Christy

Are you in a season of birthing?

Christy

Are you in a season of birthing?

Are you in a season of birthing?

Three strategies for delivery

  • By Christy Johnston

Are you feeling a sudden and intense pressure in the spirit and don’t know why? Are you wondering why it feels as though you have been placed in a pressure cooker of sorts? Are you feeling worn out and ready to give up, wondering if you heard rightly from God for this season? And if so, why does it seem as though everything is upside down? If any of this relates to you, then be encouraged. You are not going crazy and you have not missed God. You have in fact gone into labor to birth a new gift that God has prepared for you and you are not alone. Many are in this time of birthing right now. I saw a vision of multitudes across the body of Christ who were heavily pregnant (I saw both men and women – as odd as that may sound). They were pregnant with new mantles, new visions, strategies, and destiny.
I then saw a picture of an ultrasound of these ‘babies’ that they were carrying. Just as an ultrasound details the babies' bone structures and physical traits, I saw that these ‘supernatural’ babies of the hour were filled with the DNA of heaven with specific answers that the individuals and the earth alike are in desperate need of. Each ‘baby’ had a unique fingerprint, a unique imprint of answers from God’s heart for individuals, families, and nations. I saw these heavily pregnant individuals being ushered by angels into supernatural delivery rooms. I saw that many had reached their due dates, and some were well and truly overdue. Some were prepared for the births and intensely focussed, while others felt confused and scared. I then heard the Father’s gentle and reassuring voice speaking to those who were in fear. He spoke the words of Joshua 1:9; “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” He is with you, you are not alone, do not be afraid. I felt the Holy Spirit impart some strategies to my own life for this season of birthing that I wanted to share with you.


Strategies for delivery.


1. BE STRATEGIC ABOUT WHO YOU ALLOW TO SEE YOU IN LABOUR


The Holy Spirit recently reminded me of my own physical labor with my second daughter Sophie and how there are some valuable lessons that can be applied spiritually from the experience (don’t worry – I won’t get graphic). From start to finish, my labor with her lasted three days. You read that right - THREE DAYS. Looking back, I realize I played into some distractions that essentially caused my labor to last longer than it should have. During my earliest contractions, I allowed people into my home thinking it would help with the process. How wrong I was. While I lay on my bed in agony, I had a steady stream of individuals – people who I thought would be of help - came through my home laughing and pointing at my distress whilst helping themselves to my fridge, rather than encouraging me through it. At the time though, I thought they were just trying to help me get my mind off it, but looking back, I now know it was the worst possible thing for labor. It elevated my stress, prolonging the birth.
If you are in spiritual labor right now and you can relate to the intensity of pressure in the spirit, you need to be VERY strategic and intentional about who you allow to come in close at this moment. Labour and birthing – even in the spirit – are both an intimate time and a vulnerable time. If you have a crowd of people that have all access to your life, you are going to need to close the door to all but one or two strategic cheerleaders at this moment. You cannot have people degrading you and laughing at you as you go through the contractions of birth. You need cheerleaders in the delivery room, not fear-mongers, mockers and distractors. There will even be those who may appear good, but want to ride on your delivery. I’m not suggesting to be critical about every person, but I am saying – be strategic, you cannot have people draining your time and resources as you labor. You are going to need very strong boundaries and locks on the doors if needed, to keep anyone out who would try and distract you with all of their own drama. If not, you may end up with a prolonged and delayed delivery, just as I experienced. This will allow you to focus intently on the contractions and deliver what God has assigned to you rather than face delay or worse, still-birth.


2. BREATHE, BREATHE, BREATHE!


For the past number of days, I have heard a particular word on repeat in my spirit and that word is ‘focus’. The Holy Spirit is saying to you today, “FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS!” In a time of birthing, intense focus is required. After two days, I was finally admitted to the hospital, but when I got there, the newly built hospital was under-staffed and they were unable to admit me into a birthing suite. Instead, I was placed in a side-corridor alongside other women who were birthing, just like me, with only curtain partitions to separate us. Just when I thought I could finally focus; I was more distracted than ever by the sounds of other women in labor filling the entire corridors. It was then that Nate gave me headphones with gentle worship playing so I could tune out the distractions I was hearing and focus intently on my breathing. There is a reason you always hear people in movies coaching a woman through labor by saying, ‘breathe, breathe, breathe.’ It’s not just a saying, it is a direction of focus. No sooner did I begin focussing properly on my breathing, than my labor progressed rapidly and a door for a birthing suite was opened up to us and it was not long after that I gave birth – in the peaceful surroundings of a beautiful suite.
It’s likely that you are surrounded by other people in labor right now. You’ve probably noticed that you are surrounded by the intensity of their problems as others push through their own barriers and deliver the promises ordained for their own lives. But know this, you cannot labor for them, so again, you are going to need to ‘tune out’ the noise and focus in on what the Holy Spirit is breathing over you right now. What has He spoken? What are the promises God has declared over you for this season? Don’t lose sight of them in this pivotal moment. You are going to need to rehearse them, breathe them in deeply, and breathe them out. Speak them, fix your eyes on them and declare them. You are about to give birth to what has been promised, don’t get distracted by the intense needs of those around you. God will carry them just as He will carry you – but you NEED to FOCUS. Focus is FAITH in action. This is what Hebrews 11:1 directs us to do;
Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]
Interestingly, a definition for the word ‘focus’ says, ‘adapt to the prevailing level of light and become able to see clearly.’ Isn’t that amazing? Adapt your focus to what God is speaking – not everything else that is surrounding and distracting you. Take your eyes off the problems and fix your eyes on THE light and you will see clearly what is before you and OBTAIN what has been divinely GUARANTEED to you. As you focus, you will deliver the baby quicker than expected.


3. PROTECT THE PROMISE!


In the dreamlike hours following Sophie's birth, we were visited – uninvited I might add - by a very boisterous person (evidently, Nate and I had no idea about the concept of boundaries in those days). He came into our hospital room yelling, screaming and shouting and picked my toddler up in the air and was throwing her about in the room. I remember feeling as though I was about to pass out from the noise, following three days of delivery, it trigged me into a near-panic attack. Thankfully, my midwife happened to be in the room and immediately saw the pale look on my face and ordered him out of the room abruptly. So much so, he became offended. But she looked at Nate and I and said, “It’s fine for the family to come to see the baby, but Mum is just as important as the newborn. If you don’t protect this space, you’ll fall into depression.” I didn’t listen. In the days and weeks following her birth, we had yet another steady stream of people visiting, and I felt the intense pressures to be ‘up and about’ like normal, going to church on Sunday immediately following her birth, making coffees for all of our visitors – giving the impression I was a ‘do it all’ Mother who was all put together. But in reality, I was crumbling inside.
I feel this lesson is imperative for those of you in labor and delivery of your promises right now. Just as western cultures have depicted a narrative that modern mothers should be back on their feet in no time, there is also a subtle belief within the western church – that has a similar storyline, ‘the more you do, the better and the more effectual you are for the Kingdom.’ Whereas, I believe the Holy Spirit is speaking, just like the midwife – ‘PROTECT THE PROMISE! PROTECT YOUR TIME!’ You are important to God, and He doesn’t want you burning out in depression because you felt you needed to rush into the assignment once it was birthed or say yes to every opportunity that comes your way. I believe that now more than ever, we need to be intently focussed on what we are specifically called to do – we need to be nursing the ‘assignment’ and allow recovery and time. This is an era where the enemy is attempting to trap the body of Christ, first into immense amounts of distraction to both prolong the births of mantles and assignments, and even to cause stillbirths of promise. However, if he doesn’t succeed there, he will attempt to draw you into burnout. I believe God is protecting you in this season by preventing either to happen, but we also need to vigilant just as 1 Peter 5:8 states; ‘Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.’
Notice the enemy is ‘like’ a lion – which gives us keen insight into his strategies. Many lions hunt on their prey when the prey is giving birth. A time of birthing is a vulnerable time, so be vigilant to protect it. Breathe on the promises of God. Shut the door to all distractions… and protect the promise once it has been birthed. Allow yourself time to adjust and for the promise to grow. Don’t rush it. This is not a season to rush. For what you are about to birth will grow in the months and years to come into the weighty call and assignment upon your life. You are birthing destiny for the years to come.


Congratulations on the birthing of your promise 🥰

RELATED prophetic WORDS:

RELATED prophetic WORDS:

By Nate Johnston April 26, 2025
To the pioneers and forerunners who carry the Lord’s heart. To the remnant who are no longer following where man is leading, but are constantly seeking the Lamb - This is a word for you. This is a reminder of what God is speaking to us right now as we step into the new. The Lord keeps saying to me: “Build differently. Build differently. Follow Me. Build differently.” And He is persistent about this because we have been so used to building a certain way. Our mindsets have been shaped by old paradigms, and old blueprints of how we’ve done kingdom and ministry. But as we step into the new things God has placed in our hands, the challenge we will face is confronting the old mindsets. We will wrestle with old patterns, old methods, and old cycles, the ways we previously approached the kingdom, and God is asking us to break new ground and step into a whole new mindset and focus. The word over you is simply—birth differently. And here’s the difficult part; When you birth differently, many around you will say you’re doing it wrong. They will think you are being rebellious, foolish, or unwise. But unless we build His way and steward His mission His way, we risk birthing an Ishmael - something man-driven and powerless. We must build according to the blueprint of God’s heart, not according to proven systems and methods that have lost the wind of His Spirit. “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” (Psalm 127:1) That has been the trap for many in the past seasons. John the Baptist built differently. He birthed his ministry outside of the city walls. He rejected the religious systems and Pharisaical traditions (Luke 3:2-6). He did what looked simple, grassroots, even foolish, something many would have dismissed as just a momentary uprising, yet it caught fire. John was preparing the way of the Lord. He was awakening people to the transition between old and new wineskins, between old and new covenants. It says, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” (Matthew 11:12) John ignited a holy hunger for true kingdom realities that had been buried under religious systems. You, remnant, were not called to tame. You were not called to maintain the status quo. You were called to lead the Church into her truest expression of relationship, intimacy, and becoming the true Ekklesia (Matthew 16:18). This is why we must build differently now. Because as we build, we are also unbuilding. As you establish what God is birthing through you, you are simultaneously dismantling what has been unhealthy, dysfunctional, and demonic. As you build healthy communities, you are unbuilding years of conditioning where the Church was a clubhouse or a hierarchy. As you build healthy leadership, Davidic leadership, you are unbuilding years of Saul-like leadership marked by control, fear, and intimidation. As you build healthy mothering and fathering, you are unbuilding years of Jezebelic influence that has sat at the tables of our ministries. As you build healthy prophetic culture, you are unbuilding the orphan spirit and celebrity-driven ministry. As you lead people to behold the Lamb, you are unbuilding the false idols, false gospels, and false “Jesuses” that have captivated the Church’s gaze. This is why birthing differently takes courage. It takes faith. It takes complete surrender. This week, I felt strongly not just to deliver this word, but to pray for you that God would begin giving you clear dreams and divine redirections. He is going to show you where you need to build differently. Where you must not fall back into the familiar patterns of the past. He will give you dreams, conviction, clarity, and specific next steps. And as you step out in obedience, you will feel the wind of the Holy Spirit behind you. And I prophesy that He will surround you with the right people, resources, and everything you need to walk into the fulfillment of this promise, In Jesus’ name! 
By Nate Johnston April 26, 2025
Many right now are in a deep healing moment but while it’s intense and consuming, God is not punishing you - He is healing you. He is restoring you from years of suppressed soul trauma and pain from your pioneering journey. This is what it looks like: • Pain is coming to the surface - pain you forgot was even there. • Your dreams are stirring up old topics, old wounds, unresolved memories. • God is bringing back to mind things you had buried long ago. You feel like you are in a midlife crisis but it’s just a mid - calling shift. Out of the old and into the new. You feel deeply resentful of people and people from past seasons—forgive! • You feel discontent and frustrated with everything you once tolerated. • Your emotions feel out of control - volatile, raw, and unpredictable. • You have no patience for meaningless conversations and time-wasting activities. • Surface-level relationships feel intolerable - you crave real connection or none at all. • You feel like you lost your purpose and passion - but it’s not lost. It’s being reshaped. • You are in a deep, holy reset. • Your mind feels messy, unanchored - like you’re not who you used to be. • You don’t know how to “connect with God” the old way anymore and that’s okay. • You need to talk, to vent, to release and you’re not apologizing for it anymore. • You are done putting a religious spin on pain. • You just need to do normal things without feeling guilty. • Kingdom activities that once excited you feel empty and dry. • Old betrayals, mistreatment, and buried anger are rising - the toxins are being purged. • You have no capacity left for anything fake, performative, or superficial. This is not backsliding. This is healing. God is not calling you backward - He is calling you deeper. You are shedding old survival mindsets. You are shedding old wineskins. You are making space for a new move of His Spirit in your life. It’s messy because it’s real. It’s heavy because it’s holy. It’s painful because it’s working. You are being healed and re-formed for a new chapter of healing and WHOLENESS. Stay in the process. Let healing do its work. Let the HEALER do His thing. New life is coming. 
By Nate Johnston April 26, 2025
To the pioneers and forerunners who carry the Lord’s heart. To the remnant who are no longer following where man is leading, but are constantly seeking the Lamb - This is a word for you. This is a reminder of what God is speaking to us right now as we step into the new. The Lord keeps saying to me: “Build differently. Build differently. Follow Me. Build differently.” And He is persistent about this because we have been so used to building a certain way. Our mindsets have been shaped by old paradigms, and old blueprints of how we’ve done kingdom and ministry. But as we step into the new things God has placed in our hands, the challenge we will face is confronting the old mindsets. We will wrestle with old patterns, old methods, and old cycles, the ways we previously approached the kingdom, and God is asking us to break new ground and step into a whole new mindset and focus. The word over you is simply—birth differently. And here’s the difficult part; When you birth differently, many around you will say you’re doing it wrong. They will think you are being rebellious, foolish, or unwise. But unless we build His way and steward His mission His way, we risk birthing an Ishmael - something man-driven and powerless. We must build according to the blueprint of God’s heart, not according to proven systems and methods that have lost the wind of His Spirit. “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” (Psalm 127:1) That has been the trap for many in the past seasons. John the Baptist built differently. He birthed his ministry outside of the city walls. He rejected the religious systems and Pharisaical traditions (Luke 3:2-6). He did what looked simple, grassroots, even foolish, something many would have dismissed as just a momentary uprising, yet it caught fire. John was preparing the way of the Lord. He was awakening people to the transition between old and new wineskins, between old and new covenants. It says, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” (Matthew 11:12) John ignited a holy hunger for true kingdom realities that had been buried under religious systems. You, remnant, were not called to tame. You were not called to maintain the status quo. You were called to lead the Church into her truest expression of relationship, intimacy, and becoming the true Ekklesia (Matthew 16:18). This is why we must build differently now. Because as we build, we are also unbuilding. As you establish what God is birthing through you, you are simultaneously dismantling what has been unhealthy, dysfunctional, and demonic. As you build healthy communities, you are unbuilding years of conditioning where the Church was a clubhouse or a hierarchy. As you build healthy leadership, Davidic leadership, you are unbuilding years of Saul-like leadership marked by control, fear, and intimidation. As you build healthy mothering and fathering, you are unbuilding years of Jezebelic influence that has sat at the tables of our ministries. As you build healthy prophetic culture, you are unbuilding the orphan spirit and celebrity-driven ministry. As you lead people to behold the Lamb, you are unbuilding the false idols, false gospels, and false “Jesuses” that have captivated the Church’s gaze. This is why birthing differently takes courage. It takes faith. It takes complete surrender. This week, I felt strongly not just to deliver this word, but to pray for you that God would begin giving you clear dreams and divine redirections. He is going to show you where you need to build differently. Where you must not fall back into the familiar patterns of the past. He will give you dreams, conviction, clarity, and specific next steps. And as you step out in obedience, you will feel the wind of the Holy Spirit behind you. And I prophesy that He will surround you with the right people, resources, and everything you need to walk into the fulfillment of this promise, In Jesus’ name! 
By Nate Johnston April 26, 2025
Many right now are in a deep healing moment but while it’s intense and consuming, God is not punishing you - He is healing you. He is restoring you from years of suppressed soul trauma and pain from your pioneering journey. This is what it looks like: • Pain is coming to the surface - pain you forgot was even there. • Your dreams are stirring up old topics, old wounds, unresolved memories. • God is bringing back to mind things you had buried long ago. You feel like you are in a midlife crisis but it’s just a mid - calling shift. Out of the old and into the new. You feel deeply resentful of people and people from past seasons—forgive! • You feel discontent and frustrated with everything you once tolerated. • Your emotions feel out of control - volatile, raw, and unpredictable. • You have no patience for meaningless conversations and time-wasting activities. • Surface-level relationships feel intolerable - you crave real connection or none at all. • You feel like you lost your purpose and passion - but it’s not lost. It’s being reshaped. • You are in a deep, holy reset. • Your mind feels messy, unanchored - like you’re not who you used to be. • You don’t know how to “connect with God” the old way anymore and that’s okay. • You need to talk, to vent, to release and you’re not apologizing for it anymore. • You are done putting a religious spin on pain. • You just need to do normal things without feeling guilty. • Kingdom activities that once excited you feel empty and dry. • Old betrayals, mistreatment, and buried anger are rising - the toxins are being purged. • You have no capacity left for anything fake, performative, or superficial. This is not backsliding. This is healing. God is not calling you backward - He is calling you deeper. You are shedding old survival mindsets. You are shedding old wineskins. You are making space for a new move of His Spirit in your life. It’s messy because it’s real. It’s heavy because it’s holy. It’s painful because it’s working. You are being healed and re-formed for a new chapter of healing and WHOLENESS. Stay in the process. Let healing do its work. Let the HEALER do His thing. New life is coming. 
By Nate Johnston April 23, 2025
I have a prophetic word for those who have grown up under the demonic agenda of Jezebel, and for those raised in narcissistic environments and battled it their entire lives. Yes, the spirit of Jezebel has always had a target on your back because of who you are... Like Agent Smith from The Matrix, Jezebel keeps showing up, manifesting through different people, personalities, seasons, assignments, and alignments to take you out. It’s been the greatest battle of your life: figuring out how to steward your calling, how to be a voice in the midst of relentless attacks and constant attempts to cancel your calling. This spirit has tried to silence you, shut down your voice, reject you, belittle you, isolate you, and keep you in a cave. She’s tempted you to sugarcoat your words, dilute your message, and shrink your fire so you didn’t keep getting in her cross fire. I know the price many of you have paid for pioneering through this—for choosing health for your families, your marriages, and your future. I know the cost of refusing to tolerate her, season after season, and what you’ve walked through for the sake of not giving up on your calling. But in the hardest moments, you chose legacy again and again, yet it’s been costly. Recently, I was praying into this, especially in my own life, because I’ve battled this spirit for as long as I can remember, I asked the Lord, “Will it always be this way? Will I always have to fight Jezebel?” As I was reading through 1 Kings 19 - 2 Kings 10, the Lord highlighted the story of Jehu, the one who took out Jezebel (2 Kings 9:30–37). And the Lord said: “You are the Jehu. This generation is the Jehu generation, rising to confront and take out this spirit.” But here’s the thing: Jehu overthrew Jezebel, but he didn’t reform the land. “But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord… he did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam…” 2 Kings 10:31 He overthrew the person, but not the pattern. He tore down the idol, but didn’t restore the altar. He left a void, and that void became an open door. Right now, the test of our generation isn’t just about calling out what’s wrong. It’s about restoring the priesthood, rebuilding the altar, and leading the Church back into true worship. Because without worship, Jezebel returns. I’ve seen it in dreams repeatedly, Jezebel overthrown, only to be welcomed back through broken, unhealed, and unprotected spaces. Because where there is no priesthood, no purity, and no presence, she comes back to rule. So I asked the Lord, “What is the key?” He said: “Joash.” The name Joash means “The Lord has given.” The Lord said: “The generation of Joash and Jehoiada is now upon you.” Here’s what that means: Jehu may have exposed Jezebel but it was Joash and Jehoiada who removed her legacy. Athaliah, Jezebel’s daughter, rose to power in Judah after Jezebel’s death (2 Kings 11:1–3) . She was a generational extension of her mother’s spirit. But Jehoiada the priest preserved Joash, hiding him in the temple for six years. When the time was right, they overthrew Athaliah in the temple (2 Kings 11:13–16). That was so prophetic because they didn’t just confront the fruit of Jezebel they killed it in the place of worship, as a declaration: “We are taking this place back for the Lord.” They then led a revival of covenant and worship in the land (2 Kings 11:17–18), restoring God’s people to their true identity. And this is the battle we have today. We are not just confronting Jezebel, we are confronting her legacy, her influence, her strongholds in families, marriages, churches, and systems. But we can’t stop at exposure. We must rebuild the altar, restore the presence, and model the priesthood again. But here’s the word for you overcomers - the pioneers, the forerunners, the ones who refused to bow: You are not doomed to fight Jezebel your whole life. God is raising up a Joash generation, sons and daughters the Lord has given who will see and walk in the fruit from your persistence in battle, because you refused to tolerate Jezebel and have prevailed! Now because of you the next generation won’t face what you faced, because you confronted it, took it down, and established healthy! But here’s the key: You must restore your home, your marriage, your inner world into a lifestyle of worship and the right affections. You must refill the void with presence and priesthood. When we do that, we not only evict Jezebel, we close the door for good. And that’s Joash - living in the fruit of victory with no landing pads for the enemy. No more idols. Compromise. Other lovers. Just Jesus again. So the promise over you is this: You’re stepping out of the weariness. You’re stepping out of the endless fight. You’re stepping out of the cave. And you’re stepping into the fruit of obedience. You’re about to see legacy break forth in your children and those around you. You’ve walked through rejection, isolation, intimidation, and endless assassination as this spirit that tried to shut you down at every turn. But you didn’t bow. You didn’t break. And you prevailed. And now the Lord says - You’re stepping out of the fight and into the fruit. Because you chose wholeness over generational dysfunction. Because you confronted what others tolerated. And because you refused to shut down and be walked over. Your children will know peace where you knew warfare. They’ll grow up in safety, freedom, and peace because you tore up the contract you were born into and started a new bloodline. You were the target, but now you have become the testimony.  You’re going to watch a generation walk in peace where you’ve known warfare. Because you chose to fight, they will be free. So in the days to come watch as you begin to see FRUIT where you only encountered the FIGHT because the tide is shifting mighty ones and you have overcome! “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” —1 John 4:4
By Nate Johnston April 22, 2025
I want to release a word of faith and authority over you as we begin this week. As I was praying over this week, I kept seeing this image in front of me of a person that was stuck in a corner with no way out, and arrows were flying at them from all sides. I instantly discerned that what I was seeing was someone who had been in a season where they felt very much like their calling had somehow made them feel like they’ve just been through constant assailing by the enemy, with constant arrows from all sides. Thats where you have felt exposed. That’s where you have felt bombarded. You felt like you’ve just been attacked from every single angle. Then I began to really feel like it was similar to the scripture that says: “But this is a people plundered and looted, all of them trapped in pits or hidden away in prisons. They have become plunder, with no one to rescue them; they have been made loot, with no one to say, ‘Restore!’” — (Isaiah 42:22, NIV) I began to feel authority rise up in my voice. I began to feel an authority saying, “No! This is injustice. This cannot happen. This must turn around now!” Then I began to prophesy: “Restore in the name of Jesus! Restore in the name of Jesus! Restore in the name of Jesus!” As soon as I said that, Deuteronomy 23:5 came to mind, where it says that every curse turns into a blessing. So I began to prophesy: “Lord, every curse will turn into a blessing. Every curse will turn into a blessing. Every single assignment of the enemy will turn into a blessing. Every area of robbery, every area of financial hardship, every area where the enemy has come after finances, after health - God is going to turn it all around.” And that’s when it hit me - THIS IS UNCTION OF A TURNAROUND! It’s the sensing that things had to shift! I began to prophesy: “Turnaround now in the name of Jesus! Turnaround now in the name of Jesus!” As I began to declare this, I began to see things beginning to shift in the atmosphere. Then suddenly I began to hear all this chatter in the spirit of people who had been worn down mentally to the point where they no longer believed that God could turn these situations around. And I suddenly realized the key: God is wanting to shift and turn around situations right now, but the enemy has worn down your authority and your faith to the point that you no longer believe He can do it. Hope deferred has crept in to such a degree that it’s made it feel impossible that God could move. And so I feel that even right now, God is coming against those mindsets. He’s coming against the fear. He’s coming against the intimidation of the army. He’s coming against the hope deferred that constantly makes you feel like nothing will be able to shift or turn around. He is restoring in you a boldness and authority to begin to speak to the things around you and cause them to be removed and those mountains around you to be cast into the sea. And that’s what God is doing this week. He is hitting up against your mind and the foreboding keeping you captive. You’ve been looking at the obstacles you’re facing right now in your finances, health, marriage, and everything else, and they look like mountains. The Lord says, “Where has your faith gone? Where has your authority gone? Where has your boldness gone? I am your protector. I am your provider. I am looking after you and watching over you. Yes, the war has been constant against you. Yes, the enemy has been trying to wear you down. But He says to you “this week, I want you to do what David did - and strengthen yourself in me!” “I want you to step out of the place of faithlessness and cowering, out of begging for the crumbs under the table” “I want you to shift your mindset, and as you shift your mindset, I’ll shift your circumstances!” “Even right now, begin to break every agreement with fear” “Break every agreement with hopelessness and despair that’s caused you to stop dreaming” “It’s caused you to drop your vision in the dust” “It’s caused you to stop wearing your mantle and slip back into survival mode in a time where I want you to thrive and dream with Me” Then I was reminded of something so special to us. Over the years we’ve experienced this strange but beautiful phenomenon in our lives. Whenever we’re in the thick of spiritual warfare, when we feel like we’re being preached at by our circumstances - that’s when God brings us a sign of His nearness. It happens like clockwork. But it’s so simple that you could miss it if you aren’t childlike. We see ducks in twos and they show up in odd places, at odd times. It’s always just when we’re beginning to feel overwhelmed or discouraged. It’s God’s subtle reminder: “I see you. I’m with you. It’s not over.” But this year, on our anniversary, it was different. Two doves appeared on our back fence and they stayed for a full week. It was as if God was saying: “Watch ME turn this around! Not by night nor by power!” And even though we were still in the middle of the storm the breakthrough hadn’t come yet His goodness showed up as a downpayment. Sometimes, the sign isn’t the full breakthrough, but it’s the reminder that He hasn’t forgotten you, and that the turnaround is closer than you think. There are many right now trying to ask God, “Where are my next steps?” but you’re not thinking with faith, you’re thinking with fear. And the Lord says: “It’s time to break that off. I’m reversing everything that’s come against you, and I’m turning it. And some would say, ‘Could this turn in a day?’ Yes, it can turn in a day. And the Lord says “you will watch in this season, as you partner with Me again not with the accuser, not with fear, not with lack but as you choose to partner again with Me, “You will see every single obstacle and every mountain around you crumble into the sea” But you need to partner with Me again. Will you partner again with My Spirit and reject the patterns and mindsets of this world? It is time to step back into a mind-renewal season that actually brings about the shifting of circumstances. Because the fruit of worry is actually causing that which you fear to come to you. But as you shift out of that, It will cause the fruit of your renewed mind to be that you see the kingdom of heaven invade your world, your lifestyle and you’ll see things shift around in a short period of time.” So give me your heart and mind and I’ll turn around the things around you that have tried to do in your strength and failed, and silence the storm”