Possessing Your Personal Breakthrough

by Rod Christensen.

When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Revelations 8:1

It is a wonderful part of our Christian experience when the Lord speaks to us. As a result of this we feel confidant and assured, as if nothing can rain on our parade! His voice brings comfort and confidence, providing direction for our lives. If you are a prophetic person, you will love to hear your Beloveds voice. Many in the bible thought the same; there is no greater example than David.

Many of Psalms that David wrote reflect his passionate longing to hear from the Lord. Psalm 29:4-9 describes what happens when the Lord speaks:

The voice of the Lord is over the water, the God of glory thunders - the voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is full of majesty - the voice of the Lord breaks the cedars - the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness - the voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth.

Personally, when I have gone through very difficult times and all seems so very bleak, all it takes is one word from the Lord and suddenly all the darkness of uncertainty dissipates under the power of His intervention. He loves us dearly and Fathers knows that His voice will bring the necessary alignment of our hearts when we have been wind-swept by the storms of life. His all-powerful, life-changing voice will cause every difficulty, hardship and uncertainty to bow before His commands.

As a prophetic person the Lord will immerse you into times of wonderful revelation where His voice will come to you, and as a result of this, you will be bathed in the dew of His presence, the very substance of heaven. A word from the Lord is awesome and more desirable than the greatest riches this world can offer. However, be assured that after this season of experiencing revelation and the closeness of His tender care, there will be followed a season where He is no longer close, leaving you with a feeling of loneliness and uncertainty.

I opened for my beloved, but my beloved had turned away and was gone. My heart leaped up when he spoke, I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. Song of Solomon 5:6.

This reality is reflected in the Mount of Transfiguration account (Matthew 17:1-14) The three disciples were bathed in heavenly revelation, hearing the Father's voice and yet the Master assured them that they would have to descend from the mountain of revelation and once again take up residency in the valley of human need, where His voice and manifest glory would be but a distant memory, stepping into the unfamiliar waters of living and operating by faith.

The ascending work that God does in each of our lives often follows this seasonal pattern. Just when we think that we have a 'handle' on how He does things, He seems to move us into a different season and we have to re-learn how to approach Him and even recognize His voice. Because it is generic for human nature to remain in the arena where all things are comfortable and familiar, we can quickly move into insecurity and all our former confidence dissipates like steam.

What is Normal?

Today, I want assure you that this seemingly up and down experience is a normal part of the prophetic journey.  If we approach what is happening correctly we will find ourselves positioned for the next phase of God's plan for our lives. No matter how wonderful your current revelatory experience with the Lord has been, He has a specific plan for your life and this plan is eternal in its origin. Part of that plan is to constantly take you higher into His purposes.

Unfortunately, most do not understand this strategy and when His voice becomes distant they can be tempted to give up and remain where they are the most comfortable, becoming slaves to the familiar. The prophetic journey is not for the faint of heart. Like the eagle, no matter what comes, we continue to soar higher and higher until we encounter Him. This is the high adventure that we are each called to.

God is passionate about us dwelling closer to Him. Hence, He sent His only Son to make a way for you and me to return back to Father God. If we are to make our habitation within the Lord's glory, our hearts must go through an ongoing process of being refined and ultimately changed. Our own hearts can hold us as slaves to the familiar and this is one of the reasons why He comes closer for a time and then draws away. He knows that our hearts must be tested and tempered with the fires of uncertainty. The question is, will we pursuer Him harder, or will be draw back and remain in the jails of the familiar?

The Trial of the Unfamiliar!

During their wilderness journey God brought Israel to various locations in the desert. Each of these locations was designed to prepare the people for the next phase in their journey. Many of the locations that Israel experienced are a prophetic type of what Christians will experience prior to reaching their own promised land. God never intended that any of these locations were to be a place of habitation. Once they had embraced the trial and learnt the lesson, they were to move on.

These trials might accurately be termed, 'The trials of His Hiddeness'. Often these trials can produce real confusion in the believer's heart. But do not fear. Remember He said, 'My ways are higher than your ways'. What He is about to bring you into is very significant and will ultimately provide you with fresh spiritual resources that you will need in the days to come.

Rick Joyner wrote, 'If we are to move into our promised land we must never waste our trials'. If we embrace our trials, learning the necessary lessons, we will be catapulted into new levels of personal breakthrough, stepping into a fresh grace. His anointing will break forth ensuring that we will overcome and gain the victory in our next season.

This principle is played out over and over again in every believer's experience. When you go through times of abundant revelation and His voice flows like a mighty river, get ready. You are being prepared for the next season of passionate pursuit. When you arrive at a time of revelatory abundance never unpack your 'spiritual suitcases'. A time will come again when you will enter into a season where His voice will seem distant and He will no longer deal with you as He formally did. When this happens, rejoice! You are being invited to re-learn how to seek and encounter afresh the One who is invisible, yet who gently woos our hearts with His eternal love.

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door. I will come into him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. Revelations 3:19-21.