SEEING PAIN DIFFERENTLY
I woke up with God speaking to me about the things happening in the world. He said, “Severed for God; Separated to God.” He repeated twice more. The Lord will separate us out from things and relationships for divine purposes. It can be painful but necessary for a greater access and dimension of His plan in our lives. While it might be hard, we must realize that if God has a part in our severing, then it is ultimately for Him. We are severed for Him not from Him. God is separating us from things or others, so we can be separated to Him. Separated means to move or be apart. Our “apartness” is so we can be in a position to be used for God’s eternal purposes in this generation.
He discussed with me for some time the favor of God and how it works. He reminded me about Joseph and the interaction with his brothers and how they had anger toward the favor of God on Joseph's life. The Lord was comforting me with the thoughts of the future. The outcome, of the favor of the person anointed, as well, as the overflow to others, will outweigh the pain and jealousy. He wants us to embrace His favor in this hour because we need it to accomplish His purposes. His assignments have been delayed because we have not allowed His favor mantles to be free to operate.
He wants His Body to move forward in everything; the media, building designs, outreach strategies, and models for ministries are all changing. We must also move forward or upgrade our perspectives and understanding concerning topics such as death. When we have the same perspective as the world about death, we will be given to fear and self-preservation.
This self-preservation opens the door for addictions and bondage. We must not focus on loss; rather, let us focus on the eternal purposes of God. The Lord reminded me about the angel in Revelation 14:13 who comes to deal with the anti-Christ structures in the Earth. He brings judgements against the work of this spirit but also gives strength to the Lord’s saints. The angel does not stop the death of the saints but strengthens them so they will persevere to the end. God has eternal plans and purposes that work out in our lives. With the recent rise in deaths due to the pandemic, many are fearful and feel abandoned by God.
Some even accuse God because He has not stopped the effects of the virus. Paul describes this “mystery of God’s will” in his writings in his epistle to the Ephesians 1:9.
Paul makes reference to how he dealt with the fear of death in the New Testament. He writes, “O, Death where is your sting? O Grave where is your victory?” (I Cor.) Paul certainly faced the danger of death quite often but he saw it as part of a well-thought-out eternal plan of God. He explains several times in the Word about where we go after death, and even recounts in detail his own heavenly encounters. He proves from the ancient texts that there is hope for life after death. As an apostle who is establishing a kingdom culture, Paul encourages those facing death and persecution, with the glory that God will receive from their suffering. He points out the reward that believers can expect in this life and the one to come.
Then the Lord spoke this amazing statement to me. “One is not entitled to grief!”
I was taken back by this seemingly callous view of pain. “What? What does that mean, Lord?” He brought up again the verses in Revelation. The angel gives perseverance to the saints in Rev 14:13, and in Rev 12 the saints are to overcome the dragon who wants to kill them. We must begin to view death differently as we come closer to the end of the age. The Father was willing to give “His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). His willingness does not mean we seek for it or ignore the pain; rather we see it as part of the plan of God.
When God said that we were not entitled to grief, He was describing the self-pity that some fall into when there is suffering. Ecclesiastes says, “There is a time to weep.” There is a warning in Proverbs about singing when others are crying. We are to weep with others when they are weeping. He was discussing the progression of pain that leads to bondage. Grieving is a process not an event.
Psychologists teach that it normally takes approximately one year to move through the “stages of grief.” We must choose, however, to move through those stages.
Sometimes individuals and even whole groups of people can choose not to move forward at all. They can feel “entitled” to grief for longer periods and even forever. The Lord showed me in this time with Him that there is a “not-so-normal” progression of pain. When individuals experience trauma, death or pain, they begin to seek comfort. Prolonged searching for comfort can lead to strongholds of idolatry and then to feeling entitled to the comfort. When denied or advised about the misuse of their comfort, they can turn to rebellion and stubbornness. This stronghold of idolatry will cause them to hyper-focus on themselves and lead to captivity, and many justify their addictions or comforts because of their pain. They feel “entitled to their grief” that requires their comfort. The Lord wants to heal their pain and bring lasting comfort.
Peter teaches us that “suffering reveals God’s glory.” (1 Peter 4:13) When we say that we want to bring glory to God, we must accept the means by which He gets it. Our lives belong to Him and He is working everything out for our good. (Romans 8:28) We must believe in Him and that He will reward us because He said He would. (Hebrews 11:6) Self-pity is rooted in idolatry. The Philistines worshipped a god called Dagon who was associated with pigs. The pig is known for “wallowing in the mud” which is a metaphor for “wallowing in self-pity.” The story of the Prodigal Son in the Bible demonstrated that seeking after one’s one way and comfort leads to bondage and mud. He returned to His Father and received restoration.
Prophetic people are made to experience God at a very high level. The eagle has been a symbol for prophetic people for many generations. Eagles are birds and learn by imprinting. Imprinting is how young birds learn from their parents. When a baby bird comes out of its shell, the baby bird will imprint on the first thing it sees. This means when a chicken egg hatches, the chick will think and copy that thing. If it imprints to its mother who is a hen, then it will learn to be a chicken. If the first thing it encounters is a dog, the chick will think and act like a dog the rest of its life.
Prophetic people are like birds in many ways including having the instinct to imprint. They have God-given ability to imprint and learn from God. God uses experiences, dreams, visions and encounters to teach them. When these individuals experience trauma, they also imprint that pain. It is difficult for them to unlearn what they have experienced. The Lord allows the pain for His glory, their humbling, and to teach them His ways. They can later have compassion and share what they have experienced to encourage others. If they become “entitled to their pain” or get stuck in the experience emotionally, they cannot be used by God as He intended. We must ask God to re-imprint us so we can move forward and be used by God to help others and grow from our experiences. This is the intention of God, and it allows Him to receive Glory as others observe this in us. Thus, we become a teaching tool for others.
Perspective is everything. We must not let the enemy use our gifts against us. We were not created for pain; this is the lie of the enemy, which can lead to self-pity. We were created for His pleasure. The enemy wants us to focus inward and on what we can lose rather than on God and what we will gain. Self-worship will lead to bondage and continual loss, while focusing on God’s goodness and eternal purposes will lead to freedom and fulfillment.
If you try to save your life, you will lose it. If you lose your life, you will find it” (Matthew 10:39). Self-preservation is not how God brings safety or comfort. We must offer our pain to God as worship. By staying in the place of pain too long, we can miss the reward of it. We must not choose the outer court or the wilderness for ourselves by default. The outer court is for the unclean and the wilderness is the school where we learn. Focusing on loss will lead only to loss or a poverty spirit. Focusing on blessings and purpose will lead to access and more blessings.
SPRING MIGRATION TOUR 2021
Apostle Lisa McFarland and her team are currently forging the trail of the SPRING MIGRATION TOUR 2021! The Roaming Buffalo Project has launched and we are beaming with anticipation of the amazing things God is going to do.
The Lord birthed a vision inside of Lisa to create and spread "creative communities" across the globe! CREATIVE COMMUNITIES: We need to create communities that promote hope. There needs to be a place where individuals can dream, design and inspire others. This ability to bring new life and culture happens when we foster it and provide inspiration. We believe this should be intentional. These creative communities should become hubs for leadership, strategies, entrepreneurship and promote ownership, education and partnerships. Using the picture book, THE ROAMING BUFFALO, by author Lisa McFarland and illustrator Julie Law, we will build bridges to communicate hope and the freedom to be creative in the areas listed above. This project will intentionally seek to inspire indigenous communities first. Suicide and other issues are symptomatic of hopelessness and the lack of resources to create solutions. This is addressed in the book as well as bullying, leadership and entrepreneurship. Apostle Lisa and her team are in multiple cities in Idaho and Montana In April and May. Stay tuned to find out what cities they will be visiting next! If you are in the area, we would love to have you at the services. You can also join with us in prayer! If you feel led to sow into Apostle Lisa's vision to see hope grow in creative communities, we invite you to give over PayPal on our website using the donate button on our website at www.wardoves.com. Or you can send a check to Warring Dove International at: Warring Dove International P.O. Box 507, Lawrence, KS 66044 If you would like more information call our office at 785.330.3569 or email us at thestaff@wardoves.com
Comments