Laid Bare

A stripping back.

A stripping off.

Laid bare.

Exposed.

Pulling off the bandage.

Pulling off that which held you back.

Exposing the wound.

Revealing the hurt.

Exposing the hurt.

Pulling off that which was stuck to you.

Revealing that which was covered.

For the bandage has kept you bound long enough!

For I can see the look of great pain on your face.

For I know you hide it so well from others, even your tears are afraid to come out of hiding.

In the place of intense pain, I see your tears running scared, afraid to show themselves.

For when it hurts too much, I know where you go, I know who you turn to, I know where you hide yourself.

For you don’t want to be the painful one, expressing your pain, yet you feel it so strongly that it shakes your very core.

You refuse to live a painful life, for you would rather call yourself the “overcomer”, not the victim.

For to express your hurt is to bring hurt to all those you care for.

For to expose the loss, is to open the door to the deepest abyss.

Yet your heart aches for all that comes and goes, all that doesn’t come, and all the is gone too quickly.

You refuse to be bound, yet you refuse to be free.

For to be free exposes you to more hurt.

Even the gift of sight, the revelation of my future glory causes you pain. For you see what I want, and then see the unwillingness to receive, to partner with my goodness, to step into all that I desire.

Even the testimonies of my goodness on display only serve to show you what so many others are missing out on.

For it ties you in knots, it binds you up, as you struggle to release my freedom.

You feel such trauma rising up within you, is it like you are drowning from within, you struggle to take a breath, yet at the same time you feel the power of my spirit rising higher and higher within you.

For you know, you have experienced this before, where you could not stand, you could not stand it anymore, and then my power broke through and literally shook the foundations of the building you were in.

For your enemy is so afraid, he is so traumatised by what happened he speaks to you and says “let’s not do that again!”

Yet the more you try to hold yourself back, the more my power agitates you.

I see you with your arms crossed, holding yourself in tighter and tighter until you cannot breathe.

What a laugh, you crack me up so much!

This is how I see you right now!

Lying on your back in the midst of a huge fire, naked and exposed, with no protection between your skin and the flames all around. Yet you are not consumed, for the fire flows from within you, comes from your inner being, and the posture, the look is of one lying in a refreshing pool in the midst of a resort.

I love how you know me so well Lord! To spend time with you is the best time. Yet I struggle with the trip here, it was like I was driving a gift that was tailor made for me, where the experience is unlike any other, like being embraced by the one who loves you so intimately. To give this up feels like I am prying your hands off me.

Yet it is for freedom I have set you free.

It is for but a season, for a new season, for a new pattern, for a new routine, for a new thing.

What is it you see now?

You holding my hand as we go for a walk together.

Yes I know your favourite word is the one about “coming away”, your favourite moment is to be away with me in the cleft of the rock, the shelter of the rock, as we celebrate our love.

I know you want to keep me all to yourself, yet I want you to share my love around, reflect the glory of our relationship, be free to go for a walk, be free to be together with your beloved.

For I am giving you the vehicle of togetherness, the vehicle of the pops and crackles, the vehicle expressive of my joy and delight, the vehicle that reflects something unique, that will take you to new destinations of delight.

Because it is you asking, because I can see the smile on your face as you extend your hand to me and motion me to come, I will take your hand. I will release the gift you have given me. Smooth the path ahead, show me this is the work of your hand, accelerate the process, bring forth the gain to overshadow the loss. You take the wheel, but give me your hand to take the next step.

For you shall be out of bounds, without bounds, beyond the boundary, over the edge, in a moment you shall possess all that I have promised you.

For what is to come is so much better than all that has gone before.

For what is it you see now?

A huge room, and as I enter so many are being marched out the door. As you escort me in, they are shown the door. And I sit in wonder, wondering what is going on.

I am just making room for all that I have stored up for you. New relationships, new levels of power and influence, new positions of great authority, new power to release my freedom, my delight, my goodness, my desire.

Be full of my fullness.

Empty yourself of all emptiness.

Lose all the losses.

Be rid of the losses, and look out for the gains.

Position yourself with delight, position yourself with joy, just like you are about to be kissed by your wife!

For what is coming to you next will blow your mind, will rip away all the pain and loss, will explode like fireworks in celebration of all the goodness, all the great gifts I have stored up for you will be yours.

For I am taking the lid off the treasure box, long kept.

For that which you sit in, that which you receive as the ultimate gift of all my joy and delight, was only just a taste of what is to come.

For the one who is laid bare, is in the right position to receive an outpouring of all my love and affection.