30 Days with the Word – Jan 23

30 Days with THE WORD
January 23, 2021

John 1:1-2, ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. He (the Word) was in the beginning with God (NKJV).’

Jeremiah 29:11-14, ‘This is God’s Word on the subject: “As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up, and not a moment before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on Me, when you come and pray to Me, I will listen. When you come looking for Me, you will find Me. Yes, when you get serious about finding Me, and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree. “I’ll turn things around for you. I’ll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you,”—God’s Decree—“bring you home to the place from which I sent you off into exile. You can count on it (MSG).”’

I had this all thought-out, what I thought I should share. Since the Lord laid this Word on my heart, I haven’t been able to express it as He said. Then, I hear Him in my spirit; He is telling me to just tell you.
So what I want to tell you is this: I was that girl. I was the ‘Jeremiah 29:11 girl’. I have it cross-stitched and embroidered on pillows and framed in pictures. It’s notated in my Bible and underscored in many locations important to me. But a bit ago, while the Lord was remaking me and reshaping my future, likely reinventing His PLAN for me since I didn’t listen very well the first and twentieth times, I reread verse 11, but the Lord said, ‘Check out also verses 12-14 in the Message.’

Well, even more than that Jeremiah-29:11-from-the-NIV girl, I am this MSG-Jeremiah-29:11-14 girl.

He said to tell you, that you must occasionally stop every other feed coming into your head other than the one you are most hungry for. It is called a feed for a reason, your social media fixation. Sister friend, when you are starving but you have feasted on everything else the world has to give you, please know you are malnourished for what your Father has for you. We consume inordinate amounts of junk whether in our mind, our relationships, our bodies everyday…we need food with ‘spiritritional’ value so that our consumption is for a cause and we don’t feel weary with wasted effort and lack of worthy sustenance. Gorging at the Facebook feeding trough will result in captivity and frustration and malnourishment. It has to be intentional, my sweet friend. It will not work for any of us if the effort is half there and if our hearts are half somewhere else. He wants a whole heart. He desires a whole effort. Do you know the best He had to give was His ONLY Son? Would you give up your ‘ONLY’ – of anything – for anyone?

He told me to also tell you this. I was not ‘all that’ nor did I possess everything. Not like some do. But for a little waif of a Jeremiah 29:11 girl who knew who Jesus was…BUT…didn’t KNOW Jesus, I was definitely hidden beneath the shadow of the Most High. That’s what He wanted me to tell you. When I got serious. When I got for real. That’s when everything changed. He showed up in a REAL-ER way than I can ever express. But He wanted something of me too. He wanted my devotion and He wanted my trust. For me, I had to want His presence and blessing more than anything else in my life. You say, ‘Miss Michelle, what if I don’t want ALL that, but I want a piece of Him?’ And I reply, ‘It won’t be long; you will want ALL of Him more than anything else, I assure you; just try it and see…a full heart-back guarantee if you are not 100% satisfied. You will find a patient and loving Father Who doesn’t disappoint because He cannot go against Himself.

I can also tell you that you are imprisoned even if you are unaware. You are a prisoner. Whether you are captive to yourself, or prisoner to your desires or to someone else, you are in captivity. This world enslaves you. The enemy of your soul longs to do everything to ensnare you in his web. But you also have a force that is reckoning on your behalf. He is longing instead to captivate you. And I found this nifty little truth: to be captivated by someone is enchanting and denotes willingness whereas to be captured by someone is harsh and against one’s will.
So when you find yourself in the place of captivity, ensnared and enslaved, remember you have a God Who longs to be found by you, Who intends to come for you. He intends to bring you HOME, out of your captivity, to set you free.