I feel so much better today! The weight of PMS has lifted, and with it, my perspective has shifted. It’s amazing how something so simple can feel so oppressive, and yet today, I see everything more clearly. I pray that if there’s something I can do to ease this struggle in the future, the Lord will guide me to it.
God has been working on my heart, reminding me to seek Him daily for His tasks, not just the ones I assume I should do. My struggle with staying busy—feeling like I need to earn approval—runs deep, but I want to surrender that completely. There are so many good things I could be doing, but even good things become distractions if they’re not directed by Jesus. And of course, God confirmed this lesson through my devotional time today! Both 90 Days with the One and Only and Lies Women Believe spoke directly to this, and even the Hope Journal lined up, covering the same story from another Gospel. Lord, I hear You! Give me strength each day to focus on You alone.
"My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and Knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you."
— Proverbs 2:1-11
Yesterday was a powerful day. My lunch meeting stretched over four hours as we talked about the needs of the church and the Body of Christ. Even after we prayed together, it felt like more prayer was needed. On the way home, I continued interceding, and when I got back, I canceled my evening plans and spent time in quiet before the Lord. It felt so good to simply be in His presence. I long for more of that.
Last night, something incredible happened. Tom and I started reading Emotional Healing by Jimmy Evans, and in the chapter on inner vows, God moved. Tom identified a deep, hidden vow he made as a child—something so painful that he had never even told me about it. For the first time, he renounced it and surrendered it to God. I did the same with vows I had made as a child. The weight of those old, unspoken agreements had been binding us for years, and in one moment of surrender, we were set free. Thank You, Jesus!
Looking back, I see how God has been preparing me for this. During a women’s conference at Hope, we were given time to reflect, and I had a vision of Jesus. He stood outside, surrounded by rolling green hills and a crowd of people. I was far back, able to see Him but not near enough to touch Him.
I heard His voice tell me, Press in.
Each person in the crowd represented something that stood between me and Him—distractions, fears, expectations. He urged me to push through, to not let anything or anyone keep me from Him.
Today, as I read about the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5, that vision returned. She pressed in—through the crushing crowd, through every obstacle—because she had faith that He would heal her. Am I pressing in? Or am I letting distractions, emails, and tasks keep me from falling at His feet?
Lord, give me the strength to see nothing but You.
"Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. The LORD is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one. Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever." Psalm 28:6-9
Thank you Jesus!"
CB sent me a couple articles yesterday. Here is an excerpt from Apostolic Networks And The God-Family by Ron McGatlin:
Our natural minds can limit our ability to discern and participate in the realities of the Spirit and the spiritual realm. God’s design for mankind includes man’s mind serving under the Spirit of God as a tool for functioning in the physical world to bring forth the plans and purposes of Spirit God on earth from heaven. From the time of Adam’s partaking of the tree of knowledge man’s fallen mind has attempted to overrule God’s will and desires.
"But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2:14
The tension between living in the ways of the natural as opposed to the spiritual continues to be a factor for all seeking to function as sons of God in the natural world. The religious church system with its many denominations and hierarchical ruling structures is the product of natural thinking overtaking and replacing life in the Spirit. The ekklesia of God began in the Spirit and eventually it will finish in the Spirit even though many centuries of walking in the natural have brought devastation to the real kingdom of God from heaven on earth. Life in the Spirit has been eroded by the continued practice of walking in the natural mind or the flesh portion of the natural/spiritual makeup of man."Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?" Galations 3:3
God’s people are the interface between the Spirit realm of God from heaven and the natural or physical world. The design of creation is to reflect the glory of God revealing His glorious character and nature of unchanging love, righteousness, wisdom and power far beyond human understanding. Only as mankind walks in the Spirit can he fulfill his place of bringing forth the will and plans of God from the spiritual into the natural.Walking in the Spirit means our minds, will and emotions are saturated by the Spirit of God and functioning by the empowerment of the Spirit of Christ.
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