Friday night I walked into the House of Prayer in Bolingbrook. I was a little bit late. The river was already flowing. The flow was about the spring rain. It intensified and soon mirrored what is going on with prophets all around the globe. This spring is something new. Something changed. Something of a spiritual showdown. We are seeing a manifestation of what was said at the beginning of the year. I posted a word a few days ago regarding spring. Chuck Pierce wrote what he is hearing which is posted below, and now Lee Grady has posted.
When the Spirit of God continues to speak thru his prophets around the world about one issue it means that something is up. Spring has sprung and God is cutting off dead wood in favor of the new growth. It's time to clean out the old in favor of the fresh.
We are in for a season of change - BIGTIME
What follows is Lee Grady's essay about Spring.
IT'S TIME TO EMBRACE GOD'S NEW SEASON
Are you prepared to go to a new level of spiritual passion?
Normally I don't pay much attention to the changing of seasons. I live in Florida, the land of palm trees and perpetual humidity. Normally the only season we notice here is hurricane season. We don't really do cold weather. The very short winter we have occurs in August, and that's only if someone turns the AC down too low and frost appears on the inside of our storm windows.
So naturally springtime means little to me. The only indication that spring has arrived occurs sometime in early March, when suddenly and without warning the live oak trees in my yard purge all their brown leaves and dump tons of disgusting, stringy, moss-like pollen on my driveway. In one glorious day all the new green leaves appear, glistening in the muggy air.
| "Our God made a world that reflects His resurrection power. But it is our choice to embrace this spiritual springtime." |
Then everyone starts sneezing. Ahhh, joyous spring!
I was in a prayer meeting a few days ago, on March 21, and I offered the Lord an odd request: "Jesus, bring us into Your new season." Then suddenly I realized the date, and checked with a co-worker to make sure I had my facts straight. Sure enough, it was the first day of spring.
We began to pray for the "new thing," something that God promised Isaiah He would give His people. The Lord told the prophet: "Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert" (Is. 43:19, NASB).
As we prayed, and as I meditated on this passage, I realized that many of us are oblivious to God's seasonal changes. He loves to bring a fresh word. He sends His wind to renew. He brings His spring showers to resurrect what has lain dormant in the old season. He even releases His new song over us to bring us into a new level of joy and purpose. He wants to move us forward.
God loves to shout over us, "The winter is past" (Song 2:11). But the questions remain: Will you be aware of it? Or will you be content to stay in the old place?
God is the one who made the seasons (see Gen. 8:22), and He created springtime to remind us that He has renewing power. No matter how much death winter brings or how bleak the landscape becomes, there comes a time when buds peak out of the snow, animals venture out of their hibernation, and birds return to nest and sing. Our God made a world that reflects His resurrection power.
But it is our choice to embrace this spiritual springtime.
On a personal level, many Christians live in a perpetual winter—just barely surviving as they struggle to find joy and victory over besetting sins. Many of us crawl into our spiritual ruts and hide there, trapped in rejection, failure, depression, bitterness or lack. And the devil, like the White Witch in The Chronicles of Narnia, tells us that life must forever remain a frozen wasteland of unanswered prayers and dashed hopes.
Corporately, many churches are locked in this same icy condition. We plod through the years living on yesterday's revelation, held captive by a religious spirit that prevents us from venturing into new realms of faith. We sing old songs, pray rote prayers and dream of yesterday. We feel powerless to break out of our spiritual barrenness.
Yet God, who is always on the move, invites us to embrace new strategies, new understanding and new roadways through the wilderness so that we can conquer new territory. He calls us to fruitfulness.
In liturgical churches, Christians observe a season of Lent before Easter arrives. These weeks before Easter are focused on repentance—and they are a way to prepare the heart to celebrate the great sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. I am always encouraged during these days when I realize the Holy Spirit is taking me from glory to glory with each passing year.
He does not leave me in the old season. Because of the miracle of His resurrection, I have assurance that I will be changed more and more into His image. He makes all things new!
I want to remind you today: The winter is past and springtime is here. God desires to bring you into a new season of joy and abundance. He says to you: "The flowers have already appeared in the land; the time has arrived for pruning the vines. … Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come along!" (Song 2:12-13).
J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma.
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