I HEARD THE LORD SAY, “IT’S EITHER ME OR THE CROWD.”
I have a very specific word for many people out there today, and it’s this: The Lord said, “In this season, it’s either Me you listen to, or it’s the crowd.”
In your past season, you listened to the crowd, and it led you astray in many areas. You’ve birthed Ishmaels and built the wrong things because you had your doors and windows open, and among the good people, the enemy also sent in decoys, people who were sent to rob you.
Now, in this moment, you’re experiencing the consequences of having open borders in your heart and life. You’re currently cleaning up messes from your past season that have been very costly. But here you are, in a moment where the Lord is actually filling you with fresh vision, clarity, and direction. He’s not only getting you out of the mud and the mess of the past, but leading you into a fresh season of hope, a Jeremiah 29:11 moment, a future, and a hope.
Yet, once again, you’re facing the same issue. In a time when you need to hear the word of the Lord and His voice alone, you keep looking to everybody else. You’re searching for who has a word for you, who’s going to speak into your life, who’s going to give you the discernment and direction you need. You’re looking for approval in all the wrong places, and that is setting you up for another crash - a 2.0 failure incoming in the days ahead.
I believe the Lord gave me this warning because it feels like a birthing season, and you need to know who is with you in that room. It’s not a season for the masses. It’s not a time for a large core group of friends. You need a few trusted ones. But above all, you need to be listening to the voice of the Lord for yourself.
You cannot live on secondhand information, on someone else’s feelings, opinions, or insights. You can’t continue to be swayed by charismatic people or those who act like they know what’s best for your life. You can’t keep casting your pearls before swine and allowing people to trample them.
You can’t keep being manipulated and controlled by people you’ve allowed in simply because you crave their approval. You want their affirmation, their guidance, their acceptance, but in doing so, you are forfeiting the role of the Holy Spirit, who alone is meant to guide you on the best pathways for your life.
Right now, the swirl you’re feeling is actually the swirl of witchcraft that, in many ways, you have allowed. The noise, the chatter, the people wanting information about you, these are familiar spirits rising up around you. It’s Leviathan, twisting words, confusing your path, and trying to lead you astray.
The Lord reminded me of a scene in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, where the characters walk into a forest under a dark spell. As soon as they enter, they become sleepy, confused, and lose their way because they can’t tell which way is up. They’re disoriented. The Lord said, “This is the assignment the enemy has unleashed upon the pioneers and those in an upgrade season and those being called into greater authority, anointing, and identity.”
He’s calling them higher, but their insecurities and their need for others’ approval are creating an environment of chatter and witchcraft. It’s causing confusion. It’s creating a realm of illusion, where what appears real on the outside isn’t what it is underneath. We desperately need discernment and wisdom in this hour to see things for what they truly are.
There are people in your life who are manipulating you. Some have created an illusion of loyalty and support, but they are either waiting for you to fall or hoping to benefit from you diverting your calling to serve their agenda. This is a moment to seriously consider who you are allowing to speak into your life.
This is a time to heed the word of the Lord, go small and simple, and hear His voice clearly.
It’s a season where we must reduce our circle, but above all, we must go back to the tent of meeting. We must get back on our faces before God.
Stop scrolling through social media hoping to find a word. Dive into The Word.
Encounter the King of kings face to face. Allow His glory to rest upon you, to mark you, to brand you, and to unshackle you from the things that have weighed you down.
Let your eyes be opened so you can see things for what they really are.
Finally, this is also a season where the Lord is saying, “Choose this day whom you will serve.”
We can’t keep serving man. We can’t keep elevating people above God in our lives. When we do, we abandon Him, disobey Him, and reduce Him to a philosophy. We must serve Him alone. We must know Him.
God is using this moment to expose false securities, hidden idols, and cracks in our foundations, places where we left windows and doors open for the enemy to continually rob us.
The Lord wants to take us from glory to glory. Yes, it’s been a difficult season of confronting messes and cleaning up. But I would rather allow the Lord to clean things up now than have them take me out later because I refused to lean into this moment.
Pioneers, this is the moment to ascend the hill of the Lord and recognize that not everyone around you is willing to go where you’re called to go. It’s time to hear the voice of the Lord for yourself again.
Say yes. Step into this next season.