About a month or so ago, the Lord gave me a word. I saw a picture of a person raising the shofar to their lips and I heard the Lord say, “It is time for Pastor’s to sound the shofar in our churches.” Not literal, but representing the call to repentance and to battle. Along with this, the Lord has been speaking to me about restoring and reclaiming. I am having a difficult time putting words to all that is stirring in my heart.
As I write this, God is showing me a picture of His church. We are wrapped in the trappings of a mummy. When I googled the word “mummy,” the first thing I came across is that there is actually a type of restraint called “a mummy restraint.” It refers to a special wrapping of a blanket/sheet around an infant that prevents movement. The word mummy came from the ancient Egyptians who used a process called mummification. This process removed moisture from the body, leaving only a dried form.
The enemy has tried to restrain God’s people in many ways, sucking the life from the church and rendering it dry and lifeless. We have become tolerant to the things of this world, embracing acceptance in fear of offending anyone, and even worn ourselves out running programs and events.
My husband and I have been doing a lot of work around the outside of our house. The previous owners let nature take over a lot of the land. It would have been easier for us to just leave it that way. After all, it’s pretty in a “rustic” sort of way, right? However, upon closer inspection, one could see that the land was full of picker bushes, poison ivy dead trees and vines that were slowly killing off all that was good.
That is sort of how we have become as the church body – from a distance, everything appears good, but we have allowed things to come in that are slowly causing us to lose focus, etc.
The good news is that GOD is GREATER. He truly does break the power of sin and darkness. He gives life, and hope, and conquers all our fears. God is calling us to repentance and to battle. He is restoring the land and reclaiming territory.
Back to the example of our “house cleaning,” after nearly 60 trips to the dump and a lot of sweat and effort, the land our house sits on is more beautiful than ever. We are so happy that we did not “settle.” That’s God’s plan for our lives and for His church. He loves us too much to leave us the way we are. His plans are beyond anything that we could ever hope or imagine.
Take a moment and ask the Lord what part He desires you to play. Are there things in your life you have allowed to creep in that are mummifying you? Ask the Lord to reveal those things to you and to show you how to deal with them. Are you to come alongside and support/help others? Or perhaps you are to help sound the trumpet. Whatever your role may be, God has awesome plans for you and for those whose lives you touch if you simply listen for His voice and practice the art of “simple obedience.”
“3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4 then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. 5 Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’” Ezekiel 33:3-6
