Ask...Seek...Knock...Happy New Year 5785

As we are on the cusp of moving into the new Hebraic year of 5785, I feel the Father's pull to take intentional time to evaluate the people, places, mindsets, and habits that may still be holding us back. The Father is preparing many of us to "take off" in this new year, but in order to have a successful take off, we must make sure we are not weighed down by things of the past.

There are many who may read this and say, "but I thought I was already preparing to take off." Yet, the Lord is strategic and thorough in His preparation. Only He knows when you are truly ready, and not only you, but the environment around you (right people, right circumstances, right situations). For this reason, for some, you have had to go into a "re-preparation" phase. Like a cake that was not quite done, He has placed you back into the oven, into His refiner's fire, to make sure you do not fall apart the minute you are exposed to new places, people, and circumstances. He had to make sure the cake was done properly.

Many of you have been through a final cleanse. Where you thought that you were done, but He took you through one more time. Like David, He is purifying you with hyssop and washing you whiter than snow (Psalm 51:7). Like Gideon, He is paring you down, as there were still too many factors that would try to claim the victory in your life. When this victory is attained, all the glory goes to Him and Him alone.

For others that know you have been purified to the utmost, the Father has been building you up (your faith, your stamina, your perseverance) much like a neurotransmitter. In physiology, there are neurons (nerve cells) that operate on an all-or-none principle, where it is not just the strength of the stimuli that causes it to be activated, but instead once a required threshold has been crossed. Once it's activated, it fires, and it's all in. Its signal transmits completely. For many of you, you have been like that nerve cell waiting to fire, waiting to activate. You have had blow after blow, you've endured hardship after hardship, but it seemed like nothing was happening. You thought that you were stagnate, but you have just been at the entry point, the gate, waiting to cross the required threshold to take off. Every gate has a threshold. You have not been stagnate, but building up. Like horses before a race, your momentum has been building behind the gate. You may have felt held back...trapped even, but the momentum has been building for the win. 

There are still others who have been caring for someone else’s "baby". And, because of your heart towards people, you took it on like your own. You gave your time, resources, energy to something that wasn’t yours, because of your compassion, but it’s time to let that go now, once and for all. It’s time to release what is not yours. It’s time to care for what is your own. What the Lord has set aside for you.

He reminded me of a dream I had on September 11, 2024 where right before I boarded a jumbo jet, several travelers and myself, who seemed to have been on a mission trip, were performing one final honoring ceremony for someone before take off. Yet once we got on this jet, it still seemed really full with lots of people and too much baggage. I could tell and even questioned whether the jet would take off. As the pilot struggled to get the jet off the ground, I could tell that the jet was too heavy, and we had to stop before we even fully cleared the runway. As we stopped to evaluate what to do, the pilot called for me to help him determine what was going on, as he also told me that oil was leaking from this plane. I told the pilot that I believed the jet was just too heavy, weighed down by all the baggage, and that there was just too much pressure that had built up, and that was the end of the dream. 

As I have been meditating on this dream for quite some time, the Holy Spirit started to give revelation. I hear the Lord say that He is wanting you to close up any remaining things that may weigh you down or cause your "oil to leak". Like the parable of the ten virgins, you cannot give away what belongs to you (Matthew 25:1-13). Like the new wine, you cannot put this new wine into old wineskins, lest it bursts (Matthew 9:17).

The Father is taking such care, and there is such diligence, and so much movement and battle for this new year and take off, as there are some who are entering a "have your cake and eat it too" season -- meaning double abundance for what you’ve gone through. Like Job, He is bestowing double for your trouble. Double honor. Double blessing. Double recompense. Double joy. He’s providing a do-over , even, for some of you, and it’s for keeps this time.

I heard Him say that many are also being ushered into an "ask,...seek...knock" era, as the morning of October 1, 2024, in my sleep I kept hearing Matthew 7:7 repeated over and over in my dreams: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." I heard it said three times, and then I woke up. Because many are being ushered into this "ask...seek...knock" era, the Father is giving you time to release any remaining weights to Him. He does not want you asking for the wrong things, seeking the wrong things, nor knocking on the wrong doors. Maybe you’re still disappointed about what hasn't happened. Maybe you're still disillusioned by what you thought was going to happen. Or maybe you're even still entangled in what is currently happening. Regardless, it’s time to boldly step away.

So, ask Him to show you His will for you. Seek Him and His word; seek what He desires for you right now. Knock on the door of His truth, just as He stands at the door of your heart knocking, to see if you will let him in (Revelation 3:20). You have been through the fire, you have been cleaned, and it’s time to walk into your golden era. Walk as a member of the Bride of Christ, and let Him usher you in with gladness. In Jesus' Name. Amen.