Where are we finding ourselves now in these times as a child of God? I’ve been asking myself this question and seeking God’s heartbeat on where I am now and where He wants me to be. I sense God is maturing us all as His Bride, to be able to be ready to “stand” in these times, in great power and authority, until that day when He comes as our Bridegroom King to take us to Eternity!
Yet, many people are not understanding this process and are not realizing it is part of His preparation. Many are believing the lies of the enemy as he tries to rob us of our identity in Christ, which is one of our greatest weapons, knowing Who and Whose we are!
Do we REALLY understand maturity as Christians? God showed me something deep in this scripture!
“Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?” (Song of Soloman 8:5)
I saw something in this scripture that I had not seen before. The wilderness experience is part of what God uses to mature His sons and daughters!
Throughout the Bible, anyone who was ever used mightily by God went through some rough times! Even Jesus was not going to miss out on a very important part of His “process.” The Word says, “He learned obedience through the things He suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8)
“In the scripture above, it asks, “Who is this coming up from the wilderness?” The Word says Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, but He came out in the power of the Spirit! In that scripture, I see great maturity had come, as Jesus was walking in the POWER of the Holy Spirit!
But God showed me something about power! This power of the Holy Spirit is not always an outward manifestation. He reminded me the Holy Spirit is depicted often by a dove, which is a gentle bird. So often that power is like meekness, which is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, which many people think is a weakness! Yet it is not!
Jesus had ALL the power of Heaven and all of Heaven’s angels available to Him, but He chose not to use it! So meekness is in essence, a great and mighty power, under God’s control. I realized again, this sounds somewhat like maturity?
Then in this scripture from Song of Solomon, we see a bride, and we are actually the Bride of Christ! (That includes guys) Yet, this Bride is being perfected by Love through the wilderness, and now, the quality MOST striking about her, is that she is DEPENDING upon her beloved for EVERY step! “leaning upon her beloved…”
Do you find yourself coming up from the wilderness leaning upon (your) beloved, leaning SO hard into Him because it feels like you just want to fall over because the battle has been so fierce and intense? Desperately depending ONLY on Him, for all else has failed to keep you standing, but His love? I know without a doubt, that is how I am feeling for sure.
Again God said to me, “The Kingdom of God suffers violence, but the violent take it by force.”
But what does that mean, I found myself asking? Must we all now go learn some new moves in kung fu or something? At that moment, He reminded me of a song we have been worshiping Him with, called “Fierce.” I feel led to search the lyrics and post them here:
“Before I call, before I ever cry
You answer me… from where the thunder hides,
I can’t outrun, this heart I’m tethered to
When every step I collide with You!
Like a tidal wave crashing over me
Rushing in to meet me here!
Your love is fierce, like a hurricane,
That I can’t escape.
Tearing through the atmosphere!
Your love is fierce! You cannot fail
The only thing I’ve found, is through it all,
You never let me down!
You don’t hold back,
Relentless in pursuit
At every turn, I come face to face with You!
You chase me down! You seek me out!
How could I be lost, when You have called me found!”
I read that scripture again, “Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?” (Song of Soloman 8:5) Now I see that experience taught her she needs Jesus’ help in EVERY area! So she leans AND clings to Him with DESPERATE dependence! And He said to me, “THIS is maturity!”
Whew! I am left speechless and undone. I never realized.
Author: Angie van Greuning
Angie van Greuning is a resident of South Africa and an ordained pastor and preacher. She ministers prophetically in word and song. She also gives hope, ministry practical guidance to those who are learning to cope with the very misunderstood “chronic, invisble” illness and has a heart to help others find victory in the pain, until the healing comes. This empathy and wisdom comes from having lived with pain everyday, as a result of a brain tumor since 1995. Angie has developed ways and coping mechanisms to be successful in her career and ministry, despite the pain. To see more of her posts, visit her Facebook page.
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I sit in this moment
with curios delight
my life is unfolding
what a beautiful sight
My road to nowhere
leading where it began
has illuminated a path
shining bright in the sand
But my walk was so hard
I could never understand
Still always knowing
Jesus WAS holding my hand
But why so much pain?
as I looked to the sky
Its all for My gain
You dont need to know why.
So on I would walk
with blinding faith
I am cleansed by His Blood
for in it ,I did bathe
My relation with Him
is the best I have known
for this world tares me down
but in Him I have grown
So WALK ON , My child
for when you are weak
is where you will find Me
for I come to the meek
Your pain, suffering and strife
are the seeds that you need
to be called one of Mine
one of My lost sheep
But IM with you, dont fret
for I have a plan
Im creating a soldier
in which I CAN STAND
For just like you,
when u were so lost,
I died for others
My life was the cost
I know its been hard
to carry MY cross
But I promise u, My love
U will never be lost
Your learning of lessons
I need you to teach
there is other’s who suffer
I need you to reach
So cling to me
I wont let you go
for I love you my child
In this you MUST know
The Holy Spirit wrote this thru me when I was still clinically insane –His peace came over me and this came out –I hold it close and as time goes on He has been bringing each line to life -Praise be unto You Lord Jesus -dont give up saints –LD
Littledove, i love this poem! What a sweet gift from our Lord. Thank you for sharing.
This really touched me littledove.
I have a surprise for you littledove. Please follow link.
mygodreigns652.blogspot.com
OHH MY goodness sister!!! thank You so much !!! How precious -how beloved is Our Lord to have put these words together for me and now for us all!!! all Praise and Honor and Glory belongs to You Our King!! Bless you bless you —littledove
So your name is Heather! Nice to meet you! I gave your comment a thumbs up but someone wiped it off with a thumbs down! Im sorry about that! You are precious to Jesus and me! Praise God!
Such lovely thoughts from you all. I will share a conversation I had with the Lord recently when I cried out to Him during a hard spot in my wilderness walk: He speaks: “My dear child, Your outer man is greatly wounded by the years of turmoil. Don’t be afraid that you have missed it. I have been with you all the way and am covering you and protecting you. Things may look pretty bleak to you. But I am with you. I will not let you fall by the wayside. You are mine. I love you with an everlasting love. I will carry you through the days to come. Cast yourself on me and lean hard into my presence. Do not be afraid. I have good things for you.” My response: Sometimes I wonder if I am really hearing from you or from my own aching heart. How can I know? His answer: “There is nothing I can say that will give you that reassurance in the moment. Let my peace just fill your being. I have your healing in my hand. This world in which you live is a place of turmoil and tears. And as an intercessor you have had to endure it too and feel it all. It feels like its all your own. But it is the tears of the world as well. My earth is crying for deliverance and the world is in tears. Just as people like Jeremiah had to endure pain and tears and rejection, so do you. Don’t see it as a liability. See it as my gift to let you carry the tears of the world. I will not let you fall. Please know that. You will not end up in disaster. Come away with me my beloved. You are… Read more »
Thanks Karen.
Excellent definition of maturity!!
HAVING LEARNED TO LEAN ON HIM. You cannot truly begin to know Him, without experiencing deep sufferings in this life. (Hebrews 8:5)
“”Well done my good and faithful servant”, I heard in my spirit as I read your post!
Blessings to you Angie…..
The Lord showed me the same thing this morning through a passage in Jeremiah that says “it is not in man to direct his steps”. If I cannot direct my steps in the flesh, I also cannot direct my steps in the spirit. He directs my steps both physically and spiritually. I only need to be with Him always.
I love love love this article, and the picture you chose to go along with it!
Someone need to here this:
Min 8: The famine is the consequential outcome of the “Age of famine”. The enemy cannot kill you he attempts to frustrate you by initiating an attack that paralyzes you during the transient period between seed time and harvest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIjmBsiEGEQ
Damon Thompson- The Age of Famine
11/21/11
Thank you for sharing this Marilee. I’ve seen your comments in other posts and they’ve been a very timely word for me lately. I’ve been receiving a lot of powerful words, dreams, and visions from the Lord and drawing closer to him than I ever have before, then I had a terrible dream a few nights ago that seemed to contradict everything God had told me. The dream left me unsettled and confused. Since then it’s felt as if God’s voice is muddled. It never occurred to me that it could be an attack.
James, the picture shown is so beautiful! You always show the appropriate pictures for the prophecies given..thanks for all you do!
Thanks Elizabeth, but this one came from Angie’s post on her Facebook page.
I’ve done a bible study on the Song of Solomon called “Bible study for the Preparation of the Bride” by Bob and Rose Weiner and it absolutely blew me away! It is very in depth and has taught me so much! I highly recommend!
Belinda Brown has a Facebook page called God Dreams and Visions, and she has been doing videos on each chapter of this particular bible study.
GOD Bless You Dear Sandra for giving that information on The Song of Solomon Bible Study…I have just ordered the book from Amazon.co.uk and only one was listed being for sale in the UK all the rest were from the USA…! WOW…!!! Huge Hugs and Lot’s of Love XXX
I hope it blesses you as much as it has blessed me! It covers so much biblical symbology, and has really aided me in other biblical studies and dream interpretations.
https://www.youtube.com/user/ShekinahWorshipTV
Pastor Sadhu’s meeting Midean women conference
Miriam , deborah anna anointing
Excellent Post Dear Angie, i so enjoyed reading this and the Great Comments. So many are not ready for The Great Outpouring of The Holy Spirit and The Great Shaking of all that is not following in Jesus Footsteps…GOD Bless You and Huge Hugs and Lot’s of Love XXX Joel 2:28-32King James Version (KJV) 28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. 30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. 32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. Acts 2:15-21King James Version (KJV) 15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they… Read more »