Make Room for Newness
Are you really ready for God’s newness in your life? Being sick-and-tired of where you are spiritually, economically, relationally, or otherwise does not make you ready for newness. God’s newness is radically different and so much greater than our own desires, ideas or plans (Eph. 3:20). Because His newness is bigger than anything we’ve experienced before, it demands that we prepare our hearts, minds, and lives for more of God. It demands that we make room for newness.
We’ve heard that new wine needs new wine skins, highlighting the spiritual principle that newness requires a prepared vessel, able to be s t r e t c h e d and formed by the deposit of the Holy Spirit. Just as the prophet’s widow received an overflow of oil by making room for her blessing (2 Kings 4:3-7), God’s plans are so important and so big that we must empty our lives of clutter, sin, weights, and old mindsets in order to have room for His life-giving newness. Bishop Smith challenges us from Isaiah 43:18-19a, where God commanded Israel to ‘Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?’ We must take spiritual courage and want God’s future for us so badly that holding on to the past is not even an option. Even previous blessings and miracles, which were perfect for their seasons, cannot coexist with the blessings, revelation and opportunities that come with God’s newness!
If your newness is not from God, it’s not NEW – it’s just different. Oftentimes, we get stuck in life and ‘change’ as much as we can, running from God’s plan and jumping from bad to worse. It is during these times of darkness and disappointment that we must remember that God said, "I will never abandon you or leave you." (Heb. 13:5b NLT). For the child of God, His covenant of connection can never be broken and the devil’s deception will fail every time, ‘For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.’ (Philip. 2:13 NLT) You are not big enough to mess up God’s plan for your life! The abundant life that He has planned will certainly come to pass. When we embrace God’s truth and are honest with God and ourselves about our circumstances, we can begin our journey towards newness.
So how do we begin this journey and make room for newness? Listen. "And I assure you that the time is coming, in fact it is here, when the dead will hear my voice -- the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live.’ (John 5:25 NLT) Hearing the voice of the Lord ushers in Life filled with God’s newness. It’s through Prophecy – the declared and revealed mind of God for this season – that we hear the voice of God for our situations. Prophetic newness comes to heal the brokenness and pain in our lives. Prophetic newness declares God’s blessing on His people and impacts our faith by elevating our expectations. Prophetic Newness speaks to those things that are not as though they were and fulfills every God given desire in our lives. God is speaking to this generation. He’s declaring a season of newness to reveal His glory to a dying world. Our job is to listen for His direction and be prepared to follow His direction.
Do you want more of God? Are you listening for His voice? Will you make room for newness?
