Led By the Spirit | March Monthly Blog

Summary

In the month of March, God is leading us according to His Spirit. He is teaching us to be sensitive to His voice and walk in discernment. We are overcoming the works of darkness and He is filling us with fresh and overflowing joy. Fill your mind with the things of God and allow Him to lead you step by step in His ways. 

Fruit of the Union

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
1 John 4.4

Have you felt like you’re under attack or like you can’t get free from a battle? Like no matter what you’re doing, you’re constantly facing opposition or going in circles or reverting back to old patterns? If you’ve been facing setback after setback, you could be experiencing a demonic stronghold. Just because you’re facing a challenge, doesn’t mean it’s demonic. However, sometimes when we’ve fought and fought for breakthrough and nothing’s happening, it’s because there’s a demonic force at work. It’s worth asking the Holy Spirit to expose if there are any demonic strongholds present in your life and to renounce any agreements you may have made with it, even unintentionally.

We can, at times, partner with the demonic realm without even knowing it.  This isn’t something to be ashamed or afraid of, rather it’s about becoming aware so you can make a new agreement. There are different ways that we can allow the demonic access to our lives. Unforgiveness, self-pity, fear, and shame, while not demonic in and of themselves, can provide a doorway to the demonic if we stay in these beliefs/emotions too long. Drug use or practicing the occult (tarot cards, palm reading, horoscopes, Ouija boards etc.) can also open us up to the demonic realm. In addition, physical objects can sometimes have a spirit or a curse attached to it.  If the Lord highlights any of these things to you, the great news is you have the power to shift things! Stop dabbling in the occult, toss out anything the Holy Spirit might ask you to get rid of, and ask God if there are any agreements/beliefs He wants to shift inside of you.

We can also make an  agreement with lies which can create room for a demonic stronghold to take place. For example, say you are struggling with rejection. Something happens that causes you to feel rejected. Then, you notice that in every interaction you have with someone (or group of people), you leave feeling rejected and insignificant. Soon, you spend most of your days feeling rejected and unworthy of connection, almost like there’s this constant voice in your head reminding you that you’re unworthy of love and belonging. In reflection, you realize that you made agreement with that lie: that you’re not worthy of connection.  That agreement became an invitation to a rejection spirit to have influence over you. In order to break that agreement, simply renounce the lie, “I’m unworthy of connection,” and begin declaring the new truth, “I’m worthy of love and belonging.” The enemy only has the power that we give to him.  Thus the importance of renewing our mind with truth.  If you have been struggling lately it is possible that you have given the demonic realm permission to enter into your life.  Evaluate the fruit in your life to help determine what spirit is at work.  Compare what you are experiencing with the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5.22): love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

God is bringing awareness and understanding to recognize whether or not you’re partnering with the demonic realm (even unknowingly).  This word is for people who have been struggling and they can’t seem to break free.  You feel like they are under the thumb of something, and like they are being controlled; no longer free.  You have done everything “right” but still cannot get the breakthrough they’ve been seeking.  You may feel stuck, like they’re in a swirl, or like they are under attack.  Ask God if you’ve allowed access to a spirit that you don’t want in your life.  If He confirms it, ask Him how you are to get rid of it specifically.  It may be that you are to repent for partnering with a lie, get rid of an object, throw out the horoscopes, or forgive someone. Know this: none of this is said to stir up fear, rather to remind you of the authority you have in Christ Jesus. God has put all things under your feet. Come back into alignment with Him and call forth the shift you need to see. 

If you’re wanting to dive deeper into this topic and get sustained access to spiritual breakthroughs, I highly recommend the book Spirit Wars by Kris Vallotton. 

Deep Discernment

“But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
Hebrews 5.14

Discernment is critical  for the believer in their spiritual walk.  It’s not something that is taught on often and not always understood.  Discernment is defined as acuteness of judgment. Spiritual discernment, therefore, is judging things in the spiritual realm.  

I, personally, have been diligently pursuing an increase in my discernment with the Lord. When I am about to meet someone new or enter into a new place, I will ask God to increase my discernment.  What I have experienced has surprised me as I often have strong dislikes for certain things or even people in my new environment.  As I have processed this with Holy Spirit, He has shown me that I am picking up on unclean spirits in that environment. This is not to say that anytime I have a strong reaction to someone that it’s a spirit. But sometimes, I am responding to something I am sensing in the spiritual realm. This also means that if I feel a “dislike” for someone, it’s actually NOT the person I’m responding to. I can be feeling turned off to the spirit/spiritual agreement, while simultaneously experiencing a great deal of love and compassion for the person.

What I am doing is gathering information. My next step is to ask Him what I’m to do with that information. If I have a strong negative reaction to someone and the Holy Spirit shows me that it’s a spirit, then I can pray and release peace or freedom over them. I can then go into my interactions with them asking God to show me the person He loves and allow me to see them fully, not the spiritual agreement. Discernment is available if we press into it.  It’s like anything else, we improve by practicing and increasing our use of it.  As believers it is so important for us to be sensitive to things in the spirit, so we know what and who (or what) we are aligning ourselves with. If you’re wanting to grow in discernment, find people with a strong discernment gift and spend time with them! Read books on discernment and ask God to increase this gift in your life.

God is calling us higher-to sharpen our spiritual senses so we can understand more of the spiritual forces at play around us.  He is meeting us when we desire to grow. This word is for those who have been deceived by people, they may have even given up on trusting others, or they are struggling with trusting themselves.  They may have even had the thought, “I’m a terrible judge of character.”   Ask God to increase your discernment.  Intentionally pray as you meet new people, go to new places, or make decisions that God would increase your discernment.  Process what you’re sensing with Holy Spirit and/or a spiritually discerning person and pray about what you’re to do with that information.  He will show you! 

Led By The Spirit

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Isaiah 30.21

God’s word is always an excellent source of wisdom.  His Word is always true.  We are to always live in connection to the Holy Spirit, but there are times and seasons when we must be even more closely led by the Spirit.  Just as when God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham obeyed God’s word until he received a Rhema word from God telling him to stop.  The “now” word that Abraham received was what mattered most in that moment.  That word changed everything.  In your own life there may be some very practical wisdom that you’re believing, but the Rhema word is different.  For example, maybe last year in your area there was a bad snow storm and people lost power.  Practical wisdom would say it might be smart to buy a generator to guard against something like that happening again.  But if you have a word from the Lord that you don’t need to do that, His fresh word always trumps practical wisdom.  In all things, we want to be led by the Spirit, and we know that His Spirit will never contradict His word (the Bible).  He knows the end from the beginning and even the minute details of our situation.  He knows about our bank account, our health and even what keeps us up at night.  Seek Him in all things, and trust what you hear Him say.  If you’re wondering if you actually heard the Lord, process it with a spiritually discerning friend.  

God is speaking in ways that we can hear and understand.  He is answering our questions as we ask them, and He is leading us on our perfect path.  This word is for people that have a deep longing to be led by God in an intimate way.  They may not have known that this kind of intimacy was possible, but they desire it.  Ask God to lead you.  Process the things in your life as they come up with Him.  Share your struggles, decisions you need to make, process relationships with Him.  He wants to guide you, lead you, direct you in all things. Be full of faith, expectant that He will speak and lead you.  

A Joyful Heart

“A joyful, cheerful heart brings healing to both body and soul.
But the one whose heart is crushed
struggles with sickness and depression.”
Proverbs 17.22 TPT

“A happy heart is good medicine and a joyful mind causes healing,
But a broken spirit dries up the bones.”
Proverbs 17.22 Amplified

There is so much wisdom and truth hidden in God’s word.  Sometimes we have to press in (and even seek out different translations or the original words) in order to more fully understand what it says.  There is new research that indicates that a negative mindset can lead to problems with the mind like dementia.  This verse from Proverbs 17 indicates that one cause of sickness and depression is having a crushed heart (TPT) or a broken spirit (AMP).  It also indicates that a joyful, cheerful heart brings healing to both the body and soul (TPT) or said another way a happy heart is good medicine and a joyful mind causes healing (AMP).  We also know that what we think on we become (Proverbs 23.7).  Romans 12.2 tells us that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.  As we focus on the good things that God is doing, take time to sit in gratitude, and fill our minds and spirits with truth and goodness, then good flows out of us.  Practically that looks like making declarations of truth that we hear because truth comes by hearing (Romans 10.17).  As we speak or listen to truth, we are actively renewing our mind.  Being recentered in truth and God’s word leads us into hosting the presence of God and yielding the fruit of the spirit-which includes joy.   

God is revealing deeper levels of truth through His word.  He’s showing us how easy it is to enter into His presence, into joy, and into healing.  Often, simply spending time in His presence lifts our burdens, changes our perspectives, and frees us from our worries.  This word is for those who have been struggling with depression, with illness, or with chronic ongoing health issues.  Truly forgive those who have hurt you. Forgive yourself if you need to.  Spend time in God’s presence.  Rejoice in what you have to be thankful for.  Meditate on the good.  This may include silencing any negative influences (be they people, TV shows, movies, books, even social media).  Add in positive influences to your life instead.  Write out some verses of truth to speak over yourself daily and commit to doing that. 

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Blog written by Anne E. Ballard