Several years ago at the end of a fast during Purim, I had an unusual dream. In the dream, I could see nothing. Yet, I heard a voice speak these words plainly to me. “You are asking the WRONG questions. The RIGHT question is: ‘What is God releasing through this?’”
As I reflected on this dream, I began thinking about how many of us can get caught in a cycle of asking the wrong questions such as "Why" or "When." This is especially the case when our lives are not going as we wish...when we encounter setbacks, disappointment, or difficulty.
God is much more interested in our character formation. Through the wilderness of waiting He longs for us to inquire of His perspective so that we can partner with what He is doing.
So, if the RIGHT question is: "What is God releasing through this?" What exactly does RELEASE mean?
RELEASE = BREAK OFF
First, release means to BREAK OFF or MAKE FREE*. God allows us to wade through hardship at times to set us free by drawing us closer to Himself. When I look back over my life, it is in the times of greatest difficulty that I grew closest to God. Desperation was the fertile soil of rich spiritual growth.
Where are you sensing a bottle neck in your life? What is feeling stagnant? What if all that is happening in your life right now is God's method of UNCORKING what has been stopped up so that He can PROPEL you into the FULLNESS of your destiny? Perhaps He is inviting you to examine with Him and remove all of those things that have been impeding and blocking forward momentum.
By partnering with God in challenging times, we learn to RELEASE our burdens to Him. In times of pressing, God invites us to break off every weight that slows us down and every sin that entangles and trips us up. We let go of fear, worry, striving, control, our rights, and even place our dreams into His hands. If we will allow Jesus access, we are released from the things that burden, oppress, and bind us. We move from confinement to being UNSTUCK and FREEFLOWING.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." -Hebrews 12:1 NLT
RELEASE = BRING FORTH
Second, release means to BRING FORTH IN OVERFLOW*. What if the trial we are going through is the very avenue God is using to RELEASE the GREATER ANOINTING that we have been asking for. What if this test you are currently in is the means by which God is producing and releasing the Fruit of the Spirit in your life?
What if we have a perspective shift? Instead of grumbling. Instead of stressing. Instead of asking all the wrong questions as times get harder and darker. What if we simply ask:
God, what are you releasing through this?
How are you wanting to MAKE ME FREE through this hardship?
How do I partner with you in this process?
What are you BRINGING FORTH INTO OVERFLOW in my life and family through this trial?
What treasures does God have stored up in His treasure house that He is waiting upon our readiness, our response, and our request to RELEASE into our lives, families, and communities?
What is God breaking off and bringing forth through this?
"How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you." -Psalm 31:19 NIV
*Definitions of "release" from the Cambridge and Merriam-Webster dictionaries
♥️💐this is what I needed to hear this am as I was processing with the Lord of the longing of my heart for deeper connections but keep some of my family members at a distance instead of sharing what I'm feeling or being vulnerable.
so I asked what are you breaking off?
and what are you bringing forth? this blog was the perfect timing.
thank you for posting.