, start a non-profit organization, run for a governmental office, share your paintings with the world, or write books. Maybe you sense a burning in your heart that there must be more to this life. You know that you want to go deeper into the things of God and even begin to move in supernatural signs and wonders, but you have felt Fear holding you back. Fear of failure. Lies that you are not good enough. Fear of persecution.

Here is the mandate that I hear resounding in my heart: It is time to Rise Up and step into the destiny God has planned for you!

In His Presence,

Cheri

I hope this post was encouraging.

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A time to fall and a time to stand
In yesterdays post [read it before reading this post], I shared how God floors us to restore us. God humbles us to draw us back to himself when we have drifted. I believe there is more room in the Body of Christ [in our worship services and so forth] for floor time. When you study great revivals, you will find no matter what the people’s beliefs were concerning physical reactions to God’s Spirit being poured out, there would always be men and women who would physically fall down under what many refer to as the weight of his glory. You would also find people face down in prayer as well.

Joshua face down

In Joshua 7, you find Joshua and the elders doing floor time. They were constantly victorious and then all of a sudden they found themselves in defeat losing 36 Israelites. The hearts of the warriors melted before the small group of men in Ai. Check out Joshua’s response to this defeat: “Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the LORD, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads.” (Joshua 7:6)

Counterbalanced revival

There does come a line where the floor time has accomplished its purpose. One mistake in revival, is when the participants begin to fall more in love with the revival than the purpose of revival. Revival is not the Lord’s purpose for the church. Revival is a counterbalanced tool the Lord uses to awaken his bride from a spiritual coma. Counterbalanced means that in revival, there is a lack of balance on several fronts for a season [which is why revival can be just as dangerous as it is glorious]. But the Lord doesn’t intend for things to remain that way. It is similar the extreme heat that metals are placed in order to construct a sword. Metals are placed in that heat for a short period of time in order to mold it into the desired shape. The process makes the sword ready for battle. This what floor time, and revival for that matter is for: to make us ready to do the will of the Lord. In Joshua 7, the Lord speaks to Joshua and the elders:

“The LORD said to Joshua, ‘Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction. Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it. “

The Lord says to Joshua, wrong strategy for this season. You see, Joshua learned from his mentor, Moses, that Israel often screws up right at the worst of times. Moses was often spending his time interceding for Israel not to be destroyed. For Joshua, this was a knee jerk reaction. And not a wrong one at that. If we would all have a knee jerk reaction to fall on our faces before God when something bad happens, I guarantee we would be more in tune with God’s voice. The Lord tells Joshua to “Stand up!” There is sin in the camp. Get rid of it! God lays out a play by play strategy to deal with the problem.

We need both

I believe the need for revival has not gone away. I believe the need for floor time…restoration time, in God’s presence, has not gone away. Yet, I also believe we must be sensitive to God’s time and his message for the season we are in. When Isaiah fell on his face in Isaiah 6, Isaiah heard the Lord seated on his throne ask “who will go for me?” Isaiah responded to the Lord that he would go and the Lord said “Go and tell this people: ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’” Isaiah didn’t stay on his face. Joshua didn’t stay on his face. David didn’t stay on his face. AND JESUS, IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE DIDN’T STAY ON HIS FACE! There will always come a time where you have to get up and go!

Which do we need right now?

So is He calling for face time on the floor or has that season be closed for now? Is it time rise up and fight or is it time to humble yourself and ask what is wrong? Either is ok if it is the appropriate season the Lord has you in. If you to rise up and fight and its floor time you need, you will become disillusioned with defeat. If you try to stay on the ground and enjoy the glorious comfort of His presence when he is calling you to rise up and fight, that presence will fade and you will be left empty. The Lord isn’t calling us to fall in love with his seasons or his gifts. He wants us to fall in love with His face! Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and follow the cloud! Get up and GO!