READ John 5:1-15
Zero grazing is a method of farming where cattle do not have the freedom to graze in the fields. They are fed with grass in the stall. Being constantly confined within a small space makes them conditioned to live there. The desire to move out eventually dies out of them and even if the farmer accidentally leaves the door open, you will be surprised that they may not even make an effort to explore outside because their minds have been conditioned to stay inside. They may see from across the fence the beauty in the fields but they may have no desire to step out and enjoy fresh breath; because inside is where they are used to and so they think it’s the best place they can ever be in. They have no idea how liberating and refreshing the outside is if they dared step out.
Sometimes life happens causing us to behave like zero-grazed cattle. Living with or in a condition for so long may feel right even if it’s not. The longer you stay with an issue, the more the chances of you getting accustomed to it until you actually accept and even adapt to living with it. Unconsciously, your mindset gets accustomed and within no time you get comfortable with the situation even if it is unpleasant.
A case in scripture is the man at the pool of Bethesda who stayed long enough with a condition until he became adapted to it. Having been there for 38 years all hope of him ever getting well was gone because He was so accustomed to the pain that even when Jesus offered Him help, his response was so hopeless. Eventually, his morning season had come but he was too used to the night, darkness, and hopelessness.
How is your life today? Are you stuck in a season of life where you have come to believe that pain is all there is to this life? Battling a disease for years? being jobless for the longest time? Struggling with your faith? Are you used to crying and being frustrated that you even forgot to smile and laugh? Have you known shame long enough that when honor comes beckoning you think it’s not for you? Or could it be the multiple rejections that have left you feeling unworthy and unloved that even when doors begin opening you feel like you are not worthy to walk through them? Could you have been hearing so many No’s than Yes’ that you think you can never get anything right?
Listen carefully, no matter how long your pain has lingered and no matter how long that condition has been with you it doesn’t mean that God cannot do something new in your life. The fact that night has lingered long doesn’t mean that dawn will not break forth. God is doing a new thing in your life that will be the end of a painful season in your life. The mat you may have lain on for those “thirty-eight years ” of pain and shame is about to lose its function because at God’s word you are rising, taking it up on your shoulders, and walking out of that place of shame. New doors are swinging open and opportunities you least expected are coming your way. Your place and position are about to change for good because this is a season of divine alignment. Your hope is coming back alive. You will smile and sing for joy again because your morning is here. (Psalm 30:5)
I pray that you understand your times and seasons so that you will not be caught unawares by what God is doing. An expectant mother prepares the way in advance to receive her baby and that is exactly what you need to be doing now. You have to get ready to receive your baby. You must now get ready to move out of the stall because it is time to explore the fields. It is time for the old things to go so that the new will find a space in your life. Don’t be clogged up with baggage like unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, secret sins, malice, disobedience, and every other thing that the Spirit of God has been whispering to you and asking you to deal with lately.Do not ignore the promptings because your preparation is also very important. You may have to leave some places and even some toxic friendships and relationships because the level God is taking you cannot be accessed with such baggage still attached to you. I pray that you will find the strength to let go of the old and make room for the new. Remember that even new wine cannot be stored in old wineskins lest both of them go to waste. (Matthew 9:17)
May you find the grace, wisdom, and strength to release anything that needs to go so that you can race light this season. God is setting your life on a whole new course that only He knows and has planned for you. (Jere 29:11). I hear the sound of rain. Your wilderness season is over and God is ushering you to a place of abundance. (Psalm 66:12)
Beloved of God,
I sense an aura of freshness and new beginnings in the atmosphere.
Forget the former things because God is doing a brand new thing in your life. Do you not perceive it?
Selah
