A Shift Is Coming

The year was 2008 and as I approached my eighteenth birthday I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. The best way I can attempt to explain it is that I was going eighty kilometres per hour on the road of my life, as I usually was, only to forget where I was headed. It was a sense I had never encountered before. It was uncomfortable and as the days went by the demand to engage with this unfamiliar unction grew even stronger. Finally, I looked to God in prayer, asking what this ‘thing’ was and what it meant. Now looking back, I can almost hear the desperation in my voice as I knelt beside my bed one evening. It was there that I heard it, the still small voice they all so confidently spoke about. This voice wasn’t audible or demanding, it was subtle yet powerful enough to echo in the depths of my heart. Before this, I had learned to discern God’s will for my life through His Word and through the trusted leaders I had been accountable to. This was different… very different. Even though the sound was new, it was familiar and comforting in the midst of the confusion I was feeling. This voice, which I’ve grown to affectionately anticipate hearing, offered peace and comfort. In that space I understood that the uneasy feeling wasn’t evil, it was an intentional technique the Lord used to get my attention and slow me down enough to catch what He was trying to say.

He had a shift He was eager to make in my life, that much was clear, the rest He would reveal on the other side of my obedience to His nudge toward an unfamiliar path…one of fasting. I had never been taught how to fast and pray, but I was resolved to follow this clear instruction… I mean, how hard could it be? With only a vague concept of fasting from observing some family members during Ramadan, I embarked on this adventure armed with nothing but a bowl of morning porridge and a curious heart. Yep, for four or five days I awoke before dawn, made myself a bowl of porridge and sat on my bed with a notebook and my Bible. For days, I wrestled with the silence, uncertain of where it would lead me. Back then, YouVersion wasn’t a thing and it didn’t occur to me to ask someone more senior in the faith what I was to do. Perhaps I was afraid of sounding completely out of my mind. Even so, right there in my stumbling attempts at obedience, He met me with grace, transforming my feeble efforts into something sacred. I heard His voice more and more, soft, yet unmistakable, offering guidance and clarity. As the days passed, I witnessed His affection and desire to guide my steps as He shared His dreams for me, each one a testament to His faithfulness.

Some of the things He shared back then happened immediately, others took a few months and others still I have only seen come to pass in the past five years. This couple of weeks changed the trajectory of my life and is such a cherished milestone in my walk with the Lord, one that has helped me discern other moments of transition in my life and one I hope to share with my children as I instruct them on how to fast and pray, lest they embarrass me before the Lord… LOL.

For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. ~ Isaiah 43:19 (NLT)

If you listen to these commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom. ~ Deuteronomy 28:13 (NLT)

As this second quarter has taken way, I have felt a similar shift in the air of my life. A simple ‘feeling’ that began at the beginning of the year has slowly gotten more pronounced. I sense that God wants to broaden our perspective and enhance how we walk both in spiritual and physical strategy. The future is calling and if we want to walk in the dreams God has for us, we have to position ourselves mentally and spiritually. We have to commit to stretching ourselves according to what God is speaking over our individual lives. The Bible says that all of creation is eagerly waiting for the sons and daughters of God to become who God called them to be when they were still in the secret place. Many of us are partnered with identities that were not given to us by God and it’s time to take those off and seek Him for our true selves. It doesn’t cost you anything to believe that God didn’t make a mistake when He created you, yet it can cost you everything to not believe. I hope that as I share some of the reflections I have had as I’ve tried to get myself ready for my own shift, they will be helpful as you embark on yours.

Align yourself

I’ve been thinking about my walk with the Lord and how I have grown and changed with each season past. It occurred to me during this reflection that for those of us who have been walking with the Lord for many years, ones who have learned to hear His voice and trust His grace for our everyday lives, if our greatest challenge is obeying God then we are still at the entry-level of our faith. If you still find it difficult to stay on the rudimentary path that God has set for all His children, it will be difficult for you to hear His voice when a shift is coming. If Jesus is only your Saviour but not your Lord, you will always be playing catch up because God can’t bless you when you’re off walking on your own path, and He can’t raise you when you choose to be your own God. My encouragement to you is to take the L of making Him Lord of your life and see how He shifts things around in your life for the better.

Be purpose oriented

I’ve realised that God reveals His will to the responsible. Yep, you read that right. God shares His dreams and secrets with people He feels are responsible with stewarding those sacred things well. Are you responsible with your purpose and calling? Have you asked God what the purpose of your life in this season is? Have you written what he’s shared down? Do you pray over it often? Do you seek His face for wisdom to walk worthy of that purpose and calling? If not, you can start today! God’s heart desires to be connected to yours and to see fruit in your life as a result. If you’ve had this revelation but became weary of walking in it, seek the Holy Spirit for strength to continue your race.

Face forward

When the Holy Spirit has shown you the path He has laid out for you, keep your eyes on it and don’t look back. Don’t compromise by trying to reach backwards into the past. The past will deceive us into thinking it is still there, yet there is absolutely nothing in it. While we are falling for its lies, we waste our energy and resources by reaching back. The version of you that enjoyed those things past and the version of you that thought in those ways past doesn’t exist anymore. Truth be told, even if we focus on just the highlights of our past, God has so much more for us ahead. During the time of prayer and fasting I mentioned earlier, God gave me a vision. It was an open vision, not a dream, and it pertained to a very important relationship I had at the time. God told me that the relationship was going to come to an end and He said, in no uncertain terms, that even though this would hurt my heart it was for my good. At first, I became fearful but with more prayer He led me to begin praying for my heart, that He would protect it even in the middle of this potentially devastating separation. Long story short, the inevitable happened and even though I was sad, I was not devastated or crushed. God not only protected my heart, He healed it as I continued to take steps forward with Him. It takes courage to stay focused on the path ahead, courage that many never tap into. I pray that it will be said of you that you stepped forward in courage at every turn the lord had for you.

Pray, see and move

When God allows us to sense the shifts in our lives, there is often more than meets the eye. In my life so far, this has always been the case. What I think the shift is about, winds up being just the tip of the iceberg in what God wants to do. God, not being a respecter of persons and being fairly consistent with all His children, I would suspect that the same may often be true for you. When you find yourself in such a scenario, don’t be unwise. You know your Heavenly Father is good so ask Him to show you what is behind the obvious. There is always a bigger perspective that, by ourselves, we can’t see. Ask God for His perspective, His thoughts and His next steps for you. This takes humility and yes, it gets easier with practice because when God shows us His perspective, we can then ask for His help to move in step and in the knowledge of what He has revealed to us. What a wonderful Father we have who walks with us one step at a time.

Evaluate your circle

Are the people around you praying, seeing and moving? Are they purpose-driven people who are aligned with God? If you want to grow in the Lord, move in step with Him as the seasons of your life shift and change then surround yourself with such people. Back to the past… Many times as God begins to shift things in our lives, people will also shift position. Some people may have to leave our circle completely because they look too much like the past God is trying to shift us from. Other people will need to shift position within our circles to create room for new people, or for those who have been in the background to move forward. We have to stay ready for such adjustments as the Holy Spirit leads. Daniel 1:17 speaks of Daniel and the other three Hebrew young men who were like-minded and anointed by God. What “three others” may God have for you in this season of your life? It may be one or five, but they will be unable to settle into your life if you are reluctant to allow God to breathe over your circle.

God wants to shift some things in your life. Honour His guidance and be prepared to move when He says so. Commit to being obedient and to execute what He asks in excellence. Faith that God will bless, shift, and elevate you, without you putting your hand to the plough in excellence will result in nothing. As my husband Ceaser often says, “Work done is equal to zero.” True faith in God inspires, energises and enables excellence in execution. The dream God has for you is great and your execution should be greater. So, align yourself with what He is doing, seek His face for your purpose, face forward as you pray, see and move according to what He shows you. As you do these things, be prepared to have some shifts in your relationships and keep your plough of excellent execution handy. I pray that whatever shifts the Lord is doing in your life, you will look back with a full heart having tasted and seen the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.