Dismantle Me
This post is not for everyone. It’s important for you to take this back to the Lord and confirm with Him that this is for you. Not every word is meant to be applied to your life in the immediate moment. If you are receiving this in season it should not be the first time you are hearing about it. If the Lord has not been speaking to you about this already, take the wisdom and knowledge as a form of learning the ways of the Lord that you might choose to walk in them. If this is for you it should serve as confirmation and give you understanding. Glory be to God!
As I sat on my back porch in my little outdoor prayer corner, I looked out and saw this big, rotted, wooden eyesore that traveled with me throughout the last few years. I had big plans for it back in the day but they never came to pass and it just sat around, taking up space. Earlier this week, I had asked God to motivate my heart and provide the means for me to transform this neglected area into an place that I could sit with Him in and He began answering my prayer shortly after. He started bringing in new furniture and filling me with ideas and revelation on how to move things around and restore old decor but when I sat down after the work we’d done together, I looked out and didn’t see a beautiful view of my green yard. I saw this thing on its side that I once saw potential in but never got around to. I brought it with me from a place in life where I was running on the fumes of my own inspiration and I kept expecting myself to figure out how to make it work or for someone else to come break it down for me so I could throw it in the garbage. Neither of those things ever happened. The whole time my Father and I were building a beautiful environment and the only thing keeping it from becoming what it was always meant to be was what I wouldn’t take care of. In that moment the Lord said to me, “Ariel, no one is going to do this for you. Dismantle it.”
Naturally, I asked, what does it mean to dismantle something? By worldly definition it’s a verb that means, “to disconnect the pieces of”. In biblical terms it represents “the destruction or removal of something that is corrupt, harmful, or hindering spiritual growth, paving the way for a new or better reality.” Then the Lord started to minister to my heart. I quieted my mind and focused on His voice. The Holy Spirit revealed this to me, “Some of Gods children are asking Him to build them a new life according to His perfect will but refuse to dismantle the life they lived before Him. Our human hearts see potential in people, places and things that we have grown comfortable with but Gods heart desires us to surrender our plans for His. We are called to completely disconnect from the pieces of our old life so God can reveal His vision for our future and guide us to walk toward it. The price for His perfect will is fully breaking apart and removing our own. His vision won’t be made clear to us until ours is no longer in the way.” In Matthew 19:16-30 Jesus teaches us all about it. To those of us with a desire to do more, be more— the ones that can’t quiet the part of us that is looking for what’s next and wanting to be of use in this world, Jesus said, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” They were invited to come follow Him but there was a requirement first. A test of the heart. Which do you want more? Your worldly possessions or Jesus. A process was revealed. Give up everything you love, have a heart willing to serve, and THEN come follow me. In this parable, the men that approached Jesus wanting more loved their earthly possessions too much that they turned away from Him. They never got the chance to follow Him into the perfect will because they were not willing to dismantle their own. He warned us about this type of mindset in John 12:15, “Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.” When Jesus starts to ask you for things that you love, try to find peace in what comes next. The privilege of walking with Him. In His presence. It’ll be worth it.
God’s grace covers what we came into agreement with when we were separate from Him. Forgiveness is not earned it was a gift. It was paid for on the cross that we would receive Christ in our hearts and allow Him to purify us as we walk with Him toward the Father in His fullness. To stay connected to the people, places, and things that you’re being asked to give up is a one foot in one foot out way of living that keeps us from walking all together. There comes a time in the walk through sanctification where you are standing at a crossroads choosing the permissible will of God or the perfect one. The perfect one requires disconnection from your old life including people and places of comfort. To take it a step further it includes the things INSIDE us that keep us from becoming more like Him. The strongholds hidden deep in our fears and insecurities. The pieces of us that run in the face of correction or hide when feeling rejected. The truth is— until we actively reject and resist the characteristics, habits and behaviors we used to allow, we will be keeping doors open to those familiar spirits from before because they “feel” like they belong in your life due to your comfort around them. When we live in the boundaries the Lord gave us and set ones of our own by His leading, we start to operate in His perfect will. Perfection isn’t something we can achieve but in Christ we are made perfect; purified. The choice to walk into purity is not a decision to be self righteous or proud of your “perfection”, it’s an act of humility and surrender; to let go of the life you built when you were wounded and blind. It’s an act of faith being walked down the aisle of Holy matrimony as the bride of Christ. His spotless bride. To surrender to the sanctification process is an honorable response of gratitude for the gift we received when God sent His son to die that we would be able to receive His Spirit and eternal life. It’s an act of love in response to an act of love. John 14:21 says, “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”
It’s an honor to be given the gifts of the spirit but the most valuable piece is the ability to discern the Lords voice and receive His commands. When Jesus died on the cross we fell under a new covenant written on our hearts and in our minds. To even be given instruction is beyond what most people on this earth will get to experience. To be called and invited to the table of the Lord is one thing but to accept the invitation requires obedience before reward and sacrifice of your old life. Continuing to answer calls and accept invitations from people or to places that are connected to your identity outside of Christ will directly conflict with you reaching your identity in Him. He loved you enough to die for you in your current state but His heart hopes you will love Him in return to walk with Him and discover the version of yourself that He formed in the womb. Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” So now it’s time to ask yourself: Am I truly abandoning my old life to step into the new or am I just saying it and preventing myself from moving forward? It’s a timeless war for true surrender. Jesus said in Matthew 15:8-9 “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.” Saying you’re walking with Christ but in your heart standing still is not helping you move forward. Matthew 16:26, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” It sounds like harsh correction but its all God loving you so much that He would highlight your soul over your flesh and give you the opportunity to be purified and eternally free from bondage. What you’re entertaining from your old life is the exact thing the devil gains legal rights to torment you about. The enemy can’t enter your home without an entry point. It’s time to shut doors that lead you into backsliding or keep you in places you’re meant to walk out of. “I don’t want to hurt their feelings by not responding or answering the phone.”, is a worldly concept that speaks to comforting people in places where boundaries are meant to be set. It’s not enough to just set the old things aside, within arms reach. It’s time to completely dismantle what once was and remove it from the premises. It’s time to make room for what’s to come and be able to see the new in it’s fullness.
I know this is all easier said then done so let me leave you with this. We’d be wrong to believe we can do it on our own. If that were the case what would we need God for? So let me take you back to my backyard, where I sat and wondered how I, “just a girl”, was going to break down this big hunk of junk by my own strength. It didn’t take me long to realize I was going to need some help. The minute I knew it had to be done but I couldn’t do it on my own I was given a reminder. I have a hammer and in that moment I heard the Holy Spirit say, “That’s all you need”. Jeremiah 23:29, “Is my WORD not like fire? ‘Declares the LORD’, and like a hammer that breaks a rock into pieces?” Do you get it? My strength alone was not enough. It always had to be me with the hammer. In the same way, we were never meant to dismantle our own lives by our own strength. Sometimes, we just need a reminder that in our weakness we have access to the hammer of God. His WORD. We have always had it, it had been given to us from the beginning. John 1:1 “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.” Jesus is the WORD. By His strength be dismantled and by His grace be made new. With that hammer I broke down that thing that blocked my vision. All I did was move and it took on all of the impact. After it was done and the mess was cleared, I sat in my chair and looked out at the yard. Where it once laid on the concrete, a small puddle had formed. It took just a few moments for a single sparrow to drop down in that place and drink from the water that had settled in the area from when I washed away the debris. Matthew 10:29-31 "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." I know it can be difficult, a suffering of sorts. He loves you so much that He already has the new set up for you to walk in to, you just have to keep walking.
I love you guys I hope this blesses the hearts of those that read it. It’s an honor and a privilege to share. Below is a prayer if you are finding yourself in a difficult season of breaking down the old, to help you call on the strength of the Lord and a couple resources that if you feel led, can help you in breaking down strongholds that keep you from fully surrendering such as; abandonment wounds or poverty and lack mindset. You are not your wounds. Glory be to God.
Heavenly Father glory be to Your name. Thank You that You are a God of mercy and grace. God I thank You that You are not a man that You should lie and in Your word it says that You have a plan for me. God help me to surrender to Your plan. I can not do this on my own. Father I thank You for sending me Your Son to dismantle me. That You would carry me in Your peace as the old parts of me break down and fall away as they meet the force of Your Son Christ Jesus. Thank You for providing the hammer to help me remove what I was, to become who I am in You. Help me keep my heart in You. Keep me focused on Your face and at Your feet. You alone are good. In Jesus mighty name I pray. Amen and Amen.
Song suggestions that the Lord gave me for this word:
I’m Moving On- Rascal Flatts & Jireh- Elevation Worship & Maverick City
Below I will link an Ebook created by the leading of the Holy Spirit that covers breaking free from poverty and lack mindset that causes us to have an attachment to monetary and material things preventing us from being Holy Spirit led as well as the LTASH Course that is an 18 lesson Holy Spirit led masterclass aiding in the strengthening of your spiritual core through healing, surrender and the receipt of wisdom and understanding. There is a comment section at the bottom of the page for anyone encouraged to share their thoughts or revelation. We are a family. Thank you for giving me a place to be my authentic self in service of the Kingdom of God. Jesus Christ is Lord.
A spiritual core training program that highlights the importance of practicing biblically sound spiritual hygiene for christians being called to train in the prophetic realm.
