I hear the Lord petitioning His people to come alone with Him to a place of abiding in His presence as the Hebrew Year 5779 is fast approaching. The opportunity to participate in miracles, healing and revelation knowledge is coming forth in dramatic ways as God’s fall festivals approach starting with Rosh Hashanah on Sept. 9-11, 2018.
In order for this supernatural move to happen, the Lord reminded me that we must pull ourselves away and get into a quiet place with Him where we are forsaking all others and idols that are drawing us away from Him.
In Revelation 2:1-3, we see, “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write: ‘He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, says these things: I know your works, your labor and your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles, but are not, and have found them to be liars. You have endured, and have been patient, and for My name’s sake have labored and have not grown weary.”
We need to return to our first love if we expect to see our lampstand burning bright when the Hebrew New Year happens in September and double- portion time is upon us. How does this happen? We must forsake the idols of distraction and mental strongholds, and we must take every thought captive and listen to Him. Some of these idols are the love of money and our discontentment with our current circumstances as stated in, Hebrews 13:5, which says, “Let your lives be without love of money, and be content with the things you have. For He has said: ‘I will never leave you, nor forsake you.'”
Jesus repeatedly showed us that He had to have time alone with the Father. In Matthew 14:23, the Word tells us that after He had seen the miracles of the loaves and fish, “When He sent the crowds away, He went up into a mountain by Himself to pray. And when evening came, He was there alone.” This word “alone” comes from the Greek word meno which means “stay, in a given place, state, relation or expectancy, as to abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand and tarry.” This is the same Greek word that is found in the word “abide” that we read about in John 15:1-4 (NKJV):
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that bears no fruit, He takes away. And every branch that bears fruit, He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean through the word which I have spoken to you. Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, neither can you, unless you remain in Me.
We must learn to come alone with Christ and abide in Him now in the month of August, so we can be ready and trained for September blessings to flow. Do not delay in making a plan to get alone with Him. Change your schedule, forsake your idols of money, relationships and security and establish a strong relationship with Him now through abiding in the vine. We must get alone with Him and listen to the Spirit above the chatter of the mind, so we can be trained to reign with Him in this season. You can train yourself to be alone with Him daily so that your lampstand will burn brighter than ever when the new year comes around. Renew your mind and make a change today to get alone with God. {eoa}
Dr. Candice Smithyman is the founder of Dream Mentors International, a biblical life counseling and coaching educational organization that teaches and trains educators and coaches in the specialty of life coaching. She is also founder of the Glory Road show, where she hosts weekly interviews that are seen on internet TV, Facebook and her YouTube channel. Her ministry website is available at candicesmithyman.com and dreammentors.org, where people people can become credentialed biblical or transformational life coaches and receive biblical and transformational life coaching for every area of their life. She is also co-founder of Freedom Destiny Church in Orange Park, Florida, along with her husband, senior pastor Adam Smithyman.