As I got up this Resurrection morning…I was set to go to my laptop and finish out writing about Holy week. But the Lord woke me with this statement. You must align your life with God. And that looks different for all of us, because we all have an individual relationship with Christ. But God needs us to align our lives with Him. With His heart. With His mind. With His ways. So quickly I am being led to share what He shared with me….
What does it mean to align your life with God?
Well align means to bring into agreement, to bring into proper or desirable coordination or relation, to identify with or match the behavior.
If your life does not mirror the image of God…His character, His attributes, His love. Then you are out of alignment with God. What is your lifestyle? Is it in alignment with God? How do you treat others? What is your conversation about people? How do you behave towards people when no one is around? What does YOUR life look like?
This is something God wants us to check within ourselves and then re-check again? Some of you are still doing small little things that you think don’t matter, but they do. It’s those small foxes that spoil the vine. The petty little things you think are no big deal but it’s not right. And it’s a big deal to God. Simple as that. And some of us still haven’t gotten that side of us under control. The part of us that still seeks attention, be it negative to make us feel worthy. That is not an attribute of God. You don’t have to seek attention or love.. because God has already given it to you. You just have to receive it. Scripture tells me…He LOVED us first! You don’t have to show your body to get it, or give your body to get it. You don’t have to put others down to grab it first, it’s yours already..it’s been there waiting for you to pick it up.
In this time..align your life with God. He has a plan and a destiny for you, have you asked Him what it looks like. I believe He has more for you. Will you position yourself? Will you align yourself?
We have Hour of Power prayer on Sunday mornings at my church. This week I was asked to bring the Word of Edification. The Prayer Team was using John 11:1-44 as their bible reference for this month. This is the story about Lazarus and how he was dead and in the tomb when Jesus came to see about him. I’m being led to share this word of encouragement on my blog.
What I saw when I read the scripture was Lazarus coming out of the tomb, yet this was representing us coming out of our dead places. And the Lord said to me…”When I call you out of your dead place….RISE!
As God was dealing with me about the dead places, He said 1st you have to believe in me and believe that I can do ALL things, that I can do THIS thing. Then He said you must identify the dead place(s) in your life. Let me explain that…there are places in your life that you no longer tend to, you don’t give attention to it, there is no life there, no fruit is bearing there, you’ve avoided it, or dismissed it, you’ve grown tired of it so you left it alone, you lost hope in it, doesn’t grow anymore, you haven’t talked to them in a long time, you don’t see them anymore, you stopped doing it, maybe some of you stopped coming to church, don’t attend bible study anymore, you’ve gotten away from a healthy activity you used to do, gone back to bad habits. That’s the dead place, the dead thing.
Then the Lord said you have to ask Him for the help. For some of us it is very difficult to ask for help, but there are times that you do need it. We need others. Sorry if you don’t believe that but it’s true. We were not created to do life by ourselves! So, my question to you is….do you want the help? If you do…you have to ask for it!
In vs 41, Jesus says Father, I thank you that you have heard me. That tells me that Jesus asks for something. Ask God for what you need, nothing is too small and nothing is too big.
Then, you come out! You RISE up out of that that dead place, that dead situation. Leaving everything that was attached to that dead thing behind. The scripture described Lazarus as having strips of linen on him and a cloth around your face. That is how they dressed the dead body in biblical times. God showed me that the strips of linen and the cloth around the face represented the things we need to leave behind when we RISE. Like, those who are attached to the dead situation, the belongings or material things, the fear of walking out of it, the comfort you thought you had in it, the talk that people would do because your coming out of it, the money put into it, the emotions you carry in it.
Let me also add, when you’ve made the decision to come out of your dead place or places, don’t expect the worst…expect the best! Expecting the worst will already determine the outcome. You have to BELIEVE that God is bringing you to a better place and that He will work it all out for your good. So, expect the great! There should be an excitement in following God, a satisfaction. The thing was dead…you should be happy to let it go. Be happy that God is calling you out of it! If your not joyous…re-examine that, and identify why your not happy to let it go. Bring the concern to God as well.
Everyday I want to search my life to find the dead areas that I need to purge and dead things that need to come out of my life. I encourage you to regularly go to God saying, “search me O’ Lord for the dead areas, the areas that I’m not producing fruit and also ask Him to show you the areas so that when He sweeps it clean; you won’t go back to it, you won’t go putting stuff back in that area. Ask the Lord, what have I become lazy in, what have I become complacent in, what could I do more of, what have I forgotten about, what am I avoiding?
The Word of the Lord this week is…”When I call you out of the dead place…RISE!
Let me say I also saw in the Spirit my own self (which I know its for all of us) but I saw myself steeping out of my dead places but I wasn’t small 5’5″ Tara…I was a GIANT…I was BIGGER than my circumstances, I was walking TALL…I was BREAKING OUT of the places that keep me from truly understanding who I am in God. He LOVES me and He wants me to SUCCEED!
I pray this was an encouragement to you and that you will go before God this week, asking Him to show you the dead places in your life that you need to walk out of so you can thrive!
Then I heard this song in my spirit and I sang it out loud in my kitchen LOL VICTORY, VICTORY SHALL BE MINE. IF I HOLD MY PEACE LET THE LORD FIGHT MY BATTLE…VICTORY, VICTORY SHALL BE MINE!!
JUST WANNA LIVE RIGHT 