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Posted: 12/22/2011 at 10:27am
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I would like to start by stating that as human beings we are all excellent story-tellers. I am also a storyteller which kind of makes us all qualitative researchers of a sort. Simply put, we reflect and collect stories of those whom we cross paths within our lives and are the composite of those stories. We can look at it as simply data with a soul. The data or the story we write with our lives is the ever expanding perception of who we really are and why we have become that particular persona. The million dollar question is: can we really or actually change the story in mid stream in regard to the way we live, love, work, and parent our children? Is it possible for a new chapter to be written in the Book of our Life which will bring a greater peace, joy, and fulfillment to us individually?
The gift of prophecy is a precious outreach of God’s love and care for mankind. This precious gift has been used and abused by many for various reasons which I will not go into and is obvious. The Lord will not rescind a spiritual gift – but He can and will take away the opportunities to use (or should I say: “misuse”) the gift He has so graciously blessed us with. “Prophetic Focus” and stewardship is the clarion call in the spirit realm today. The urgency of prophetic focus and stewardship will be mandatory and expected going forward as the unfolding stories of many lives will hinge upon the words spoken and engraved upon the hearts of man through prophecy. The tent stakes are being pulled and the Pillar of Prophecy is now moving from the power and restoration of Pentecost and into the glory and relationship of Tabernacles.
The first yielding must be the submission to “connection.” As an aerospace engineer, I have a deep love for the vastness of the universe as well as very small particles at the quantum level. It doesn’t take long upon delving into these physical sciences that the hand of God is a hand that connects. It is connection which gives purpose and meaning to our lives. It doesn’t matter who you are; what you’ve been through; how much you have or have not; and at what stage of life you’re at – the ability or recognition to feel connected is how God has wired us and it is not just neurogically and biologically – but also emotionally. So, how do we take this first step toward connectivity of which the Spirit of Lord is commanding in this hour?
The first step understands the state of our “spirit-man” which has come under the yoke and stress of the soulish man. For instance, when many people are asked their thoughts about love, many times we receive a story back about heartbreak and disappointment. When many people are asked about a sense of belonging, the replies are oftentimes the experiences of rejection or being excluded. And when asked about being connected, the stories usually revolve around disconnection and hurt. The reason is clear in that we all must read from the story and pages we have already written by our lives. The catch, is that this is not necessarily a bad thing as many of us have been conditioned to believe…Especially within the church walls and its traditional teachings.
I needed to find out why the stories of so many people were so poorly written in regard to belonging, unconditional love, and a sense of connection. In researching “connection” or should I say “disconnection” I found that shame was the prime word woven within the chapters of most human stories. And shame is very easily understood as the fear and manifestation of disconnection. In other words, is there something about me and you that if other people know it or see it – would negate us as worthy of connection or belonging? Nobody is exempt from the chapters which have been written in the Book of Life that contain shame and the damage it produces. The problem is that nobody desires to discuss it because we are all a victim in our own story.
The core issue deep within our soul is not so much that “I’m not good enough,” “I’m not smart enough,” “I’m not beautiful enough,” “I’m not worthy enough.” Ect…The core issue runs very deep into our soul and quenches our spirit and the abundant life that the Lord has designed for us. The linchpin is the excruciating and numbing affects of “vulnerability.” For connection, belonging, and unconditional love to be written in our story, we have to allow ourselves to be seen, I mean, really, really seen!
I confess that I have been a very blessed man who has worked his way up from nothing. However, along the way, my story has been laced with many faults and dark chapters which I can easily express to others. But at the end of the day, this is lip service and no where near the aspects of vulnerability that the Lord is seeking from mine and your lives today. To move past the page of today and into the glory of tomorrow, we must understand shame and how it constructs walls and gives those who are trying to read the story of our lives nothing of memorable value and thus, a “bad read.” This is critical if the prophetic voice is to flow with clarity and through a clean and unobstructed vessel.
Truly, there are people who really have a sense of worthiness as well as a strong sense of love and belonging. And then again and on the other hand, we also have people who struggle for a sense worthiness and belonging. This is interesting because only one variable separates the two groups. Those who had a strong sense of love and belonging believed that they were worthy. The dynamic that keeps many from connectivity or belonging is the fear of not being worthy of that connection, whether it is personally, relationally, or professionally. Research tells us that those who have a sense of worthiness possess a common denominator which is "courage." With this said, we need to separate courage from bravery. "Courage” is derived from the Latin word “cor,” meaning “heart” and the original definition was to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart. What it all boils down to is that these people simply have the courage to be imperfect. As a prophetic generation, we must have the compassion to be kind to ourselves first and then to others. We can only give what we truly possess ourselves and we can only provide compassion to others if we can treat ourselves kindly.
The other common trait that becomes apparent is that people who had a sense of worthiness also felt connected. As a result of being authentic, they were willing to let go of who they thought they should be in order to be who they were. This must take place first for genuine connections to manifest. Embracing vulnerability is what makes us truly beautiful, approachable, and an interesting story for others to read. It is only “us” who oftentimes fails to see how beautiful we really are…Especially to God. Being vulnerable is not easy and frankly, it is very uncomfortable and excruciating to our flesh and soul. But it is vitally necessary going forward if we are to be pure conduits and clean vessels.
We all (especially prophetic folks), need to be the one to say: “I love you” first with no conditions; the conscious willingness to do something for another with no guarantees; or investing in another (relationship) with no return. The prophetic mantle is being lifted off many and placed upon another as the days unfold. The Lord is speaking and moving through the power of vulnerability and humility. It will not be through eloquence of speech, position, or knowledge. So much of prophecy today is predicting and a weird sense of controlling within one’s belief system or dogma. The looking glass which has been dim or opaque for so long is becoming more clear and to live with vulnerability is to stop controlling and predicting. It is rather to become a living and a tangible signpost for others to read and to experience the power of God which flows through you in the strength of your weakness.
I have said all this to state that I personally have a vulnerability problem. I believe that many of us do. Vulnerability is birthed in the womb of shame and fear within my own struggle of worthiness. The good and even greater news is that vulnerability is also the birthplace of joy, tenderness, belonging, connection, creativity, and most importantly, unconditional love. This is where we win our lives back in how God originally designed them. My chapters prove that I have lost many battles over the years due to holding on to antiquated mantles and paradigms – but I am winning or should I say writing my life back for others to easily read in the hope of salvation for many as my story becomes more personal, exciting, and read “out loud.”
The gift of tomorrow will most likely unfold and with it will come various rejections, frustrations, loss of jobs, loss of loved ones, ect. We live in a very vulnerable world and the primary way we deal with it is to numb or even bury vulnerability. The more societies have numbed vulnerability due to the unsustainable stress of expectations – the more we have witnessed debt, addictions, and various escape or coping mechanisms. We box up when the first disappointment hits and we run to our favorite coping devise. I heard a statement recently that said: “You cannot selectively numb hard feelings without numbing all of the the other aspects which affect our emotions.” It is all of the “emotions” we have penned in the Book of our Life which characterizes the flavor and essence of our continuing story. You cannot selectively numb the bad without also numbing the entire Fruit of the Spirit. The numbing of the Fruit of the Spirit is what produces a miserable chapter as we search for purpose and meaning to life in the midst of our circumstances. This is the dangerous cycle and snare that the enemy of our souls has used to quench the prophetic voice and the abundant life of the saints.
Why and how are many of us numb today? Do we really need to continue making what’s uncertain certain? Does Christianity need to move from belief, faith, and mystery to what is entirely certain? Does I’m right and your wrong really work and is this the heart of Christ? Our stories are interesting when we look at how we discourse and converse and it become easy for all to read in the realm of politics which is just an example or extension of humanity whether we want to believe it or not. The discourse and conversation simply leads to “blame” which is just a way to discharge deep seated fear.
If we’re not blaming as a mechanism for self preservation, we will try to “perfect.” For many years I have worn the heavy and burdensome garment of perfection. I am still in the process of removing the many layers which have hindered and constricted my movement in the spirit. The burden of perfection has aggressively woven into the fabric of all societies and has webbed into everything from plastic conversations to plastic surgery.
The perfecting is most painfully and dangerously realized in our children. Our children are hard-wired by God for struggle when they are born. We feel that it’s our purpose to state how perfect he or she is and to keep perfecting the little bundle of joy we call our own. However, our purpose is just the opposite in the spirit. Our purpose is to teach that we are very imperfect and are only perfected in Christ. You’re imperfect and you are suited very well for struggle, but you are also worthy and loved very much. You belong and are connected to this family and to the family of God’s people who have not neglected assembling together in love. If we prophesy this – we will witness an end to the issues and entitlement we are “reading” in the lives our young people today.
I’ll end by stating how important it is to let ourselves be seen, deeply seen. It’s important that we become vulnerable and embrace the power that resides within it. It’s important that we love with our whole heart as this can only be expressed by those who are vulnerable and tender. Love with all your heart when there’s no promise of reward. Overflow with the Fruit of the Spirit in those certain moments of disappointment and loss (I promise you that the power of this humble gratitude will produce the miraculous and is the Lords delight) Forgive with aggression as this is the glue that holds all connections eternally together. Believe that you’re worthy. Be kind to yourself which will manifest toward the lives of others. This is the heart of God and the power of prophecy revealed in the lives of vessels which are being poured out on a very proud and yet, very desperate world.
Edited by Danny Korakas on 12/23/2011 at 12:52am
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Topic: THE STORYTELLERS
