On 12/22/21, the presence of the Holy Spirit was on me. My eyes scanned the first few verses in the book of Jonah:
“Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” (Jonah 1:1-3 NKJV)
The Holy Spirit said to me, “You were that man.” His weightiness brooded over me as He explained. He reminded me of January 2016. I had been deeply wounded by people and leaders in the church. I discuss this in greater detail in my article: Montana: Spiritual Mapping and Warfare. Because of the deep hurt and wounds, I started to withdraw inwardly from the church. I had told the Lord that I didn’t want anything to do with the church. In other words, I didn’t want to know what was going on around the country in the American church. I started to lose hope that the church could come to fullness, because I was gazing at the impossibility of the situation and not the Almighty Godhead. I put up a wall in my heart.
The Lord spoke to me through Jonah. He showed me that He is the Head of His body, and I had put up a wall in my heart between me and His body. Since His Head is attached to His body, I had unknowingly put up a wall between me and the Lord as well. I had started to depart from the presence of the Lord just as Jonah had. It was a different set of circumstances, but the same terrible mistake.
The Lord was extremely merciful to me for most of 2016. He continued to shower me in His presence, giving me an opportunity to repent. But I could not see through the fog of the enemy. I was embattled in deep warfare of hope deferred, disappointment, and discouragement for most of the year. So I missed the opportunity and got swallowed up into the belly of a great fish for three days and three nights. I went through a three and a half year period of the dark night of the soul (2016 to mid 2019).
The darkness of this night was almost unbearable at times. The fire and passion of God was stripped from me. I felt as if I was dying under the crushing weight of the cross as it stripped away my self-life. The Lord’s manifested presence even begin to wane. I understand what Jonah spoke of:
“Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. And he said: “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, And He answered me. “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice. For You cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the floods surrounded me; All Your billows and Your waves passed over me. Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; The deep closed around me; Weeds were wrapped around my head. I went down to the moorings of the mountains; The earth with its bars closed behind me forever; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord, my God.” (Jonah 2:1-6 NKJV)
Many of us have experienced this same thing. We understand how it feels for the seas to engulf us. A place of drowning where there is no escape. Weeds wrapping us up and trapping us. Bars closing us in and imprisoning us. I’m describing the crushing blows that the Lord has to use against our self-life to bring us back on His track. In his mercy, He crushes the very thing in our souls that is driving us away from His presence.
Healing and Restoration
The Lord brought me to a place of repentance, like Jonah, where my heart started opening back up to the church and to my assignment. The Lord took me through a two and a half year period of healing and restoration in Southern Alabama (mid 2019 through the end of 2021). He removed the hurt and the wounds from a season of bitter warfare in Montana. Only now can I see how bad I was getting. At the time, I was blinded to it. When you are seeking the Lord with all your heart, you will be in battle. When you are in battle, you are going to get wounded. Those are the facts, and that is the nature of the journey.
The Lord has been taking many of His beloved sons and daughters through inner healing and restoration. For some it will begin in 2022. He is doing this so that we can be healthy and ready to go for His next movement. He is preparing His bride. The Lord is going to initiate and establish Houses of His glory. The Father desires to turn the hearts of the father’s to the children, and the children to the fathers. He is going to bring His remnant to the spiritual stature and maturity of His Son. The Lord is moving and He needs us healed and ready for His movement.
For those of you who need inner healing, I pray the Father would bring to your memory where you went off track (like Jonah and I). I ask that the Father would put a grace on you for a powerful work of restoration. When you repent, He will minister delicately to you. Over time, you will be completely resorted and better than you were before. You will be better because you will not be able to be hurt in the same way you were before.
The reason we are able to be hurt is because our souls are already damaged. The Lord allows the damaged portions of our souls to be exposed. They are exposed by the cross of Christ working in us through circumstances and other people. The good news is, once you submit to Christ’s healing process, He transforms your soul. He makes us stronger so we are not hurt or offended as easy as we used to be. I can look back and see how easy I was offended as a young Christian. As Christ has grown in me and transformed me, I am much less offended by things that others say or do. We cannot allow hurt and offense to keep us from our high calling. Now is the time to receive healing from the Father (for those who need it).
Redemption
Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.”” (Jonah 3:1-2 NKJV)
He is the Lord of second chances. Our loving Father and Judge disciplines those whom He loves. And after that instruction comes the “second time” or the second chance. Those who have been undergoing restoration, the “second time” is almost here. For those who need to go through restoration, keep your focus on intimacy with the Father and know that the second chance is coming. The Holy Spirit is stressing to me our need for inner healing, so that we (as living stones), can be properly built into the house of God in the future.
Many believers across the nations are not currently meeting with the church because they have been damaged in the church. The Lord will sometimes remove believers from church meetings to heal them. He knows that His precious sheep cannot be healed while continuing in a hurtful environment. Sometimes the healing process can take years. Maybe the Lord will move believers to another meeting place where they can receive healing. The point is, the Lord is our covering and knows what is best for us. We are to follow the Good Shepherd wherever He leads us. The voice of the enemy brings control and condemnation. The voice of the Good Shepherd brings comfort, peace, and life. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Follow Jesus into healing, restoration, and redemption. It’s time to flee into the Presence of the Lord.
