Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Now is the time for your restoration and redemption!

I heard and released these prophetic words for November and December 2017:
"This is a time and season for the Lord to restore and redeem your lost time or opportunities, especially if you have 'run off the track' in the past season! Don't look back and don't hang on to those lost time or opportunities, but look to the Lord instead! For now is the time for your restoration and redemption! For now is the time for Him to touch you and embrace you anew again! And you shall rise up stronger, and you shall receive double for all that you have lost!"

Joel 2:25-27 says, 'So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust... You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame. Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel. I am the Lord your God and there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame'.

Notice the expression 'My people shall never be put to shame' has been emphasized here, and it was mentioned not once, but twice. The word 'shame' here, by the way, is 'buwsh' in Hebrew, and it can mean 'to be shamed, to be ashamed, to be disappointed, to be delayed'.

So, people of God, if you have been 'shamed', 'ashamed', 'disappointed', or even 'delayed' in your past season, do not lose heart, because the Lord is bringing you into a time of restoration and redemption right now. Your part, of course, is not to look back and regret (or brood) over those 'missed time or opportunities', but to look to the Lord and receive from Him afresh (and anew). Don't miss this time and season. Like the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times and knew what ought to be done (1 Chronicles 12:32), let us also ask the Lord to teach us likewise.

The word 'restore' here is 'shalam' in Hebrew (from the word 'shalowm' meaning 'peace'), and it is defined in Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible as 'to make complete, to be (made) at peace again'. Like a vase that is broken into pieces, though it may be impossible for human to mend it completely and make it new again, it is possible with the Lord. After all, He is the Lord who makes all things new (Revelation 21:5).

Will you let go of those 'broken pieces' in your life to the Lord right now? For some of you, it may be a broken career, a broken vocation, or even a broken (and failed) relationship; and for some others, it may be a broken finance, or a broken health. Whatever those 'broken pieces' may be, receive His touch and His embrace in those areas (situations), and let Him make you whole again!

Like Job who eventually came to the understanding that 'the Lord is a God who can do everything, and no purpose of the Lord can be withheld from Him' (Job 42:2), he looked to the Lord and prayed for his friends (i.e. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar - who have not spoken what is right), and the Lord restored to him twice as much as he had before (Job 42:10).

The Lord also brought to my attention the color 'red' for these two months (November and December 2017). There are biblical meanings for every color; and 'red', first and foremost, speaks of 'the blood of Jesus', i.e. the atoning and redeeming blood of Jesus for all who believe.
- 'atoning' because He has restored us back to be 'at one' with the Father again;
- 'redeeming' because He has bought back for us what has been lost!

The color 'red' is also the color in Hebrew for 'life', 'wisdom', 'power', 'honor', and 'courage'. People of God, if any of these have been 'stolen away' from you in the past season, I have a good news for you, because the Lord is also restoring unto you a greater manifestation of His 'life', 'wisdom', 'power', 'honor', and 'courage' in your life right now. Receive by faith, and just as the Lord has spoken for this time and season, I also pray that 'you shall rise up stronger, and you shall receive double for all that you have lost'! In Jesus' name. Amen!