I want to add a section here. I believe that Jeremiah ties into what God is calling me to write, and I think that we are to fill in the gap. I believe the time is now. I want to list some things we can consider to keep our eyes on the Lord and to understand our duty as His people.
Be willing to listen.
The Lord speaks, and we listen in many ways. Maybe we are driving down the road, and He is speaking.
Perhaps we are cleaning our home, and He speaks.
Maybe in the still of the day when the world is not smothering us, He speaks.
Every time is important to listen.
He speaks to us in prayer.
We pray. And we need to remember not just to hang up when we are through. We need to wait and listen in case He says something to our spirits. Waiting on Him is the most precious thing, and we are in times when we need to really do this even more.
To each of us, He comes in different ways.
None of us is alike in that sense. But we can also bring His voice to us more often just by listening and obeying what He has said. I believe He will be talking more to us in these late times.
To walk in His plan
For us to be in His will, we need to walk in it.
None of us is left out of His plans. He has a plan for each one of us. It might be small or huge. I always wait a bit after receiving something from Him. I do not just jump out there, unless I know it was His voice and what He meant.
The waiting and the listening make you hunger more for what He is speaking.
For us to show obedience when He says to walk this way or that is a step of growth in faith.
To seek God’s heart
This, to me, is most important.
My heart needs to be aligned with His.
He is making people in His image; His thoughts, His ways, and His law.
This is how Heaven will be filled with people who are in His image.
We seek His heart.
We follow that heart.
We fill our hearts with His heart.
We are becoming a walking vessel for His heart to make its home and likeness inside us.
I could write all day about His heart and how important it is to share that heart.
He calls; we respond.
This is what makes us, in a sense, the chosen ones of God.
He calls us, and we either respond or do not.
When we do, we show Him that we are aligned with His holiness and share His desires.
Many are called, but few are chosen.
The only way you would not be chosen is if you do not respond.
I am not talking about His people, the chosen; Israel.
I am talking about individual people that God calls into His will. We respond, and we are chosen.
I am not saying that you will not be saved. If you are in Christ, you are saved.
But when He calls us into something, we can respond.
We can stand for Him, we confess Him loudly and boldly, regardless of the faces that we shall see. Regardless of the things to come, we answer His call. We share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is responding.
To be set apart
What I mean by this is that we are to be set apart, a special people unto the Lord.
He sets us apart just like He set Moses, Jeremiah, and every other beautiful person in the Bible.
No difference.
He sets us apart, caretakers of the things He created.
He sets us apart, not of the world.
He sets us apart to be like Him; to seek what is holy.
He sets us apart and gives us gifts to use in bringing His kingdom come. This is being set apart.
To not bow to the world and its ways.
We know we are to be separate from the world and not of it. We do not agree with or take any part in what it offers.
We are of God, headed for eternal life. We long for the holiness of heaven to be our home, with no defilement, no sin, no evilness.
This is our greatest longing, to be with Him.
The World Will Make Demands
As time goes on, the world will crash down on us and make its demands. It will begin with laws and the uppity-ups telling us what to do. It will be followed by people around the world, telling us to do the same. They will want us to join them.
This will take total dependence on God.
This will bring our strongest faith and trust in Him.
This is why being silent needs to be understood by us.
He will have times when we are to be quiet, and other times when He shall make us speak.
We are the cancer of the world, and all people will follow this movement that will overtake us.
But we will not cave because Christ is in us.
Always remember that Christ is in us.
To hunger for His presence and His Truth
His truth is filling, ready, and waiting to fill us full. The early rain has come, and the latter will as well.
His Spirit shall pour out on us, flowing like rivers in the time that it is to come.
We are to seek His presence every hour.
There is no time for other things now, I don’t think so. I think it is time to dwell in His riches, which He gives us, and to store them up. Store it up.
Be not distracted by the world.
Satan’s favorite thing to do to a child of God, if he cannot get him to sin, is to distract with all kinds of interference.
He proves this daily, taking us into problems, chaos, events, and the demands of the world.
This will grow over time.
They aim to get our minds off the Lord.
Please do not let this happen.
We can run to God and ask Him for all these things.
We can ask Him to protect our minds and hearts these days.
It is not us who can fight against this evil. It is God, but we must ask.
Walk in Christ Daily
Not just with, but in. We must take it seriously that we are to be like Him.
Our hearts are being prepared for what lies ahead.
Tenderness mixed with boldness is what we need.
Boldness is needed to show people who might come to Christ that we do stand for the Lord and we stand for their souls to be saved.
Be willing to see in the Spirit.
There is the natural (dark) world, and there is the Spirit world around us.
It is within us, and we need to see it. We can ask God to show us more about this, too. We go to Him and ask. We speak to Him as if we are talking to a friend here.
He will answer every genuine question and concern.
He will teach us how to walk in the Spirit. This protects our faith, belief, and it armors us.
To let go of the flesh.
Let go of all flesh. Live by the spirit and not our flesh. God shall provide all our needs, and His promises are sure.
We can go to Him and ask Him to show our hearts so that we, too, can see what He sees in them.
Our hearts can be wicked and fool us, hiding things. God can make it known to you. This helps in our growth and relationship with Him.
Trust and Hold On
We must know now what trust truly is.
Do we trust in all situations?
Or, do we only trust when things are going well?
That is the question we must ask ourselves.
Take this to God as well. He will show where we lack anything.
Ask Him to cleanse our hearts daily.
Prayer is Our Armor
The dark world is after us.
The darkness will speak through people.
Their thoughts are aligned not with God, so they hear the opposite of God.
The world hears the ruler of this world.
The way to stand up for yourself if a battle comes up is to fight it in prayer. You can walk away, no arguing. It goes nowhere.
Satan wants us to argue because he listens to our words.
Prayer is where the battle is won. Energy needs to go toward fighting the spiritual battle, not a battle with a person.
Our Victory
Christ has already won. We are just waiting to go home. Our victory is in fighting spiritually, not naturally, not in the flesh. God already knows our battles are coming before they even come. He already knows the outcome, and He will equip us with what we need.
But we need to decrease and let Him increase in us. Let Him fight it.
We Pray Differently Now
Deeply. Honestly. Believing. Expecting. Trusting.
Listening. Waiting. Longing. Reverence. Awe. Praise. Worship. Dependent on Him.
We Move Differently
We move in the Spirit, not the flesh and not the world.
This is taught to us by waiting, trusting, and praying.
Always Thanking
Never forget to thank Him every day for all His blessings. If things are even rough at the time, still thank Him. He is blessing you all the time. Blessing is found in Him. It is a blessing to belong to Him. Focus your heart on these truths, and you shall feel blessed and know it. You are a child of God and are showered daily. Never say a prayer without thanking, praising, and worshiping.
Do Not Step Out Without Him
Think of this as your child about to cross the street without you. It is no different. The world we see now will only get worse.
We have to be under God’s shelter and guidance.
We wait on Him, and then we step out.
He will lead, we follow.
To Seek Him
Seek Him constantly. He is there with you.
Could you acknowledge that fact to Him?
I speak to Him all day long. I have conversations with him on my 40-minute drive to and from work. I never think I am alone.
He is always there and ready and willing to be made known.
Soak in the Knowledge He Gives
He gives it, you soak it up. There is nothing more important than making Him the most important and giving Him all your time.
He gives; you listen and receive.
He will fill you up.
Seek His Understanding
The peace that passeth all understanding is exceptional. It covers so much for me. It is hard to explain, even, because it is so deep. It is everything—a covering. A coming into knowing your Maker and God. Too hard to describe such a tremendous blessing.
Prayer Can Shift Your Life'
Prayer, when genuine and raw, will change and move your life closer to His will.
Your life will become His.
You will be living for Him and nothing else.
Your own life will disappear.
Forgive
This is so important, and I have only recently fully understood it. Even, when you think you know, it goes deeper, and it is incredible what it does for your growth in Christ. To go to Him daily as you forgive others is very important because it keeps you forgiving.
Forgiveness
Seek it from Him for yourself daily. Not just once or here and there.
Open your heart to Him and show Him that you want it to stay clean. It will.
This is all for this additive. I wanted to throw this in. We, as God’s children, are preparing for the biggest times of our entire lives. No one on earth has faced the times ahead. Jesus Christ is returning, and we must be ready to do His will in our lives. We must strengthen ourselves by His Word, prayer, and our relationship with him. It must stand through thick and thin.
Through heavy and challenging times.
Through confusion and deception.
We will not be left in despair. He shall come to every one of us.
(Continued in Part 3)
I like how you show how important it is to listen and follow God’s lead. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” reminding us that responding to Him keeps our hearts aligned and sets us apart for His purposes.