When I was in L.A. for Bethel’s Heaven Come Conference, I received some encouragement during an afternoon session from someone on the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry Team. She said many things to me, but part of it was about receiving from God in the season that I’m in. Now, almost every time I get into a corporate time of worship, it still rings at the forefront of my mind!
Sometimes as Christians, we can fall prey to mindsets that prevent us from receiving more that God wants to say and do in our lives without even realizing it. They may be sinful, or simply distractions from the enemy, but either way, they are never God’s will! Being aware of these mindsets and doing what we can to change them makes us so much more sensitive to receive from Him, and to hear what He wants to say to us. All it takes is being open. 🙂
So, with that being said, I would love to share some ways that my BSSM friend encouraged me on how to stay in the mode of receiving from Heaven:
- First, you must kill comparison:
God wants a relationship with YOU – not the person you look up to, and not the person you’re trying to be. If you can believe that God loves you the way you are right now, you’ll be able to lay everything down to become who He wants you to be, and receive what He wants to give you. It’s that easy! Don’t look around during worship thinking, “Oh, that person seems so close to God” or, “I wonder what they think of me right now.” Focus on God. You CAN be close to Him, and what He thinks of you is more important.
The enemy wants to keep you distracted focusing on others’ lives, all the while missing out on what God is doing in yours! It may be sly, but don’t take the bait. 🙂 As you become more aware of what God is doing in YOUR life, you will become more joyful, confident, effective in ministry, and actually available to celebrate what God is doing in their lives as well!
Encouragement from my BSSM friend:
“It is for YOUR freedom that Jesus went to the cross. For you, not for anyone else, because only you fulfill His dreams for you…Comparison is evil. It’s wicked. God didn’t create you to be someone else. He wants you the way you are. He loves you the way you are. Steward the identity of who you are, just be you.”
- Second, you must never settle:
I used to try so hard to wrap my brain around what God was JUST previously doing and saying, so much so that I sometimes missed what fresh thing He was trying to do and say IN THE MOMENT! Instead, I believe God wants our posture to be that of a people who are always searching for new things and don’t put a cap on what He wants to say or do. If it is His will to enable us to discover more about Him, His Word, and ourselves, then He is the One who will give us the capacity to understand and actually retain it all. I don’t have to strive to get there on my own, but if He intends to take me from glory to glory, I also don’t intend to stay where I am! May we live like children who are constantly curious and who simply seek Him and let Him teach us. May we always be excited for new adventures with God.
Encouragement from my BSSM friend:
“It’s like we’re traveling and we see a mountain. The more our spirits bond, the more we connect, and the more we see new things together. God is saying, come on, let’s go further, let’s see more, and you’re saying, ‘But what about this morning?’ God is doing something new. Don’t try to capture what God did this morning only and miss what He’s doing right now. That’s boring to God and a very human attitude. Always go for new things. No matter what happens, even if it’s not what you want or what you prayed for; it’s an opportunity for a new level. Flip it like a coin and you will see amazing things, even if it’s not what you expect.”
- Third, you must give yourself permission to be wild and free:
Open your heart so wide that you can’t even see the walls and receive whatever He has for you. It’s not just a nice metaphor, but an honest, open posture before God that is unconcerned with the things of this world, and concerned with Him. He encourages us to think and feel, but also wants to expand the ways in which we think and feel because it is only a part of the picture! When we read His Word, we must lay down our previous opinions, thoughts, feelings, and expectations, and pick up His. He will challenge our mindsets in love, but it takes us giving up control for Him to change us for the better! Being open and free to whatever the God of the Universe may say is the best possible way of living. It is my job to stop analyzing everything and to trust Him. It is His Spirit’s job to guide me into all truth and to lead me into what is best for me!
Encouragement from my BSSM friend:
“Open your heart so wide that you can’t even see the walls of your heart, and receive whatever He has new for you. Give your heart permission to be free. Give your spirit permission to go wild. Be set free beyond all paradigms and all human thinking according to His Word.”
I believe that God has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), but we also need to make sure we do not hinder our growth in any way due to faulty mindsets. Receiving from heaven looks like killing comparison so you don’t miss what God is doing in YOUR life by focusing on someone else’s, not settling or putting a cap on how much God can speak to you, and giving full control to God in whatever He has for you, even if it challenges you and doesn’t look like what you expected. 🙂
Amanda Rassamni 
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