Many people have been in this place of feeling stuck and confined, which makes perfect sense in the times we live in because we are in many ways restricted into a small space. So the feeling of being stuck in life with feeling like there is no wiggle room is partly because of the confinement we are experiencing. It was only a matter of time before the mind would catch up to what is physically happening to us. I am sure many of us have tried fighting this feeling and kicking against the walls for some type of freedom, which is also completely understandable. We went from being wholly free-range and going about our business to being told to stay put.
We are in a forced rest, meaning we have to slow down to what seems to be at the speed of a snail moving along, but there is hope in this. Eliminating a vast majority of our busyness brings a healthiness to our minds and bodies, especially our souls. God is way more concerned with the quality of our soul and heart than He is with the busyness that we may call ministry, good works, Or even what we call everyday life. Jesus died on the cross not so that we can be busy but to be with Him. In many ways, we have substituted ministry works for ministering to the Lord. It’s easy to get caught up in the inertia of doing good things, but we must remember our most significant purpose and calling is to be with Jesus.
You will always have someone poor whom you can help, but you will not always have me. – Matt. 26:11
In Matthew 26, we see the disciples being more concerned about the ministry per se versus the ministry to Jesus. We often act the same way. We get caught up in doing the works of ministry, but we sometimes miss the moment of being with the Lord. The work is never-ending. Something needs to be done, someone will always need prayer or others needing a word, but we now have an opportunity to lead by example and be with the Lord.
We are in a season where there is a Metamorphosis taking place with the body of Christ as a whole and the individuals that make up the body of Christ. Also, this is a season for us to be listening closely to what the Lord is speaking.
Imagine the transformation that took place with Jesus in the wilderness. Being tempted, being driven there by the Spirit, you could say that he was in a similar place as we are today. Jesus was placed into a position of forced dependency on the Spirit of God, while Satan is in His face tempting him with all of these different things. I am sure Jesus would’ve loved to turn the stones to bread or two not be out in the wilderness, but he denied what the flesh wanted and chose the path of the Spirit, which led to the transformation. This process, quarantining if you would, the metamorphosis of being led by the Spirit to walking in the power of the Spirit took place.
Full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness… Jesus returned to Galilee in the Spirit’s power, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. Luke 14:1,14
We are entering into the wilderness, whether we like it or not. But the wilderness serves a purpose.
The way that the Lord has shown me this process makes me full of hope and for this coming season. Yes, it will involve some dying. Dying to our own will and dying to selfish desires will release the power of the Spirit of God that dwells within the inside of us.
Now Christ lives his life in you! And even though your body may be dead because of the effects of sin, his life-giving Spirit imparts life to you because you are entirely accepted by God. Yes, God raised Jesus to life! And since God’s Spirit of Resurrection lives in you, he will also resurrect your dying body to life by the same Spirit that breathes life into you! – Romans 8:10-11
The Lord’s imagery to describe this process is similar to a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. We are in the cocooning phase of this metamorphosis, but soon, we will emerge from the cocoon in beauty and elegance. We will soar, and we will fly as we always were intended to. It’s the metamorphosis from being a servant to become the sons and daughters of God.
The mature children of God are those who are moved by the impulses of the Holy Spirit. And you did not receive the “spirit of religious duty,” leading you back into the fear of never being good enough. But you have received the “Spirit of full acceptance, enfolding you into the family of God. And you will never feel orphaned, for as he rises up within us, our spirits join him in saying the words of tender affection, “Beloved Father!” For the Holy Spirit makes God’s fatherhood real to us as he whispers into our innermost being, “You are God’s beloved child!”
And since we are his real children, we qualify to share all his treasures, for indeed, we are heirs of God himself. And since we are joined to Christ, we also inherit all that he is and all he has. We will experience being co-glorified with him provided that we accept his sufferings as our own.
I am convinced that any suffering we endure is less than nothing compared to the magnitude of glory that is about to be unveiled within us. The entire universe is standing on tiptoe, yearning to see the unveiling of God’s glorious sons and daughters! Against its will, the universe itself has had to endure the empty futility resulting from the consequences of human sin. But now, with eager expectation, all creation longs for freedom from its slavery to decay and to experience with us the incredible freedom coming to God’s children. – Romans 8:14-21