a cracked shell

Psalm 126 “When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them. The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”

Beloved,

Hearts hear the word of the Lord and breathe the rarified air of God’s Kingdom. The hardened shell of the outer man has been broken, and freedom is at hand. Our hearts shine with God’s love, and we broadcast it to the nations, so all will hear of what God has done.

Before captivity, we gathered together and celebrated who God was, but we struggled and chose only to know Him from afar. His power seemed to overwhelm us at times and was too much for our fleshly bodies.

Jesus taught about the seed that must fall to the ground and be broken open, before it can grow, before stretching toward the heavens and touching God’s face. For it is only in death that we can see God’s face.

Our hands are now not our own, but His.

The normalcy of pre-captivity cannot be continued, and we must be changed by His love, His light. In our hardened shells we kept Christ at a distance, not wanting Him to come to close. Our outer man shuddered whenever He neared. There were some that ran after Him, wanting to be like John and lean our head against Jesus’ chest. When we prayed before captivity, we were in duress. We called out to the most high and He heard our prayers. Heal our daughter or mend our son was the cry of our hearts and when He did, we celebrated. Then God stepped closer to our earthly lives and we stepped back.

In captivity, we mended our church foundation and painted walls. We hung new curtains and threw out the old. The altar has been empty for some time, and we dusted its surface bringing back its earthly luster, preparing it for prayer and salvation. Even in captivity we learned new ways of broadcasting our sermons and our worship to the world. We became proficient at technology, but the absence of the body in residence clearly affected the vertical challenge.

Questions began to fill our thoughts like, “Are we really like those white washed tombs?” having the feel of worship, but limited in calling the Kingdom of Heaven down.

The pre-captivity engaged the heavens in moments of heart rendered worship, but was packed away as another moment of when heaven came near — a testimony for another time.

The shell, our outer man has cracked.

What was it like before captivity? How can we return to those places? Captivity always changes lives, but we try to return to our previous lives as it was then. We experienced trauma and hardship, isolation and struggle in this captivity. In God’s eyes it was only a breath. God always says He will bring good out of bad, and destroy the work of the enemy in our lives.

What would it look like then if we hold onto the nearness of God, and actually walk in His authority as we return to fellowship?

Let’s leave our outer man where he cracked.