The Fruit of Pursuit Part 1

In this series I am beginning with what I shared in closing my last post then I am going to comment on what happened as I did what I said I would do.

NOTE: On a personal note, I am taking a short hiatus from my posts, likely 2-3 weeks. I have received many words in recent years about the need to slow down/rest, which I did not heed. With my recent retirement (which I think of as a transition more into Kingdom work) I recently received four independent prophetic words about being in a season of preparation and the Lord calling me to a deeper place of rest and intimacy with Him as the key to that process. In fact when I looked back at my prayer notes I realized these prophetic words were a clear answer to a prayer I prayed and recorded on May 18. The prayer came out of an encounter with the Father that morning. So, while I trust I won’t be gone long, I currently need to be obedient (finally) and focus on going deeper in my relationship with my heavenly Father or miss what He has prepared for me to walk in. ¹⁰  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)

As I write this I am physically worn out from jet lag yet I am very conscious of refreshing and life in my spirit. My trip to Scotland and Paris was not physically restful but it was deeply spiritually refreshing. My awake time was primarily walking, biking, walking, did I mention walking – we did a lot of that! There was also time standing in lines and time on trains and there and back quite a bit of time on planes. My point being that I wasn’t locked away somewhere deep in prayer. What happened spiritually came from a shift in focus. I will explain.

The spiritual refreshing came mainly in Scotland. Part of that was praying much of the time throughout the day as we toured historic sites. My friend Evelyn stepped from time into eternity just over 18 months ago. In her almost 91 years on earth she had learned to spend much of her time there and brought much back. Though she is no longer here the Holy Spirit is still reminding me of things she shared and applying some of them was key to the spiritual refreshing I experienced.

Evelyn had spoken to me more than once of the importance of breathing His thoughts across the land. As we walked and toured I sought to connect to His heart and come into agreement for His purposes for the land and people. Another key factor in experiencing refreshing was reading some prophetic books on deeper encounters with Jesus and in prayer, sometimes gently, sometimes vigorously, asking Him to draw me into His heart and purpose. Doing this wasn’t about seeking to ‘minister.’ In fact a primary decision in not doing my blog in recent weeks, or other ministry, was to ‘not’ do something and replace it with the pursuit of Him. My focus was seeking to commune with my Father and agree with His heart.

Part of the refreshing was my Father revealing things to me in the night seasons and inviting me into intercession in these times. It left me physically tired but spiritually strengthened. In future posts I will share more about this pursuit and fruit and will talk about a 25 year season I believe is now drawing to a close as transition takes place in my life. My goal and hope in sharing this is that it will point us to Jesus. Hence my attention to the importance of my shift in focus and using my own experience as an example.

Lastly, I do not see and encounter things as some do who have sweeping visions, ecstatic encounters or similar visitations. However, I have committed myself to dig into His word, connect to my spirit, and gaze upon Jesus. This leads to regular times of gentle encounter and at times a sense of being overwhelmed by His presence on and within me. Over the years I have simply done what I believe all of us as Christians are called to do.