It seems that almost daily I am being led into something by the Holy Spirit that opens my eyes (my spiritual eyes) to things I didn’t understand before. Perhaps I had bits and pieces of it, but not an understanding that brought deeply rooted paradigm shifting revelation. I have known the Lord for a long time now and have never considered myself to be a nominal Christian. From the very moment I was saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, I was lit on fire and my life changed drastically. I say this only to say that this new place the Lord has taken me during these past few years is a place that I did not know existed. I remember so clearly saying, many times, “I could not have asked for this because I didn’t know it existed”!
I must say during this so-called COVID time that the Lord has once again taken me to places I didn’t know to ask for. This time, it is a place of realizing that “there is prophecy in history”! What I mean by that is, as Solomon said, there really is nothing new under the sun! But, there is always a new place in God as we go deeper with the Holy Spirit. As we open our hearts and invite Him to reveal himself and His ways to us. The Bible says that we are to go from glory to glory, but somehow we don’t really understand what that actually means.
It’s as if things make sense now that didn’t make sense to me before. They not only make sense in my head, but they actually have become a part of the inner fabric of my being in a way that forms my thoughts, actions, beliefs, and existence in a way that previously didn’t exist. Recently a friend of mine said these words to me: “Laura, keep writing because it is the Holy Spirit. I only hope that people can understand you because it is very deep”! When she said that I had to ponder what she meant by “deep” because these things seem so obvious to me and are such a part of me now that I think it is the way everyone thinks – even though I know that isn’t so! You know, how when we are flowing in something that is a part of us and it looks so simple and easy to other people? Our gifting, our being, flowing out of us like rivers of living water? My prayer is that somehow the Holy Spirit will use these living waters to wash over and find their way into the deepest cracks and crevices of the hearts of His people. That my journey and thoughts will somehow spark something in you that beckons the Holy Spirit to take you into deeper waters.
I want to briefly address the title of this post, “Prophecy in History”. I come from the ‘Spirit-filled, Charismatic, Pentecostal’ tribe of believers. I believe that the Holy Spirit and all His gifts are alive and well in the world today and are available to all his people who will invite him to do so. With that said, charismatics can tend to be unbalanced in our understanding of the WORD and the SPIRIT working together in harmony! We go a lot based upon feelings, emotions, inspirations, and experiences. Thank God for all of those things – absolutely, but at the same time, there has been a lot of misunderstanding taught to the entire Body of Christ about what God’s power and presence actually look like. I believe there are two ditches that surround the subject of the Holy Spirit. Some say the gifts aren’t for today, and some go to the other extreme side, without the balance and grounding of the Word. Somehow we have reduced the presence and actions of the Holy Spirit to a formula, to praying and decreeing correctly, and thinking we can control the outcome of things simply by invoking the name of Jesus. Don’t get me wrong … all of those things are part, but it is by the actual LEADING of the Holy Spirit that things change. It’s a deeper place in Him that brings His power for the change.
There has been a huge movement in the charismatic church concerning prophesy. We think that giving words of encouragement and blessing are how we are to prophesy to others. We can prophesy by flowers, animals, objects, etc. – on demand. We simply cannot follow a path that leads us to view God as a vending machine of on-demand prophecy. It’s good to practice, learn, and to sharpen our hearing of the Holy Spirit, but let’s call it what it is instead of calling it prophecy. Many are taught that you cannot give direction or correction to others unless you walk in an office of the Prophet. Of course there is a ditch to this as well as we are not called to discipline and correct our brothers and sisters in the name of prophesy. We should be very careful what we speak ‘in the name of the Lord’. Unless we know it is Him, we are better to stick to exhortation and encouragement for it is always good to bless and strengthen others.
Okay – so I sidetracked again for a moment! My real point is this … I am seeing more and more that the Holy Spirit is opening the revelation of things past, of cycles and seasons in order to reveal what is happening at this moment and what is to come. Even more importantly to show us how to respond at this moment, based upon what He plans for the future. Past, present, and future all coming together to reveal the mystery of God and His ways. I’m beginning to see an overlay of the Old Testament – like the old transparencies used to lay over the top of another thing to reveal the similarities, strategies, and blueprints. It’s one of the reasons that history is so important. I never really understood it before! Thank God for opening the eyes of our understanding so that we might see! It’s not only to see, it is to capture! To capture the lessons, the examples, the corrections, and ways of God so that we can traverse the landscape and situation with clear direction! As we see history (especially biblical history), with an overlay of the now moments, we can see indeed what God is doing and saying. It’s amazing, really! I am captivated by the way He is opening up His word and revealing His plans.
Ron used to talk to me about cycles and how things always repeat themselves. He saw very clearly that these times were soon to come. He saw the cyclical patterns of nature, economics, world events, etc. How things work and how they repeat themselves within the patterns of life. I believed him because I trusted him, but I did not fully understand. It made sense to me, but yet, it didn’t make sense! I just couldn’t see how the Bible applied to this concept! Dull of heart and hearing? Yes, but thank God for the groundwork that was laid, for it has been used greatly by the Holy Spirit! Used to enlighten me as He continues to clarify the code – the mysteries of heaven to me! There is so much to be learned, and I mean truly learned! Not simply received as head knowledge, but rather received in deep revelatory understanding within our spirits.
Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever -absolutely! However; we don’t have the whole picture and so it is important that we continue to allow Him to reveal these things to us. They are new to us because the light bulb goes on and we “see” something we didn’t get beforehand. This is so that we can know Him better, and grasp the ever-being-revealed Christ! Do you know that the word Revelation actually means “the unveiling”? So the book of Revelation is the unveiling of Jesus, the Christ (Anointed One). We have entered an era where God is opening the book like never before! He is opening our understanding to a fuller grasp of Who he is and what He is doing! I keep saying it over and over, but “these now moments” we are living can be seen and understood in the times and lives of these people: Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, Zerubbabel, Haggai, etc. Prophecy in History! Times and seasons, cycles, and patterns are all a part of God’s code! I pray that somehow you will also be led by the Holy Spirit into the pages of time (past, present, and future) that will bring life and change to you – spirit, soul, and body! God is revealing Himself and ways like never before! The book that Daniel was told to seal up until the time of the end, is now being opened to bring life, strength, revelation, preparation, and direction for His people in this hour! What a time to be alive! Let life be infused into your inner being so that you will be prepared for your part in this history-in-the-making era!
I find the more I ‘get it’, the more I am willing to go, to give, and to do whatever it takes – whatever He calls me to! How about you? I leave you with this:
… But the people who do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. Daniel 11:32
