Word of the Day
Beloved, you are the watchman…the gatekeeper of your own heart…your own personal sheepfold. It is up to you to open the gates of your life and heart in order for Me to have complete access. Yes, I dwell in you; but, I never force you into anything. Sometimes I allow things because I long to have your complete attention and affections; but, the choice is still yours at all times. It is called free will. It doesn’t take much movement on your part to draw Me into the sheepfold of your heart. Just a breath whispering My name is enough.
Yes, whispering My name…calling My name in any and every situation is the key to opening the door…the key to letting Me in to every aspect of your life. In days gone by, the sheep were just outside the house of the master so they could be better protected and only the gatekeeper…the watchman had the key to the sheepfold. The master gave the keys to whosoever he trusted…the gatekeeper.
At one time you dwelt outside of My house…My Kingdom. When you gave your heart to Me all things changed. You became seated in heavenly places and part of the kingdom of light. The sheepfold of your life became Mine to shepherd. Yet, even in this, there is choice. Now you are the gatekeeper who decides who and what comes in…good or bad. It is up to you to invite Me to abide with you in daily relationship and intimacy. I do dwell in you but dwelling is not guaranteed fellowship. Many can live in the same house and never really know one another. I know you always; but, if you do not open the heart…the soul…you will not know as you are known.
You never have to keep the door closed out of fear of discovery, fear of failure or for any other reason. I already knew everything you would do anyway. So, there is no need to hide what I can already see and know. I am not put of by any of it. All I want to do is to be let in…to speak and share My heart with you in a unique way only understood by you. All I want to do is come in and call you by name. I love to speak your name.
Beloved, when I answer the invitation to come in, I speak what you need…and I give you the grace to heed My instructions. I call you by name with a familiarity born of the ages…born of having known you forever…born of having loved you forever. I call you by name and lead you out to green pastures of instruction, revelation, healing and understanding where I feed you everything necessary to overcome…everything necessary to be successful, to be unbound in many areas, to know Me and abide with Me in intimacy. I lead you…direct you…guide you and show the way for I am the Waymaker.
Therefore, whisper My name and open the door to only Me. Guard the gate of your heart and be a diligent watchman for out of your heart flows the springs of life (Proverbs 4:23). I have drawn near. I am knocking. Let Me come in and sup with you about the hidden places and take you to green pastures that you might receive all that you need. Come.
The watchman opens the door for this man, and the sheep listen to his voice and heed it; and he calls his own sheep by name and brings (leads) them out (John 10:3 Amplified)
But [God] led His own people forth like sheep and guided them [with a shepherd’s care] like a flock in the wilderness (Psalms 78:52 Amplified)
Prayer
Lord, I choose this day to open the doors of my heart…the doors of my own personal sheepfold where all my dreams and longings abide…where there are hidden places yet in my soul yet untouched by the Shepherd’s love. I give you complete access to the inner most places of my being. Show me…speak to me about hidden things which hinder me and keep me from receiving the fullness of Your affection and love. By a choice of my free will, I choose to listen and follow. I call on Your name. I call to You, Jesus. No situation or circumstance will keep me from hearing and listening to Your voice.
I break covenant with all fear of failure…all fear of letting You see the ugly things in my heart. You already know them and still love me; therefore, I am not afraid. I choose what is right. I choose to only let good in to the vineyard of my heart…into the sheepfold of my life. My heart is open to hear what the spirit is saying to me.
You are my beloved and I hear You calling my name. It is the sweetest sound I know. I hear you calling and I will follow as You lead me into all truth about myself and about You. I surrender my heart as one soft and moldable in Your hands. You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom (Ps. 51:6). Shape me among the green pastures of Your love into an instrument of grace. Whisper my name and I will listen. I sup with You. I give you the hidden places as I draw near for Your love is more than enough. Amen
Reflect and Journal
1. Have you ever thought about yourself as the watchman of your heart…the one who opens the door to the Lord that He might speak?
2. Your life is your own personal sheepfold. What or who is allowed to come in is up to you. The Lord is knocking at the door…and you have the key. Let Him in and listen. What instruction…what revelation…what words of love are He saying to you today?
3. When you open the gate, He comes in and speaks. You listen and then the action takes place. You need to follow. In what areas or places has the Lord spoken many times about the same thing in your life and you have not taken the initiative to follow? Ask for forgiveness for not having the courage or freedom to step out accordingly. There is grace. Grace says try again. Grace says you can as Christ lives through you. Step out by following…not by doing it in your own strength. Let His love compel you to go…to do…to be.
4. You are made in a unique way and the Lord is in relationship with you based on how He made you. He knows just how to talk to you…how to love you…how to give you what you need according to the way you have been fashioned by His hand. This should free you. You do not have to hear like someone else…think like someone else or follow Him like someone else. Meditate on this and let the beauty of how He has made you to set you free to hear, listen and follow? What do you see, hear or feel?
5. How can you personally on a practical level guard your own heart? Do you need to set boundaries with people in your life who tend to belittle you? Do you need to reconsider what you view as entertainment? Do you need to walk in forgiveness toward someone so bitterness or other manifestations of anger do not develop within the confines of your personal sheepfold? Are there habits and addictions you need to forsake by the power of Him working in you such as: drugs, alcohol, over-eating, shopping too much, gossip, sleeping too much and the list can go on for we are all unique?
6. Take some time to rest with Him and listen to the soaking song I have provided…listen and let Him draw you…speak to you. What is He whispering?