Worship
Scripture
“‘I promise that I will never leave you helpless or abandon you as orphans—I will come back to you! Soon I will leave this world and they will see me no longer, but you will see me, because I will live again, and you will come alive too. So when that day comes, you will know that I am living in the Father and that you are one with me, for I will be living in you. Those who truly love me are those who obey my commands. Whoever passionately loves me will be passionately loved by my Father. And I will passionately love you in return and will manifest my life within you.’” -John 14:18-21, TPT, emphasis added
Understanding Jesus’s Promise
As I sat with the Lord in preparation for this month, I could feel the excitement of Heaven on this month of our passionate pursuit of Jesus. The song we worshipped to is one of our theme songs for the month—an invitation to AWAKE, ARISE, and COME ALIVE! The eyes of the Lord have roamed the Earth and found hundreds and hundreds of His daughters positioned in longing and surrender and love for the One her heart adores. So here we sit and commune and wait and listen and adore.
Looking at the passage of Scripture in John, Jesus is about ready to leave His people, the ones He has manifested the Kingdom of Heaven to, over and over. The cross before Him is going to secure their adoption as sons and daughters, and He promises, “I will come back to you (John 14:18)!” He was going to give them the promised Holy Spirit, their paráklētos, who is our defense attorney, Counselor, Comforter, Advocate, Encourager, and One who is called to stand next to us to help us. Jesus knew we couldn’t fully come alive unless He gave His life for us on the cross and deposited Himself in us by His Spirit. Only then, in the finished work of the cross, would we come alive in every sense of the reality—spiritually, physically, emotionally, etc. Seal this reality with His blood and the promised Holy Spirit, and off we run in freedom, victory, hope, and glory!
The Nature of God’s Love
“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” -John 14:21
Do you know there’s nothing you can do to make our Father love you more or love you less. You are securely and undoubtedly loved no matter what. But what we do with that passionate love makes all the difference in the world, literally! He will manifest His life and His passionate love for the world through your surrender. That’s what this month is going to be about: the positioning of your heart to be transformed by His passionate love for you and for the world He died for. It’s time to awaken to that love. It’s time to view disappointment, chaos, hurt, pain, and even great joy through that lens. It’s time to place our hearts on the operating table of Heaven and ask God to do heart surgery this month—clean out, realign, reconnect, heal, shock our hearts back to life (for those who have been in a spiritual wilderness), and unclog! Oh, that passion would flow through these hearts of ours! Oh, that the blood of Jesus, that is our victory, healing, freedom, and life would pulse through our spiritual veins.
This season invites heart positioning for transformation by His passionate love. It calls us to view every circumstance—disappointment, chaos, hurt, pain, and joy—through love’s lens. We’re invited to place our hearts on Heaven’s operating table for divine surgery—cleaning, realigning, reconnecting, healing, and reviving.
Revival isn’t just for the lost, dear sisters; revival is for the people of God to come alive again!
I invite you to position your heart before the Lord and converse with Him over two things. Write down what He says to you:
- Search me, O God, and reveal to me anything that is holding my heart back from complete passion for you.
- What do you want to say to me today as it pertains to your passionate love for me? What is your desire for my heart and life?
A Prayer for Encounter
Let’s pray together as we launch into a month of intimacy and encounter. It’s going to be glorious! Are you ready? Jesus is!
Thank You Lord for what You have orchestrated because of Your marvelous love for Your daughters. It’s our joy to respond to You. We are here waiting in expectation and surrender. I pray for an anointing over the ears and minds of my sisters to hear the words You are speaking to them every day this month. Some feel like they have never heard You speak. Open their ears and their understanding to discern Your voice and receive Your words of life. I pray that many will awake and arise to new life—the old wilderness places gone, new encounters to come. Take them up on the mountain with You for 30 days, and pour out wisdom and revelation on them. Let them be ignited with the fire of Your presence and overflowing with the joy of their salvation. Speak to them about the depth of Your love for them and about those who don’t know You yet. It is time to passionately love You with all that we are, nothing held back, and passionately love the lost who need to know You, Jesus! Lord, will You put our lamps in our hands and fill them to overflowing with Your oil! Prepare us for Your coming, and prepare Your glorious Bride! We worship You and thank You for Your goodness and passionate love. In the wondrous name of Jesus, amen!
“Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;” -Revelation 19:7 (ESV)
A Few Key Notes
- This devotional was adapted from our September series called Come Alive. It’s not too late for you to join hundreds of women to seek revival and encounter with Jesus this month! Click here to sign up for Come Alive.
- Our first stateside Arise short-term team is heading to Austin, Oct. 16-21. We can take 16 women with us! Fill out this application to sign up.
