Recently as I sat with the Lord and asked Him what He wanted me to share He said, “Lift the lid on the box and remove limiting mindsets and restraints. As my people lift the lid on the box they will be surprised by what they will see and what will open up for them.”

 

 

I felt the Lord was saying that there were people who were restricting the fullness of what God wanted to do as they were confining Him to moving only in their ‘box’ or within their parameters. I had a vision of people lifting the lid on a box they were holding and as they did they were surprised by all they saw inside and what unfolded before them. There was such joy and wonder as they lifted the lid and all the Lord had for them was unveiled.

 

Plans and purposes for individuals

The Lord showed me that He had some exciting and ‘out of the box’ plans and destinies for some people but they were not stepping into the fullness of those plans as they had limited their view of how the Lord was going to use them. They had a specific view of how they would be used by God and had closed off promptings from the Holy Spirit that weren’t in line with the way they thought the Lord would use them. Reasons for this were the people felt they weren’t qualified to be used in those ways or they were listening to people around them who said they couldn’t be used in that way. The Lord was wanting to stretch them to move into His greater plans and purposes. As the people removed their own ideas (removed the lid on their plans) and surrendered to the leading of the Holy Spirit, they were able to move into the fullness of all the Lord had planned. The people were surprised by the areas in which the Lord was leading them and the magnitude of the task He was entrusting them with. They were also equally surprised by the ease with which they stepped into the plans and assignments the Lord had for them once they put their complete trust in God and once they believed they could do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13). The Lord showed me that these people had been faithful with the task the Lord had given them and He was now entrusting them with more. He was leading them into areas of great impact for His Kingdom.

 

God often calls the unqualified to do the work only He can accomplish through them. When we look at the story of Moses in the Bible we see that he felt unqualified to do the work he was called to do but God provided everything he needed. We see Gideon (Judges 6:14-16) and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:6-8) had similar reactions of feeling unqualified when called. We need to choose to step out in faith and trust God when He leads us. God said, “Now go!” to Moses in Exodus 4:12; He was telling him to act. As we step out in faith and respond in obedience to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, God will provide all we need. The Holy Spirit often acts in people’s lives at the time of their action. Yet we don’t see ourselves as capable enough to do anything in our own strength, for our true competence flows from God’s empowering presence (2 Corinthians 3:5 The Passion Translation).

 

How/where God will move

The Lord showed me that there were many people crying out for a move of His Spirit in their region and country. I had a vision of people earnestly praying for a powerful move of God. I saw the Holy Spirit begin to move in power but it was in ways that were unexpected and through people that were unexpected. Some of the people that had been praying quickly saw the Spirit moving and partnered with the move of God. These people were sensitive to the Holy Spirit and had a humble and servant heart. They were willing to partner with others and partner with God to see His plans fulfilled. Others who were praying though missed the move of the Spirit as the move was outside the parameter of the box in which they thought God would move. I saw these people holding tightly to their box with the lid firmly in place. The Lord was wanting them to remove the lid of the box and remove the constraints they had placed on how and where the Spirit would move. He was wanting them to have a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and to see with heavenly perspective. The Lord was answering the prayers of the people and a powerful move of the Spirit was occurring. With this move came a breakdown of limiting mindsets. As people lifted the lid on mindsets they held they were coming together in unity and partnering with the move of the Spirit to impact their region. The people were excited by all the Lord was doing and were praising Him. They saw the Lord do abundantly more than they could ever ask or think or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

 

Many times we expect God to answer our prayers in a certain way, and He answers in another way and we are surprised by how much better His way is than ours in fulfilling His purposes. Moses and the Israelite people were surprised by the ways God delivered them and provided for them time and time again. In Exodus 14 we read that the Israelites panicked as they saw the Egyptians pursuing them after they had left Egypt and were in the wilderness but Moses told them not to be afraid as the Lord would rescue them and fight for them. When the Lord parted the sea and they crossed on dry land and then caused the water to return after they had crossed killing all the army of Pharaoh, the Israelites were filled with awe at the work of the Lord. The Lord had rescued them in a way that was so much greater than they imagined. In Acts 12:1-19 we read of Peter’s miraculous escape from prison. The church had gone into intense prayer asking God to free Peter. When an angel appeared to Peter in his cell and his chains fell off his wrists and Peter walked out of the cell, Peter then went to the home of Mary where the house was filled with people praying for his release from prison. When Peter knocked on the door and the young servant girl ran back to the others to tell them Peter was standing outside, they didn’t believe her. When they finally opened the door, as Peter was still outside knocking on the door, they were shocked to see Peter standing outside. The people had been praying for God to move but they were surprised by the way He moved.

 

Lift the Lid

We are living in exciting times! The Lord wants you to encourage you to remove the lid on the box and remove any limitations you have placed on how you will be used by God and how He will move in your region. His thoughts and ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9) and His plans are so much greater than ours. How great is our God! There’s absolutely nothing his power cannot accomplish and he has infinite understanding of everything (Psalm 147:5 The Passion Translation). He wants to surprise you with the mighty plans He has prepared ahead of time for you to step into!

 

Remove the lid and be surprised by what He reveals to you as you surrender to His leading and partner with Him to see His purposes fulfilled.