A Spacious Place
“You have not handed me over to the enemy, but have set my feet in a spacious place.” (Psalm 31:8, NIV).
Did you know that once I have set your feet in a spacious place, you have the freedom to step out? I created you to seek Me and to love Me with all your heart. If you are constantly seeking Me, you will dwell within My shelter. “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” I will not compete with the voices of the world that are set up to lure you away from Me as your center, your focus, your fortress. Even the Church will contain mixed voices — spirit and flesh thrown in together. You must always discern who is speaking.
I am the Lord, and there is no other. I make known the end from the beginning. I say, “My purpose will stand and I will do all that I please.” Just as you are not to doubt Me, you are not to doubt My Spirit within you. What you hear in the quiet place — the deepest recesses of your heart — no one can touch that. Shut out the voices of loved ones, even those closest to you. I alone have the power to move you from one point to the next. You must allow yourself time to dwell with Me.
Scripture: Further References: Isaiah 14:24, 27; 46:9-11
Brave Hearts
You will always be tempted to depend upon your own strengths. You will always hold a measure of security in certain relationships. None of these are sinful, but there comes a point when I will decide to remove them — one at a time, perhaps, or all at once, pulling out all of your props, leaving you alone with all of your weaknesses laid bare.
How heartless this seems of Me, but actually, it is My great mercy that leaves you in such a helpless state, naked and poor, broken and alone. Apart from Me, you can do nothing. In Me, you can do all things that I have in My mind for you.
How do you come to rely upon Me and Me alone? I am the Way, My child; I will perform this process in your life, if you deeply desire it in your inmost being. I alone search the hearts and minds of men, and I know those who speak words of dependency, but have little desire to live them. They rely far too much on outer things — their own strength, their own wisdom, their own external securities.
In Me, you can do all things that I have in My mind for you.
Then there are My children who deeply desire only Me as their strength. They seek total and absolute dependence upon Me, with nothing standing in the way. How I delight in such surrender! Immediately, I begin the process of bringing each one of these children into a state of radical dependency. Things you didn’t know that you relied upon are suddenly removed. Personal strengths and graces you took for granted are all of a sudden gone.
When the last prop is removed, do not be afraid to fall. There is only one place you can fall now — deeper into Me. This is the only way to be dependent — desperately, radically dependent — upon Me. I will not have you declare that I am your strength, that I am your all in all, when you have many hidden props. As the process begins, remain in My love, for this will take a Brave Heart.
©2005 Masterpiece of the Wilderness, Deanna Deering
The Benefit of Obedience
Do what God wants and everything will be okay. Everything will mold you into a path that is filled with joy, suffering, love, rejection, peace, questions, purpose, wonder, misunderstandings, courage, fear, doubt, great faith, great loss, and great gain. I could go on, but I am sure by now you are wondering where I am going with this. Our baby Jesus, whom most of the world will celebrate on December 25th, went through so much suffering, yet remained obedient to the cross. Had he rebelled in just one area of his life, all of humanity would have remained lost. His obedience and great suffering brought such a benefit to all mankind. Why did He have to suffer? Wouldn’t His blood have paid for all our sins even if it was shed without any suffering? Why the beating? Why the nails? Why such anguish? It seems that the Son of God would live a life without such suffering and die a peaceful death.
So why did Jesus suffer so much when he came to this earth as a man? Well, Hebrews 2:17-18 sums it all up. “For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because He himself suffered when he was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.” Jesus took on human flesh and came to die for our transgressions and did this without sinning. Still, He went through suffering to identify with us. He experienced pain and suffering so that He could help us when we hurt; when we cry; when we suffer loss.
So, my dear friends, when it is difficult for you to obey the Lord, you can ask and get help from the one who learned obedience from all the things He suffered. It’s not easy to walk the pathway that God has set before us. Nor is it easy to become obedient to the purpose of God. These things are learned on our own personal pathway to obedience. It’s hard when God calls us to do something difficult or painful. Death on a cross was a struggle for Jesus in his humanity. I am sure He thought that “maybe there would be another way” as He cried out to the Father. The Father heard Him but nothing would change (Hebrews 5:7-8). Our beloved Jesus walked through it with complete submission. He was also obedient in every other assignment, and this made Him ready. If His obedience and suffering resulted in such an amazing benefit; just imagine what’s in store for you and for me when we do what God wants!
So today on December 24 and 25 and every day after that, just do what God wants and everything will be okay … in the good days and in the days that are not so good. Rejoice! Rejoice! The baby has risen and the king is coming back soon and all your loved ones who loved Him will be with you. Rejoice! Rejoice! And share the full story of His birth! (Hebrews 4:16).
May the Joy of the Lord be Your Strength!
Bob Deering
Freedom is Coming
There is a great and marvelous freedom coming to My body, a freedom that is received to the degree that the truth is embraced. If your heart seeks freedom, you must be ready to see the truth. Freedom comes to those who worship in Spirit and in truth. No matter how much you may seek to walk in My Spirit and worship Me in Spirit, if you reject the truth in any measure — the truth about yourself, your character, your maturity, your world — you will be hindered.
My Spirit seeks truth, settles upon truth, and dwells in truth. In order for My people to grow into maturity, everyone must recognize where he or she is yet immature. Ah, such truth can be painful! But the truth is only painful to the extent that pride is operating in your life. Seek to uncover all areas of pride, and soon you will be one who not only welcomes the truth, but runs toward it. Those who run in that freedom are the ones who will share in My delight as they advance rapidly toward the goal and do not fall behind My Spirit.
The wind of My Spirit blows where it wills. You do not know where it comes from or where it is going, but you will always be in step with it as you dwell in truth. My Spirit cannot dwell in any falsehood. So, I ask you: do you want to move in the great freedom that is coming?
SCRIPTURE
“Yet a time is coming, and has now come, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is Spirit, and His worshippers must worship in Spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24, NIV)
“I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free.” (Psalm 119:32, NIV)
Further References: John 15:26, 16:13, 17:17
©2005 Masterpiece of the Wilderness, Deanna Deering
Brokenness
You have been broken. You had a lot of strength before, but inner strength that comes naturally brings only false security. Anyone who seeks Me must be broken of their own strength; then they discover My strength. My strength only comes through a broken vessel.
Paul was a man of great strength — physically, mentally, and emotionally. But he had to be annihilated, and he was. Now my church follows his teachings, but do they comprehend the passion of his broken life? How he had to be taken and “unlearn” all the things he had endeavored so mightily to enforce? Can you imagine his heartbreak over My children he had killed?
This heartbreak was real, and it needs to be real in those who follow Me. To see yourself as you truly are is a gift from Me. I allow you to see your frailty, and your own powerlessness, and your own inability to do anything apart from Me. Human nature will fight this truth, but those who are able to receive it will enter into a position of abiding in Me that provides rest from their own efforts.
You cannot be strong apart from Me. Any warrior knows where his strength comes from, because he knows what is in him. He has come face to face with his deepest self in light of My grace and My glory.
You cannot break yourself. Brokenness only occurs by My hand. I arrange circumstances in the lives of My children so they die to their own will. How is this accomplished without pain? How is it managed without heartbreak? If I could do so, how I would! How I would lavish My gifts without reservation, but how shaky human nature is! And how strong is the Tempter! The one who overcomes is the one who does not love his or her life to the death. Power over the enemy comes in death. I conquered in death, and I break down to nothing that which I desire to build.
SCRIPTURE
Further References: Jeremiah 9:23-24; John 12:24-25; Philippians 3:10
©2005 Masterpiece of the Wilderness, Deanna Deering
His Love Comes as a Raging Storm
There is always Love to celebrate, as long as the Love is Mine. I am always at work, always speaking in My gentle whisper, always calling hearts to come and walk with Me by the River of Life. The reason many do not see or sense My presence in the world around them is because they are still looking with human eyes. Many times, I chastened My closest followers for their unseeing eyes and their unbelieving ears.
This is the reason I sent My Counselor. He is ready to teach, to guide, to show you things that are dear to My heart. I long to share My heart, to simply sit down and sup with you. All you must do is open the door to your heart. Every day I am waiting. And every day you must open it and give Me entrance. My deepest treasure is you. My deepest love is you.
I know that your trials have been severe. And I know that you have cried out for My mercy. My heart longs for you when you pull away. I know the temptations of the flesh, and the attacks of My enemy. But it is only through the fire of enduring great temptations that a heart is purified. When the storm is at its fiercest point, you may think that I have abandoned you. But this is only the enemy’s deceptiveness, and the frailty of the flesh. If you hang on to Me even though you do not sense My presence, you will come through the storm, and you will become more gentle, more humble, and more still.
I love you, My friend. You must never forget this. My love comes as a raging storm at times, but I will never fail to come in and refresh you, once the storm has passed. As long as you turn to Me, I will always turn to you.
©2005 Masterpiece of the Wilderness, Deanna Deering
Tune Into My Power
Satan is smart. He’ll find your weaknesses and come in. Ask Me for wisdom to see how he is operating in your life, and I will show you. I’ll never keep you blind. Whenever you think you have him figured out, he’ll come in another door. Self-determination will not keep him out. Only reliance on Me — constant hourly and daily reliance on Me — will keep him out. If you feel pride or confidence in any area, he’ll move right in.
You just have to be constantly aware of, and constantly in tune with, My power.
As long as you are in your body, he will have the power to buffet you. But each of you have the power to defeat him. You just have to be constantly aware of, and constantly in tune with, My power.
Do not allow the enemy to fool you. As you draw near to Me, I will show you things in your life that need to be removed. But you will not lose. I will give the greatest happiness, peace, and joy that you could ever have. One day, you will look back on those things you thought you needed to be happy, and you will see the incredible change I worked in your heart.
Some of you will change instantly; others will need to stand at My throne every day and ask for the power to change. Keep asking and I WILL GIVE.
Tune into My power. Don’t waste your time on things that don’t hook you into My power. Once you get glimpses of real communion with Me, you will not even be tempted to waste any more time.
©2005 Masterpiece of the Wilderness, Deanna Deering
An Iron-Clad Will
There must be in you a strength of will, a strength of determination, and a strength of purpose. This is a strength that far outweighs anything you have ever met in a person before. Many of My people are weak in their wills, and they cling to this weakness as a sign that I will be their strength (2 Corinthians 12:9). But Paul is not writing about a weakness of will. His weakness was the thorn in his flesh I allowed, to drive him to utter dependence upon Me. But in his will, in his purpose, in his determination, Paul was one of My strongest.
I cannot work My fullest purpose in one who has a weak will. Your will must be iron-clad, for you will face much opposition from without. How does your will become strong as iron unless it is forged within circumstances that will melt and consume anything that is less than iron? Your will must be trained to always side with Me. Your will must always be stronger than your emotions.
Your will must seek to be perfectly aligned with My Father’s will. And where did My Father’s will take Me? Through rejection, scorn, humiliation, torture, and death. I am the Lamb who teaches you meekness, but I am also the Lion who trains your will to be fierce in its intensity.
Why did I say, “Wide is the door through which many will travel?” Because not many make it through the narrow door, for they cannot stand up under the pressure. They don’t realize that I allow great opposition to rip away their fleshly nature. Great pressure comes against My saints, not so they will be destroyed, but so they will be purified.
SCRIPTURE
Further References: Matthew 6:10, 26:39; John 6:38, 10:27
©2005 Masterpiece of the Wilderness, Deanna Deering
My View of You
I told you before, and I will tell you again: you must see yourself as I see you. I see you as My beloved friend, created to rule and reign with Me, indwelled with My invincible power. I am not saying you should puff yourself up in a false or prideful manner. But I am saying that you must seek to have My view of you and My vision of how you are to be in eternity! One day you will be perfect. One day you will be all-knowing, all-loving, without a single blemish. One day …
What if you could receive this truth for today and allow it to empower you for the tasks ahead? Your circumstances may seem overwhelming, and your own fleshly nature may cry out in frustration, in pain, in its true state of corruption. Advance with all knowledge that this will pass away, and what is born of the Spirit will last.
Many of the struggles My people have are mere distractions. There are real battles to be fought, but not until My people have a clear view of how I see them. This is why I am calling you to have My vision.
In order to love truly and completely, you must know yourself as one who is deeply loved.
You must see yourself as I see you, and walk in the certainty of this Truth. You must see the people around you as I see them, and walk in the certainty of My love for them. If you have difficulty seeing My pure and perfect view of you, ask Me to show you. If the vision begins to slip away amidst trying circumstances, run to Me immediately and My Spirit will arise to renew your vision.
A true visionary can only proceed from the power of love. In order to love truly and completely, you must know yourself as one who is deeply loved. I have called all of My people to be visionaries; I have urged you to set your minds and hearts upon heavenly things, where I am seated at the right hand of My Father. Steady your gaze now. My will longs to come down from heaven. Do you long to receive it?
Scripture
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2)
“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:2-3)
©2005 Masterpiece of the Wilderness, Deanna Deering
Fine Tuning
I am fine-tuning you. You are going to be an instrument of Mine that is razor-sharp. I spend much time pruning those of Mine who seek Me. Once I break them of their own strength, I begin to build them up in My strength. Many people will use the expression, “The Lord is my strength,” when they are actually relying on their own resources. My strength is a mystery to many. I want to supply it, but many will fight the road which takes them there.
I must break you of your own strength; then I will build you up in Mine. But my transformation of you doesn’t come overnight. It requires patience, humility, and a surrendered heart. While you are waiting for Me, you may be tempted to grab hold of something temporary, while I desire to give you only the eternal.
My strength cannot be viewed apart from an understanding of My grace.
Not everything that looks good, feels good, or sounds good is the way to My best. I am waiting to give My best, but I do require you to wait on Me. If you are content with what comes by way of nature, or even giftedness, that is where I will leave you. But if you want My strength, it must be imparted by My grace. It doesn’t come naturally, and you can’t earn it. If you desire My strength, allow Me to take you to a place of need and then wait for it. It’s free to those that need it and wait for it. My strength has to do with grace. My strength cannot be viewed apart from an understanding of My grace.
SCRIPTURE
“‘Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.” (Deuteronomy 32:39)
“Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and beat them small, and make the hills like chaff. You shall winnow them, the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; you shall rejoice in the Lord, and glory in the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 41:15-16)
“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)
Further References: 1 Samuel 2:1-10; Isaiah 40:31, 66:1; Psalm 37:4-11, Ezekiel 37:1-14; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; Hebrews 6:15, 12:5-11; 1 Peter 5:6
©2005 Masterpiece of the Wilderness, Deanna Deering
