A year and a half ago God called me out of 5 years of rest by saying again, “Feed My sheep.” I obeyed. I don’t see these ladies as “my” group or “our” group, but rather “His” group that He’s chosen to put me in the midst of for a time. My goal remains to seek what He desires for them and to be intentional, diligent and faithful in discipling them in their faith as He guides me.
The previous year God gave me a vision of huge white ivory pillars standing before me. He impressed upon my heart that He was saying these women will be pillars of faith for Me. They will be My Warriors doing battle with Me. They will be strong, brave, courageous, supportive, unwavering, grounded, steadfast, established, solid, sturdy, unmovable and faithful . . . His spiritual warriors against darkness.
Last year I asked Him, “Father what do You want for Your women? How do You desire to mold them?” He revealed five areas: 1) Prayer, 2) Armor, 3) Spiritual Warfare, 4) Identity, and 5) SHAPE. Prayer is our battleground. He’s placed His armor on us to wear and Jesus fulfills each piece. As with Joshua He said do not be afraid for He reigns, is sovereign and all powerful, and Satan is not His equal but merely a created vessel that answers to Him. He tattooed our identity in Jesus Christ on our hearts and opened our eyes to how intricately and uniquely He created each one of us. His desire is for us to illuminate Jesus to others as we operate in the way He designed us to function.
During summer, my Father impressed upon me that He was not finished, so I asked Him, “What do you want next for them? Where do You desire to strengthen them?” He showed me four more areas: 1) Hearing His Voice, 2) Holy Spirit, 3) Forgiveness, and 4) Mentoring. He wants us to learn to recognize His voice and be intimately involved with Him for His sheep hear His voice and follow. We must be still and listen. His Spirit speaks to our spirit and reveals secrets to us as He lives within us. He has given us His Holy Spirit with power to help us and we must embrace and believe all that He supplies. He desires us to discover how important forgiveness is and how to release unforgiveness and bitterness so we can be set free to experience healing and peace. Keeping what He’s given us just for ourselves is not His end goal…He desires us to mentor others in our circles, to train our oikos with the treasures He poured into us and then step out in faith to share with those in our midst about His Kingdom.
My heart continues to hear God say, “I desire you to pursue the lost, the captive, the emotionally hurt, the sick, the physically wounded, and the spiritually imprisoned and bring them to Me for healing and deliverance. Trust Me for big things Denise and teach my daughters to do the same.” My desire is for them to see me hear God’s voice and respond, to watch me pray and war immediately for those in need, to see me believe God’s word and act, to see me believe mighty things and expect mountains to move, to watch me live as a disciple in the days of Acts, to hear me encourage the timid who step out to share, to watch me lift them up and build them up as they step out in faith to do what they never thought they could, to see me pointing them to Jesus for answers and praying with them…I desire to inspire them to do the same with others. I want them to soar into Pillars of Faith…becoming God’s Warriors for such a time as this.
We must be diligent and intentional about connecting and giving people a place to belong. God desires everyone to feel loved, cared for, valued, cherished and important. Being intimate with a few is important. Providing a place to be authentic, raw and real is invaluable. Encouraging one another, praying for each other and sharing a word the Lord gives for each one. Though I try to follow this model Jesus impressed upon my heart, each person needs to be free to find how God works through how he/she is wired. The most important key God encourages in me is to be authentic and unmasked with my life and struggles so that they may see I’m real and that our circle is a safe place to be real.
As for the people He has placed by my side, I want them loosed and released from all that has hindered them and bound to a trust in God that is unstoppable. I want them to embrace God for mighty works. I desire them to see God’s faithfulness and experience exponential transformation . . . to see His fingerprints all over their life. I want me to become less and them to become more.
God growing an army of Pillars of Faith ready to be His Warriors.