Forerunner Insights
The Appointed Time
In this article I will be writing from Luke 5:1-11and I encourage you to take time to read these verses in your bible; as I was reading Luke 5 the other day I was struck fresh by a few points in the first 11 verses that I hope will help you or challenge you in some way as I feel led to share them with you.
In verse 4 of Luke 5 Jesus tells Peter to launch out in the deep and let down the nets to catch some fish, so really what happens is Jesus releases the word of the Lord to Peter. Now Peter and his partners have been laboring all night to catch some fish but it has been to no avail and Peter makes sure that Jesus knows this; yet Peter goes ahead and throws the nets out anyway which we find out by Peters response to Jesus at the end of verse 5 "nevertheless at your word". So Jesus had released the word of the Lord and Peter wanted to obey the word despite what his circumstances were telling him. How many know it's a good idea to do what Jesus says despite what your circumstances or the world tells you? When Peter obeyed the word they caught more fish than they could contain in their boat and had to call their partners to come and help them because their nets were breaking. This was all so amazing that Peter fell down before Jesus to worship him.
The first point I want to make from this text is this; sometimes we have been doing something already to no avail like fishing all night with no catch of fish and it doesn't mean we have failed, many times it's a timing issue that the Lord works through to yours and my benefit to bring things into alignment within us and around us, sometimes those things involve us and sometimes they involve others many times it's both but we don't need to necessarily figure all that out but we need to work to keep our hearts in alignment with the Lord through it all.
Now the time that we spend in seasons of no avail is not wasted God is working in the midst of it even when we may not be able to see it and although it can be a painful season it is a powerful time nonetheless. Now what happens many times during this time of no avail is we get frustrated, discouraged, disappointed, burnt out and want to give up; we must fight through this and resolve not to give up. Many times in these seasons God is looking for faithfulness and he is looking to reveal areas of your heart where you don't trust him not because he is mad but because he wants all of your heart.
The second point I would like to make is this in season's of no avail there comes what I will call the appointed time now at the appointed time which is normally not the time we had planned for Jesus comes to us (could be in many different forms, the Word, the Holy Spirit, dream, vision, prophetic word through someone else, visitation etc.) and releases the word of the Lord (Hallelujah) and says throw out your nets again. Now I love this they had been fishing and not catching and Jesus comes into the midst of seeming failure and releases the word of the Lord and the very thing that they had been doing faithfully with no results all the sudden shifts at the word and they bring in a huge catch of fish. It was all a timing issue that God worked through, it's not that they were doing something wrong per se which is usually an accusation that comes in seasons of no avail it was simply coming into that appointed season of God's timing where heaven and earth came into one accord, the word of the Lord was released and bam you have empty boats suddenly overflowing with fish.
The third point I would like to make is that the point of this miraculous catch of fish was to bring worship and glory to God, in verse 8 Peter seeing this miraculous catch of fish fell to his knee's worshipping Jesus and all the rest with him (verse 9) sat in utter astonishment. When God releases the miraculous in the appointed season it's not for the blessee it's for the glory of the blessor. Many times we get this mixed up and this is where we get stuck God doesn't want us to get stuck by his blessings that he releases to us for his glory he wants us to use them to bring him more glory.
The final point I want to make is from verse 11 when everyone involved with this encounter reached land (land in this context I believe means returning to normal life) they left everything and followed Jesus. Notice they didn't expand their fishing business, they didn't set up a new marketing campaign, they didn't hire 10 new workers, they didn't beg Jesus to give them more words to perpetuate their successful fishing business they simply left all or forsook all and followed Jesus. The things that we are waiting on God to bless in our lives or the blessings that we are praying for in our lives are they things that will propel us to a greater level of obedience and devotion to Jesus like what happened in Luke 5 or are they things that if answered would diminish or pull us away from greater devotion to Jesus? We need to make sure that which we are praying for is going to enhance our relationship to Jesus and not diminish it.
In closing if you are in the season of no avail don't give up your appointed time might be coming, keep your heart in alignment with God in the midst of the struggle, wait for the word of the Lord to come and stay faithful. As you are waiting for the appointed season settle the issue before hand in your heart that when that season comes it's going to be a time where his glory increases through your life like never before and that the times when God's increase comes in your life they will be seasons of greater devotion to Jesus. I would encourage you to dream dreams of being more devoted to Jesus when his blessings flow and not less devoted to Jesus because his blessings flow. Many times in seasons of increase we are pulled away from God because of the blessings we have to resolve now that that would not be the case in our lives.
I pray that God will strengthen you and bless you in this season Amen.
Bless You.
Busyness Related to Identity
God has been stirring my heart to write about busyness related to identity.
One of the temptations that I find in my own heart when I am feeling vulnerable, condemned, or struggling in my walk of faith is to feel the need to get busy doing something for others or for God to make me feel better about myself. I think many of us if we were honest with ourselves and God we would agree that many times we hide from the deep things that God is trying to do or touch on the inside of us: the healing, the restoration, the forgiveness, and the love that he wants to touch our deep wounds with by just keeping busy and allowing all the things of life to hide us from the pain. If we were to stop all the busyness in our lives we know the deafening sound of silence would overwhelm us and we would be lost and confronted with the question of who we really are because all the time we have been getting our identity from all that we have been doing (busyness) instead of from who and whose we are. Yet many feel overwhelmed by all the things going on in their lives yet they can't stop because then they would have to face the things that they have been running from for so long and so they continue on in the vicious cycle weary, worn out, barely hanging on finding no rest in God.
I believe that God is saying "stop" in this hour to many in the church. He is saying Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I AM God; and he is beckoning many in this hour to come to him as they are (we are all weak and broken frail humans in great need of God myself included) weary, tired, worn-out, broken, and bruised, and to just fall into him to fall into his arms to not keep going any longer without entering into his embrace and to receive all that we need from him to function properly healthily and wholly. God wants to embrace us with his embrace I can hear the savior calling out; 'come to me all you who are wear and heavy laden I will give you rest for your souls' (Matthew 11:28-30). Will you enter into his rest in this season will you allow him to love you where you are will you come to him as you are and stop running? He is waiting.
We must fight to get our identity from him and settle for nothing less than being rooted and grounded in love (Ephesians 3:17-19) being filled up with all the fullness of God. As God releases the Hebrews 12:25-29 shaking upon the earth shaking everything that can be shaken there will be many changes and shifts in the economy, the government, and the religious makeup of our day that will continue to affect people both inside and outside the church it's important therefore that we have our identity already established in him so that if our job is eliminated we know who we are and it doesn't wreck our lives or if the things in this world are brought to a halt and many things stop that affect us we will be okay because we know who we are and we are not defined by the successes and failures of this temporal world that is passing away. Any area of our lives that is not rooted and grounded in our identity in him in this hour I believe is subject to shaking not because God is angry and mad at us but because he has so much more for us by being found in him and him alone and he is a jealous husband to have all of us fully his in every way. His Kingdom is one that cannot be shaken and we must build our inner lives and values on the foundation of him alone and that is our only safe place.
May the Lord Bless you in Jesus Name.
