I heard these words from the Lord recently:
"The key to walking in your God-given destiny is how connected you are to Me. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me!"
In John 15:4-5, Jesus says, 'Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing'. The word 'abide' here is 'meno' in Greek, and it can mean 'to dwell, to stay, to remain, to continue, to be connected to'.
I had a dream the other day that pointed to the importance of looking to the Lord and being connected to the Lord. There were three scenes in the dream. In the first scene, I was in a situation when man-made water supply ran dry in hot weather. No water supply meant no water to drink, bathe, or do any washing. In the second scene, I was among the many people who went into a lake. We were all floating in the lake. The lake was congested with many people, and it became contaminated with human activities. Finally, the Lord brought me to the third scene, the final scene. I saw myself coming out of the lake, and rain started falling from the sky. It was refreshing, and I saw myself drinking fresh water from the sky, and being washed with clean water from the sky! It was definitely a good change, after having endured the man-made tap running dry and the contaminated lake!
I asked the Lord what this dream meant. And that's when I heard these words:
"Many of My people have been looking to the wrong sources and relying on the wrong sources for the advancements in their lives! They seek man, but not Me! They seek man's ideas, but not My ideas! They seek man's comfort, but not My comfort! They seek man's solace, but not My solace!"
By the way, the 'man-made tap running dry' speaks of 'man-made systems or structures', whereas the 'congested, contaminated lake' speaks of 'man-made ideas'. But the 'rain' comes directly from the Lord!
I then heard further:
"Seek Me while I am found, and call upon Me while I am near! Return to Me, and I will show you My way, My heavenly rain!"
The words above brought to my remembrance Isaiah 55, which I believe is the key chapter in this time and season. In Isaiah 55:1-2, to begin with, the Lord says, "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good. And let your soul delight itself in abundance."
'Without money and without price' because Jesus has paid the price when He died for you on the cross! As for wine and milk, 'wine' here speaks of 'joy', and 'milk' here speaks of 'peace'. Unfortunately, many in the world these days go around looking for joy and peace in all the wrong places and through the wrong sources. For instance, going around 'connecting' to the wrong man, wrong woman, fortune-tellers, horoscopes, idols, or whatever they can buy in this world using their money! Yet, true (lasting) joy and peace still seem elusive to them!
For the church as a whole, let us keep looking to God and keep seeking God for His ways, instead of looking to man and man-made systems (i.e. Babylonian systems) for the advancements in our godly entities! As a matter of fact, good ideas (of man) may not necessarily translate to God's ideas!
Now, look at what the Word of God say in Isaiah 55. Isaiah 55:6-7 says, "Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; And to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."
And in Isaiah 55:8-9, the Lord says, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."
In Isaiah 55:10-11, the Lord says further, "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."
Notice the word 'rain' here? And the words 'water the earth'? This speaks of His word that falls on the 'earth'! And 'who' are the 'earth' here? The Bible says you and I are the 'earthen vessels'! (see 2 Corinthians 4:7) People of God, will you let this heavenly rain of the Lord fall on you right now? Blessed are you if you do, because this water from the Lord will cause you to 'bring forth' and 'bud'!
And that's how true (lasting) joy and peace comes, because you never run out of His spoken word in your life! In Isaiah 55:12-13, the Lord then concludes, "For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a name (for the Lord's renown), for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."
Amen!
