Living in the Unseen | June Monthly Blog

Interruption into Blessing

“Take delight in the Lord,

    and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Psalm 37.4

 Several days before Christmas, Mom was exposed to Covid.  She lives in an assisted living home and so this meant that she would need to quarantine until we knew her test results. The implication of this was that I nor my family would not be able to spend Christmas Eve or Christmas day with her. I know many others have been in similar situations throughout 2020, and I am sure you can agree, it was challenging to make tough calls around this touchy subject. The day after Christmas she was running a low-grade temp, so I went to get her tested.  Her test came back negative, but a number of factors led me to choose to keep her at my house for two and a half weeks rather suddenly and unexpectedly.  Although I had to shuffle around scheduled things, and I couldn’t leave my house for those two and a half weeks, it was worth every minute of it. I know it was good for her to be with her daughter, and I (a retired nurse) was able to get a very clear picture of how she was doing emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Our time together blessed me more than I could’ve imagined, and it came on the heels of being told I would not be able to spend Christmas with her! God turned around a potentially frightening circumstance and allowed us to be together. In doing so He gave me precisely what my heart desired and even needed.

Sometimes God moves suddenly and changes our plans. Initially, it may feel unsettling, and extremely costly, but God honors your sacrifice. In laying down our agenda and choosing to partner with Him, we can grab hold of the good that He has in store for us things we didn’t even dream were possible. It’s in these sweet moments that He meets the desires of our hearts, but we must be willing to give up our own plans in order to receive it. God is changing our plans to meet our hearts’ desires when we’re willing to lay down our own agenda. He’s giving us what we need, even though we may not realize we need it at the time. As God moves in this way, people will say things like, I didn’t even know that I needed that. That was the best thing for me! This word is for people that feel interrupted, inconvenienced and confused, or scared about what God is doing. If this word is for you, be obedient when you feel a prompting. Lay down your agenda and plans in order to meet God and find out how He wants to bless you.  

People of Hope

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

2 Corinthians 4.18

When we lose sight of hope, it’s easy to become discouraged. Even if hope is one of our core values, when we become more focused on what isn’t happening, it can be easy to feel hopeless about our dreams.  Sometimes we’re not even aware that we’ve done this. Losing our hope can be compounded if we are not surrounded by people who share our values. When we take our eyes off what is unseen, and instead focus on our circumstances and the way things look in the natural world, we trade our hope in for only the tangible. Faith is the evidence of things hoped for and being certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11.1).  It is the active belief that God is always good and choosing to trust Him in ALL things.  

God is using people around us to speak truth into our lives, remind us of dreams in our hearts, and infuse us with hope. He’s stirring up hope through other people. He’s inviting us to remember that He’s good and embrace the hope that He has for us. Are you feeling weary and discouraged? You may have even realized that you haven’t been dreaming with God in a very long time or maybe even ever.  If that resonates in your spirit, then this word is for you! Focus on God’s goodness and testimonies of how He’s worked in the past. Purpose in your heart to meditate on hope.  Ask God what you need faith for (if you don’t already know).  Ask God to show you what is unseen in your situation.  

Rhema Word

“Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.  The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.”

Exodus 14.13-15

In Greek, the word “Rhema” means utterance or thing said. I have come to think of it as a now word just for me. Psalm 103.7 tells us “He made known His ways to Moses, His deeds to the people of Israel.”  There are times that we can gain strategy and wisdom from how God interacted with people from the Bible that is directly applicable to our situation, but there are also times when just as Moses in Exodus 14 got it wrong (He said “stand” and God said “go’) we need to hear directly from the Lord. Just as Jehoshaphat defeated the Moabites and Ammonites simply by worshipping, it is clear that waiting on the Lord is the most important part of developing a strategy for your own situation. I’m sure that Jehoshaphat hadn’t heard of any other battle that had been won through worship at that time. Nor had Noah ever heard of another ark being built; much less when it wasn’t even raining. Abraham was willing to be obedient to what God had asked him to do in sacrificing his one and only son Isaac until the angel of the Lord told him to stop. Moses thought he knew what his people needed to do (stand, be still), but God stepped in and said the exact opposite (move on). All of these people from the Bible received a Rhema word from the Lord about their specific situation at that specific time. We must not become complacent or comfortable in relying on a word where God has moved in someone else’s life (even someone from the Bible), but instead draw from our own personal well of relationship and history with the Lord.  

God is inviting us to hear afresh from Him for our situation. We must not rely on an old word from the Lord, but rather a new word for this season. There is a fresh word for each person, in each season, and in each situation. Have you been pressing in for an answer in a specific situation? Are you waiting on the Lord for an answer? This word may be for you. Spend time with Him without seeking your agenda. This can be challenging as you are needing an answer. He knows your needs as well as the desires of your heart. Expect Him to speak to you in a way that you can hear and understand. You are His child. Take note of things as they are made known to you. Be expectant.  

Unprecedented Faith

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

Hebrews 11.1

It is so easy to get caught up in the emotional roller-coaster of life and to follow our feelings, rather than being grounded in faith, scripture, or a word from the Lord. Life can be so busy and so loud that we can get distracted and off course. It is with the intention that we must focus on the path that God would lead us, unwavering in our consistency and resolute purpose. He is always leading and always speaking, but without keeping our eyes on Him we can lose sight of what we are believing for. We can lose heart when we begin to focus on our circumstances instead of what the Lord has spoken to us; what He’s placed in our heart and the favor in our situation. It’s so easy to avoid taking a stand of faith in a situation for fear of being disappointed if it doesn’t work out, but the truth is that God can meet us in our disappointment and bring healing to our hearts. It seems safer to have a Plan B, but when we have a plan B we aren’t taking a stand of faith. It is impossible to please God without faith, but it is so easy to become comfortable and complacent in what we believe. Faith often requires taking a stand, and not the easy road, or most sensible.  It is often contrary to earthly wisdom and could even look quite radical.  

Watch for God to stir up your faith and give you specific things He wants you to do as an act of faith. This word is for people that are feeling hopeless, double-minded, or full of fear. Stand firm in what God has spoken to you, who God is, and what He’s done. Recount testimonies of God’s goodness (especially those specific to your situation-like buying a house, having a baby, or getting married). Take a step of faith even if it may seem small or insignificant. If you don’t know, ask God what steps you can take.  

©2021 All Rights Reserved

With prophetic insight from Bethany Hess and Lindsey Duke

Blog is written by Anne E. Ballard

At The Crowning Jewels, our desire and our mission are to bring encouragement, to build others up, and to bring comfort to people’s lives (1 Corinthians 14.3). As a team each month we ask the Lord what He’s doing in the coming month and for any words of encouragement, he might have for people as a loving God. We realize that with a corporate prophetic word not all words are applicable to all people. If it’s prophetic it also needs to be encouraging and edifying. If our words bless you, please take hold of them and apply them in your own life. If it’s not specific to you, please pass it on to someone else who might be blessed. We do not sell prophecies; prophecy is a free gift from heaven. As a prophetic business, our mission is to bring encouragement and edification to people; our product is simply jewelry.

DECLARATIONS

We at The Crowning Jewels believe in the absolute, transformational power of declarations. We know that truth comes by hearing (Romans 10.17), and speaking truth is an active way for us to renew our minds (Romans 12.2). We invite you to partner with what God is doing and say these declarations for the remainder of the month. We would love to hear what God does! Please email us your testimony at tellyourstory@thecrowningjewels.com.

June Declarations:

1. God is turning my interruption into a blessing.
2. I am keeping my eyes on what is unseen.
3. God is giving me a fresh word. 
4. My faith pleases God. 
5. I am building history with the Lord. 

Each month we design two limited edition pieces of jewelry, only available for that month, handmade with words and charms that reflect the monthly prophetic word. If this word resonates with you and you'd like to wear a reminder of its truths, click the pieces below to shop!