Karen Zerby
GN 1193 FD/MM/FM / FEAST 2007
By Maria 3621[a] 10/06
Dear Family,
1. Following are some wonderful jewels of counsel from our Lover on resting in the Lord—what it means, why we need it, how to learn to work in the spirit (vital ingredient!), tips for resting and meditation and deep communion, etc.
2. I believe that this Letter, combined with the Letter Links and all that the Lord has given us over the years on this topic, has all that you need to give you a good start in having a lifestyle change if you want it. Read it‚ mark it, review it, meditate on it, and the Lord's Words and Spirit will change you.
3. I've kept any commentary to a minimum. Some of these excerpts relate to one another in an obvious way‚ and others are just various aspects and a look from a different angle at a very powerful, beautiful and massive spiritual concept—what it means to rest in the Lord‚ live in the spirit‚ be more like Jesus, and thus avoid the stress, pressure‚ and time traps with which the Enemy is always trying to snare you.
4. I love you and pray that this counsel and insight from the Lord will be a blessing to you. It has been a blessing to Peter and me, even revelatory in parts, and I believe it will be very helpful for you too if you study it and make it a part of your life.
Love in our Lover,
Mama
5. (Jesus: ) This is My definition of "resting fully in Me":
1) Letting Me direct your work. Not running ahead of Me, or impulsively trying to patch up problems or needs according to what you think is best. Waiting for Me to give you My answers, My genuine solutions, My priorities.
2) Learning to work in the spirit. Realizing that working in the spirit is far better and more advanced, and thus you make prayer and praise your first line of defense, your first response to any problem.
3) Learning how to put your weight down on Me—not just once a day, during your scheduled Word time, but many times a day, and eventually you'll never pick it up but always let Me carry it.
4) Learning how to completely disconnect from the wings and enter into deep communion and fellowship with Me‚ where I can reveal My secrets‚ infuse you with strength, renew your vision, and love you long and tenderly.
5) Carrying a spirit of peace and faith with you throughout the day.
6) Making your temple time your most important time of the day, something that you never miss or attempt to go without.
7) Learning to see in the spirit, so that you can be a more accurate judge of priorities, and thus have a better sense of when to get involved and when to leave things to Me. You choose to believe My Word and My take on things above any other "facts" or "evidence" around you.
8) Surrendering your will to Me. Most of you are in the habit of carrying the burdens yourselves, working hard yourselves, and making your own agendas. I'm asking you to make a switch and leave a whole lot more of the direction in My hands.
9) Resting fully in Me is very close to full possession, and is a step closer in that direction. It ties in with it and strengthens you in that area.
(Note: Mama read this definition in her audio talk on resting in the Lord.)
6. (Jesus:) Resting in Me is not a new principle, as you know. It's a principle of the spirit that goes all the way back to when I first created mankind, and would walk in the Garden and talk with Adam and Eve, or when My Father set the example by taking the seventh day as a rest day, or when He instructed the children of Israel in the ten commandments to "remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy" (Gen.2:2-3; Exo.20:8). These were examples and safeguards put in place from the beginning, because I knew, and My Father knew‚ how important it was for all of our children to learn to rest—to have a mandatory time where they set the burdens down that they were carrying.
7. Because no matter how light, any burden that you don't ever set down, anything you carry for too long a time, will wear you down. This is true mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. And for you, My loves‚ who are engaged in almost constant spiritual warfare, one of the only ways to get true respite from the battle and strengthening is by not only resting physically and mentally, but by being recharged spiritually through coming to My arms, committing your burdens to Me, and receiving My strength in return.
8. Now, as the world is entering its final days and things are heating up more than ever, it's extremely important for all My children to make this one of their priorities—to set their burdens down, to step away from the battle regularly‚ to receive new strength from Me. You need to do this physically and spiritually; both are almost equally important. Neglecting either form of rest will open the door to problems.
9. Especially after these intense years of war‚ it's so important for everyone to realize how important this is, because each person's habits have changed. Everyone has cranked up the pace of their work and gotten in the habit of sacrificing their own personal needs even more. And while this is a good attitude and spirit to have, you have to learn where to draw the line, realizing that it's not just your needs, but that if you don't take care of your need for physical rest and spiritual recharging, you're potentially opening a big gap for the Enemy to get in. So it becomes a need of the Home, a need of the whole body, for each member to take this seriously and prayerfully and make sure they're doing their part to stay strong‚ to not become a weak link in times of stress and strain.
10. The only way to know that you're going to hold up under the strain is by being obedient—by learning to rest in Me, take shelter in Me, pace yourself‚ and give Me the quality time with you that is My due as your God, Husband, Lover, and King of the universe.
11. And so‚ My loves, I have given this revelation—not of the principle, for that is nothing new, but of the increased need for it, and the power that it will hold for you if you choose to use it. "The people who know their God shall be strong and do great exploits" (Dan.11:32).
12. (Jesus:) The concept of "resting in Me" sounds very similar to other things I've given you in the past‚ such as the art of dependence, full possession, temple time, etc. The difference here is that I'm asking you to see this strength or gift as an offensive weapon, as a part of your spiritual arsenal. When you use it, you are choosing to defeat the Enemy and his spirit of busyness. You're choosing to defeat the arm-of-the-flesh syndrome. You're choosing to activate trust in your own heart and life, and peace, and strengthen your faith.
13. You're choosing dependence on Me over anything you can see or do in the natural. You're choosing to place all your bets on Me—the author and finisher of your faith—and trust that I am strong and able and capable of doing whatever you need. In short‚ you're choosing the heavenly way over the ways of Earth, the heavenly mindset over the earthly mindset, My perspective over the natural human perspective. You're choosing to lean hard on miracles, on Me, on My power. You're resting in Me, trusting in Me, believing in Me. And that very act releases such tremendous power, it completely defeats the Enemy.
14. You can use this weapon of resting in Me in many ways. You can choose to stay a little longer in My arms when you feel tempted to get up and get into your work right away. You can choose to pray for something instead of getting involved yourself. You can choose to hear from Me before giving an answer. You can choose to praise Me for the victory and refuse to let yourself get worried when you hear bad news. All these are examples of using the gift of resting in Me as a weapon to defeat the Enemy and bring victory.
15. You can make the choice to refuse to let pressure settle on your spirit. You can resist the temptation to start moving things faster and faster, and instead commit them to Me and ask Me to help you to find the right pace and stride. You can consciously slow things down, give yourself more time, and then use that extra time to work in the spirit rather than the flesh, to commit things to Me rather than trying to sort them out yourself.
16. I want to encourage you, My loves, that as with every other revelation I give you or every push I ask you to make, if you will put forth the effort to implement it, you will find your efforts multiplied and blessed. Even things that you weren't able to do before, personal schedule changes and habits you weren't able to change, you will now be able to. In essence, by choosing to rest in Me you are choosing obedience above any other option; you are choosing the spirit over the flesh, and that, My dears, opens the door to miracles.
17. (Jesus:) It is in stopping to rest in Me that you find your strength. And I do require that you come; that you stop; that you lay aside all feverish activity and have regular times of resting in Me in which you put all else aside. But resting in Me also means leaning fully on Me as you go about your work, putting your full weight down on Me, so that I am the one carrying your load.
18. Resting in Me is casting your burdens and your cares on Me. It's not always a "full stop"; it's also going ahead—but the difference is, you are going ahead like Gideon and his band, in humility, in meekness, and in faith‚ with the quiet confidence and assurance that comes from resting in Me.
19. Resting in Me is resting in My arms, but while you are resting in My arms‚ you are tanking up, filling up with My Spirit, receiving My signals‚ being recharged and energized with My power.
20. Resting in Me is constant renewal. It's being fueled by My Spirit. It's putting yourself in a position where I am the wind beneath your wings, I am the one carrying you‚ and because of this you feel confident. You are secure in Me because it's really Me in you doing the work. I am carrying you. It is Me‚ not you, and I won't run out. I will keep you from falling.
21. Resting in Me means My energy is constantly running through you. You're powered by Me; it's My Spirit carrying you. You are able to rest in spirit even if you are technically "busy" and "doing" something in the physical realm. You don't tire or wear out‚ because I am the power supply.
22. It's like a machine whose batteries are totally drained of power, but you plug it into the electrical current and the power flows. That machine is being powered by the electricity, without which it would be dead. The machine has to rely on or "rest" on the current, the electrical lines and the energy they give. This is akin to resting in Me. It's getting in a position where My power is flowing through you. It's tanking up on Me.
23. This is a wide and broad and mammoth subject, but I ask you to do like the one who does not understand how electricity works, but nevertheless flips the switch and goes ahead and enjoys all of its wonderful benefits. Do that with the concept of resting in Me. Use it, wield it, and enjoy its power. As you do, you will come to understand more and more the intricate workings of this powerful gift and weapon. It is the obedience that comes first, not the understanding.
You're entering the ultimate in extreme warfare. It goes far beyond the confines of the flesh or mind, so the only way to win that warfare is to be willing to be used as a channel for My power, which can win it through you.
24. (Jesus:) I will always give you what you need as you enter new battles, new challenges, and as you need more and more of the strength that goes far beyond what your body or even spirit can muster.
25. For some of you‚ this is already the case. Many of you have been powerful fighters—sometimes in your own strength and sometimes in Mine. In the times ahead you will all reach the point sooner or later where the battles and struggles you face go so far beyond anything you can fight yourself that you will be unable to rely on your own strength at all.
26. Some of you are already approaching this stage. You have been brave, you have endured suffering, sickness, pressure of all kinds, carried the burdens of others and managed to keep your head above water, but more and more you are brushing the limits of what even you can cope with and are facing the reality that you just can't go any further. Some of you are on the brink of collapse, and some have slipped over the edge and are hanging on‚ trying to keep from falling.
27. Do you feel like the mountains of work you see before you are never going to go away‚ and you'll probably have to stay on Earth during the Marriage Feast to try and finish it up, if not into the Millennium? Do you feel like the heartbreaks, the despair and frustration with others and yourself are making your whole life seem useless?—Or like in the final analysis all you did can still never outweigh all you missed?
28. I have given you a way out of all that. This is not a new gift or revelation, but as you pick it up and rediscover it, you will find that it has the answers you need. This gift won't minister to your pride and self-importance. In fact‚ it can't even be used in conjunction with these elements of self, because they will only weaken it.
29. It's going to take some changes on your part to make this revelation fit. It's not tailor-made to fit you. It's not going to mold itself to you. You have to mold yourself to it, and you can. If you will, then it holds such power that it will carry you through till I come.
30. It will be a constant companion and a part of your makeup. It will not only help you to make it, but will cause you to even smile through to the end. It will cause you to go from strength to strength—not in your own strength, but in Mine, which is limitless. It's the gift of fully resting in Me.
31. Resting in Me is placing yourself fully within My Spirit. It's a mindset. It's something that becomes second nature to you. It's continual—not just once a day for an hour. It's not something you do apart from your day's activities. It becomes a part of everything you do. It becomes your modus operandi.
32. When you're faced with an impossible situation in the future, you aren't going to be able to say, "This is too much. Hang on. I'll go take some temple time and get strengthened and then come back and knock the Devil for a loop." Resting in Me must become such a part of your nature that I'm there thinking and acting through you.
33. I know this is a lot to ask. You have your own will‚ and maybe you think you've already given enough of your time and energy and even your own plans and will into My hands. If so, then this gift is not going to be a part of your spiritual arsenal. But for those who see their own strength as insufficient and have come to the realization that their abilities and talents alone aren't going to carry them through, here is the answer.
34. It is in stopping to rest in Me that you find your strength, and it is in resting so fully in Me that you have given up your own will and have chosen to commit completely in your heart and without reservation to letting Me think and act through you, that you gain the faith and peace that will allow you to be whatever I have called you to be.
35. Use this gift of fully resting in Me. Don't wait till you're floundering or overwhelmed to do it. Begin now. When you open your eyes in the morning, place yourself, your mind, and your heart completely into My hands. Ask Me to help you to rest fully in Me throughout the day.
36. Then keep it in the forefront of your mind throughout the day. When pressure begins to build, immediately stop and release the pressure by reminding yourself that it's not your burden, it's Mine now. Then as we walk together, just do what I show you step by step, and trust Me for the rest.
37. When I give a message that instructs you to work harder, most of you, My fighters‚ will trust Me to sustain you and go right into it. But when I tell you to rest in Me and trust Me to get done what I alone know needs to be done, you choke and falter, feeling that unless you have a big part in it and put lots of effort and strain into it, it couldn't be My will.
38. Some of you have gotten so addicted to stress that you feel as if you'll collapse if you don't keep driving yourself. Well‚ you will collapse, I guarantee it, if you don't learn right now to start resting in Me. YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT.
39. Some will not take up this weapon, and will be so sad in the end. They will eventually face Me and see that most of their life was wasted in self-effort, which more often than not meant running off after the good while missing the best.
40. You can't know in your own mind what is the best—the most important thing you are to do at any given moment. You can't even assume it's the best based on what work you're doing. You might plow through your to–do list but miss what was truly important.
41. My loves, if you are feeling stressed, if the pressure is causing you to feel the warning signs of irritability, despair, or frustration, or if the exhaustion you feel is exhaustion of the spirit, then you are not resting in Me.
42. It's one thing to feel very tired at the end of the day, but if that tiredness is mixed with anxiety‚ frustration, negativity, or a sense of pressure that shrouds the joy of My Spirit and you don't have a peace and inner joy of knowing you are fulfilling My will, then you just aren't using this gift. You may be getting your allotted times with Me, but you are not truly resting in Me. You may be doing a great work, but it will crumble and collapse unless I am the mortar that is holding every piece of it together. The sand of your own works isn't going to work.
43. Come to Me—not with reservations or with any preconceived ideas of what I will say, but simply place yourself in My hands and ask Me to give you My priorities‚ to give you My peace, to give you My strength to do what I want you to do—not what you want to do and think you need more strength for, but what I want you to do. Determine that your life is now blended with Mine‚ so anything that I want is what you want.
44. That sounds extreme, and it is. Extreme times require extreme power, and extreme power is found by extreme people who are willing to go to any extreme to be My Endtime victors. You're entering the ultimate in extreme warfare. It goes far beyond the confines of the flesh or mind, so the only way to win that warfare is to be willing to be used as a channel for My power‚ which can win it through you.
45. Receiving prophecy, being a channel, and allowing My words to pour through you unhindered is training for even greater things as you allow Me to do more than just utter words. Let Me show you all that I can accomplish, and you won't regret it.
46. (Jesus:) It's not that you shouldn't feel responsible to do your part of the work, but you must keep a proper perspective on what is your part and what is My part. When things get to be too much for you, you can automatically know that your part is becoming too big and My part is becoming too small. You're holding too much of it in your tiny hands‚ when My huge hands are right there waiting to bear the load for you.
47. (Jesus:) The concept of resting in Me fully can only become a part of you when you have stopped striving in your own strength to accomplish what seems good to you. It takes letting go of the end of that rope and falling fully into My arms. Do you know why so many of My greatest prophets‚ warriors, and miracle workers throughout history were old before they began their truly powerful tasks for Me? It was in part the training, the wisdom, and all those things that took many years of experience to grow into. But that wasn't the main thing. I can use you mightily even without a lot of experience and natural wisdom and all the rest. Look at Jeremiah.
48. The main reason that so many of My great men and women of the past were old before their ministries really took off was because it took all those years of smashing and breaking to bring them to the point where they finally gave up on themselves and cast themselves fully on Me. They no longer wanted their own will and way. They'd been through the hard knocks and had reached the point where their own strength, abilities, image, importance, plans and programs didn't matter to them anymore. They just wanted to be nothing in Me and let Me be everything in them.
49. They got the point that, however sincere they were, they just weren't going to make it by themselves. They couldn't do it with a little help from Me; they couldn't make it by letting Me do most of it with some help from them; they finally reached the point where they knew the only way to make it was by turning everything totally over to Me and letting Me take full control.
The world, I thought, belonged to me—
Goods, gold, and people, land and sea.
Where're I walked beneath God's sky,
In those days my word was "I."
Years passed; there flashed my pathway near
The fragment of a vision dear.
My former word no more sufficed,
And what I said was "I and Christ."
But, oh‚ the more I looked on Him,
His glory grew, while mine grew dim.
I shrank so small, He towered so high,
All I dared say was, "Christ and I."
Years more the vision held its place
And looked me steadily in the face;
I speak now in humbler tone,
And what I say is "Christ alone."
50. (Jesus: ) I never said it would be easy. I do say it is possible for each of you, My brides, to reach this goal of learning to let Me work through you, and learning to rest in Me on a consistent basis.
51. Right about now many of My brides are saying to themselves‚ "I don't know if I can give any more than I already have! I don't have anything left! I've given the last spare second I have. I've already gone beyond what energy levels I had. I don't have any more rope to hold on to! I don't have any more of me left. I've used it all!"
52. And you're absolutely right! You have used all your strength, all your energy, all your time. You really don't have any more of yourself to pour out. That's good! That's what I've been waiting for! This is the beginning of something greater than everything you've accomplished in your service for Me put together. I love your sincere love for Me. I love the way you have put everything on the altar to do My will. I have waited for the time when, like the widow, you have given everything you have—even all your living.
53. For some of you, it will require time and perseverance to get the hang of this new way of thinking and operating. But I don't ask more than anyone can carry. Most of you have already made great strides in learning to put My will above your own‚ at least in many areas of your life. Many of you have passed through deep waters and have discovered the only way through was to cast the weights on Me.
54. Contrary to what your mind thinks, this is not another push that requires great effort. It's not a matter of more time, or trying to add yet another item to the multitude of things to remember to mechanically do. It's choosing to use the time you have already made for Me and use it more effectively to deeply commune with Me and rest. It's choosing to include Me more in everything you do as you go about your day, and carry My spirit of peace and rest rather than the Enemy's spirit of pressure and stress.
55. It is a realization that has to dawn on your consciousness. If you have to cross a deep gorge continually in your work each day, and you discover the only practical, viable way to do this is to walk over a small bridge, do you have to put forth great effort and really struggle to work at remembering to use the bridge instead of just wandering to the edge of the gorge and struggling to get down, across, and up the other side?
56. You have studied the situation. You understand that the alternatives are both time-consuming and potentially dangerous. You accept the reality that is before you. You know you have to cross at the bridge in order to be safe and effective, so all your plans become built around returning to this point whenever you need to cross the gorge. Your paths are channeled to it; your work is built around the fact that this is the only viable way to cross.
57. You're faced with the deep gorge of your personal limitations, and while it may be difficult to yield your will to Me, the solution doesn't require great time and struggle but rather an acceptance of the facts. You need to have enough sense to know and accept that I am right, and just make the decision to change your former ways of doing things that took you to other points along the gorge, or other ways of doing things. You know it needs to be this way, so you just do it. You have to believe that what I say is true. You have to determine that My way is the best way and take action to ensure that this new essential part of your life is a priority. Then do it.
58. (Jesus:) Many of you have learned to share the load with Me; some of you have even learned to let Me carry a larger part of it. But what I need if you are to become the greatest mouthpieces this world has ever heard, in the darkest times this world has ever faced, is for you to let Me do it all. Even a piece of the burden in those days will be so far beyond your own ability to bear that you won't make it any other way.
59. It's not easy for the spirit of man to yield himself so fully. The nature of sin fights against it; the pride of Satan strives to prevent you from yielding to it; and the carnal mind fears letting go of what it can see and grasp, for what it cannot understand.
60. It costs‚ but the cost is yourself—not effort, not time, not work. It's not a new load to bear, more time to invest‚ more effort to drag from a war–weary and stretched body and mind. This gift gives back an hundredfold for every effort you invest. It replenishes you; it gives you the renewed peace of knowing that you can give it to Me. Start using it now at whatever level you are at.
61. If you are just beginning to lay things hesitantly at My feet, watching to see if I'll even notice they are there while you wait around, ready to jump in and grab them back to make sure they get done, then make a decision that once you've laid something at My feet‚ you won't wait around to see what I'm going to do. Commit it to Me, turn around, and focus on what I show you to do next.
62. You can send Me reminder prayers. In fact‚ I like to know you're counting on Me to take care of the situation. But don't come running back to try and push it closer to Me in case I didn't see it, or grab it and try to put it on My lap. Trust Me.
63. If you have learned to commit things to Me when you know you can't manage or solve some situation, then begin bringing Me those things you think you can manage. Start placing as many things on My shoulders as you can. When I need you to take a step of faith in some area, or do something to roll away the stone, I'll let you know. But the goal is to put everything in My hands so that you can then rest fully in Me. When you do that, My full power can do the works through you. It becomes a DSL connection—a Dedicated Spiritual Link that's open all the time—and the Enemy can't disrupt it or try to cut in with his static or viruses.
64. (Jesus: ) When I fully possess you, I have full control. Resting in Me is placing yourself in My hands; it's yielding to Me, so that I can fully possess you. As with many things in the spirit world, these two concepts overlap. They are intertwined. They work together.
*
65. The ultimate goal of resting fully in Me is that I can think and act through you. It leads to full possession.
66. (Jesus:) To all who labor and who are heavy laden, I will give rest, but you must come to Me. Remind yourself to rest in Me, acknowledge Me, and then come and enter into My rest and you will find the needed calm, peace, patience, love, and rest in Me.
*
67. This is something I'm revealing to help you, to lift your load, and to help you learn how to let Me do the work through you. Right now one of the main battles that many in the Family face is their workload‚ and this is why I have chosen this time to reveal the strength that can be found in this gift‚ in order to help you to come into My presence and to let Me do the work through you.
68. (Jesus:) I want My brides to know that what I'm giving them through teaching them to rest fully in Me is more than a spiritual weapon—it's a gift for their personal encouragement and strengthening. And it's more than a gift; it's a weapon to use against the attacks of the Enemy, who will try to usurp My power and busy My brides with the good rather than the best.
69. As you practice resting in Me, casting your cares on Me, letting Me carry the weight to a greater degree, you will find that this gift and weapon works for you. It will help you to avail yourself of My full power; it will give you rest; it will calm your spirit; it will slow you down, and you will find My strength.
70. (Jesus: ) Your spirit needs time to relax and be fed and healed from its battle wounds—not just when you stop and rest one day a week. You need to learn how to maintain a rested and healthy spirit throughout the entire week‚ and you do that by slowing down, taking time to be quiet and time to meditate.
71. "Resting in Me" needs to become a part of your lifestyle, something that you do not just once a week, not just during the Feast, and not even just during your daily Word time, but that you make a part of your everyday life for Me. As you learn to slow things down and rest more in Me, you will reap the benefits‚ both physically and spiritually.
72. For example, you will:
1) Have more peace of mind.
2) Have less physical aches and pains.
3) Have more physical and spiritual energy.
4) Have less stress in your life, and therefore you'll be healthier physically.
5) Having less stress means you will be happier, and the people around you will be happier and find you easier to live with.
6) Find it easier to see people's positive qualities and strengths. Working together will be easier and more productive.
7) Have more patience.
8) Have more love for those you live with.
9) Have more energy at parent time to pour into your kids.
10) Look forward to getting up in the morning because you won't be carrying the burdens of the world on your shoulders.
11) Look forward to your work, your outreach, to ministering to your Active members.
12) Have faith to trust Me to take care of the problems.
13) Stop worrying.
14) Have good dreams because your spirit is in the habit of spending time with Me.
15) Have more faith to do the things you don't particularly like to do.
16) Have more faith that I will answer your prayers.
17) If you have health problems related to stress, you'll feel better. You won't have to make as many doctor visits or take as much medicine.
18) Be more relaxed and at ease, and your entire family will be too, because you are. People will start having more fun because life will be more fun.
73. There will be:
1) Less friction and misunderstandings and personality clashes, because everyone will be resting in Me more, and trusting less in their own strength.
2) More of a spirit of brotherly love, of camaraderie, because everyone will feel more like sharing the load and helping each other because people won't be so hurried.
3) Time to enjoy the day, to enjoy one another, to enjoy the children more.
4) More enjoyment in the simple pleasures of life. You won't need some big party or extended vacation to perk up your spirit, because you're in the habit of taking mini-vacations with Me every day. (That is not to say that parties and vacations are unnecessary—recreation and extended times for rest are very necessary, and are part of a healthy life. But I want resting in Me to be more of an everyday principle, not something you save for "appropriate times." And when you learn this, when you make resting in Me a part of your everyday life and service to Me, you will have joy and inspiration abundant. You'll still appreciate vacations and times of recreation‚ but you'll have what you need for the long haul in your everyday life, too. And that is the goal.)
74. Your spirit:
1) Will be healthier, stronger, and more encouraged.
2) Will learn quicker because it's relaxed and open.
3) Will be more receptive to your spirit helpers; your spirit helpers will be able to get through to you easier because you're thinking more about spiritual things.
4) Will reflect more of Me to those around you.
5) Will just naturally draw others to Me because people will feel more of My love in you.
75. (Mama:) A big part of being able to rest in the Lord is doing your part in the spirit, so that you have full confidence to let the Lord do what only He can do, and you're not trying to take too much on yourself. Also, the more you learn to work in the spirit—by using your spiritual weapons, committing things to the Lord, and resting on His strength, going with His choice of priorities—the more relaxed and trusting you will be, because you'll see that it really works, that He does what you cannot do, and that if you commit it all to Him and let Him do it, it works even better than when you try to "help" in the flesh. Of course‚ the Lord requires us to do our part. But learning what is your part and what is the Lord's part, through asking Him instead of just assuming, is key.
76. (Jesus: ) If people would learn to really lean on Me‚ nothing would seem that difficult. It's not that you would never have difficult things to do, and you'd never have a battle about doing some things, but they would not become so huge in your life and so overwhelming that you feel like caving in. It's not that there would never be any plain hard work that you have to buckle down and do, but that work would be blessed by Me and anointed so that you wouldn't feel so stressed in the process.
77. If you could truly learn to lean on My strength and let Me carry the weights of your work, or your housing, or your outreach, or your children or your finances, whatever it is that is making you feel so stressed‚ then of course I would relieve the pressure. You still have to do all those things, such as train your children‚ work on your marriage, be humble with your co-workers, raise funds, move house, etc.‚ but when you learn to look to Me for the strength for it all, then the work and all the battles that accompany it are much more bearable.
78. I didn't say it would all be easy, but it will certainly be doable‚ and without the stress and pressure, which is really what makes life so difficult. If you could do your work, or do a huge project without feeling tense or worried or stressed about it, then you would feel a lot better. You'd still do some work—according to what I asked you to do—and you'd still have big boulders to move, but you'd have the strength and feel okay about it, and genuine progress would be made.
79. When I give you a commission, something that you know is going to be very hard for you to do, you have to trust that I will also give you the strength and the anointing to do it. But you only get that strength and anointing by looking to Me, by spending time alone with Me, seeking My face. The pressure valve is released when you come to Me. But if you don't come to Me for solid quiet time, even in the midst of work deadlines and big pushes, then you get overworked and stressed out, and that's when you feel like it's not fair.
80. I know it's not easy to discipline yourself to get quiet‚ to calm your spirit and bring it into subjection to My Spirit so that you can absorb My strength and My peace, especially in the middle of a hectic job. But that's what you must do if you want to handle the pressure of your work without feeling the pressure.
81. You have to train yourself to lean on Me for your strength. If you don't figure out how to do that, then you're going to go from one work push to another project, to another major upheaval of some kind in your life and always feel stressed out about something. Nothing will ever seem doable and easy‚ in spite of My promises and My ability to help you, because you're not leaning on Me. You'll always feel like "this is too hard‚" "this isn't fair," and that you can't handle it. You'll constantly be doing things and going places, but without a sense of peace and calm of spirit that comes from resting in Me. You'll always feel like you're not making enough progress and your to-do list will always weigh on you if you don't learn to lean on Me fully.
82. I'm not going to remove your work from you or make your to-do lists that much shorter, or tell you you'll never have to move houses again, or never have more babies, or say that you'll never get sick again‚ and that you'll never have a single crisis situation to deal with, or that you'll never have to learn to work with new co-workers as the old ones move on. You'll still have to do all of these things and more. But I can promise you that if you will train yourself to truly rest in Me—and that means daily quiet time with Me, soaking in My Spirit, and then working in the spirit rather than taking all the burdens back on your own shoulders—that you will be able to do all of these things with a much calmer, more trusting spirit, and you'll be happier.
83. You have to trust that when I ask you to do things that are difficult for you, that I provide all of the things you need to get the job done. I give you the faith, the ability to learn, the anointing to move forward, the peace to trust Me, the spirit helpers, the power of the keys, the vision, the wisdom. And all of this can be yours without the debilitating spirit of stress and pressure. But you have to come to Me to get it. I'm not saying that you'll never feel one iota of pressure, because sometimes a degree of pressure comes with the job or a certain project as you fight to meet deadlines, etc. But I will certainly give you the grace for it‚ the faith for it, and the calmness that comes with yieldedness to My will and doing things My way.
84. You really should put Me and the keys and your spirit helpers to the test. The next time you're faced with something really difficult to do, put Me, your spirit helpers and the keys to the test. Instead of plowing forward in your own strength, take the time to do some of the good things that I've recommended in Letters like "What is Jesus Worth to You?" "Training Winning Teams, Part 4," and "Quality Word Time, Part 3." Stick a key promise on your bathroom mirror and claim it every time you see it. Make a list of a few spirit helpers that will help you with your project, and talk to them. Rebuke the hinderers that are probably fighting you.
85. Before you even get out of bed and read your mail or get involved in the Home or whatever work you need to do, talk to Me and tell Me that you need Me. Call on My help and anointing for that day. Don't make a move into your day before you hear from Me in prophecy. Even if it's just a short prophecy, it's important, and you need My encouragement and counsel. Take a break in your workday and listen to faith-building songs. Take breaks to say love words to Me‚ to praise Me.
86. Lean on the spirit. You've got to find ways to bring more of My Spirit into your day. Although you have to work and get things done, you more importantly have to find what will work for you to help you bathe your work more in My Spirit. When you review your key promise and claim it for your work, that's leaning on Me. When you commit something to prayer and ask for My help, that's leaning on Me. When you ask Me to speak to you in prophecy and direct your priorities, that's leaning on the spirit and not your carnal thinking. When you call on your spirit helpers, you're calling down more spirit power and leaning on the spirit.
87. You've got to call on My power and do as much leaning as you can in every way that you possibly can‚ and you will see a difference in your level of peace and faith and calm. You'll still have to do difficult things, because some of My future commissions to you won't necessarily get any easier‚ but you will certainly have more faith and strength‚ and less stress and pressure‚ if you surround everything you do with more of My Spirit and learn to let Me do more of the heavy lifting for you.
88. (Jesus: ) When I ask you to find ways to bring Me more into your day, many people groan and feel that they hardly have enough time as it is, and if they have to take even more time, it's not realistic. But bringing Me into your actions and thoughts and carrying more of My Spirit doesn't always require more time. It does require a solid investment of time spent with Me each day, and sometimes it's necessary to extend that time and just wait in My arms for a while longer before rushing into the wings, letting My Spirit fill you and letting Me work for you. And those times are well worth your while.
89. But many times, it doesn't even mean you have to add extra minutes of work to your day; you just need to learn to connect with Me more as you go about your duties. For example, when you're doing something that doesn't require your total focus‚ you can turn your focus to Me and have a little moment of communion with Me—like when you're brushing your teeth, or putting one of the kids to sleep, or packing your witnessing bag, or sitting on the toilet; or bringing Me into the conversation at mealtimes, and thinking about positive, uplifting things; or saying some love words to Me when you lie down for a nap.
90. The more you desire to work with Me and include Me and have My Spirit flow through everything you do, the more you'll notice those little spaces that are perfect for a little touch-base time between the two of us, or an opportunity to bring Me into what you're doing. And the more you see and feel the fruits, the more you'll also be willing to stop what you're doing in order to acknowledge Me when there isn't a natural opportunity to do so, knowing that I more than make up the time for you.
91. (Jesus:) One area that nearly everyone could gain a better understanding of is what it means to work in the spirit as opposed to working in the flesh.
92. Prayer is a major part of working in the spirit—learning and being willing to till the ground in the spirit through your prayers, before going in to sow the seeds. Or, for another example, using a bulldozer in the spirit instead of rushing in with only a little hand hoe, thinking that there's not a moment to spare. In every aspect of the work at hand, you could accomplish so much more if you chose to use the spiritual weapons that I've given you.
93. But that's very hard to do, because working in the spirit doesn't usually have any immediate effects in the physical. You can feel like it isn't accomplishing much, or not as much as working in the physical. But that is such an illusion. And when you don't work in the spirit, then your priorities aren't as aligned as they should be, so you wind up missing the mark, having to redo, rework, refigure, or try something else, and things take a lot more time in the long run.
94. You also toy with burnout, because there's always so much to do in the physical; it's constant. The demands are intense. If you make the switch to working in the spirit, your spiritual muscles are well exercised, and you're committing to Me the things that you're not getting to, so that someone is getting to them—Me, or My helpers, or they're handled through My supernatural engineering—and they're not being dropped. But when you're trying to do too much yourself, or in the physical world, without working in the spirit, then you're constantly under pressure to perform‚ accomplish‚ get things taken care of—and that leads to the cycle of an unbalanced life, taking on too much‚ risking forgetting important things, and eventually wearing out, because the load upon you is more than I ever intended you to carry.
95. Some of the load you carry when you're working primarily in the physical realm is just plain unnecessary and a dead weight. I hate to put it like that, and no one likes to hear that what they've been doing could have been left undone and the world would still go on, but that's the truth.
96. If the Family is really going to move into the era of miracles and unparalleled fruitfulness, if you are going to be My model Endtime Church and the leaders of the Last Days, at some point you are going to have to learn what it means to work in the spirit. And in order to take on a new way of operating, there is going to be a bit of a dip in productivity initially—or it might seem that way to you. But even if it seems to you that you're getting less work done, if you're working in the spirit, you'll be doing the work right and doing it in the best and most effective and efficient way.
97. Effectiveness and efficiency aren't only about physical modes of operation. There's a whole realm—the spiritual realm—which is virtually untouched by most of you, because you're not yet comfortable working there. You haven't yet fully made the switch. You've been trying little by little, but little by little won't get you there in time. You have to stop, assess the way you've been operating, and make a change. And that means leaving some things undone, because while spiritual work is work in the spiritual realm, it still takes time, and that means it has to take the place of physical work.
98. It takes time to hear from Me about a complex issue, but it sure saves more time than trying to figure it all out and implement it all yourself. It takes time to labor in prayer for someone's needs, but you could never meet all their needs yourself even if you invested your full time in it. It takes time to learn to work with your spirit helpers, but your effectiveness is multiplied many times over when you do. It takes time to hone the weapon of praise, but your power in the spirit is enhanced, and the roadblocks you would have encountered are removed‚ when you are an effective praise warrior.
99. The fact of the matter is that you're not going to become the greatest witnesses of all time through any amount of physical accomplishments. You're going to become that way through the opportunities I line up for you. You'll only be in the right place at the right time through miracles—miracles that will only come as you learn to work in the spirit and stay in tune with Me. You're going to become that way through the supernatural power I pour down upon you as a Family and as individuals‚ and you're not going to get that power through any other way but spending time with Me and learning to work in the spirit.
100. Those days aren't far off. The clock is ticking, and if you want to have time to do those miracles and really reach the world in the way that I've been preparing you to all these years, you're going to need to make the break.
101. This is a good topic to meditate on, reflect on, and pray about, because it's something that each of you, in your life and work style and decisions, need to recognize and understand clearly. These are very personal issues. How desperately do you pray? How much are you growing in using the weapon of praise? How well do you know your spirit helpers and work with them? These are things which no one really knows except you.
102. But they are the tools I've given you to do the job in these Last Days. They'll make the difference between success and failure. And while I've spent a lot of time helping you to root out compromise and establish a clear discipleship standard, this switch to working in the spirit is another pillar that must be in place in order for the Family to fulfill its destiny. It's as simple as that.
103. (Jesus: ) Because working in the spirit is such a familiar principle, the danger is that it could be brushed aside as not so important, not new information, not super interesting, as something that doesn't sound "active" or world-changing. But the fact is that it's the most world–changing point there is right now. It's crucial for this time in your history.
104. (Jesus:) These days are perfect training days in the art of dependence. There's too much for you to do‚ yes, but not too much for Me to do. You have to depend on Me more, rely on My strength more, and commit more to prayer. But taking that route doesn't mean that those things won't get done; it doesn't mean that in simply "trusting," those things will be okay if left unattended to.
105. It means that you actually believe that I'm going to do something about those things, or that with minimal effort on your part, I will maximize the results—instead of you putting a lot of effort and energy into those things and coming out with minimal results. It's a switch in who is putting in the effort, and if you allow Me to put in more effort, then you'll see better fruit from your projects. That's the key.
106. People often feel that "trusting Me" means resigning themselves to seeing things fall through the cracks, and that it's just one of those hard choices to "let something go." But when you work with Me as your partner on the job, you're working with the most multitalented, multitasking partner in the universe. And I truly can do anything and everything!
107. So you need to look at Me in a much more positive light—not only as a spiritual guide and counselor, but as someone who can actually get in there, roll up His sleeves, and help you do the work. Sure, I don't sit at a desk and send you e-mails, I don't change the baby's diaper or cook the rice for dinner, but I can save you hours and hours of work time by taking care of the behind-the-scenes side of things, by preparing people's hearts, by supplying your needs and helping things fall into place‚ by setting up the miracles, or even by taking care of situations before you have to get involved.
108. I can save you so much time when you receive My divine guidance in everything you do—even the more routine tasks. I can whisper instruction in your ear as you move along, so that you do a good and proper job from the start. I can lead you so you don't botch things up and have to go back and do it over or undo a mess. I can lead you of My Spirit so you do your work with excellence and not haphazardly. When you're working with Me, you reap fruit that remains.
109. Tell Me specifically what you want to see done, and leave it with Me. Don't worry or fret about it, and don't keep checking up on Me to see if I'm on the job. Of course I'm on the job! It's My work, and I'm interested in it! So have more faith, and your faith will bring out an entirely new dynamic in our working relationship. This is the key to your success. It will give us more time to spend together in loving; and it will give you more time to spend with other people in fellowship and recreation, because in essence you're letting Me bear the weight and carry a good chunk of the load, which is exactly what I want to do.
110. So practice this. Commit things to Me in prayer. Depend on Me to do the "big work" in people's hearts, so that things can actually go more easily and smoothly, and some of these big rocks that look like they will be so difficult to move, will move easily—to your surprise—and will fall into place as they should. Give Me a chance to help you out, to do some of the work.
111. If you're utilizing the weapon of prayer as you should and depending on Me to do My part, you will have the faith to get tanked up, be full of the Word, well rested, high on the spirit, and overall‚ you'll be in a much better position. Your work will be done with more skill, love, and wisdom, and everything will have an extra coating of "spirit" to it—and by that‚ I mean My Spirit. Don't be shortsighted and look at each hour as a "work hour‚" because that's seeing things through the eyes of the flesh. "A stitch in time saves nine," and "time spent sharpening the scythe is never time wasted."
112. (Mama:) In many of the messages of counsel on this topic, the Lord emphasizes that we don't usually need to do all that we think we have to do. We make our to-do lists and it looks like we have to take care of so much, but if we would learn to work in the spirit and commit things more to Him, there are some things on our list that He could take care of completely so that we don't have to get involved, and there are other things on our list that He would set up for us so that when we do our small part‚ things come together miraculously.
113. This next message is a look at the situation from a different angle, about our mindset and how we look at what the Lord asks of us—whether He's asking us to play a small role and let Him do most of it, or whether He's asking something of us that seems impossible to our carnal minds. We have to remember that He is God, after all, and we need to learn to listen! We'll become more effective‚ more fruitful, and much happier and more relaxed and peaceful, if we will strengthen our faith in following through on what He asks of us, without trying to add our own "spin" or do more or less than what He's given us to do.
114. (Jesus: ) There's something to be said for learning to work within the boundaries of the priorities I give you. When you make your own list and try to figure things out yourself, you're cutting yourself off from the miraculous and supernatural aspect, which has such bearing and effect on your limited physical actions.
115. One of the laws of My Spirit is that My anointing expands according to the need. If I ask you to do something‚ then it's because I have the wherewithal to help you do it. I have the plan, I have the anointing to give you, and I will give you the strength and all that you need.
116. That's why looking at things in the flesh is such a pitfall‚ because it sucks away your strength and faith before I even have a chance to prove Myself. If you look at a job and think, "Wow, I don't think I can do that," then you're forgetting about Me and My power. You're leaving Me out of the equation.
117. You have to remember the extent of My power; it is in no way limited by your earthly rules, circumstances or capabilities. I created the world and all of My marvelous, mind-boggling creation out of nothing—absolutely nothing! I started with nothing, and worked up from there. So when you look at yourself and your limitations, and even what seem to you to be very real factors—such as timing—you're forgetting that I don't need much to work with. If I'm going to use you, I need your yieldedness and desperation, yes. But after that, there's no limit to what I can do.
118. If you stop to think about it, there are so many things that can go wrong or right in your work or your circumstances every day. Say you kept your schedule and to-do list to only the things that you realistically thought you could do, and refused to take on any more or change your priorities. Well, there are still many factors beyond your control, which will greatly affect your work—like your health, how you sleep, whether your computer or equipment or vehicle works or doesn't work, how anointed others in the Home are, how well all the pieces of the puzzle come together, the health of others in the Home and how much they need help or replacements.
119. There's the aspect of your anointing and how quickly or slowly the answers come, how long you have to agonize over something to get it just right, or the times when the solution practically falls in your lap ready-made. There are appointments you make with others that they might be late for or miss altogether. There are or could be emergencies, or balls that are dropped by others that you have to pick up, or projects that come up at the last minute and ruin your carefully-made plans, or even things like your unity with others‚ your emotions and ability to focus. And I could continue this list for a long time! Those are all factors that aren't under your control, which could wind up costing you weeks and weeks of work, without you getting to even one project on your list. No matter how carefully you plan and how much "margin for error" you allow yourself, it's impossible for you to accurately predict everything or to even know what is really going to end up being the most important work, or where your labors might be the most needed or have the greatest effect.
120. In other words, what I'm saying is that there are many factors outside your control, but they are all under My control. And when you're going by My timetable, working in the spirit, and letting Me lead, I am able to take care of those things for you, and only allow what will further My plan. If you go ahead in your own strength, thinking you have things under control, you may find out that things don't work as you had hoped and there are a lot of unexpected happenings. But if you're listening to Me and letting Me speak to you and give you your priorities, and operating accordingly, you'll be much better prepared for the things that I know are necessary to happen, and much more protected from those things that are not necessary and that would derail My plan.
121. My point is that you need to come to Me to receive My instructions about your priorities, and it's very important that you don't limit Me by looking at things too much from a carnal viewpoint. You have to remember that yours is a life of faith. Your work is all by faith. My anointing on you is all by faith. I'm the great God of the universe‚ after all, and if I ask you to do something, then I have a plan for how to help you do it. If I tell you that something doesn't need to be taken care of by you, right now, today, then I also have a plan.
122. Yes‚ there will be times when the load is very heavy, but you just have to keep throwing it on Me. Yes, there will be times when you're stretched thin‚ but you just have to determine to be faithful with your time with Me‚ do the best you can, and know that I will help you to stretch without breaking. Yes, there will be times when you wish you had more help. But in those times‚ cry out to Me and your spirit helpers, and you'll feel us right there. Yes, there will be times when it seems impossible—but that is when My miracle-working power will come through.
123. My perspective will give you faith. If you get your eyes off My perspective—basically, that I can do anything and you don't have to worry—then you'll lose faith‚ you'll feel the stress and strain, and it will be much more taxing for you than is necessary. But if you can learn to let Me carry the load for you, to keep laboring in prayer above any other labor, to keep seeking Me and faithfully taking your time with Me at all costs, then you will experience what it's like to truly have Me carry the load for you. The load will be there, but it will be easy and light with Me bearing it for you, and you walking beside Me, staying in step with Me.
124. You have to depend on Me. You just have to hold on to the perspective of Me being the great God—powerful, strong, and in love with you—and you being the little helper and follower. That will help you to carry the spirit of peace and faith. That will help you to learn about resting in Me, and will bring you through the intense times and the taxing times without breaking down or wearing out or feeling like you're about to. It's not that you won't feel the load, but it won't ever be too much. It won't get you down. It won't steal your joy. That's the goal.
125. I promise to continue to give you the anointing and strength and all that you need for the job, as you continue to give Me everything, keep trusting Me‚ staying close to Me, humbling yourself before Me‚ and learning to use resting fully in Me as an offensive weapon in your work. That concept [resting in Me] is the secret to success for those who live busy lives. Once you learn how to use it, you'll never have to endure the same pressure again.
126. (Mama:) If you really want to get something done‚ if you really want to see change, if you are desperate for solutions and progress‚ pray! Intercessory prayer is the way to move mountains in the spirit.
127. (Jesus:) Praying is one of the most proactive things you can do—praying for the future, praying for people, praying for situations, praying for supply‚ praying that I will work in the hearts and minds and spirits of the Family, praying for Active members, praying for laborers, praying for finances‚ praying for your co-workers, praying for your boards, praying for the young people. And then there's targeted prayer—prayer for specific things, specific projects, specific people, specific events‚ specific needs. All of this is offensive warfare.
128. Prayer is one of the best offensive weapons you can use. It's like sending in a bombardment ahead of time, preparing the field, the ground, so that when you advance, your way is already prepared.
129. You can't change hearts or minds, but I can; you can't change spirits, but I can, and so prayer goes before you to do this work. Prayer begins the job, and sometimes even finishes the job, before you even have to expend any other energy. And if it doesn't finish the job‚ it does a great portion of the work so that when you finally step into the situation, so much is already done, the stage is set and the pieces all fall together, and that makes your work so much easier.
From the first taste of the "apple," man has been predisposed to think that he somehow has better ideas about life and how to live it than the God Who created it all in the first place.
130. (Mama:) Another key is learning to check in with the Lord as you go, as you are working. If you do, He can save you steps‚ show you shortcuts, or emphasize crucial areas that might have been passed over or forgotten. Our Foreman and Master Planner can really save us a lot of time when we check in with Him! If you let Him adjust your plans as you go, it will also keep you from stress, because you won't be pushing for something that has become unrealistic or unnecessary.
131. (Jesus:) Too often the production side of the work takes on a life of its own, and people begin feeling that they have to meet preset goals no matter what. They've stopped praying without ceasing and are running on yesterday's program‚ and it can be very hard to put on the brakes or change direction.
132. I expect you never to assume that because something is a certain way‚ it has to remain that way. Much of what you have felt overwhelmed by could have been prevented if every single step were brought before Me by each one involved. Some things could have been allowed to slow down a bit to avoid situations where unnecessary stress and strain was applied to already exhausted muscles.
133. There's no need to rehash the past, but from now on, realize that part of resting fully in Me is bringing situations to Me. Sometimes I will give unexpected responses and tell you that you don't need to take care of something that you thought you had to, or that you don't have to take care of it in the same intense way that you were feeling led.
134. I might scale things way back for you in the physical‚ and instead give you an assignment of working more in the spirit by committing it to Me in prayer, or using praise, or brotherhood, or intimate love with Me to move the mountains in the spirit, and then just watching Me do the miracle. It's going to take faith on your part when I tell you things like this; it's going to take faith on everyone's part.
135. (Jesus:) It's a true and faithful law of the spirit that when you cast your burdens on My shoulders, I carry them for you, and you feel lighter and you have greater strength. When you take time to commune with Me; when you make the sacrifice to stop all the important things that you're doing or could be doing, and give Me your attention; when you exercise spiritual discipline and don't let yourself worry or be stressed, but keep bringing your thoughts back to My promises and My perspective, you are wielding tremendous power. You are harnessing My power. You are taking hold of My Spirit and My strength, and letting it carry you. And that, My loves, is a very great and under-appreciated secret of surviving in My work for the long haul. You absolutely have to do it.
That to Me is what spirituality is all about—playing by God's rules and attempting to run your life in a more heavenly fashion.
136. (Mama:) In order to really make the switch to working in the spirit, and having a clear sense of priorities and the balance between what must be done in the spirit and what must be done in the physical, you have to learn to see things in the spirit; you need to become more spiritually minded. When you have a good sense of spiritual priorities, you work on those things that are really important and have far-reaching effects, and you reap fruit that remains. The Lord summed it up pretty well when He said,
137. "I show you the way to preserve the things you do, and to make your life worthwhile in the grand scheme of things. I show you methods and modes of operation that will have eternal benefits. But they take time‚ they take faith, and they take your obedience and cooperation. When you believe, obey, and cooperate, I count this as spirituality. When you lean to your own understanding, I call this carnality."
138. In this next message the Lord explains what true spirituality is—and it's really just another way of explaining the difference between working in the flesh and working in the spirit. It's the difference between doing the things that you think are important and doing the things that the Lord knows are important, that will last‚ that will propel you forward and reap great fruit.
139. (Jesus: ) True spirituality is really just taking Me at My word. From the time I came to Earth till now‚ I have been preaching and teaching the heavenly way versus the way of the world. There's been a tremendous amount of counsel given over all that time, and I keep pouring out that kind of instruction through the New Wine and through your personal channel any time you ask.
140. Throughout all of it, I'm advocating the ways of Heaven; I'm restoring the true values and showing what's really important to the heart and mind of God, and what doesn't matter, because it's just carnal—something that's of the Earth that's going to pass on into dust along with the rest of the System and all the works religions of man.
141. The thrust of My messages, which include My messages of love and salvation for mankind, is that there's more to your lives beyond the realm of Earth. There's a whole world of the spirit, and I have forever been the bridge that can connect you to the spiritual world from the carnal world.
142. David said he was an archeologist, clearing away the rubble of the churches to get to the root of what the Bible really says and means. I'm an archeologist too, the Chief Archeologist, and the rubble I clear away consists of the mindsets and methods of man who has, from the very beginning, thought he's known better than God. From the first taste of the "apple," man has been predisposed to think that he somehow has better ideas about life and how to live it than the God Who created it all in the first place. And if you look at the totality of My counsel, you'll see that one of My primary messages and themes is that there's man's way and there's God's way; and while you have a choice as to which you'll live your life by, I'll always recommend the heavenly way, God's way. That to Me is what spirituality is all about—playing by God's rules and attempting to run your life in a more heavenly fashion.
143. When the way you live your life and the choices you make are dictated in a more carnal way, I can see so clearly how temporal it all is, how useless such choices are in the grand scheme of things. Thus I'm always advocating the move away from carnal operating toward spiritual operating. And to make that change in your own life—and it's a gradual process, not a one-time thing—the essence of that choice and change is to believe Me and to obey Me.
144. For example‚ I tell you that in spirit your prayer vigil is one of the most productive times of your day, if not the most productive. I, Who can see the eternal values attached to all things, know that this is really important, so I have advocated it over and over again. To believe, or to seek to grow in your belief of that principle, is what I would define as spirituality. It's measuring things by their spiritual value rather than their carnal value.
145. It's a bit like an exchange rate between two currencies. Your poor, pitiful earthly currency is horribly devalued. The exchange rate may be a million to one, but you don't always know this, because your tendency is to be rooted in what you can see‚ which is your current currency of carnality. I see that in spirit you can do all these things and expend all this effort, but in the end, the real value may only be worth one dollar in heavenly currency. Thus I steer you away from the efforts and acts that hold little eternal value, toward the ones that are actually worth something in the spirit.
146. To return to My example: Prayer vigil is really worth something spiritually. To accept this, and to obey and do it, is a move toward fuller spirituality, as you're believing Me when I say that it's more effective than an equal amount of time spent on your other work. But to skip prayer vigil, or to cut it short, is a move toward carnality; it's a short-sighted attempt to do something that seems to be worth a lot in your currency‚ but is actually worth very little in the heavenly realm.
147. There are an almost endless number of similar examples, and you'll find them throughout My Word and the counsel I give you day by day. As I said, this is one of My most frequent themes. I talk to you about the eternal worth of time spent with Me in the Word, the value of a saved soul, the importance of showing love‚ the far-reaching effect of time put into child training, the worth of the new weapons, and so on.
148. Belief in these things and obedience to do them is the right kind of spirituality. It's attaching the proper values to the right things. It's a fuller understanding of what things in life are really worthwhile and what are over-inflated‚ seeming to be worth something here and now but ultimately having almost no value.
149. The danger of carnality is always present, as it's so difficult for you to learn to see the difference between what is worth something and what isn't. Your tendency is to overvalue the things that produce immediate effects and action, and to lack patience for the slow work, the long-term, the things that are for the future, and the things that are unseen but take faith.
150. All along I'm here to help you. I'm your exchange broker, and I have published guidebook after guidebook on the nuances of the currencies of Heaven and of Earth, and I continue to provide you with personal consulting and advice any time you ask for it. But for this advice to do you any good you must believe what I tell you, invest in the right stocks and the right currencies, and put your money in the right places.
151. For every action or decision, there's a carnal way to handle it and a spiritual way to handle it. Or to make it even more clear‚ there is a heavenly way to handle it and an earthly way to handle it. One way is how God would do it; the other way is how man would do it. When you tend toward the carnal, you're doing things man's way. When you tend toward the spiritual, you're doing things God's way. It's really not more complicated than that.
152. There are few, if any, situations where I haven't already clearly explained what is the right thing to do, and which is the correct, godly choice. This requires greater faith to believe what I've already said, and less reasoning things out in your own mind. It takes faith to trust that My way will prove best, and obedience to go ahead and take the steps necessary to make My way happen.
153. Faith takes patience, and patience takes faith. This is because, without exception, My spiritual ways are more farsighted and thorough than your carnal ways. The steps I ask you to take require patience and faith, because you don't always see results as quickly as you might see from your carnal methods. But in the end‚ when that patience pays off, you end up with something that has actual value and worth, not something that rose quickly and fell even faster.
154. Anything based on the priorities of man is destined to perish. If man was formed from the dust of the ground, how can he hope to create anything more valuable than dust from within himself? The only things man can create or accomplish—and this includes you—that have any value beyond dust, are the things which are done of the spirit‚ by the spirit, and for the spirit. The works of man's hands will all return to dust in the end.
155. I give you a way out. I show you the way to preserve the things you do, and to make your life worthwhile in the grand scheme of things. I show you methods and modes of operation that will have eternal benefits. But they take time, they take faith, and they take your obedience and cooperation. When you believe, obey, and cooperate, I count this as spirituality. When you lean to your own understanding, I call this carnality.
156. And only I can judge in the end between two lives built on these separate principles. By the scales of man, someone who lived their life for carnal success, carnal accomplishments, or even by carnal justice can seem to have succeeded. But by the scales of God, only a spiritual life can be judged as worthwhile. And in the end, who is going to be opening the books and passing the judgment—man or God?
157. Think about this when you're tempted to pass over My ways for your own ways. Think about who is in a better position to make informed decisions about what is really worthwhile in life: Me or you?
158. (Jesus:) What is spirituality? What does it mean to be "walking in the spirit"? Does it mean that you walk around with your eyes closed and your nose held high? Does it mean that you spend all day on your knees‚ shunning contact with others? What does it really mean to be "spiritual"?
159. In the Family today, you can't afford to be walking in the carnal mind, because so much of My guidance and direction is spiritual and based on spiritual truths. If you're carnally minded, you won't get the up-to-date guidance and counsel I'm giving, because it can't be figured out in the carnal mind.
160. Just as My Word says, to be carnally minded is death (Rom.8:6)—death to your spiritual life, death to your channel, and death to your connection with Me, because the things of My Spirit cannot be carnally understood and don't make much sense to the carnal mind's logic base.
161. Take slowing down, for example. When there's so much to do, how could I possibly tell you to slow down, you often wonder. To the carnal mind, the correct thing would be to speed up, to work harder, faster, to put in more hours, to struggle to push the boulder up the hill.
162. What do I tell you to do? To stop, to get quiet, to meditate, to go slow‚ to pull back and to come to Me in prayer. You could say, "Lord, that's crazy! I mean, I know You're God and all, but if I stop pushing this boulder even for one second‚ it's going to roll back down and flatten me and all those who look to me to bear this responsibility."
163. To the carnal mind, My counsel makes no sense at all. That's why you've got to look at it spiritually and with heavenly vision. You have to let Me take you into the spirit to see My plan, and then you have to believe by faith that it'll work just because I said it will, even if it makes no sense to you, even if you don't fully understand it.
164. The main difference between spirituality and carnality is that you're not trying to figure it out on your own, in your own mind, tossing options back and forth and coming up with the best plan. Instead‚ you come to Me, you ask, you seek My guidance‚ you hear from Me‚ and you let Me guide you.
165. Even if you have to be in brainstorming meetings or you have to discuss options, if you're coming to Me and praying and asking My guidance and help, you can be doing this in the spirit and not in the flesh. You can be channeling My thoughts through you by checking with Me, asking Me for ideas‚ asking Me for input and, "Will this work?"
166. It comes back to the "flesh or spirit" question. Are you doing it in your own strength or are you letting Me do it in the spirit? Are you pushing so hard and slaving away but seeing little progress? Are you exhausted and burned out at the end of a day of pushing hard? Or are you quietly peaceful and trusting‚ knowing that I've got it under control?
167. Are you obeying the counsel I've given you, no matter how wacky or off the wall it might seem? Or do you say, "Well‚ that's all fine and good, but it's not going to work, Lord. Shouldn't we just leave Lazarus in his grave to rot? After all, he's been dead for four days. You couldn't possibly mean for us to roll away that stone, because he's deader than a doornail. The very thought that You'd raise him from the dead is laughable."
168. See what I'm getting at? There will be times when you'll just have to obey and do it because I've said to, even if you don't fully "get it" in the carnal. Sometimes it just is because I say it is. Remember, the worlds were framed by the Word of God (Heb.11:3), so basically they exist because I said they would. Got it?
169. You've got to take the answers by faith‚ even if they seem as if they won't work. Even if My counsel doesn't seem to make sense to you, you just have to believe it and act on it and put it into practice. You don't always have to understand everything I tell you. The carnal mind would love to understand everything and have it all squared away into little pigeonholes, but it's not going to be that way.
170. When you're truly working in the spirit, you will face impossibilities in the carnal mind that are instantly overcome and not even considered obstacles because you know in your heart that I will answer and come through. You aren't deterred, because you didn't even consider the possibility that you'd be defeated, because I said you wouldn't be.
171. I've gifted you and made you pretty smart, given you talents and abilities, but that counts for nothing in the spirit. All it really comes down to is following through and obeying what I say. You can be the dumbest person in the world and yet succeed through My power if you obey. That's the difference right there.—The carnal mind says you can't, but I say you can. And believing that I can is where you take the leap out of the carnal mind and into the spirit.
172. True spirituality is believing in the invisible‚ accepting and doing the unthinkable, and accomplishing the impossible on a regular basis through My Spirit and My power. It's relying on the spiritual weapons‚ on prayer, praise, and calling on the keys, more than on your own abilities. It's praying more for things to be done and for the answers that you need. It's living in the spirit more, believing in the things of the spirit, and rejecting the carnal-minded lies of the Enemy. It's obeying because I said to, even if you don't understand why. It's coming up against the "impossible" and laughing because you know I will come through for you, and that "impossible" is a lie of the Enemy.
173. To be spiritual means that you use the spiritual weapons on a regular basis and that you depend on them. You don't rattle off a prayer and then dig in and try to fix it yourself. Instead, you pray and then expect Me to do the work. You get desperate and ask Me to overcome the seeming impossibilities, and then you watch Me do the miracle.
174. It's letting go of the boulder and trusting that it won't roll back down and crush you. It's praying it up the hill, calling on the spirit helpers you need and asking them to put their backs to it and help you to push it uphill. It's overcoming the insurmountable through My Spirit on a daily basis. It's asking Me how to do things and depending on Me more.
175. Dwelling in the spirit isn't a work of the flesh; it's surrendering to Me and letting Me carry you through. It's working hard, but in the direction of getting desperate and asking Me for answers and for action on My part. It's depending more on Me than on your own abilities.
176. It's working in the spirit and by the spirit. It's trusting that I will work things out, and believing so firmly that I will that you refuse to move unless I've told you to. It's throwing the ball into My court and asking Me to do something about it‚ and then not worrying about whether or not I can handle it.
177. It's being so firm in your convictions that I am in control that you can trust Me and believe that Romans 8:28 does work and is for real. You don't try to tackle things in your own strength, because the spirit tells you that I will work for you and work things out.
178. It's believing My Word and putting it into practice. It's trusting, obeying‚ believing, and loving Me intimately. It's depending on and embracing the New Wine and the new weapons I've given you. It's riding the keys to victory every step of the way. It's abandoning your own strength and grabbing ahold of My vision and My counsel. It's letting Me carry you.
179. You have to look to Me and take My word for it. When I say it‚ it's true, it's going to work‚ and you believe it. It's not looking at what man says. When man says, "You'll sink for sure. It can't be done!" you do it anyway‚ because I said to.
180. Being spiritual is making your spiritual life a priority and putting Me first. It's getting Word time and conference days because I said to—not because you have a break in your work or because the work has slowed down, so then you take that time. It's taking that time in the middle of the busiest times, because you know that in order to get everything done, you have to put Me first and I'll take care of the rest. By trusting in Me and seeking Me desperately for answers every step of the way, you're going against the pull of stress and frustration.
181. Many people ask Me for counsel but then don't come back and continue asking every step of the way. Then they wonder why it didn't work out as I said it would. They call Me up on the phone and say, "How do I get to such-and–such a place?" And I say, "Take a left…" and then they hang up and don't hear My next instruction.
182. It's asking Me about everything and placing more stock and faith in what I say than in what man says. It's dreaming the impossible dreams, believing that the things that man says are impossible are simply going to require more of My power to accomplish.
183. The bottom line is that it's believing all that I've said in the Word and putting it into practice in your work for Me. Otherwise, you might just as well be System executives or entrepreneurs. The difference comes down to living My Word and obeying what I tell you to do, accepting the counsel I give you and acting on it no matter how it seems to your carnal mind. Got it?
184. Working in the spirit is simply choosing to take and to follow My viewpoint on issues or situations that arise. It's going My way. It's doing things My way. It's obedience to My voice.
Continued in GN 1194
Copyright © 2006 by The Family International
Art by Tamar