God Says, "For Those Who Have Been on the Path of Conflict, I Am Leading You to a Pathway of My Vindication!"
Earlier this month, I had a dream where I was being pursued by wild beasts and lions. I knew that I was going after the calling that God had placed on my life, and yet I felt like I was being pursued at every corner. (Have you ever felt like this?) Then, suddenly, a flaming sword came down onto the road and divided it, separating me from the beasts so that they were unable to get to me.
Then I heard a voice say, "Sever the path. Close the door. Shut all access points. This is a new chapter; this is a new path – walk in it!"
"Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'" (Isaiah 30:21 NIV)
I knew this was an instruction of the Lord to sever and bring closure to areas of the past. But I also knew this was the Lord speaking about how we had entered into a time of the closing of an old door and the beginning of a new one; the severing of an old path and the beginning of a new one. I knew, immediately, this was for the pioneers who'd been pioneering on a particular journey for such a long period of time. It was for those who've been in transition for a long period of time, walking a certain way, and have become familiar with the different aspects of the road – the different enemies, the different hurdles, the different issues and the specific terrain.
I knew this was the Lord now saying, "Hey, this new path you're about to walk on is going to look very different from what you've known." I also knew it was the Lord speaking about the ending of a season of warfare and opposition and the beginning of a season of protection and favor, and the restoration of joy and strength.
I knew this was the Lord speaking into a new path and season of time where we will have the ability to focus on building rather than just defending – like Nehemiah in the rebuilding of the wall, where his people had to constantly hold a sword in one hand and a building tool in the other. This will be a season where we can use both hands to build. All our effort and might can be focused on building, and we won't have to constantly keep defending ourselves from the ravenous beasts that have been at our doorstep.
A Scripture came into my spirit instantly:
"And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. (Isaiah 35:8-10 NIV)
I knew this was the Lord speaking over us – that we are entering a new path and journey; we have turned a corner! Many of us are leaving the tiresome road of constant battle and entering a season of offensive occupation and fulfillment. Just as David had his season of being alone in the wilderness, having to defend his sheep and fight bears and lions, we too have been in this season, wondering when the purpose would meet us and when we would finally leave the wild goose chase of spending all of our energy on putting out fires and defending ourselves and our families against invaders.
Now the Lord says, "You are entering the season of seeing what the battle season was for, and instead of being invaded, you will now invade the enemy's territory and take back what was stolen! Now you will see what the tempering and refining season was forging inside you and your divine purpose being unveiled. You are entering a 'highway of holiness' season – a path for the set-apart ones who haven't wavered. This is where you will see the fruit of your blind 'yes'."
It's going to be a time and a season when we're able to focus completely on what He has given us. It will be a time of revelation, a time of renewal and strength, and a time of restoration of joy. We've had to war, contend and battle for the promise, but now we are entering into a time of peace and rest. (Photo via Pixabay)
"Watch Me Deal with the Lions"
I felt the deliverance of the Lord was coming to many right now, and the Lord said, "And now watch Me deal with the lions!" I knew this was for those who have been in the thick of the battle over their lives, families and destinies, where the enemy has sought to take them out and discredit them. This season, watch as the Lord pursues the lions and clears your name. Now you will enter the new path unscathed, and the old tyrant masters and bullying circumstances will hang over your head no longer!
"They [the former tyrant masters] are dead, they shall not live and reappear; they are powerless ghosts, they shall not rise and come back. Therefore You have visited and made an end of them and caused every memory of them [every trace of their supremacy] to perish" (Isaiah 26:14 AMPC)
Sever the Access Points
I felt that the instruction in this revelation from the Lord was really quite simple, but it is something that we have to be intentional about right now... The Lord is wanting us to take care of the areas (the access points) where the enemy is constantly getting to us and keeping us tethered to the past season. This is the time when the Lord is really wanting us to deal with the areas where we have been double-minded and doubting Him.
From around October 2022 to even right now, there has been an assignment – a full assault – that's been trying to bombard God's people and stop them from entering this new path so that they will not see the promise in the days to come. It is the enemy's attempt to thwart the fulfillment of the promise that he could see coming to those who have stood and walked faithfully through the years, even when the path didn't make sense. These access points have been vital areas of the heart that, when compromised, have caused many to turn and walk away, or to settle for an inferior and counterfeit path. Don't settle!
Break Unequally Yoked Alignments
In this instruction, I also felt that it was crucial to bring closure to the relationships and the ties that have been unequally yoked for some time. Often we can stay in connection with people who have drifted from the path because we feel a sense of loyalty to them and don't want to see them in a bad place, but in doing so, we can hold ourselves back from the path and even drift from the path ourselves.
There has been a massive push from the enemy to put stocks on the feet of those who are moving forward by tethering them to people and the expectations from past seasons. Look for the 'blast from the past' situations that reveal themselves in the next few months and deal with them quickly. This plan of the enemy has come with a controlling spirit, guilt and condemnation to get you to believe you are leaving people behind; but the Lord showed me that these people are simply not willing to move where God is moving, and some would rather hold you back. Discern the game at play and sever the ties!
Also, check your alignments right now. Are they freeing you and empowering you, or policing you and forcing you to submit to a false sense of covering that actually lacks true Kingdom covenant connection? You need covenant connection on this new path and nothing else. Let that be your standard. Anything less is an unequal yoke and, in due time, will trip you up and lead you back into the path of endless chatter and conflict.
This is a time when God's going to deal with the wrong alignments, the wolves and the lions, that have been waiting and crushing you at every point. God is going to shut down every access point so that we can move into this new season uncluttered and completely focused on what He is leading us into. Get ready for a time of new, relational alignments.
Get ready for a time of the Lord leading you to people who will be selfless, people who will lift your arms up; a tribe of people who will get you well. You won't have to explain yourself to them anymore, and you won't have to beg them to be in your life to do things with and run with. This will be a time and a season where you'll find the people that get your heart and who will surround you. So get ready for a new tribe in this season – in this new path.
As the enemy has been roaring around like a lion, looking for those he can devour through wrong alignments, the Lord is dealing with his plans and is aligning and connecting you with people who will be for you and stand with you.
No Backup Plans
Even recently, my wife Christy and I felt the Lord speak clearly and say, "I don't want you to have any backup plans. Cut the cord!"
I think it's quite a normal thing for pioneers – when the Lord calls them out into the deep – to begin planning for a backup route or path because, as pioneers know, sometimes the seasons the Lord leads us into don't look like successes at first. In fact, quite a lot of the time they feel like failures; things fall apart and things don't work. It could become easy to develop a backup plan just in case we need it, but I feel strongly that the Lord is saying, "Don't! I do not want you to have any backup plan this season. I want you to be all in on what I'm doing."
I feel there's an instruction in these words from the Lord to completely sever and do away with the past season, and to devote this new path and season to the Lord, where 100% of our focus is on where He's leading us and what He's leading us into. What does that look like for your path, for your life and for your family?
Stop Casting Your Pearls!
The Lord says, "The enemy will not have any access point to you if you are protective of what I have given to you."
This is a season where the Lord doesn't want you to cast your pearls before swine anymore. This is a season where He doesn't want you to continue forfeiting the calling on your life or handing it over to other people you feel are more capable of running in that calling. This is not a season to hide, a season to be quiet, a season to run away or a season to put your calling on the shelf for another time. This is a season to step into all that He's called you to be, with no beasts at your door and without constant attacks and arrows flying at you from every corner – fully able to step into the calling God has for you. (Photo via Unsplash)
Pursue the Giants in the Land!
This is a season where the Lord wants you to pursue the giants in the earth. "This is a season," says the Lord, "where I am taking you from a place of being pursued to you becoming the pursuer. You are going from being constantly attacked and constantly persecuted to a season where you will persecute the enemy and you'll unveil, reveal and expose his plans to the world. In this season, I'm flipping the script and I'm overturning the tables where you had enemies constantly at your doorstep, trying to prevent you from entering into the promise. This will be the season where you foil their plans and you lead many others into their promise. Will I not do it?" says the Lord.
Now Comes the Birthing
Then I heard the Lord say, "And now comes the birthing that has been delayed! I'm cutting off all access points so that the birthing suite will be safe for you to birth what I've given you to birth!
"This will be a season," says the Lord, "where you will be able to completely feel safe. Many have been waiting for a long season; many have been waiting for an environment and a habitat that feels safe for them to birth what I have given them – and this will be that season," says the Lord. "It will be a season where you do not have to look over your shoulder anymore, waiting for something that is trying to take you out. This will be a season where you'll feel peace, the release and the 'go' to finally plant your feet and birth what I've given you, and you will build in peace," says the Lord.
"If You Dream It, I Will Build It"
"You will have the resources, you will have the funds; you will have the support to be able to build what I've given you. You will have the infrastructure, you will have the plans and you'll know that it is a season, a grace and a time to be able to establish what I've given you.
"You will wander no more. You will stop looking and you will not have to continually be seeking, but you will find and you'll establish your feet and plant your feet in the land that I've given to you," says the Lord. "You will finally build and establish that which I've put on the inside of you. But will you dream with Me or will you keep looking at your circumstances and letting them taunt you? For if you dream it, I will build it!"
Let the Old Path Go
As I was talking to the Lord about all of this, I felt a strong sense of needing to surrender everything that I had walked through and was still carrying (mindsets, fears, people – all of it).
So what was I carrying?
"Your directions and your will," I heard Him say. Ouch. "Your failures and thinking, This will end badly," I heard Him then say. Ouch again.
"OK, Lord, I lay it all down," I said. "I have to step into this with fresh eyes and a heart uncluttered."
Will you lay it all down and surrender everything? I feel such a fear of the Lord over this new path. It feels like holy ground, and we shouldn't step into it with the same familiarity; we need to leave that on the old path. What do you need to let go of? What about the people on your old path that didn't, or couldn't, come with you? On this new path, you can't be focused on what other people are doing and saying or you will miss what God is doing. You can't look around at Sodom, like Lot's wife did, and also be able to hold your gaze with Jesus. You are going to have to tune out the disapproval and noise of others and make the only thing you hear and see the King of glory. Let it all go...
A Detour from the Hustle into Holiness
Lastly, let me speak from the heart. I have felt such a strong, intentional pull away from the old wineskin of the hustle and busyness. In this season, you will fight fewer battles as you leave the 'busy' and embrace rest. It will require saying no more often. There are opportunities and doors that look and sound good, but they are stealing the peace and energy needed for something else. Discernment is needed in order to know what is from God for you and what is for someone else. You will have to truly discern and know what you are called to do and what you aren't, and be unapologetic about turning away what isn't ordained by God for you and your family.
This pathway of holiness is a 'separated unto the Lord' season where He will lead you off the merry-go-round of constant warring and fighting and into a settling and establishing. But it will require intentionally leaning into His presence and refusing to be baited into old cycles and patterns.
Keys for your journey in this new season:
• Leave the hustle: It only hurts you and puts you in dangerous situations.
• Don't let people buy you or let your anointing be sold.
• Refuse to be sidetracked by constant fires and emergencies.
• Let this be a season where the Spirit of Holiness comes upon you and leads you on the path of the redeemed.
ALL FOR JESUS!
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Nate Johnston
Everyday Revivalists
Email:Â everydayrevivalists@gmail.com
Website:Â nateandchristy.co
Nate Johnston is a prophetic voice and worshiper who has a heart to see sons and daughters unleashed into passionate friendship with God and an effective supernatural lifestyle. Through his ministry school "Everyday Revivalists," he leads people from the basics of the Gospel through to being sent and released into their mission field, as well as championing and raising up emerging prophetic voices around the world. His burning cry and desire is to see the Body of Christ become a beacon for the lost by raising up a generation that walks in the love and power of God, representing Him well. Nate and his wife Christy have three daughters, Charlotte, Sophie, and Ava and live in Dallas, Texas.
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Nate and Christy Johnson's articles are always chock-full of deep, heavenly revelation to encourage and bless the saints on their own paths.
The new path He is opening before you will also become a bridge for others to walk over as well.
