One of my favorite things to do is to sit in bed and watch movies on my laptop. One Saturday night almost four weeks ago as I was enjoying a movie, all of a sudden every icon on my desktop begin to disappear one-by-one. I sat in amazement as I tried to access my programs menu and there was nothing on the list. My computer had officially crashed.
I could not even wrap my brain around how in the world I would manage to get any work done when so much is on my computer. Yet, at the same time I knew that the Lord allowed it to happen for a reason because the adversary cannot touch anything without permission.
A friend (thank you, Tonia!) referred me to a Christian computer expert, Becky, and she was able to recover the data from my hard drive.
I began to rev up my old laptap (thank God I still had it) to try to recreate as much as I could so things could continue to move forward.
But, in the process I checked in with Jesus so I could be clear about why this happened.
I heard, “You cannot put new wine in old wine skins.”
I knew that He was telling me that wherever He is about to take me, the information has to be cleansed and purified. Then, Becky told me that my computer had several viruses. I understood. Even my previous work had to be cleansed in order to move me to new heights in His Kingdom.
All this time He has been adding team members, bringing ministry speaking engagements, and literally walked me into the harvest of the prophetic visions He has been showing me and other prophets on my behalf for years.
As incredibly inconvenient as it has been to work on the back-up computer with no access to much of the work I have created in the last year and a half, it has taken me to new dimensions in Him.
As I asked Him what He would have me share with you today, He told me to share this story because so many blessings have come out of it. Here are a few of the lessons that I experienced:
- No matter how much work you do, it is nothing compared to what God can do for you in an instant.
- As incredible as the internet is as a tool to reach His Kingdom-minded, true lovers and believers, God can lead the right people to you at the right time…with no internet, texting, emailing or computer.
- You must truly rest in Him. Not to think you are resting, but to truly know that you know that if you believe and do not doubt in your heart, that it will be done for you.
- There is plenty of time to get the things done the Lord is calling you to do. There is never enough time to get to the things you do outside of your calling and gifting.
- His vision is coming to pass and you don’t have to worry or even anticipate tomorrow. The power is in being present right here and now.
- Remain focused on Him and His purpose and nothing will frustrate you.
- You cannot do a single thing without Him. You are limitless even to the things of the world with Him.
- Trusting in the Lord enough to stop working and rest should not be a faith-move. It is a necessity to Him having the space to manifest His vision through you.
No matter what appears to be crashing in your life right now, know that all things (even the crazy-looking things that feel awful and stretch you in HUGE ways) work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). As the Creator of everything, Your Heavenly Father will use anything to move you into the good of His purpose.
Whatever viruses that have invaded your life, it is time to be cleansed and purified so you can be presented to the Lord without spot, wrinkle or blemish. It’s just time to do some virus removal (aka deliverance)…(I could get SO deep on this one…)
Today I called the computer repair place that replaced my hard drive and my computer hasn’t even shipped from their Texas location. This means that I may be going another week or longer before my computer is back in use.
I just had to laugh knowing that God is sovereign and working it out!
It is the time of harvest like never before in the Body of Christ. Don’t allow anything stop you from being a vessel for the works of the Lord.
I hope to see you soon!
Love, Ericka