In the Spirit, I saw so many of God’s children striving for provision, continuously working themselves to a frazzle on the proverbial hamster wheel of going and doing in order to receive. And I heard the Father say:
“You work yourself to the bone, trying and striving and desiring success so much. You are right to work hard, My child, but what are your motives?
“You can easily discern your motives by answering this question I ask of you today:
‘Will I still provide if you rest?’
“Stop and think. What was your gut response? Did a stressful, hurried “Nooooo!” come to mind, even if you squashed it? Did you have an immediate urge to jump and run and do and work?
“My beloved, work is from Me. Work is a gift. But provision is from Me too. The way I have ordained it, you work to be faithful and obedient to Me and to My Word. But your provision is tied to your obedience, not to your work.
“O My beloved, you have gotten this so wrong for so many years. I desire to untangle the tangled mess of striving you have made for yourself.
“I will say it again:
‘Your provision is tied to your obedience, not to your work.’
“The way I meant for things to be—and still mean for things to be—is that:
—·You obey Me; I provide.
—·You obey Me in rest; I provide.
—·You obey Me in work; I provide.
—·You obey Me in going; I provide.
—·You obey Me in staying; I provide.
“Do you see the common thread here? It is simply this: You obey Me, and I provide.
“I know you feel like you do, but you do not have to strive in order to receive from Me. You do not have to strive for My provision.
“To make it clear: This doesn’t mean not to work; work must be done in obedience to Me. But it does mean to check your motives; to examine yourself; to see that, in reality, you have created an idol for yourself out of your work—because you have put work in My place as provider and source.
“But your work is not your provider, and work is not your source. I am both things to you: provider and source. I am your sustainer of life.
“This is why you have been unable to rest. You have become addicted to work, for in it you have found both provision and acceptance, as we discussed yesterday. But your labors have gotten you off-kilter, and out of alignment, for you have failed to rest.
“Your body is catching up on My rest just now.
“Do not expect for a little while to feel like you used to feel, all driven to go, go, go and go some more. I have stripped you of your blinders and am revealing to you right now what your motives have been in this level of drive. You have been so caught up in your striving that you have gotten out of alignment with Me, and a key area in which you have become misaligned is in the area of My rest.
“I need you to rest, My child. Work when I say ‘work,’ and rest when I say ‘rest.’ Is it not true that miracles have happened for you every time you have rested? Is it not true that, at your lowest point and darkest hour, I have provided for your needs? Do you not remember having nothing to give, nothing to offer, and I came through for you anyway?
“If you will rest, I will provide and move in a way you could never imagine.
“I am cutting to the core of who you are; of who you have made yourself to be. I did not create you to be a mechanized, working machine; you have done that to yourself. But I say to you today that you are My child, My beloved one; and I will provide for your needs if you will obey Me.
“Obedience in My rest is just as important as obedience in My work. And to tell the difference between the times and seasons for both—from day to day and even from hour to hour—you will have to abide in Me and listen.
“You do hear My voice. You hear clearly. You are just not used to it being OK to stop and rest, for your paradigm did not allow that before. But I want you to dethrone your idol of work right now, and place ‘work’ on the same level as ‘rest’—simply listing it with all other activities I may tell you to do from moment to moment.
“Abiding in Me is the main point. When you focus solely on Me, I will guide you from moment to moment. I will order your steps; remember that “The steps of a good man are made firm by the Lord, and He delights in his way” (Ps. 37:23). And remember My words in Psalm 32:8-9:
“‘I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye on you. Do not be as the horse or as the mule that are without understanding, that must be restrained with bit and bridle, or they will not come near you’ (Ps. 32:8-9).
“Beloved, I desire you to come near Me. You have gotten out of alignment by putting work in My place as your source. This has hindered our relationship and has kept you from receiving much that I have for you. Recalibrate and refocus at this time. Seek Me first; don’t seek provision first. Seek Me first; don’t seek work first. Seek Me first, even when I ask you to rest. Seek Me with all of your heart, and you shall find Me—and you will tap into a level of provision and of My miraculous intervention that you did not even know existed.
“I love you, My child. I am following hard after you. I am chasing you early in the morning, at noonday, at evening time and late at night. My hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor My ear dull, that it cannot hear. I am here for you; I am on your side! I will never leave you nor forsake you; I will not abandon you; I will never set you down, for I am carrying you as a mother carries her child in her womb.
You are mine, but I need you to recalibrate. Search your heart, and allow Me to search it too. Don’t get into unholy introspection, where you become the focus of all your thoughts; keep your eyes on Me and let Me show you the things I need you to see.
But most of all, come back to Me. Put Me in My proper place as healer, provider and friend. Put Me in My proper place as your maker and determiner of all that you are. Allow Me to be Myself in your life; do not limit Me or look anywhere other than to Me for what you need.
I am with you to comfort you. I am with you to keep you. Amen.
With great love from your Everlasting Father.” {eoa}
Jamie Rohrbaugh is an author, speaker and presence-seeker whose heart is for the local church. Called to intercession and prophetic ministry, her passion is to see sons and daughters transformed by the love of Abba Father. Jamie blogs for a global readership at FromHisPresence.com, where she writes about prayer, personal revival and the supernatural lifestyle, and she has written for various ministry outlets. She holds a master’s in biblical studies from Berea Seminary and is a grateful member of the Redbud Writers Guild. Jamie serves as a domestic missionary in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
