The Final Push
By Margaret D. Mitchell
Week of August 13, 2023
Many are in a final push for new life.
God is dealing with the pushback, the resistance that has tried to wear His people out and hold them back for a long time. He’s resetting boundaries and leveling His people up to expand His Kingdom on His earth.
And this can only be accomplished His way.
The final push brings relief, peace, and the new beginning of a new life. And just as it can be in the natural realm of childbirth, so, too, can it be in the spiritual realm.
Pushing in God’s way and time will result in a necessary reset of boundaries that will produce and manifest a greater blessing forward.
So, what is Jesus' example for pushing? How do we do it without manipulation? How to we push without being pushy?
We know that the good side of pushing involves believing that His Presence is necessary and enough and that He’ll make things right, according to His will and purpose. For us, it involves calling on His Name, finding Him in the midst, reaching for His Spirit of Grace through prayer, and knowing His Spirit of Truth in His Word. So, it involves yoking with Him to faithfully work it out.
We know that the bad side of pushing involves unbelief, which encompasses leaning on our own understanding, being flesh-driven and, basically, doing it our way, outside of God's boundaries. Of course, this means we won’t have His backing or grace-power. Therefore, we can make it worse and harm others in the process.
One example of good pushing is the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:25-34).
She firmly believed, chose life, and did what she had to do to meet Jesus where He was without harming anyone. She realized that, as she came near to Him, He would reciprocate. She knew that, as she sought Him, reached for Him, and accessed Him intimately, she would receive His perfect power that would restore her. This woman learned, firsthand, that Jesus alone was her answer.
In her story, we see that Jesus didn't push her away. Instead, He pushed her affliction away. He lifted her burden right in the face of resistance.
And He did the same for everyone else He restored, whether it be through drawing people near, asking rhetorical questions, enlightening them with parables, speaking commands or otherwise.
The byproduct of such faithful acts is that many are taken aback in awesome wonder!
So, the way of Jesus is a witness to many, as He softens hearts, encourages attitudes, and reveals Himself in unique ways. He draws us to Himself to help us push through unrighteousness. And it will be worth it.
In our lives, right now, He's inviting us and enabling us, by His grace power, to progressively push into the outward blessings He has in store for us, after bringing us through a deep season.
And like the woman with the issue of blood, these outward blessings may demand some pushing forward amid resistance to experience Jesus joining us in the pushback.
In other words, good pushing requires our obedient faith-action for Jesus to meet us and supply His grace of victory for new life.
So, in the touchpoint of Jesus, we can’t lose. Promises are fulfilled. And greater peace and joy are the fruit of His strength working in our lives.
We can discern what’s happening and know what to do as He releases His wise strategies to us, which includes His timing.
We can see this cycle of progression time after time in the victorious lifestyle of Joshua's army.
To live freely in their Promised Land, they had to push forward with great courage, sharp focus, and submitted hearts. It required their continuance of careful obedience in every way from beginning to end. They had to be one with God all the way, requiring teamwork to receive sustained victories.
They had to know what to do and precisely when to do it. They had to hear from God and follow through to apprehend His promises.
Each time they experienced a win in battle, they gained ground and momentum. Word got around that their God was true and was with them. In this way, they evangelized their enemies!
They came to know, firsthand, that as they honored God, He honored them. They became a tight wheel within a wheel with Him as they advanced in their inherit dominion of heart and land in God.
So, what’s God instructing you to push through, who are you to push on and when are you to do it?
Are you pushing with Him or against Him?
Holy Spirit will reveal specific answers to you as you wisely and lovingly seek and obey Him. And if you do it His way, you’ll advance in His Kingdom as His Spirit of Truth and Grace works on your behalf.
Don't settle for anything less.
Choose to expand life by doing it His way.
To God be the glory.
Margaret D. Mitchell is the Founder of God's Love at Work, a marketplace outreach purposed to share God's greatest power source - the love of Christ.
Originally published Sunday, 13 August 2023.
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