This world is filled with all kinds of people…
And of all the humans God created… He didn’t design any two of us to be the same.
He put within each of us, His own unique design—a “beautiful idea” of who He intends us to be—His idea of us, that has originated from deep within His heart. ?
We’re all shaped a little differently…
We’re all designed to have a unique perspective…a unique perspective that He wants to use to work through, infusing a unique part of His heart—His character into the earth.
We all have our strengths and abilities, and we all have our weaknesses.
God never does anything by accident.
And nothing just “happens” without there being any kind of depth to it…
He’s designed layers and layers of meaning and depth into every part of His plan.
And yet… even with all of our differences, our Creator desires for us to come into this place of being “unified” with each other as the body of Christ…. and to be unified with Him.
This takes some shaping. And He knew this. ✍? He designed this from His heart because He knew the shaping would be necessary and needed. ?
This “way” takes some grace. This “way” takes some forgiveness. This “way” takes some repentance—it takes some realization of the condition of our own hearts. This “way” takes humility. This “way” takes a lot of gentleness and compassion and grace.
This “way” takes some uncomfortable “uprooting”—it’s not pleasant, it’s not pretty— but it will lead to the most beautiful and glorious “building” and “planting”—it will lead to the most beautiful “unity” that can only come from the Spirit of the Lord… and it will grow and grow and grow…as we grow and grow and grow…what He’s wanting to grow within us.
“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”—Ephesians 4:1-6
But unity does take some “work” and “attention” on our part…
“Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.“—Ephesians 4:15–16
The enemy’s desire is divisiveness that leads to destruction…
…but God’s desire is unity.
“Unity” means, “the state of being united or joined as a whole.”
“Divisiveness” is defined as,
a tendency to cause disagreement or hostility between people.
How much of this “divisiveness” are we seeing in the world of social media?
How much of this are we experiencing in our world, within our churches, within our families?
The enemy wants to use the things we’ve got hidden beneath the surface in our hearts, even things that have been lying dormant—wounds, hurts, hidden sin….maybe we didn’t even realize they were there.
Oh these things seem to come out an the most “opportune” times…
The enemy wants to cause us to run off course…to take us into destruction.
But God…
But God knows us so intimately, He knows us SO well, and He loves us SO much….
That He wants to even use these “hidden things” —that as they rise to the surface, He’ll show them to us. He’ll reveal them to us.
“See that ugly thing? It was hiding there all this time. Ask Me to remove it, and let’s deal with this thing here and now, and for good!”
God has designed “purification” into His plan for us.
Purification has a purpose.
And it’s time to step into it.
And it may be painful, but the process of purification is taking us into things—plans that God has for us, that are more beautiful than we can even imagine. ✨
“Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.“—2 Corinthians 7:1
And while the enemy wants to use these things to destroy or to prevent the unity, God wants to use these situations as an opportunity to reveal to us these hidden issues within our own hearts... these things that allow the enemy a place to land, and a place to build his traps and schemes.
But God!
I feel like He is doing this in such a deep way in this season to prepare us for what He wants to do!
He so lovingly, and graciously, and gracefully allows us to see all the these things that rise to the surface so that we can let Him take care of the things that keep us from coming into a place of true unity.
A real, true, authentic, purified unity.
A purified unity that brings true life and abundant joy— the kind of unity that He can use powerfully, and miraculously, and gloriously!
“You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.”—1 Peter 1:22
Thank You, Father. Help us to be able to see the areas that are hidden within our hearts that could be giving the enemy a place to land, the places that could be allowing the enemy to build his schemes in the darkness. Shine Your light into our hearts, Lord. Forgive us. Help us to tear these things down—tear them out, Father… purify our hearts, that You may build in these places— And Father, thank You. Thank you for taking these situations and turning them into beautiful “opportunities”…. That we may be able to stand against the attempts and schemes of the enemy, and that we may be able to grow and to stand together as a unified body of Christ—ONE that can be used mightily for Your plan and purpose in the earth!
“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.”—Isaiah 54:17
-Heather ?