God is always speaking through Holy Spirit. We don't always want to admit that we may have challenges hearing but the truth of the matter is that God is speaking. One prayer I pray often is that I will "have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying". The Lord Jesus repeats this often in the book of Revelation to the Beloved Apostle John. It is in the red print people, so I just believe I need to pay attention to the red print. As I pray this breath prayer, I find my Father answering in many situations in my life. I must be willing to be still and know that He is God, so that I can hear. I am realizing that as my Father, He will use any and every situation or circumstance to teach me, chasten me, lead me, all ultimately to love me. So that is usually how these blogs come... Some situation in my life has me perplexed, unraveled, disgruntled, confused, seeking and searching...chose any word that fits your situation. I just get still and He will speak. Now with me, a lover of words, I usually get a word or phrase. (Father may speak to you differently, through a song, a dream, another person...He knows what is best and what gets His child's attention. Trust Him.) Most recently, it was the title phrase let go... let shine. I have been pondering this one for about two weeks or more. I get bits and pieces here and there, but I finally think I have something worth sharing.
Let Go
A few weeks ago I was looking for a document on my laptop and came across a leadership profile I did for a class while studying for my Master's degree. I thought, wow, this was so interesting let me review it. (If I knew what was coming I may have went about my business.) Honestly, that leadership course taught me a lot about myself and I am still grateful. Well, I guess Father needed to remind me of a few things. Similar to any personality profile, after a series of questions it will list your strengths and weaknesses. (I don't want to argue the legitimacy of these questionnaires. Eat the meat and spit out the bones). Once again, I was encouraged by my strengths. Woohoo! I thought the profile got it right. Nailed it. It was when I looked at my profile weaknesses that I knew I was getting to what Father wanted to bring to my attention. One of my greatest weaknesses was forgiveness! (there are 5 top strengths, 5 weaknesses and a bunch of stuff in the middle) It was difficult then and just as difficult to be reminded! It is not easy to honestly look at yourself but if you know Father like I do, then you know He chastens those he loves. So now I have to get still to hear. Father what are you saying to me?
So I accept the fact that 2 years ago when I took this profile that was the case. What I want to know Holy Spirit is where am I now? What I learned is that since then Father has been using many situations in my life to teach me how to surrender all to Him. When you learn to REALLY SURRENDER ALL you don't have anything to hold onto and that includes unforgiveness! A few days after reviewing the profile I had someone give me a copy of a poem called "Let Go". The author is unknown, but I knew I had read the poem before. I started looking everywhere, in my journals etc to find out where I had read this. FOUND IT. In a book I read a couple years ago called Grace Awakening by Charles R. Swindoll. (Great book!). It is all coming together. Let go. Surrender all.
This one is going to be like a puzzle so I pray Holy Spirit will bear witness with whomever reads this to give His understanding because I will probably be all over the place.
During all this, I am continuing a bible study on the book Hebrews and I am reminded of one of the previous lessons from Holy Spirit about Jesus and his obedience. The Lord Jesus Christ IS the Author and Finisher of our faith.
Hebrews 2: 10-14
" For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all on one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying ' I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You. And again, I will put My trust in Him. And again, Here I am and the children whom God has given Me."
1. Jesus is the Captain of our salvation. We are made perfect through Him. He is also our sanctification. We are his brethren. (verse. 11).
2. Jesus had to put His trust in God to walk in total obedience even to death on the cross! Jesus had faith in God, His Father, Our Father. (verse 13).
3. His obedience and our faith in His finishing work, even our sanctification, allows Him to give birth to us as children of God, sons of Glory. (verse 10, 13 also John 1:12)
I know you are asking...where are you going? Let go...even Jesus HAD TO let go of His own will, His own desires in order to do the will of the Father. We always see Jesus as the Son of God but He was the Son of Man too! As the Son of Man, He walked in flesh like us and had to submit His will, HIS SOUL, to His spirit (His spirit which had received Holy Spirit at his baptism) in order to fulfill His purpose. I don't have time to go to the scripture but you know what happened in the Garden of Gethsemane (which was a olive vineyard and means "oil press"). Jesus prayed there often (John 18:2) and wrestled with the will of God. His last time there praying, He asked the Father for another way for Him to fulfill His obedience on the earth. This means He is like us. It is not always easy to walk in obedience. It hurts sometimes. It takes faith. Jesus ultimately surrendered His will, HIS SOUL, to the will of God. Jesus learned that He had to walk in the Spirit. His will was not important. The will of the Father was paramount in His life, even unto death. That is obedience. Thank God, Most High, Our Father, that Jesus is the author and finisher of OUR faith. He is our sanctifier.
Let Go...
We all have our own garden of Gethsemane. We may have to visit more than once and travail in prayer so that HIS WILL is done in our lives. I have discovered that sanctification is a process. Jesus is our Sanctifier and in this process our will, our SOUL has to come under the obedience of Christ. Then we are truly walking in the spirit. We surrender to the process of the vineyard, the pressing in prayer, so that the OIL of Christ, HIS anointing can be made manifest in our lives. Jesus is OUR EXAMPLE. He endured the cross to bring MANY SONS into GLORY. We should not resist the process of the sanctification. Surrendering ALL of our will, our SOUL (the battle is there, if you have not figured that out yet) to the will of Father is how the glory is manifested in us.
When we Let Go...God will Let Shine! The oil doesn't come out of the olive without the process. The anointing and glory that is resident in our new creation spirit will not be made manifest until we surrender our will, our soul, under the submission of God and His Christ. We have to bow.
When I Let Go...I Surrender... ALL.. even the things that seem most difficult. I am bringing my flesh and soul into proper alignment for my spirit (the real me) to shine. It is a process. It is a surrendering day by day so that His will, His glory and the revealing of His sons (who we are) can be made manifest.
See you in the garden!
Let Go...Let Shine!
© Ronda Wagner and Kelbey Chronicles, 2013-2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Ronda Wagner and Kelbey Chronicles with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
