Jennifer LeClaire is senior editor of Charisma. She is also director of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale and author of several books, including Satan's Deadly Trio: Defeating the Deceptions of Jezebel, Religion and Witchcraft, and The Spiritual Warrior's Guide to Defeating Jezebel.
Every year we set our hearts on a
new beginning of some sort—but 2015 is different than 2014, 2013, 2012 and the
years before. That's because 2015, as the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart, is the
year of new beginnings.
The most significant new
beginning of my life happened in a jail cell about 15 years ago. I was falsely
accused of a crime I didn't commit. After losing my husband the year before, I
lost just about everything else I had during the 40 days it took to see my
vindication. I lost my apartment, my job, my savings, my dog—it sort of sounds
like one of those sad country songs. (You can read my entire testimony here.) But
I gained Christ and I consider everything else worthless compared with the
value of knowing Him (Phil. 3:8).
Nothing can top my salvation
experience, but I do believe 2015 will prove to be a year of new
beginnings—notice the Holy Spirit told me beginnings (plural) and not beginning
(singular). In 2014, many in the body of Christ sensed they were being prepared
for something—something they couldn't articulate. Many felt like they were
being stretched beyond their natural limits.
Many thought felt they were pregnant with something big and felt the pain and
frustration of being past due.
A Year of Birthings
I believe 2015 is a year of new
beginnings and that means birthings. Last fall, Ken Malone had a prophetic
vision that shook him and the Lord impressed upon him that we are in a season
of giving birth.
"I saw and heard the radical
remnant of the Lord pregnant with the dreams and visions of the Lord. They were
pregnant with the purposes of God in the earth. Many are pregnant with
awakening revival for their nation, cities and families. Others are pregnant
with a harvest of souls. Still others are pregnant with signs, wonders and
miracles. Then there are those who are pregnant with His presence, intercession
and gifts of the Holy Spirit," Malone writes.
"The radical remnant I saw
and am seeing is beyond full term. Something is keeping them from delivering
God's purpose. The remnant is not able to deliver. Groaning and travail as with
a woman in pain of childbirth is on the remnant. But no one can deliver.
Suddenly, I began to see why we could not deliver. The accuser of the brethren
was standing there making accusation against the remnant. Dreams and visions
from the Lord are being held hostage in the womb of the sons and daughters of
the Lord by this accuser."
Preparing for New Beginnings
You can read the rest of his
vision, which will encourage your heart, but I would encourage you to get ready
for the birthing that will bring the new beginning. 2015 is a year of new
beginnings. That means some of you are going to birth some things. That means
you may be a little uncomfortable in 2015. It means you will face some
transition. It means you may enter into travail. It means you will face the
accuser of the brethren and engage in spiritual warfare at new levels. But you
will win! It will be worth it!
What is your part to play in this birthing unto new
beginnings? Let me get real practical with you and offer four keys to equip you
for this season.
1. Give your will over to the Lord.
What you are birthing may seem
scary to you or it may seem insignificant to you. It may seem overwhelming to
you. We can take a lesson from Mary. It's time to face your fears—fear of the
unknown, fear of failing, fear of rejection, fear of transition. When the angel
came to Mary and told her she would birth the Son of God, she ultimately
responded: "I am the servant of the
Lord. May it be unto me according to your word" (Luke 1:38).
2. Be willing to adjust your
schedule.
When you are expecting a baby,
you are preparing for its birth. Women, we change the way we eat, the way we
sleep, how we spend our time. As we prepare to enter a year of new beginnings
and birthings, we must be willing to adjust our schedules and to spend
more time in the Word, in worship and in prayer. That may mean giving up other
things. "Therefore, since we
are encompassed with such a great cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside
every weight and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let
us run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Heb. 12:1, emphasis
added).
3. Be willing to shift your
direction.
I've had a number of baby dreams over the years.
In one of my baby dreams I was nine months pregnant but the baby had stopped
moving. The baby wasn't kicking or rolling or showing any sign of life. I
thought the baby was dead and I panicked. Then, suddenly, I had the unction to
shift the baby's position with gentle pressure from my hand. (I later
researched this and discovered there's a name for it: the Diaphragmatic
Release.) When I did, I could feel the baby kicking again. I knew all was well.
Sometimes things look dead but
you just have to reposition yourself for life. It doesn't always take much. Just
one gentle movement in the right direction can cause God to breathe on that
thing again so you can birth it and begin nurturing what God has given you to
steward. But you need to hear from the Lord about which way to shift. Remain
close to the Holy Spirit, and "Your ears shall hear a word behind you,
saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,'
whenever you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left" (Is.
30:21).
If God has given you something to
birth, it may be time to pull an Ezekiel and speak to those dry bones. It may
be time to pull an Elijah and raise it from the dead. It may be time to walk
away from the Ishmael. Refuse to abort and just reposition yourself to receive
what God intended all along. You could just be in the wrong place or in the
wrong time or with the wrong people. Listen to the Lord.
4. Embrace the transition.
Transitions are difficult. This
is the place where people tend to grow weary and faint. The moments right
before you give birth to that new thing—before you enter that new beginning—are
the hardest of all. I'll write a follow up article in the coming weeks on
transitions that will equip you as we move into this year of new beginnings.
Amen.
