Phil 1.6. And I am confident that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Phil 1:6. ESV
TPT ~ I pray with great faith for you, because I’m fully convinced that the One who began this glorious work in you will faithfully continue the process of maturing you and will put his finishing touches to it until the unveiling of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Recently at a time of prayer, the Spirit highlighted Matthew 7:7 as being an invitation to relationship, not simply seeking the reward. As I’ve been reflecting on this, I realize there are simply things that I’ve stopped asking, seeking and knocking for having been resolved somewhere in my heart and mind that my request has been met with a NO. Although I have never heard the NO, the circumstances had convinced me of NO as the answer so I stopped pressing to possess in those places.
Our free will is one of the most precious gifts given to us by God. Daily, our choices define the paths we walk. While the Father continues to work in us by his word and spirit, we must be willing to engage and yield to that work.
God has established our boundaries but we set our limitations as we face the issues of our hearts and do not yield. Our heart is our garden from which all things grow and we are the stewards of our gardens. Grieving the Holy Spirit comes when I do wrong, quenching the Holy Spirit is when I know to do right and don’t do it. In this, I’ve set my limitations. They (The Father, Jesus the word, and Holy Spirit) are so willing to patiently work with us while we work out our own salvation, while we take another lap around mount Sinai. We define our boundaries, we set our limitations.
These are days of realignment. Days of returning to the places we disagreed with Him and get it right at all costs. Dealing with the issues of heart and mind that limit us. Days that require facing the unanswered as we press into a greater intimacy with him in order to bring forth the ordained fruit that glorifies Him.
We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus ordained for good works which God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10. God begins the process with the seed of His word. He who has sown the seed has prepared us for these days. He who has ordained the works for us to walk in and walk out SHALL faithfully continue the process of maturing us. He doesn’t start and not finish. The word that has gone forth from his mouth is like the rain that comes down and waters the earth and it brings forth fruit. It does not return void but accomplishes His purpose and it shall succeed in the thing for which he sent it.
Let’s tend to our gardens, dig around the soil of our heart and do some weeding of rocks and thorns giving plenty of room for His seed to grow. Let’s nurture it, water it and wash it with His promises. Let’s ask the unanswered, let’s seek the unknown, let’s knock on the unopened and keep pressing until the yieldedness of our heart brings forth the fruit of our intimacy with Him.