The Kingdom of Heaven is At Hand

“What day is it?” 

All shout: “TODAY”

“What time is it?”

All shout: “NOW”

 

The above was a chant we would do when I was at G42 in Spain for my 9 month discipleship program.

 

The point was that the only time we have is now in this present moment and if the Kingdom of Heaven is actually AT HAND, what are we going to do to partner with God to bring Heaven down to Earth? 

 

If the gift of the present moment is really all we ever have, what will we choose to do with it? With the Here and Now?

 

Lately over the past 1-2 months, I’ve felt an ACCELERATION in my spirit. There’s a MOMENTUM in the spiritual realm and God is moving. The AND SUDDENLIES are piling up. Now, of course, we know that God is always moving but sometimes He just shows up and plain SHOWS OFF. Sometimes, it’s more apparent that He’s moving and doing a new thing and you’d have to be obtuse or blind to miss it. That’s how it is in my life currently and corporately I’ve heard this echoed among other Spirit-led believers. 

 

Truly, I am so overwhelmed by His goodness and all the myriad of little things He’s doing lately that I honestly can’t keep up. I still haven’t been able to capture everything in my notes app on my phone because He’s just doing so much so fast. Do I understand everything He’s doing? Or agree with it all? Well, no. But He’s God and it’s my job as a queen in His kingdom (Remember all His sons and daughters are kings/ queens according to Revelation 1:6, Revelation 5:10, Proverbs 25:2, etc; He is the KING OF kings) to trust His workings in my life and His plan but it’s equally my job to partner with Him in what He’s doing. He calls us His CO-HEIRS in Christ (Romans 8:16-17). So we have authority to reign on earth and cultivate Heaven on earth in the here and NOW. 

 

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. John 14:12

 

Jesus said All authority on heaven and earth has been given to me (Matthew 28:18) and He’s given us that authority since He took back the keys to the Kingdom (that Adam had forfeited in the garden) from Satan when He descended into Hell and rose again on the 3rd day.  So, by His Holy Spirit that He’s placed as a deposit in us (Ephesians 1:13-14), we are EMPOWERED to rule and reign (Revelation 5:10) on the earth as His ambassadors to usher in the Kingdom and bring people into relationship with the King. For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17). 

 

Lately, this verse has been sticking with me:

 

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, and the glory of kings to search it out.

Proverbs 25:2

 

Now, the Lord does not conceal/ hide things from us to be cruel or confusing (He’s a God of Order not chaos) but for our edification and to draw us closer to Him and for our good.

 

Just as parents hide eggs for their children around Easter in anticipation of watching their kids’ faces light up with joy as they hunt for and find each egg, so the Lord hides treasures everywhere for us to find if we just look and seek Him in all things.  Life is a scavenger hunt and He’s the best at hiding amazing surprises around every corner if we open our eyes and heart to see. 

 

So, for me, I sense Him doing so much and He’s hiding all these clues for me to find but it’s my duty to first NOTICE the clues/ treasures/ gifts/ miracles and then second to search out the matter and ponder these things and come to Him and ask Him His perspective on the matter so I can grasp what He’s teaching me and connect with His heart and be encouraged that He really is working ALL THINGS for my good. 

 

But, that takes time and intentionality. We have to get away and spend time with the Father and listen to His still small voice. We have to make note of all the things so as not to forget the testimonies in our lives and to acknowledge all the blessings He’s pouring out over us. Just as the Israelites took stones from the middle of the Jordan River to be a memorial of how the Lord parted the Jordan so they could cross over on dry land, so we must record the ways the Lord is moving in our lives. For we overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony (Revelation 12:11). As we share what amazing beautiful miraculous things the Lord is doing in our lives, we overcome the enemy and we serve as witnesses of the kindness of God that leads men to repentance (Romans 2:4).

 

For a sure-fire way to access joy in our lives (And doesn’t everyone want joy??) is to cultivate gratitude in our hearts. And a way to cultivate gratitude is to meditate on the goodness of God in your life right now, in the past, and even what you anticipate with holy expectation (hope) that He will do in the future.  Nothing gets you bubbling over with joy like declaring/ singing His praises and pondering His goodness in your life. Psalm 100:4 says to enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. 

 

So, my challenge for you is to put on your lenses of WONDER and open the eyes of your heart and your physical eyes to all the Lord is doing in and around you.  Come to Him and ask Him His perspective and commune with Him and ask Him the hard questions. Do your due-diligence and search out the matter and involve Him in the process for He loves to reveal things to His children but He often waits for you to seek Him out for He wants RELATIONSHIP with you. And go ahead and thank Him for all He is doing and WILL do. Partner with Him and declare out His truths and speak out loud the prophecies over your life and meditate on and recite the Scriptures and speak out the promises He’s made to you with a heart of thankfulness as if IT’S ALREADY DONE because He is not a man that He should lie and He shall SURELY fulfill His promises to you. All His Promises are YES AND AMEN in Jesus. 

 

No time like the present my friends! And what better time to start intentionally doing all these things than at Christmas?  I mean Jesus really IS the Reason for the Season!

 

Love you all!

 

All my heart,

Raina