Due Seasons

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Galatians 6:9 KJV

As God strips us and equips us for the calling He has placed in us, we experience times of restlessness, uncertainty and agitation. It is not always possible to see the path on which He has us traveling. As a matter of fact, it is highly improbable that He will allow us the luxury of certainty as we walk out His plan. This comes as a shock to many maturing Believers.

The Psalmist wrote, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." (119:105). He understood that the promises of God-both written and spoken-are often all the light we have to go by as we travel deeper into the presence of God. God has this wonderful habit of telling us what His plans are, yet He rarely shares with us how He is going to bring them to completion!

That is where faith and confidence in His character become so very important. If we have an intimate relationship with the God who gave the promise, then we need never question His faithfulness to carry out what He said.

For most of us, we don't question God's ability or His faithfulness. We question His time table! I am sure Joseph wondered when God would bring the dream he was given into reality. I am sure Joshua and Caleb wondered when they would take possession of their inheritance. While the disciples waited in Jerusalem for the gift of empowerment Jesus promised them, 380 of them left the city because they didn't discern the timing of it all. Only 120 men and women received the promise of the Holy Spirit. They had waited for God's time-the "due season" for the fulfillment of the promise!

The word 'due' is defined as, "...rightful, proper, or fitting." When a child is born before its due date, we say they are premature. Premature babies are high-risk, because they aren't yet ready to live outside the womb. They arrive before their, "due season". Premature babies require highly specialized care for months until they can live outside the protective sterile environment of the incubator.

When you induce the birth of God's promises prematurely, you end up with an "Ishmael situation"; a situation that takes a great deal of time and energy to sustain. We must understand that God has a perfect time and place for our promise to be fulfilled. He is holy. Holy means perfect, complete and righteous. If God is holy, then His plans are holy. He knows exactly when to put things into motion in your life. If, like Sarah, you attempt to bring God's promises to fruition out of His timing, you usurp His power, operate out of His will, and generally complicate things for yourself and everyone else involved.

You must trust Him implicitly and know that "...my times are in Your hands..." (Psalms 31:15). You must be confident not only in the character of a Holy God, but also in His impeccable sense of timing!

Paul told the Philippian church that he was, "confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (1:6 NIV). When you are confident in the timing of God, His inexplicable peace settles on you and you can endure, that is , faint not, in the midst of uncertainty.

My prayer is you will settle down today, knowing that a faith walk is just that: one step at a time into unknown territory. Know that you hold tightly to the unchanging hand of God, who knows exactly when you need to reach the destination He has prepared for you.

Rest assured, Beloved! He will get you there in due season!

Jennifer Barnes
UPLIFT! Editor

The Gift of Goodbye

" ...the Holy Spirit testifies in every city,

saying chains and tribulations await me,

but none of these things move me;

nor do I count my life dear to myself,

so that I may finish my race with joy."

Acts 20:23-24 NKJV

Once we find ourselves in the presence of God, in the Place of Preparation, God begins to gently pull away from us the habits and coping mechanisms we have built to get us through our 'chains and tribulations.' Paul, as he prayed and sought for God's will in this preparatory place, was told more hardships were coming.

In his case this meant persecution, imprisonment and abuse. The Holy Spirit did not tell him he was facing triumph and would see the salvation of many, he was told there was going to be trouble. But Paul tells the Ephesian believers, whom he was leaving, "None of these things move me!" In other words, he wasn't afraid, he wasn't panicking, he wasn't anxious. He knew he had to go forward, if the race he was running would be completed WITH JOY!

Once God confronts your strongholds and you begin to allow Him to minister to the hurts that have caused you to build these fortresses, you will find yourself in a weakened state. In this weakened state it's very common to experience anxiety and fear because of the old pain you have to confront. But keep in mind, without confrontation, you cannot experience transformation!

Strongholds are built to protect our feelings and to alleviate our fears as children and even as teens and young adults. Remember, a stronghold is a lie the enemy slips into our thoughts and beliefs that is contrary to the Word and character of God. Yet, in our vulnerable state when the lie comes, we find it easier to believe than the Word or even God! Our heightened emotional state is fertile soil for the tares to be planted in our hearts. The tares grow alongside the godly truths we learn and apply to our lives. God must send His Spirit to come and remove tares so we can cultivate the truth, not the lies that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God.

We must know that as the lies are exposed and truth is revealed, we have to part with what we have often assumed were "personality traits", "family habits", those things we label under, "I've always done that." But we must let them go to come closer to God and come into alignment with His Word and His righteousness. I call this "the Gift of Goodbye".

The Gift of Goodbye is activated and powered by the power of the Holy Spirit. In and of yourself, you cannot manufacture or 'work up' the Gift of Goodbye. It comes when it's needed and it is a tool that God gives you to help you extricate yourself from the twisted, perverted lies you have believed and put your faith in. Without the power of the Holy Spirit, we aren't able to be fully delivered from these habitual patterns of behaving. You cannot do this on your own!

Paul talks about the Gift of Goodbye in the letter to the Philippian church. He tells them in Chapter 3, "I've forgotten what is behind, and I'm straining forward into what lies ahead. I'm reaching for the prize, into what God has called me to, pushing heavenward in Christ Jesus."
(vs. 13-14 NIV)

Paul was determined to come up to the place God had for him and he was fully aware that it meant parting with the past and "straining" toward the future. Why use the word straining?
Strain has two different meanings. The first means to exert great effort, to labor. This meaning indicates that we must put forth effort to see these areas of our life confronted and dealt with; it is not an easy task! The second definition means to separate, as with a sieve. I find that interesting. It recalls the refiners fire at work in Isaiah. The fire brings the impurities to the top, and the goldsmith strains the dross off until the gold gleams and the goldsmith can see his reflection in the liquid in front of him. This is where we are prepared. This is the outcome we seek!

God has opened a window of opportunity in your life today. I firmly believe that as I write, some of you feel the Holy Spirit gently drawing you and whispering, "It's time to say goodbye!" Weep, cry, grieve and break before Him. He is simply empowering you to receive the Gift of Goodbye and leave behind things that just don't fit the life and the call God has prepared for you. It's time to push forward, come up and move heavenward.

A great reward comes with obedience, and there is nothing more satisfying that knowing God will deal with us as individuals Each of us is being wooed and courted by His Spirit into a closer walk, a deeper dimension of true intimacy and relationship with Him.

My prayer is you let go today. Trust your Heavenly Father to walk you through this time of transition and get into position to run this race ahead of you, unencumbered and FREE! Run like the wind friend, for the Spirit of God is pushing you forward into a new place in Him and His plan for you.

Be brave and know you do not run alone! Press on, Beloved!

Jennifer Barnes
UPLIFT! Editor

The Place of Preparation

"I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."
John 14:2-3 NIV

Are you actively changing the environment in which you find yourself? More often than not, the environment we're in changes us. This is a positive observation as we look more deeply at spending Quality Time with God. The more time you spend in the presence of the Lord, the more changes He will ask you to make!


It's called, 'holiness'. Holiness is not contagious. Holiness is a choice! God told Israel, "Choose life!" [Deut. 30:19] indicating that it takes a conscious effort on our part to move closer to Almighty God. The effort made is met with equal effort on God's part!


"Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." [Jas. 4:8] is a promise. When you open yourself to God and invite Him to invade your life with His goodness and grace, He rushes in and gets as close as He can! He begins to reveal Himself to you in this Divine Courtship and as you begin to know Him and trust Him, you get closer, too! Your desire to know Him feeds His desire to bring you closer and the relationship deepens. However, the closer you get to a Holy God, the more He's going to prompt you to make changes. You have to become holy because God is holy.


Holiness is not about do's and don'ts. Holiness is the character of Almighty God sweeping into your life to challenge every attitude, behavior, thought process, defense mechanism and emotional pacifier you use! They are called "strongholds" by the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians [10:4]. He tells us these things exalt themselves against the knowledge of God.


In other words, the Holy Spirit wants to come in and begin to dismantle the fortresses we have built around our souls and spirits. WHY? Because God cannot move people who are in 'lock down.' Remember, in lock down there is no hope, no faith, no progress and no growth. In lock down God is shut out and your are shut in and never the twain shall meet!


We all build strongholds. The why behind them can be a key to their demolition, but more importantly, you must acknowledge that in constructing these strongholds you have tried to do God's job for Him. You have tried to protect and avenge your self and have essentially told God, "I can do this alone. I don't need you." This exalts us and our abilities against the knowledge and truth of God.


Only God is qualified to protect your soul and spirit. You are always safe with Him and by the power in the blood of Jesus, you can be hidden with God until He gets you where He wants you to be: WHOLE!


Spending Quality Time in the presence of the Lord brings with it an invitation into seasons of change. It is a time of preparation. At His feet you can look at yourself without fear of ridicule or rejection, and He will gently confront every tactic and tool you've implemented to survive this life.


God calls you to go higher so He can take you into the Place of Preparation. His purposes and plans for you are good [Jer. 29:11]! I long for you to allow Him to get you ready for those plans and purposes!


My prayer is you will not balk at His invitation, but that you will accept it with gladness. God has the best already prepared for you. If you will yield to His loving hand, He will do whatever it takes to get you ready.


Accept His call to come up higher, Beloved! The choice is yours!


Jennifer Barnes
UPLIFT! Editor

The Importance of His Presence

My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. (Ex. 33:14 NIV)

"In His Presence, there is joy beyond measure..." That line from Geron Davis' song, "Holy Ground" has proven to be true as I spend Quality Time with the Lord. It's not only joy I encounter, but the entire character of God is revealed to me. The reality of His transforming love overwhelms me, and as I let down my guard, He changes me!

Many of us have kept our souls under lock and key for so long we cannot be at ease with anyone-not even our Creator. We keep ourselves in 'lock down mode'. Nobody gets in and nothing gets out. We find ourselves in isolation, detached from even those we should be closest to.

In general, people tend to be insecure, wounded and afraid. Even Believers struggle with feelings of insignificance and worthlessness. It is symptomatic of the society we live in today. God wants to bring you out of those old ways of thinking and behaving and into His fullness. That is the purpose of His presence!

In this portion of Exodus, Moses desperately wants to move forward with God's plans for Israel. The people, however, are in 'lock down mode'. They want to go back to 'used to be'. Their old ways are more comfortable, more palatable. God became angry. God pulled away. God then told Moses, "I'm leaving these people to their own devices."

Moses knew God's character well, because they had spent considerable Quality Time with one another. He knew there was no hope for Israel apart from the abiding presence of God Almighty. He appealed to God to stay with him and to stay with Israel, ultimately bringing them into the fulfillment of the promise He had made. Because of God's relationship with Moses, He stayed!

In 2008, God still has people He wants to take into places He has prepared for them. Nothing has changed since the Exodus. Only the abiding presence of God Almighty can prepare you for your prepared place!

As you spend Quality Time in the presence of the Lord, He will ask you to go forward. He will initiate changes in you that will make you squirm! You are going to want to pull back and stay put. You will resist Him. When you do that, God's presence will lift.

Fight the urge to remain! Fight the urge to embrace what is easy or requires little change or effort from you! God has a place of fullness awaiting you, but you can only get there by the wind of His presence!

My prayer is you will throw open your heart to Him with the confidence that you are secure and safe in Him. Once you make the choice to change you are already halfway there! God will carry you the rest of the way!

Rest in His Presence, Beloved!
Jennifer