Gaining New Strength

A Year of Recovery by the Spirit

From now through the month of Sivan (mid June) we will continue to receive a new strengthening. No, I don’t have to make daily trips to the gym working on my abs. [you can if you want] This is metaphorical. God is doing this work HIMSELF. It is a work of the Spirit. God is doing something that is going to result in strengthening us in such a way that we will get our balance back. Our strength will increase. We will gain stability we haven’t had in a while. In the areas that we are weak, God is renewing our strength.

Often when we get a word from the Lord we immediately think, “What do I need to do?” I know I do. I’m an action oriented, project driven individual. If God is doing something I want to join in. I don’t like to sit idly by while someone else does all the work. I like to feel like I’m apart of it. So, when God said that the scripture verse from 1 Peter 5:10 applied to the Hebraic year 5783 I was both encouraged and a bit perplexed.

When God says He will do something all by Himself it is implied that the work He is doing is not dependent upon our efforts. When God says He is the One doing the work, it usually means what He is doing is something we are incapable of doing.

At this point we are in the second month of the third quarter of the Hebraic year 5783. (May 3, 2023) When I reflect on the year so far, there is something I cannot get away from. It’s the first part of that verse’ “after you have suffered for a little while…” The truth is something I would much rather skip over that part. At the very least, like any proper codependent, I would prefer to minimize the situation. To put it bluntly, God won’t let me. The previous couple of years were stressful and taxing.

The situation was unavoidable. It demanded more from me than what I had. I have a pretty formidable capacity for emotionally and mentally draining situations. I am an empath with patient tolerance for others weaknesses. The two and a half year stint that began at Passover 2020 hurled me into my most challenging season to date. At the onset of 2022 we were hit with a winter storm that left us without power for five full days. I was living in rural Virginia, caring for my 96 year old stepmother. Somehow we made it through. Within days afterward, I ended up with Covid, despite being vaccinated. To top it off I ended up with that long covid. I was dragging. I have had pneumonia twice. I have had respiratory issues my whole life. This knocked the wind out me like nothing else. I was exhausted. At the time though, I really didn’t understand why I was so depleted.

By the time we got to April, last year, my stepmom was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and was ended up on Hospice. At my all-time weakness, I now had an invalid to care for. Up until then she was pretty self sufficient. Oh, did I mention, she had onset Alzheimers. Weeeee. Okay, bringing this story forward; she passed in June of 2022. I spent the next four months emptying out the house. Did I mention that the remainder of my family was 900 miles away in Illinois?

Every step of the way, I got more and more drained. No matter what I tried I just couldn’t get a leg up on recovery. The more I tried, the harder it became. In October 2022, I left Virginia. I ended up at my son’s. It was supposed to be temporary until I got settled in my own place. Less than a week after arriving back in Illinois I contacted some kind of virus that knocked me down again. It wasn’t covid, but it was debilitating. For the next four months, it seemed every time I got my head above water, I got shoved back down again. My intention is not to exhaust you with my tale, but to paint a picture. This isn’t just my story. Nearly everywhere I go I hear similar stories, all equally as draining and crippling.

The Hebraic year 5783, began September 26, 2022. It was at that time that the Lord put 1 Peter 5:10 on my heart. I kept hearing the words, ‘after you have suffered for a little while…’ over and over in my mind. Within in a few weeks, I was back in Illinois, with my family. I fully expected to see restorative recovery begin. Despite believing God at His word and trusting Him to fulfill it, I was not seeing what I was expecting. I was expecting the exhaustion to ease. I was expecting my physical capacity to return. It didn’t. When I got prophetic words about strength returning and life force improving, I didn’t expect to still be struggling physically as much as I am. Yet, God is faithful to fulfill His word.

[And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you.]

Above is a collection of the images the Lord impressed on my spirit that apply to the roll out of 1 Peter 5:10 over the four quarters of 5783. I was seeing each quarter bringing another aspect of restoration based on this verse. This would culminate with the final quarter being the solidifying of a new foundation. One thing I know about the prophetic is that it isn’t an exact science. The word of God unfolds. Understanding of it becomes more and more visible by degrees.

The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.

Psalm 119:130

The light I have now is greater than it was seven months ago. I can look back and see how understanding has increased. I have greater understanding about things that were beyond my grasp last September. I still need much in the arena of physical recovery. But, I can bear witness to the work God has been doing.

That first quarter, (October through December) we were like a ship being brought into port after suffering great damage from a storm. The second quarter (Jan-March) was a time of being anchored, so that we were not completely uprooted, as yet another storm blew through. The winter months brought one unrelenting storm after another. The mental and emotional stress seemed insurmountable. Yet, the work God was doing by His Spirit fortunately held us in place. The winds of adversity blew like a hurricane. But God secured us so that we survived the storm.

During this third quarter, God is doing a work that will result in everything falling into place so we can stand on a new foundation. I kept getting the words, “Time to work on your core.” When you focus on core exercises, it trains the muscles in such a way that it leads to better balance and steadiness. Injury prevention, improved lifting ability, balance and stability are the result. It increases strength.

He gives strength to those who are tired; to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy. 

Isaiah 40:29 NET

Remember, from now until the end of Sivan (mid June), we will continue to receive this core strengthening. God is doing this work HIMSELF. The result of the work of the Spirit is going to be stabilizing to our inner man. He, Himself is imparting strength. This is a strength we could not have acquire on our own. It isn’t something we can do for ourselves. It is a gift of grace, given by the God of all grace.

As we progress through the remainder of this quarter I believe we will be going from strength to strength, until we are standing on a new solid foundation. This is the imagery associated with the fourth quarter of this year.

We don’t always see the work God is doing. His thoughts are vastly different than ours. His ways are so beyond ours that we often cannot comprehend His priorities. I think I need to be doing certain things. I want to get more work done. God’s instructions are not in keeping with my assumptions.

God is saying, “You need to rest and recover. You need to trust that I have all things working together for your good. I know what I’m doing.”

I want to put my effort into this work. I want to join Him in this task.

But His words are: “This is a time of recovery for you. If you do what I tell you, you will emerge from this season strengthened with a new strength. If you insist on doing things in your own strength you will just get weaker. Trust me. Lean on me. Put your faith in my grace. I have all you need. You will gain new strength again.

Rest assured, the God of All Grace is doing a work. He is doing this Himself. His word will not fail. It will not return to Him until it has accomplished what He sent it to do.

He sent His word, and healed them, And delivered them from their graves. ~ Psalm 107:20 JPS

Blessings, Betty

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