For the Fire Starters

You have stood your ground…even though the ground feels impossibly dry.

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CONTEND FOR POWER

In this season, God has been emphasizing to me the Scripture, Acts 1:8. Especially, that we are to contend for a greater measure of the Dunamis Power of the Holy Spirit so that we might be witnesses in the region God has called us to. Already there are pockets where the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is taking place.

I believe God is and has been stationing His Fire Starters in locations that are only experiencing a trickle of the river or a flicker of the flame. These have been commissioned to stand in the place of contending for more…for breakthrough. 

A DIFFICULT ASSIGNMENT

For those who have been called to this place of intercession, I speak an extra blessing upon you and ever-flowing grace. This is an incredibly difficult assignment, for you must watch over your own flame and keep the flow burbling in a dry and weary land where there is no water. You have had to learn to dig a well in the spirit and seek God alone to satisfy your thirst. Your obedience and faith will be rewarded. Don’t give up now and lose hope. You are tilling up soil. You are tending the flame. You are birthing a revival. 

Though it can feel lonely, know that you are not alone in the task to which you have been assigned. Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ are travailing with you for your church, your region, your sphere, your family. Every prayer is filling the bowls of intercession. Not one is lost. You are reaching a tipping point where you will begin to see prayers prayed from years ago begin to be fulfilled. It may not be as fast as you had hoped, but a shift is taking place behind the scenes. Mind shifts. Heart shifts. Breakthrough is happening. Be filled with His Spirit and keep pressing on Dear One. You are seen. You are known in heaven. Hear heaven’s applause. You are holding a space open in your church and region for God Almighty to move in might and power. Your faith-filled prayers are activating angels on assignment. You are re-digging the ancient wells. Miracles are coming. 

GREAT IS YOUR REWARD

There are those who have not understood your assignment. Well-meaning people have said, “Just leave your church/ region/ assignment and get into a place where the river is flowing.” You have longed for this in your heart….to just rest in a place where the river is already flowing. Yet, you have resisted this temptation to leave your station. You have stood your ground…even though the ground feels impossibly dry. You have been obedient. Well done good and faithful servant. You have gone where others have not been able to go before because your roots run so deeply into the Spirit of God that you are able to stay green where others would have wilted and withered from dehydration. You have created space for a well to be dug. You have not given up.

There have been times when you have begged God for another assignment…where you have felt like an island unto yourself…that no one understands you. You have felt so very alone and isolated. You have longed for real bread and meat when all that is being offered is skim milk. Your heart has been grieved over and over again. Yet you took all of this to the feet of Jesus. You can’t count the number of times you have wept on your face crying out before Him, or the nights when you were awake interceding when everyone else was sound asleep. Child, great is your reward in heaven. Enter into the joy of your Master. 

Be assured that backup is on its way. You can count on God’s promise to make you lie down in green pastures, to lead you beside quiet waters, to restore your soul. There is refreshment coming. Measures of breakthrough are around the corner. You will be provided places to replenish your spirit and soul. Just as God provided a brook for Elijah and meat and bread by the mouth of the ravens, God will provide refreshing streams, life-sustaining bread, and rich meat for your hunger. He will bring along those who have a similar calling. These will help you bear the burden, the calling, and the birthing of the vision. You will contend for the fullness together. Be of good cheer. Your King is coming. 

“He hath set me in a place of pasture. He hath brought me up, on the water of refreshment:” -Psalms 23:2 DRB

VALIANT ONE

The enemy has tried to sneak in and whisper lies to you telling you that you are all alone… that your prayers are unheard and unnoticed. He has tempted you to leave your station, to step down from the gap in the wall, to put down your weapons and building tools. He has sought to bring discouragement, defeat, hopelessness, and steer you away from the vision…from your destiny road.  He has whispered, “Did God really say…?” There have been times that you have been so weary from the onslaught that you almost gave up. You began to question God. 

Yet, my faithful one, you held on to the Truth. You remembered My words to you and strengthened yourself by My promises. You pressed into Me and pressed through. You are an Overcomer. You have fought valiantly in battle and have won. You are standing higher on the mountain than when you first began. You have learned how to fight. You have learned the way of the Victor.

 

Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord [always doing your best and doing more than is needed], being continually aware that your labor [even to the point of exhaustion] in the Lord is not futile nor wasted [it is never without purpose].”-1 Cor. 15:58 Amp

 

MAKE WAY FOR THE KING

I see you looking up from contending on your knees and seeing the revival fires breaking out in pockets and regions across the globe. I hear your longing questioning, “Why not here? Why not now?” My beloved, in these places my Spirit and my work, have been tended and cultivated even over generations. They are reaping what has already been sown. My child, you have been in a season of sowing. You are like a jackhammer in the spirit breaking up rock and hard soil in the place where you have been planted. 

Do not despise small beginnings. Do not despise the work required to till up hard dry land. For I have sent you to go on before and to prepare the way for My Spirit. I have given you an Elijah anointing. You are birthing the new in the wilderness. You are making straight paths for your King of Glory to come in. You are preparing the ground for the planting of My seed. You are making way for complete shifts in mindsets and belief systems that have been steeped for many years in religion and tradition. For some, you are coming against territory steeped in witchcraft and the occult. This is no small task that I have called you to. Though you may feel invisible in the natural, there is a spotlight upon you in the heavenly realms. 

Keep breaking ground! Don’t lay your hands to the plow and then look back with longing for what was or what could be. Hold fast to My promises to you. I am faithful. I will do it. I will accomplish what concerns you. I will fortify you as a fortress in the place where I have planted you. Nothing by any means shall harm you as you stay hidden under the shadow of My wings. Take heart and be of good cheer. Your King is coming.

 

 

 

This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Deborah Valentine

Featured Image by Patrick Hendry on Unsplash

 

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About the Author

Deborah Valentine is a Kingdom Winds Contributor. She is a servant and follower of Jesus, wife of 17 years to Keith, and Mom of 5 beautiful boisterous children ages 6-15. ​