Potential

It is what it is….

You say “it is what it is”, but I say it is not what it is, it is what it shall be, it is what it is becoming.

You accept that it will be, what it will be.

You expect there to be no change, you make no allowance for change. You expect the same old, same old pattern.

Let me introduce you to the new.

For it is not like the old, yet it comes from the old, the ancient of days.

Does the teenager look like the baby?

Does the foundation look like the house?

Does the bud look like the flower?

Does the desert look like the lush green pasture?

Does the pauper look like the prince?

For some you can see the resemblance, the features of origin, the place of conception. The substance resembling the form.

For some it is the same but new, for others it bears no resemblance to that from which it came.

Who can predict it, who can recognise it?

Who would expect rivers to flow in the dry desert?

Who would expect fountains to water the garden?

What is the point of the new?

Selah – pause and think calmly on that!

Is this not about growth? Is this not for your growth?

From the hard comes the soft….

From the rigid pattern, comes the flexible, the creative…

From the dry comes the wet…

From the seed comes the multiplication…

For what you see, is but a seed of what is to come.

For some incremental growth, for others a bursting forth.

For some you need a new picture. Here take my picture of what it shall look like. For you see the seed, here let me show you a glimpse of the flower, the bursting forth, the potential.

For this is not the land of the dry, this is not the land of the just enough, this is not the land of confusion, this is not the land of the coming out, this is the land of the coming in, the land of the possession, the place of possession, the place of dispossession, the place where the occupiers shall move out, and those who are occupied will move it.

For I am pre-occupied with occupation, this has been my focus, my plan, my fullness designed to burst forth.

For the captive shall take possession.

There shall be a reversal, an exchange, a re-positioning, a re-purposing, the weak shall dominate the strong, the captive shall overthrow the powerful, the weak shall possess strength, shall be known for their strength, shall be synonymous with strength. For your enemy shall regard you as possessing much strength, shall tremble as you advance. You shall have a reputation for domination, for dominion, the pauper now regarded as the prince. The prisoner now regarded as the ruler.

For you shall possess all courage, for you shall drive out fear, fear shall be running scared, shall tremble before you.

Look out, just look out, seriously just look out, do not be downcast, for you shall cast out, you shall cast down, you shall overthrow, you shall conquer, you shall overcome.

Today, this day, behold I have made you a mighty fortress, a strong tower. A Fortress of the mighty, a stronghold possessing the almighty, a tower of strength, a pillar of strength, the one that can be relied upon, the one that many shall lean upon.

Daniel 10:16-19 And behold, one in the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke. I said to him who stood before me, O my lord, by reason of the vision sorrows and pains have come upon me, and I retain no strength. For how can my lord’s servant who is so feeble talk with this my lord? For now no strength remains in me, nor is there any breath left in me. Then there touched me again one whose appearance was like that of a man, and he strengthened me. And he said, O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be to you! Be strong, yes, be strong. And when he had spoken to me, I was strengthened and said, Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.

You feel weak, and yet I say to you be strong, possess strength, take strength. No longer an insect, now you have become iron, unbreakable, beyond strength. For you shall trample on the feet of those who oppose you, you shall dispossess all those who oppose, you shall drive out all those who do not welcome your advance.

Ezekiel 34:11-16 For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I Myself, will search for My sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his sheep in the day that he is among his flock that are scattered, so will I seek out My sheep; and I will rescue them out of all places where they have been scattered in the day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and will bring them to their own land; and I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be; there shall they lie down in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed My sheep and I will cause them to lie down, says the Lord God. I will seek that which was lost and bring back that which has strayed, and I will bandage the hurt and the crippled and will strengthen the weak and the sick…

Many shall welcome your advance, for I have rolled out the red carpet, like the Logies, where the rich and famous line up and everyone takes their picture, everyone whats to see what they are doing. Like the poor unknown starlet found on the beach with all the photographers pressing to take her picture.

For you are special, you are worthy for I have made you worthy, for my glory rises upon you and you shall shine forth, brighter than the noonday sun.

Let it be to us as you have said.

Do not be bound up, say to the binding, be loosed, to the boundary be extended, to the restriction – lay off restraint, abandon all restraint.

For the broken shall have potential, shall be better than before, shall be of more value than before.

New for old replacement.

I am replacing the old with the new, look out for the new, it bursts forth on the left and the right.

Not the single flower, not the one seed, not the one but the many. For now is the time of harvest.

This is what my packet of seed says…

Sprinkle liberally across the land, don’t hold back, don’t use sparingly, do not spare, don’t worry about the soil, for this is self fertilising, this needs no shade, for it shall be bathed in my glory. Expect abundant growth, expect domination, expect it to overgrow, to be beyond your perimeter, to out grow that which contains it. Expect fullness, expect to feed the poor and hungry, expect ongoing supply, expect minimal maintenance, expect fruitfulness on the left and the right. A picture of growth, an amazing harvest! Ezekiel 34:23-31 And I will raise up over them one Shepherd and He shall feed them, even My Servant David; He shall feed them and He shall be their Shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God and My Servant David a Prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it. And I will confirm with them a covenant of peace and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land, and My people shall dwell safely in the wilderness, desert, or pastureland and sleep confidently in the woods. And I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing, and I will cause the showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing of good insured by God’s favor. And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit and the earth shall yield its increase; and My people shall be secure in their land, and they shall be confident and know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them out of the hand of those who made slaves of them. And they shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the earth devour them, but they shall dwell safely and none shall make them afraid. And I will raise up for them a planting of crops for renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land nor bear the reproach of the nations any longer. Then shall they know positively that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are My people, says the Lord God, And that you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, are only men and I am your God, says the Lord God.