sense – KARLA LEES

when it rains….

June 12, 2015June 12, 2015 Karla Lees

There is an awful lot of storming going on around right now.

Chaos attempts to take over previously peaceful shores.

Grey clouds try to block the sun as far as the naked eye can see.

Heavy weights falls on shoulders not strong enough to take the load.

When it rains this kind of rain, we need to drop to our knees.

We cannot break through to the Son until we admit how desperately we need Him at the first glimpse of the storm.

Only He knows whether it’s a hail storm, hurricane, tornado or sun shower headed our way.

Asking for His help ensures we have the One who sees what is up ahead guiding us through what is to come.

Instead of it being a weakness, our bowing down & pressing in close enables Him to strengthen us beyond our physical abilities.

We can come through and overcome any storm, any rain when God is with us..

All around me, I am seeing pain, hurt, crisis, instability.

I am also learning to sense God more in the moment, to depend on His rock solid stability, never-changingness, dependability, constant Presence.

The more the storm swirls & rages, the closer I try to be to God.

Because He is the only anchor that will remain.

For money changes hands in the blink of an eye, physical beauty & health fade over time, losses & grief are inevitable.

Only God remains above, through, in, with and beyond it all.

When the hard times rain, He will fill you with all you need to make it through.

He not only is with us in it, He covers us from its worst.

He alone is our safety & refuge in the storms of life.

Today the rains around me have accelerated into tornado warnings. The winds have picked up over the waves, which are beginning to rock.

I am holding my peace, because I am holding onto the Prince of Peace for dear life.

And He is holding me, my Anchor through the storms, through it all.

break the yolk

April 27, 2015April 27, 2015 Karla Lees

Yesterday, during worship, I had an encounter with God that shook me.

Literally & figuratively.

I have a few physical issues that have been bothering me, some of them long years of discomfort.

But i had a sense in that split second that although my physical issues are a big deal to me, there was something i needed to be set free from in my spirit. A foothold the enemy had been clinging onto, holding me back.

So when the call came to approach His throne and seek what He had for us in that moment, on that day- I answered, and obeyed His prompting.

I don’t remember much of what was spoken over me, because I had a warm but not fiery heat hit from the top of my head to the soles of my feet, and a weight of awesomeness fall. Its pretty hard to describe, but my senses were completely awakened and captivated by Him. All i wanted to do was to worship in His Presence with every fibre of my being.

What my mind recalls of what was spoken over me? The very answer to what my spirit had been longing for, but I had not known i needed so desperately until i heard His declaration:

The anointing is soaking in to cover my all, from the top of my head to the bottoms of my feet.

The yoke of slavery is broken.

Freedom of body, freedom of mind, freedom of spirit.

Nothing missing, nothing broken.

I am no longer under the heavy yoke of the enemy, but am one with my God, moving forward together in the freedom He paid so dearly to gain for us, for me.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:30 (ESV)

I felt something come to life within me after that time of worship.

I believe out of His great love, He can do the same for each of us.

Its time to wipe the yolk of the enemy off of our face, break free from his yoke, and stand firm in the position and calling God has for us.

No more shame, no more bondage, no more addiction, no more false guilt, no more hiding.

I want all He has for me.

He wants the same for us.

I believe inside each of us is that same longing, desire to be made whole.

When we stand at His side fully submitted to Him, the enemy will not be able to regain his footing in our lives.

The yokes he tried to place upon us will remain on his shoulders.

For we know Who wins in the end.

The yolk’s on him.

sense-ability

April 21, 2015April 21, 2015 Karla Lees

Pre-Note: as I am currently taking a week long intense Jane Austen course, it is likely that this week there will be blog posts influenced by the major themes we are studying. As she was a believer, and keen observer I am honored to be able to have such a writer continue to impact my writing, as I too desire to honor God in all I do as well.

Over the years, I have been accused of being sensible. Someone with a lot of common sense. Someone like Elinor of Sense and Sensibility, or Martha in the New Testament.

There are many times I would agree, but also moments where sense flees from me as I allow my passions to rise too high, and let my emotions dictate my actions….just as Marianne does in the same Jane Austen novel as her sister Elinor, or Mary, sister of Martha who abandons her housework to sit & wonder at Jesus’ feet.

I am awakening to the reality that balance lies somewhere between sense (reason) and sensibility (passion/spontaneity), and beyond.

I need more of His sense-ability.
Unlike Spiderman’s “spidey sense”, this is not an instinct, despite all of us being hardwired to sense God.

This moves us beyond reason, passion and our own abilities, into the supernatural…where He enables us to sense what He wants us to hear, feel, say or do.

Where we can know things we couldn’t otherwise know, like the prophets leading kings to defeat their enemies because God gave them the enemy battle plans through prayer & listening.

When we know we are to do something because we sensed His direction, even though it is something out of the norm.

One of our pastors shared how God recently healed her of a serious throat infection through her obedience to open her mouth, and allow God to touch it until it was healed.

How Peter saw a vision that confirmed he was to encourage ministry to the non-Jews, for they were part of His plan.

How Jesus knew where to go while He was hear on earth.

By plugging in to Him as the source for our direction, we can learn to sense Him in new ways, and grow deeper in love with Him as we learn more about Him in the process.

If God designed us,
Jesus gave His life for us,
and left Holy Spirit to be with us,
why should the fact He wants us to hear from Him directly be a surprise?

It is not about our ability, but rather His.

It is not about our worthiness, but His.

Its not about us, really. Its about His kingdom, His plans coming alive through us as we sense Him more, and follow Him where He takes us.

That is the kind of sense-ability we all need to help us balance reason & passion.

Not only will we draw closer to Him, but as we learn to increasingly sense Him, more of us can fall away to reveal more of His hand in our lives!