What did 2020 bring to you?

Sitting and reflecting over 2020, a typical Old Testament fable. It would be amongst stories such as Noah and the flood, The Tower of Babel, The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Moses’ plagues and his wandering in the desert, Jezebel’s hunt of God’s prophets… A year that saw a plague, a year with tests and trials; a year that saw God’s churches being closed, being isolated from fellowship, relationships being under attack and separation hunted… all this amongst the heart sore of lives being lost, provision being suffocated, a vaccine that almost brings more fear than the virus itself. And so, we can go on and on and on… to the point, the world was shaken.

Last year was a tough year in itself, most people I had contact with wished 2019 over to get to a glorious 2020, words of victory, restoration and revival was spoken over this year, the year of God’s favor. Then 2020 arrived, OMW, 2019 was a kitten, but what did 2020 bring to you?

We ended 2019 with a powerful word for 2020 at the church I attend; The year of VICTORY (Validation, Increase, Catapult to a new dimension, Taking Authority, Opportunities, Restoration, Yearning for God’s presence), the rising of the Remnant. This word is worth a lot more than just a sentence in this post, I will surely share the detail of it someday. I personally got Isaiah 61:1 & 2 as my vision for 2020, a year of binding up wounds, a year of liberty, a year of God’s favour.

Early in January 2020 I saw a vision, on a day we were busy with praise and worship at church, the Holy Spirit was moving and the presence of God was evident, in more than just goose bumps.

I saw a field of, waist high, dead grass, as far as the eye could see. I had a fire lighter in my hand, trying to set the grass alight, but it appeared that the flint was finished or worn out, because it didn’t cause any sparks when I was flicking it. I kept my thumb on the gas lever and saw a very big hand, more than twice the size of my hand, with a fire lighter with a spark which lit the fire lighter I was holding. As I set the grass alight, the fire rapidly consumed the field of dead grass, leaving only burnt grass, but as quick as the grass burnt new fresh green grass started sprouting, and soon I was surrounded by a beautiful field of fresh luscious green grass.

The interpretation of this was in relation to revival being prayed for, globally churches have been, and still are, praying for revival. God heard our prayers, the ground work has been done, God will set it alight, soon and very soon. This was confirmed by Isaiah 43:18-21, “Do not consider the old things, I am doing a new thing.” Restoration requires removal, removal of the former dead things to make space for the new things to sprout. This removal and pruning are very seldom pleasant, if ever, but God will never go backwards… it may appear that you lost certain things in your life, however He will upgrade your “Happy Meal”, and if it was stolen from you by locust it will be replaced and restored. The pruning and removal is also preparing the spiritual “frontline workers”, getting them in right standing to welcome the inpouring of lost souls to follow this season.

A few weeks later I attended a prayer meeting at church, once again God’s presence could almost be cut with a knife… I saw another vision;

I saw a long beach with thousands and thousands of people and families playing on the beach and swimming in the sea, again as far as the eye could see. Out of nowhere there was a huge wave, as the wave passed through the people it washed most off their feet, leaving chaos and panic. A few people remained standing, trying to help and save the people around them from drowning. Then the backwash wave came and this tide brought even more people off their feet, leaving fewer people to try and save as many as they could.

I got Hebrews 12:25-29 and Matthew 9:38 with this vision, “Once more there will be a shaking, not only on earth but also in the heavenly realms, this shaking indicates the removal and transformation of all things that can be shaken, and what cannot be shaken will remain, how fortunate are we to be part of the unshakable Kingdom… be aware, the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few.” Our dedication and devotion will need to be unshakable, not for ourselves, but for those around us. The start of the revival will bring strong conviction and reprove by the Holy Spirit (John 16:8-11), the conviction of sin, righteousness and judgement… the harvest is surely going to be plentiful, all hands-on deck, lost souls will be flooding in… Hallelujah!!!! Here the spiritual “Frontline workers” will play a crucial role and need to stand unshaken.

So, what did 2020 bring to you? Take a few minutes and reflect on your year. There was definitely a knocking on the door this year.

It either made you stronger in your faith and devotion towards God, you heeded to His call to “Be Still” and be fed by His word, to grow in wisdom and stature; and in favor with God… God prepared you, ready to be a “frontline worker.”

Or, you had the opportunity, with ample time, to grow closer to God, but rejected the call to do so, to state it bluntly… did you allow Him in? Did you give Him your attention? Did you allow Him to prune? Or are you waiting for the second wave, the backwash…?

2020 brought Breakthrough into Favour.
Earlier this year a friend briefly explained her understanding of the difference between Breakthrough and Favor, I needed to get my own understanding of it. A phrase kept coming up as I was trying to get my head around it… “Breakthrough into Favour.”
Most dictionaries explain “breakthrough” as “an action or event that represents the removal of a previously existing obstacle or barrier to progress.”

Looking at Luke 2:52, Jesus’ wisdom and stature increased, along with His favour with God and man. The Greek meaning of this Favour (which also refers to grace, good will and loving-kindness) is the merciful kindness by which God exerts His holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ; keeps, strengthens and increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues. It is also the token, proof, reward or benefit of grace.
Ephesians 2:6-8 explain that no work we do can have us deserve God’s favor, but by God’s grace, mercy and kindness He draws us into His favor and closer to Christ. Favour is a gift, favour is a place we dwell in… we just need to receive it and live in it, through it and from it. This favor is one of the TRUTHS the enemy try and withhold from us, being aware of and living from God’s gift of favour will catapult you into a new dimension, out of reach from the enemy’s claws, right into the presence, behind the veil, where we have constant protection and provision. HALLELUJAH!!!
Psalm 84 is a beautiful chapter of God’s favour and blessing. “Blessed and greatly favoured is the man who dwells in God’s presence; the man whose strength is in God; the man in whose heart is the highway to Zion, the man who trusts in God, the man who commits himself to God with confident hope and expectation… they go from strength to strength, when they pass through the Valley of Weeping, they make it a place of springs and the rain covers it with blessing. The Lord our God is a Sun and a shield, no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” What need to be highlighted here is that we will still have trials and tests under the covering of God’s favour, but the Favoured will make areas of weeping into springs and wells (where growth takes place) and blessing will cover it, they go from strength to strength, and from glory to glory, under God’s covering and shield. The favoured will be content with the process of trials, tests and pruning seasons, because they are rest assured that the process draws them closer to Him.

2020 was surely an eventful year, and if our focus were on the cross, we would’ve come to the realization of God’s favour… The shaking of 2020 brought a breakthrough in our way of thinking, the removal of obstacles and barriers for us to progress into God’s favour. We got content with process and chose to be still in God’s presence, God is never surprised, nor will His spoken word return in void (Isaiah 55:11). It’s not done until God said it is… and in all honesty, it will never be done… we serve the, one and only, God of the beginning and the end, and our God doesn’t have any end to Him.

Similar to Jesus’ death and resurrection… on the Friday, when Jesus was crucified, He did not seem victorious, to such an extent that most of His followers left Him alone at the cross in disappointment; “How can it end like this, how is this possible, was He defeated…?” But God’s spoken word was not complete, it was in the process of realization… Victory was only visible to human understanding at the empty tomb. Things don’t make sense now, we live forward and understand backwards, grow into being content with the process, stop worrying and stop making assumptions of what’s happening around us… switch off the notifications for the news channels and switch on the notifications of the good news, the Gospel, which is Christ in us, the hope of Glory.

Open your arms to receive God’s favour in this season of remembrance and gifting, it came beautifully wrapped in linen and fragrant spice… walk into it, then live from it…