About a month ago I dreamt I was walking in a parking lot with a few others. There was a loud noise and a dog nearby got spooked and started to run. I grabbed it and held it tightly. Then I heard, “You are gripped because I am doing a new thing.”
I woke up and my first thought was how odd that was! I started thinking about what it is to be gripped. I remembered an occasion at my daughter’s house when one of their dogs was frantic, pawing and scratching furiously at the couch. My oldest granddaughter went over and picked up the dog and gripped her tightly until she calmed.
We need that at times when we are emotionally gripped by fear or worry. If we turn to the Lord and hold tight to Him, we receive His peace and assurance. But there is another type of “gripping” that must take place when the Lord is bringing us into a new season.
There is a “gripping” where you feel held captive. I heard the Lord say, “I am using circumstances to grip you because I am trying to get your attention. There are things I want to say and you are too busy with your busy-ness to listen. You are going about with what you think needs to be done, not realizing I want to change your direction and give you instruction. Now I will quiet you, for I am doing a new thing. I need you to be still and listen, undistracted.”
“The captive exile hastens, that he may be loosed, That he should not die in the pit, And that his bread should not fail. But I [am] the LORD your God, Who divided the sea whose waves roared–The LORD of hosts [is] His name. And I have put My words in your mouth; I have covered you with the shadow of My hand, That I may plant the heavens, Lay the foundations of the earth, And say to Zion, ‘You [are] My people.’ “” (Isa 51:14-16 NKJV)
WITH MY GRIPPING COMES AN EQUIPPING
I heard the Spirit of the Lord speak, “With My gripping comes an equipping, for when I hedge in your ways and upon Me you gaze, I will shift your thinking and you will understand My ways. Your heart will turn fully and give Me praise. From that position, you lose personal ambition and you will transition, be aligned to My mission, and receive a new commission.”
The Lord told me that 2024 is a year of war at the door, but that we are stepping through into victory. He has been impressing upon me two key scriptures recently to remind me and encourage me. “For a great and effective door has opened to me, and [there are] many adversaries.” (1Co 16:9 NKJV), and Jesus says, “”for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.” (Luk 21:15 NKJV)
To move forward in this new season, we must silence the voice of the oppressor – specifically, the religious spirit. Religious spirits oppress the will of God, trying to keep us bound in routines, formulas, traditional ways of doing things, and even the ways we think, and our perceptions of self and others.
All these things are relevant to the last two words He gave me, “I Am Changing the Landscape of Your Life,” and “Don’t Call Common What I Call Holy.” These go hand in hand. One way the landscape of our lives needs to change is our thoughts – how we want it to look, versus trusting God in the midst of how He is bringing about His plans. He will reveal what it should be, His thoughts and His will versus our thoughts and our will.
He is moving us out of how we see ourselves and our view of what we can or can’t, should or shouldn’t do, and bringing us to a place of unknowing where we surrender, allow His will, and become true carriers of HIS presence, HIS power, and HIS glory.
We may feel gripped by anxiety, worry, and confusion because it is a place of unsettling, and our human nature likes comfort and routine. He is unsettling all our areas of self-made comfort. There is no “settling” in man-made comfort when we are walking with the Lord. He will settle and establish us in His plans and purposes, but we have to suffer through the fleshly pain of letting go of what is hindering our walk with Him (1 Peter 5:10).
The Lord desires that we truly live and move and have our being IN HIM – a place of true rest, safety, and blessing. He told me He is breaking off confusion from illusion, the illusion that the world presents. You are not of this world if you are born again, you are in it but not of it (Jn. 17:14-16).
Trying to live by the world’s operating system when you now have the Holy Spirit operating system will definitely bring confusion. They are in conflict! Accept the place of unknowing – you just don’t know YET. The Holy Spirit will reveal and provide what you need at the exact time you need it! He wants you to be still and know… Him. For “…His divine power has given to us all things that [pertain] to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,” (2Pe 1:3 NKJV)
The best way to silence the voice of the oppressor is to be still in the presence of the Lord and allow the Holy Spirit to flood you with the light of His glory, and let His love, peace, and joy fill you to overflowing. Be gripped by His love and constrained to move forward by the wind of His Spirit leading you to greater realms of glory.
I heard the Spirit of the Lord say, “I am holding you captive, capturing your gaze and your attention, to impart the blueprints, the words, the vision for My mission. Some have been enduring many trials and tests. Open your eyes and see – there is a new path opening up to you – the tests will bring forth the best. The new tools that are required, have I not provided the means? I am preparing you for what is ahead, do not be fearful and full of dread. I will provide the resources to carry through all that I have purposed for you to do.
This is a season of excellence! No more mediocrity, living hidden and obscure, for I declare you will be established and sure. It is time for My light to be seen, and My glory to be known, as you speak, others will see Me on My throne and give all praise and honor to Me alone. For I am making you a sharp sword, a polished shaft in My quiver, and I will use you, and My words in your mouth will be as an arrow that will hit the mark, pierce and penetrate to the heart.”
“Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;” (Is. 49:1-2 KJV)
The Lord says, “I will show off my people as My priceless treasure and My power shall come forth in greater measure; to confound the enemy gives Me great pleasure.”
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on AlaneHaynes
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