Morning Chapel Prayer Playlist
Pastor Heather…
Good morning, everybody. Good morning to those of you watching online.
There are a lot of people that are weary right now…
Today the Lord put something specific on my heart to share, and it might start out more kind of like a teaching, but bear with me. We will pray, I promise. But I just felt this heavy on my heart today to just share this. I do feel that there are a lot of people that are weary right now. With everything going on in the world, there’s a tendency to become weary. It’s hard to be a light in a dark place on a continual basis. Especially if we’re trying to do that in our own strength and in our own self. It’s very hard to do that.
And so this is what the Lord put on my heart to share today. I’m going to start by sharing a message. I received devotions in my emails from a gentleman called Craig Cooney and he does a ministry called Daily Prophetic. Now, I’m not condoning everything he does. I can’t vouch for his ministry or anything, but I do subscribe to his emails because the prophecies that I believe he shared bear witness with my heart. But you have to search that out for your own heart. But I’m just going to share this today. And it’s called, “The Springtime Is Important.”
“The Springtime Is Important”
by Craig Cooney
“This is a sort of word that I don’t like to share. I was reading the story of David and the verse jumped off the page. “In the spring at the time when kings go off to war, David remained in Jerusalem,” (2nd Samuel 11:1.) David, the warrior king, stayed in the palace when he should have been on the battlefield. He had either grown weary from the battle or he had become complacent. Either way, he retreated into a place of passivity. He abdicated his calling to other people. Because he didn’t battle in a season of warfare, he opened himself up to temptation and sin that would affect the rest of his kingship.
I want you to be prepared. This spring season is pivotal for your future. You are royalty, a child of the king. Be where you’re meant to be. Do what you’re called to do. Fight the battles you need to fight. See warfare as the doorway to promotion. See battles as a sign of the imminent breakthrough. See rejection as a prelude to a new direction. See adversity as the activation of a fresh anointing. Don’t take the easy way out. Don’t follow the path of least resistance. The warfare is temporary, but the consequences are far reaching. Get positioned, pursue your purpose. Press into the presence of God. Don’t underestimate the significance of your calling. You’ve come too far. Don’t forfeit your future through passivity or poor decisions. Through Christ, we will emerge victorious and ready for more.”
And then he shares a word that he has: “Don’t underestimate the significance of the springtime season.”
And he shares the scripture again. “In the spring at the time when kings go off to war, David remained in Jerusalem,” (2nd Samuel 11:1). These remaining months of springtime are pivotal to shaping and determining the next stage of your calling and advancement. For some, this will be a time of intense testing and unusual warfare. I know you don’t want to hear that; you’ve been through enough already. But the Lord wants you to be prepared and vigilant so that you emerge victorious. The enemy has discerned your destiny. He is seeking to destabilize you and cause you to behave in ways that self-sabotage and forfeit the immense favor on your future.
“Opposition may seem to come from nowhere, even rejection or betrayal from those closest to you. Or you may find yourself dealing with issues, struggles, or people that you thought were a part of your past. Don’t be paranoid or anxious, but also don’t be blindsided. Be alert. Pay attention to what is going on around you. Notice any subtle shifts in relationship. Don’t overreact but do confront quickly any dishonor or destructive behavior. How you conduct yourself in these next few months will have repercussions and ramifications for the level of authority and blessing you will walk into in the coming seasons.
“The Lord is also paying close attention to your character and conduct to see if you are ready for promotion. Make decisions carefully and prayerfully, especially about jobs and relationships. Inquire of the Lord. Don’t make assumptions based on preferences, pressure, or past experiences. God has a new strategy for this new season. The temptation and enticements may seem subtle, even harmless, but they’re designed to draw you away from your highest calling. Don’t let your guard down. Don’t become casual, carnal, or complacent. Don’t allow small compromises to taint your character, especially pay attention to what you see and what you say. Your words matter. Your heart must stay pure. I know there’s a tiredness that makes you want to retreat from all pressure and conflict, but you can’t. Not now. There’s too much at stake.
The enemy wants to lull you into passivity, prayerlessness, and even a sense of entitlement. He wants you to medicate your weariness and wounds in the wrong places. There’s a power available for you to overcome. Go to the source, press into His presence. His Spirit will sustain you. His grace is sufficient for you. There is supernatural rest available in the midst of the struggle.
There are key people who will stand firm alongside you. You can exit this season stronger and more ready to steward the greater anointing and assignment the Father will release for the next stage of your life and ministry. Don’t underestimate the significance of this springtime season.” [end]
Pastor Heather…
I thought that was such a good word because we are in a time and a world right now where it is easy to get weary. There’s a lot happening around us, a lot pushing on us. There’s a lot of places where we can step into worry, anxiousness, depression, complacency, lethargy… all those things are just distraction. There’s just so much distraction around us.
And so let’s look at David. So what happened? He was supposed to be out on the battlefield. He got weary or he got complacent. Either way, he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. And so sometimes we think as long as I’m not doing anything bad, I’m not causing any harm. But what if we’re not doing the very thing that God told us to do? And we’re not in that right place at that right time. We’re putting ourselves in a bad situation.
Galatians 6:9 in the Amplified says, “Let us not grow weary or become discouraged in doing good for at the proper time, we will reap if we do not give in.” It’s easy to get weary in doing good. That’s why Jesus had to warn us about that because it’s easy to happen, it’s easy to slip in. But we don’t have to get weary.
What’s easier to move? A piano or a water bottle?
So I was praying this morning, I was like, “Okay, Lord, what do you want to share today?” I just kind of sit and I’m quiet and I just wait for Him to drop something into my heart. And He’s showed me this analogy. So what is easier to move? A piano? Or a water bottle? A water bottle, right? A water bottle is way easier to move. Okay. But the enemy of our hearts is sly. He knows that we can’t continue pushing something heavy like a piano all of our lives. So if we had to push a piano, if there was something really heavy in our lives, we would ask for help. Right? We wouldn’t be like, “I’m going to move this piano all by myself.” That would be ridiculous. We’d be like, no, I need to get help. But he will trick us into thinking that we can hold something small like this every day. And I know you guys have probably seen this analogy somewhere else before, but if I had to stand with this water bottle like this all day, every day of my life, what’s going to happen? I’m going to get tired. I’m going to need someone to help me hold up my arm.
And I know there’s a lot of us that we have a lot of water bottles in our lives. Just things that we’re like, “I got this, God. This isn’t a big deal. I can carry this.” You know? Or maybe you have people in your life and they’re giving you their water bottles to carry for them. So you have multiple water bottles that you’re trying to hold out like this all day. And even now, my arm is starting to shake, like my elbow’s hurting. And it’s just a little water bottle, right? And that’s what the enemy wants to do. It’s just a little thing. It’s just… Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing big. Or I got this, Lord, it’s fine. I can deal with this. I’m fine. You know? And we don’t ask for help, right?
So what happens?
We get exhausted. We get tired. We get weary. And then what happens? This seemingly little insignificant thing starts to wear me down because every day I’m holding this out. And then people will come up to me and be like, “Hey, can you help me with this?” “No, I can’t.” “I really can’t help you. I mean, my arm is killing me with this bottle that I had to carry every day.” And all of a sudden, we’re not available to those that we love. We’re not available even to ourselves because we’re carrying this thing every day. Whatever it is. It could be sin. It could be a distraction. It could be just a burden or a heavy thing that the enemy is putting in your life to try to distract you.
Then the shame comes in because you think “I should be able to carry a water bottle. Like, why can’t I do this, Lord? I just don’t understand. I should be strong enough to do this.” We’re not meant to carry burdens. And that’s why Jesus said, “Cast your cares on Me, for I care for you.” So that shame will keep us condemned, which will make us feel unworthy, which will keep us busy and isolated. And we’re trying to fix the problem instead of going straight to the one that wants to help us.
So we’re over here going, “Why can’t I carry this bottle? How could I carry this bottle? Maybe I could make a contraption to help me carry this bottle. Maybe I could ask…” You start to try to figure it out in the natural instead of going to God and saying, “This is too heavy for me. I need your help. I need your strength in this moment.”
Amplified…
Matthew 11:28–30 in the Amplified says, “Come to me all who are weary and heavily burdened by religious rituals that provide no peace, and I will give you rest, refreshing your souls with salvation. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, following me as my disciple. For I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest, renewal, blessed quiet for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear and my burden is light.”
Passion…
And the Passion translation says it this way. “Are you weary? carrying a heavy burden? Come to me. I will refresh your life for I am your oasis. Simply join your life with mine. Learn my ways, and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me for all that I require of you will be pleasant and easy to bear.”
God is easy to please. And there’s something in us that fights that. We fight that because we think He’s done so many amazing things for us and He’s so amazing. There has to be a hoop that I need to jump through. There has to be something that I need to do to make myself worthy to receive this. It’s a free gift that He gives to us. All that He requires of us is pleasant and easy to bear.
So how come it doesn’t feel that way sometimes? It doesn’t feel like everything is pleasant and easy to bear. Why do we feel tired? Why do we feel like we want to quit, or we want to retreat. Or we don’t want to go out to battle anymore. We want to stay back in the palace where it’s comfortable and people are feeding us grapes all day because we’re doing it in our own strength. And that’s the difference of doing it in our own strength or doing it in His strength.
And so if there is a weariness, there’s something in you that you’re doing it in your own strength. You’re not doing it in His strength because He says it’s easy. And if He keeps His Word, which we know He does, then His yolk should be easy. His burden should be light. So if there’s things that are heavy that I’m carrying, there’s something that I don’t know, I don’t understand, or I’m not applying in my life. And usually we’re doing it in our own strength and we’re not inviting God into that process.
So laying down our burdens brings rest and refreshment to our soul. Carrying our burdens on our own makes us weary and want to quit or retreat… which brings shame and condemnation upon ourselves… which makes us want to hide or run from God. And I don’t know if all of you were at church this weekend for Pastor Mac’s message, but it was so good because he was talking about how condemnation in our heart, that’s what separates us from the love of God. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Except for us, right? His love is always there, but we can make ourselves not want to receive it by shame and condemnation in our heart.
And so sometimes that process of getting weary, getting tired, that might bring shame, that might bring condemnation, that might bring … maybe it’s actual sin that the Lord has literally talked to you about. Or maybe it’s something small like, “Hey, don’t get on social media today. Open up your Bible.” And you’re like, yeah, but I’m kind of tired. I just kind of want to go on social media, or I want to just watch a TV show, or I just want to take a nap. Whatever your thing is. Everybody has a thing, right? In those moments, it’s like we’re willfully choosing, you know? And is there grace and is there forgiveness in those moments? Of course there is. Because nothing separates us from His love. And He’s patient and He’s kind.
But then also at the end of the day, we’re like, “Why am I so tired? Why am I so weary?” And throughout the day, He’s inviting us to come and to be with Him, to refresh our souls, to lay those things down. Say, “I don’t need these things. This isn’t helping me.” Whatever this is… it could be good things even. It could be helping our family. Maybe there’s a time, it’s like you have to set a boundary of like, “I’m sorry. I can’t do this today. I really just need to spend some time on my own with the Lord.” Whatever it is. There’s so many things that the Lord will lead us. But really it just comes down to listening to the Holy Spirit and not picking up things that we’re not supposed to be picking up and laying those at His feet.
