It Is Time To Reopen God’s Gifts To You

Have life’s trails and discouragement left you feeling hollow?

Have disappointments in your life caused you to put your dreams and gifts upon a shelf?

Do you feel you will never sing the same way again?

It is time to reopen God’s gifts to you!

The enemy of your soul wishes for you to hang them up; shove them in a box, wrap them back up and hang them in a tree. There they will remain a constant reminder of what you could have been, how you disappointed God, or how the enemy has succeeded in your defeat.

This season, know that you are not alone and there is hope.

The writer of Psalm 137 describes a very similar situation. Israel had just been taken into captivity by Babylon. They felt as though their very foundation had been destroyed and dreams of their future were stolen; they were without hope and without their song.

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. Upon the willows in the midst of it we hung our harps for there our captors demanded of us songs, and our tormentors’ mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.” How can we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?

Harps in the Trees

For much of 2017 this was my song. Events took place in January of this year that seemed to knock me off my feet and stole the very air that I breathed. What was God doing? Although I knew He was with me, I felt as though the foundation of all the dreams and visions He had given me for ministry, freedom, and worship were stolen away. I was lost and I hung my harp in the willows.

There were a few of these Babylonian captives, however, that held on to the promise of their songs’ return. Daniel and his companions held fast to the promises of God and in doing so He lifted them up in the midst of this foreign land.

Although their ministries didn’t have quite the same shape as they had imagined, they found their foundation was not actually the place of their birth, but the Almighty Himself.

During this season I have had to lean upon one of my life passages from Act 17. Paul says here that the Lord knows right where we are; He actually is the one who sets our boundaries. Instead of feeling that I was cast aside (as the enemy tried to claim); I chose to view my circumstances as God expanding my boundaries. The dreams and visions I had to impact families and children with the Word and the power of God were still true. In fact the stage that God is putting me on is just much bigger than I had ever imagined and not confined by the walls of man.

Time To Make A Choice

Those taken captive into Babylon had a choice to make. They could leave their harps in the trees, give up and blend in to their new surroundings, hold a grudge and murmur about their captives, or cling to the truths they knew about God and become an instrument used to change the hearts of kings.

I don’t know about you but the last option seems to be the only option for me. I’m not quite sure how to get there from here, but here are some things that I do know:

• The Lord is my strength and my song; I will trust Him and not be afraid. – Isaiah 12:2
• His plans for me can never be stolen. – Isaiah14:27
• I can encourage myself in the Lord. – 1 Samuel 30:6
• I must hold fast to His promises because God is faithful. – Hebrews 10:23
• Although I may walk through the fire I will not be burned. – Isaiah 43:2
• This process of refining will lead to abundance in the Lord – Psalms 66:10-12

It is time to reopen God’s gifts to you

Pull your harp down out of the tree, pick up your pen, or put on your dancing shoes. Most importantly get out God’s Word and read it or pray it back to Him. It may feel awkward or even painful at first but press forward and I promise you will begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I am just starting to get there myself. I am in a place where I feel hope beginning to rise again and the song within me is being stirred. The Almighty, the great orchestrator of our soul, is poised for the concert to begin.

Hebrew 13:20-21
Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.