Psalms 27:14 TPT   “Here’s what I’ve learned through it all: Don’t give up; don’t be impatient; be entwined as one with the Lord. Be brave and courageous, and never lose hope. Yes, keep on waiting— for he will never disappoint you!”

We usually see this verse translated as Wait upon the Lord…..  which is entirely appropriate.  But the Hebrew qavah has richer meanings.  Here they are, “to tie together by twisting” or “to entwine” or “to wrap tightly”.

What a beautiful picture of our active work of waiting on the Lord.  It’s not throwing it to the man upstairs and leaving it with Him while we go about or life on earth..   It is an active pursuit of intimacy with Papa for the sake of becoming closer and closer to Him.   Not to pester Him about the answer, but we move closer to Him because we know that in Him are all the answers to all the questions and He will share them with us if we just get close, get quiet and listen.

The verse uses the word qavah twice, which emphasizes our need to continually entwine with Papa to be able to hear Him better and be strengthened in our faith, courage, hope, love and trust in Him.

Psalms 27:4 TPT   “Here’s the one thing I crave from Yahweh, the one thing I seek above all else: I want to live with him every moment in his house, beholding the marvelous beauty of Yahweh, filled with awe, delighting in his glory and grace. I want to contemplate in his temple.”

David sought with all his heart to be in the presence of Papa as much as humanly possible. He lived under as much of the New covenant as was possible before the cross.   He said it best here, “l want to live with Him every moment in his house”.

We are there now, by the grace of Yahweh, living continually in His presence because Holy Spirit has taken up residence in us.  We are that temple (house), the very indwelling expression of the trinity on this earth.

Yeshua came to show us the very essence of Papa through the power of the Holy Spirit who filled Him.  He laid out the pattern for all His brothers and sisters who would follow Him. Now, we are a multitude of little Christs “Christians” filling the whole earth with the Spirit of the living God.

Where He was able to turn the whole Roman Empire upside down with 12 disciples.  We as His brethren will indeed turn the whole world on its ear.  Our job is to stay connected to the voice of Holy Spirit and do the works of Yeshua, yes and even more as He said we would.

Abide in that secret place, His temple in your heart and out of your belly will flow rivers of living water.  Yes it says rivers, plural.

John 7:38 TPT  “Believe in me so that rivers of living water will burst out from within you, flowing from your innermost being, just like Scripture says?”

Romans 8 lines out some amazing things about who we are in Jesus. One of them is revealed in the three distinct groanings.  All of creation has been groaning under the consequences of the fall, desiring the manifestation of the sons of God in the earth.  Indeed we, the very sons of God, ourselves groan for the revealing of the fully manifested Sons of the Lord.  That would be us, fully redeemed, body soul and spirit.  Yes, even the very Spirit of the Lord Himself empowers our deepest groanings when we are at a total loss as to how to pray.

All of creation was subjected to grief pain and suffering when man (Adam) turned his dominion over the earth to the enemy. Ever since then creation has longed for the revealing of the Sons of God once again as they take their rightful dominion back and set the world right.  As the creation so do we groan in our hearts for that same revealing to be made manifest.  The most powerful part of the whole subject of groaning is that the Holy Spirit Himself actually initiates and empowers groanings through us as we come to the end of our own strength and literally run out of words to express our deepest longings for His will to be accomplished.

This  return to the creation as it was before the fall is not just some future thing which we will watch at the end of time when the trumpet blows and we are caught up.  However we have a part to play, indeed a critical part to play, in joining with creation and Holy Spirit to intercede for the full restoration of all things.

That’s the beauty here, it’s not just that the cosmos longs for deliverance or that we ourselves seek it, but that Holy Spirit Himself is the driving force within us to bring the restoration to fruition.  It’s not that we must just pine away for our full redemption, hoping and praying it comes someday.  We have the firm assurance that YHVH Himself is working to bring it forth through the mystery of His Spirit calling it into being through us, His children.

The messengers of God, angels, are sent forth to minister to the sons of God.  We are actually given authority to send them forth to accomplish His will in the earth.   It’s not just that they are sent out by the Lord of Hosts, which of course they are, but we can have a part in that as He leads us.

Prayer is not just about asking for goodies from Papa or crying out for help.  We are fully commissioned to send forth His army, to kick butt and take numbers so to speak, in the heavenlies.  This is of course wrapped up in His will, which He has laid out for us in His Word and revealed to us through revelations.

The best part of this all is that we are on the winning side, well technically our side already won, so when we send forth the angels to accomplish His will it’s not a question of if but when.  The angels on our side make special forces units from the earthly military look like little kids by comparison.

“Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?”

Hebrews 1:14 ESV

https://www.bible.com/59/heb.1.14.esv

What a quandary, is Papa God justice or mercy?  How can both attributes be so strongly outlined in the Word?

We were created in His image, we are very much like Him in our very design and makeup.  We have today many justice warriors who live from their seat of judgement seeing nothing but the injustice of the world.  I’m not belittling the horrible injustice that does exist in our world but we must dig to the sources of that injustice.  Additionally we must look at the proposed solutions to injustices to make sure we are perpetuating the never ending cycle of injustice.

On the other side many walk in their calling of mercy to the exclusion of any consequences for wrongdoing.  Where is the balance?  Our only hope for finding balance is in Papa.  He’s revealed His character and desires for us in the pages of scripture and ultimately in the perfect representation of Himself Yeshua.

Our job as believers in Messiah is to present Him to others by our example much the same way He lived out His Father’s life before men when He walked the earth.  Extending grace and mercy to those who are truly seeking after the truth of the Father while exposing the evil behind those who live for the enemy and promote his agenda.

The hardest part for men is to distinguish between the two sides.  We can either embrace the extravagant love of Papa or reject it for our own agendas.   Embracing His free gift of grace is easy, walking it out in this world? not so much.  Because His grace is wrapped up with His justice and His worldview.  They can indeed be balanced by looking to the end results of any given issue.  Does it end in life or death?  Papa is the father of life, the creator of all life, His desires for us are all good and filled with blessings.

Living for justice as the highest goal is an open door to death, condemnation, destruction all in the name of “setting things right”.  Everyone seeks both justice and grace because we know down deep that somehow they can coexist.  Deep down we all know that in some mystical way Papa balances those seeming contradictory forces in perfect harmony.

Our only hope to reach that kind of balance is in Yeshua, in getting to know Him better each day by spending time walking with Him daily, listening to His heart, hanging on His every word of truth.

Grapes are a wonderful thing, fruit of the vine, supplied with life from the branches, showered with the rain and warmed by the sun drawing nutrients from the earth. They embody the sweetness and joy of our creator and our fellowship with Him. They require, like us, much care and attention to grow to the fullness of their potential. They are brought to the point of perfection and then given over to the wine press.

Just like the grapes there comes crushing and bruising time to us all. Life on this earth, circumstances and rubbing elbows with others brings moments which test our faith. Even to the point of despair and doubting our call and walk before the Lord. This time of walking through ,what can feel like, the valley of the shadow of death will bring out the true nature underneath all the facades. That trauma tends to lead us to separate from the pain in one way or another. It’s as though our very life blood has been drained out.

Then comes the time of hiding away, the being set aside to become wine. To become what our Papa intended all along, an intoxicating fragrance of His very life on this earth for others to see. The fermentation process slowly works on the grape juice to convert it to a completely new thing. It illustrates how we bottle things up and hold them inside where they can ferment into something precious. At the same time, we can possibly fester into vinegar if we don’t watch the path we take. Just as the wine master must take care over his barrels and bottles turning them regularly and keeping them in the proper environment. So Papa watches over us in this process protecting and providing for our every need in the hidden place.

It is in the mystery of the cellar where we step in His Word, soak in His presence, rest in His bosom and grow into the fullness of who He has for us. As such we are prepared for the revealing of His Sons and Daughters who will bring forth His Kingdom on this earth. Do not despise the time in the barrel but know that the new wine which emerges will be poured out on all and bring in the glorious Day of the Lord. Prepare to be poured out when the vintage is ready, that day is soon approaching.

What is our job as followers of Yeshua? To rest in His protective sheepfold. To abide in the shelter under His wing . It’s not about striving or working we must live out of a place of rest.

This is a huge struggle for us in this world of deadlines expectations and busyness. Accomplishments and schedules are such a cruel task master, pulling on our psyche constantly.

What’s the first thing Papa does in Ps 23? He makes me lie down in green pastures. What do sheep do? The rest in the assurance that the shepherd is watching over them and they are safe fro all danger. How do we know where to go or what to do? His still small voice and guiding hand show us the way.

Striving and stressing over the future is never His plan for us in fact it is seen as disobedience!  For how much does our worry bring about positive resolutions?  Isn’t worry actually worship (dwelling on and rehearsing) of the potential bad things which may happen?  No we are not to worry about anything because our Father is watching over us and providing for us just like the birds of the field.

“Peace, be still”, are frequent words of Jesus and many angels to startled or scared men in the Word.

Peace, be at rest.

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭23:1-3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/114/psa.23.1-3.nkjv

Do you know that the battle is over? That the case is closed? That we are free indeed from the accusations of the enemy?

We are fighting a battle with a shadow enemy. His power is only granted by our agreement with his lies. In reality, the victory of the cross and the resurrection annihilated any claims the accuser can launch against us. His only “power” is his ability to lead us into lies and deny the truth.

There is not really any open case pending on a docket anywhere, because as Jesus declared on the cross it is finished. The slate is empty. The rebellion of the ages has been quelled. We are merely believing the lie that it is still raging with its own strength.

The only energy left behind the visible rebellion has been granted by men of the earth. Jesus stripped the enemy of all authority and power he’d gained from Adam in Eden. The rebellion is fully subject to the reign of the King of Kings and His followers.

So remain strong in the Lord and the power of His might because the enemy remains under our feet!

“So now the case is closed. There remains no accusing voice of condemnation against those who are joined in life-union with Jesus, the Anointed One. For the “law” of the Spirit of life flowing through the anointing of Jesus has liberated us from the “law” of sin and death. For God achieved what the law was unable to accomplish, because the law was limited by the weakness of human nature. Yet God sent us his Son in human form to identify with human weakness. Clothed with humanity, God’s Son gave his body to be the sin-offering so that God could once and for all condemn the guilt and power of sin. So now every righteous requirement of the law can be fulfilled through the Anointed One living his life in us. And we are free to live, not according to our flesh, but by the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit!”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:1-4‬ ‭TPT‬‬
https://www.bible.com/1849/rom.8.1-4.tpt

We live in a reality which is multidimensional, we are here in the physical “seen” world while at the same time we are in the spiritual “unseen” world. The entire universe, all of reality, is held together by the Word, the very substance of our existence is contained and sustained in the Word of Yahweh.

Yes, there’s a veil which separates the seen and unseen but Yeshua tore it from top to bottom and made a way for us to pass freely in and out. In truth, we are always in both worlds and only need to step through that veil. It is now so thin as to be effectively open all the time. Redeeming that path for fellowship to all who believe was the whole point.

Many have known of this open portal or narrow way but the rein of rationalism has clouded our perception yes even blinded our eyes. It has been relegated to the mystics and shunned as something sinister because it can’t be scientifically proven. Yet quantum physics has bridged a perceived gap between man’s systems of order and the woo woo of the “other side”. There are indeed things which cannot be explained on a purely physical basis which science is just beginning to see.

It is much easier by faith, to take Yahweh at His word that we are both physical and spirit, in fact dwelling in that dual reality from our very beginnings. Stepping back and forth should be normal not unusual, expected not surprising. After all it is all through the Bible and we are living in that same reality as the saints of old. All our progress and scientific knowledge cannot nullify the truth of the Creator, it only serves as proof of His reality.