Invited into Intimacy
“Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.”
Exodus 33.15
We are all created for intimacy, as we are made in our Father’s image. He longs to know us, and to be known by us. So many have become disenchanted by “religion,” (trying to earn through ritual and labor what God wants to give us through relationship, as defined by Blake Healy in The Veil). What is left is a gaping hole in their heart. Whether they were wounded by the church in some way or they’ve become disenchanted with people whose failures have become public and known--they are seeking more, and whether they realize it or not--they are seeking a deep relationship. God put inside of us the desire to know Him and to desire to be known by Him. However, often in the church, we are taught all about God without truly knowing God the person (or Jesus, or Holy Spirit). Just as with people, we can know all about someone without actually knowing them. For instance, I can know all about a professional athlete without knowing them personally. The fact that I know all their sports stats does not mean that I have an actual relationship with them. For some Christians, their knowledge of God has gotten in the way of their relationship with Him.
Religion makes God impersonal, but the truth is that God created us for intimate, and intentional relationship. He knows the number of hairs on your head because you are His child. If you have felt distracted, disconnected, and weary, this word is for you. If you’re feeling raw and disillusioned with religion, God is inviting you back into an intimate relationship with Him.
Ask God what His next steps are for you to reconnect to His heart. Is He calling you to lay something down for a time? It could be fasting from social media or TV or something else that has taken the place of your time with Him. Lay that down on the altar, and intentionally spend time in His presence--without agenda, but simply for the enjoyment of being with Him. He delights in you, just as you delight in Him. Allow your heart to come back to the sweet enjoyment of His Presence.
Cultivating Community
“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
Matthew 18.20
There is power in gathering together. God designed us to live in connection and community with others. We need each other. The last two years have disrupted many community gatherings and made coming together challenging. Some of us have become disconnected from our community. It is time to return to gathering together. It could be with your church, but it could also be in other ways. Perhaps it’s with a small group; a club around your hobbies such as a book club or a garden club; a close-knit group of friends you’ve grown distant from; or a women's group. We are better together. Just as iron sharpens iron, we deeply need what those around us have to offer.
According to researchers, one of the greatest indicators of long life is the quality of our social connections. We were created to do life in a community. We need people speaking into our lives, offering unique insights and perspectives , and learning and growing alongside us. Be intentional during this season to plug into a community. Many people have moved cities or states in the past few years, which can make communities feel especially challenging. If you’re starting over, don’t be intimidated or overwhelmed at building new connections. You’re not alone. Instead, choose to be led by the Spirit. God has already placed connections before you.
If you’ve been feeling isolated, alone, and are longing for friends, then this word is for you. If you’re struggling with rejection, depression, or are new to an area, know that God has placed the desire for community/family on their heart for a reason. God is highlighting the need to be plugged into a community and He’s leading you to that community. Pay attention to what He’s bringing to your attention, or the groups that you are being connected with during this season.
Search your heart to discern the direction that God is leading you to build community. Pray about what steps you can take to get involved. Be bold! We can accomplish more and go so much farther when we are aligned with other people.
Immediate Provision
Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.””
2 Kings 4.2
God’s provision can take many forms. Often, we think of provision as financial and coming in the form of money or dollar bills. However, sometimes provision can look like something else. I recently had an experience where I needed a repair on an air conditioning unit. The repair company quoted me $1000. However, my neighbor was actually able to help me for free! In this story, provision wasn’t an extra $1000 for the AC repairman, but provision showed up through my neighbor.
In Scripture, there’s a story of a widow in 2 Kings 4.1-7. She came to the prophet Elisha in desperation. Her husband had died and his creditor was demanding repayment. Because she couldn’t repay him, the creditor was coming for her sons to enslave them in order to pay the debt. She had a great and urgent need! Elisha asked her what she had. She didn’t have much, only a small amount of oil. Elisha told her to go to her neighbors and gather up every jar that she could find. He specified, “Don’t ask for just a few.” Not only was he instructing her to anticipate God’s provision, he was giving her an action step to take, in order to realize she wasn’t powerless. So she went to the neighbors gathering jars. She filled every jar until she had not one left to fill. In this case, the Lord supernaturally provided for her so that she could sell what He gave in order to pay her debt.
Sometimes we need to use what we have, and the Lord will meet us in that place and multiply it. God is calling us to look beyond our need to what He’s already given us and partner with Him. He’s inviting us to use what we have, and watch how He joins us. Could it have been the widow’s faith that caused the oil to multiply or perhaps her simple act of obedience? In gathering the jars, she was taking a step of faith even though she didn’t fully know how God would provide.
If you have a need and don’t know what to do, ask God for wisdom! This could be an ongoing need. There could be some urgency to the need, and perhaps even dire consequences if things don’t shift! Yet God is a God of provision and He will show up for you.
God is inviting you to seek Him for His solutions, and to use what you have in your hand. What has God already provided? What would faith look like in this situation? How could you gather jars like the widow did as an act of faith? God will give you insight and supernatural provision!
A Covenantal People
“So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord call David’s enemies to account.” And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.”
1 Samuel 20.16-17
In our increasingly “microwave mentality” culture where video clips get shorter and shorter just to retain people’s attention, a true understanding of the Biblical meaning of covenant is more and more rare. Throughout the Bible, we see God make covenants with His people, and we see people make covenants with each other. Although there are different dynamics to each type of covenant, in general, a covenant represented a significant bond (that involved families and bloodlines) that was connected to a promise, and not easily broken, forming the two into one. Society today (and even within the church) doesn’t really have a grasp on this type of deep, meaningful and lasting relationship. God is calling His people to be set apart from society, and to be in God-ordained covenantal relationships. Our thinking about all things must be Biblically based, and not a product of or shaped by the world.
On the complete other side of the spectrum is “cancel culture”. “Cancel culture” is something that is increasingly gaining momentum in this day and age. In “cancel culture,” if someone offends someone else or does something that the public deems wrong, they get punished by society at large. The one being canceled is usually called out on social media and the herd mentality catapults the momentum into the stratosphere where everyone turns on them. In some cases, it can cause a lot of damage to an individual or to a company. Although it’s often called “accountability,” at its core, “cancel culture” is bullying. There is no legal due process and no formal grievance procedure. The one who’s offended becomes the judge and jury and rallies fellow haters around them. Can you see how “cancel culture” and this mindset of tearing others down, condemning, dividing and breeding hostility is the opposite of the heart of God? What the enemy can’t have, he seeks to destroy.
God is calling us, as His people, to be in covenant relationships as a reflection of His heart and purpose for us. Being holy and set apart, our relationships should look different, be lasting and committed. Please note that I don’t think that God is saying that ALL relationships are forever, but that He is highlighting some that could go deeper, and some that may need a renewed commitment. If you have been longing for more in your relationships, begin praying for covenantal relationships. God has put on your hearts the importance of community, therefore ask God what relationships to invest more deeply in.
Are there repairs or restoration that need to happen in your relationships? God may be leading you to the people that He wants you to have covenant relationships with. Ask God to show you where He’s leading you, and what steps you can take to emulate His heart for relationships.
©2022 All Rights Reserved
Written by Anne E. Ballard
At The Crowning Jewels, it's our desire and our mission to bring encouragement, to build others up, and to bring comfort to people’s lives (1 Corinthians 14.3). Each month our founder, Anne, asks the Lord what He’s doing in the coming month and for any words of encouragement He might have for His people. We believe that prophetic words need to be encouraging and edifying. Moreover, with a corporate prophetic word, not all words are applicable to all people. If our words bless you, please take hold of them and apply them in your own life. If it’s not specific to you, please pass it on to someone else who might be blessed.
As always, the prophetic is a free gift from heaven and will always be something we freely share. As a prophetic business, it’s our mission to bring encouragement and edification to people through the free gift of prophecy, with our product being jewelry.
DECLARATIONS
We at The Crowning Jewels believe in the absolute, transformational power of declarations. We know that truth comes by hearing (Romans 10.17), and speaking truth is an active way for us to renew our minds (Romans 12.2). We invite you to partner with what God is doing and say these declarations for the remainder of the month. We would love to hear what God does! Please email us your testimony at hello@thecrowningjewels.com.
- I am cultivating fresh intimacy with God.
- I am being intentional in my relationships and building community.
- I bring what I have to God and watch Him multiply it.
- God is providing for me in unexpected and supernatural ways.
- I am forming covenantal relationships in connection with the heart of God.
