Anne Jackson: "Fresh Morning Light"

From the Desks of Steve Shultz and Julie A. Smith:

This article by Anne Jackson of Texas is an amazing word of HOPE for those who have been in a dark season.

We pray it encourages you in your season, because the Light is breaking forth, as Anne shares here:

There are few things as life-giving and restorative as the fresh light of dawn after a long, dark night. Many people have been in seasons of darkness where they've felt hopeless, alone, or abandoned. They've had long experiences of depression, isolation, and loneliness. But this dark season is coming to an end and light is breaking forth. Along with the new dawn are coming fresh hope, fresh vision, and fresh ideas. Creativity is rising up. Many will experience a newfound strength that comes from walking through something difficult.

Now we won't give it away, but we will leave you with this important key from Anne for your season: intimacy with the Father.

May this prophetic message breathe life into you...as you draw near to your First Love once more. (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)

In Christ,

Steve Shultz and Julie A. Smith, Co-Editors
Elijah List Publications

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In the month of August, God is drawing people back to His heart and teaching them to remember their first love. It is a season to press into prayer and intimacy with the Father. He is showing people who they are and inviting them to unmask from false identities and old beliefs about themselves. God is specifically healing people of deep pain and bringing relief and light back to areas of darkness. The dawn is breaking and the long night of sorrow is ending. Allow your heart to rest and trust His goodness.

Intimacy Reignited

"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed." (Mark 1:35)

There is an invitation to seek God through intentional prayer and ministry to His heart. Jesus consistently rose early to get away from the crowds and seek God's face. Jesus wasn't focused on His ministry or His agenda but on ministering to God's heart. This was His first passion. Likewise, we were created for the presence of God. God is first and foremost a relational God. He's not here simply to meet our needs and make life happy and easy for us. While God loves to bless His kids, He is first relational. He is a God who wants and desires a relationship and connection with His kids. We were created for His presence, above all else. Yes, He created us with purpose...but ultimately, our purpose is Him. It's His presence.

If you have been feeling disconnected from Him or a lack of passion for the Lord, it's time to come back to your first love. It's time to come back to your first love. Come back to intimacy and His presence. Come and minister to His heart. We were designed to minister to God. It may take waking up early and getting alone to pray, but it's worth it!

If you have been feeling bored or a lack of desire for His presence, ask God to reignite the passion in your heart and cause you to burn anew. Get out of your comfort zone and do something unfamiliar. It may be a season of intentional discomfort or lack of familiarity that reignites your heart. Be more intentional. Go on a Holy Spirit date; ask Him to show you where to go and what to do! Lift your hands in worship! Take a journal to the lake and write. Dance in your bedroom. Rise up early and pray. Whatever it takes to reignite your passion for God, do it! Lay down complacency and pick up passion once again.

A Divine Exchange

"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." (1 John 3:2) (Photo via Pxfuel)

The way we view God directly impacts the way we view ourselves. One of the gifts of seeing Jesus is that He reveals who we truly are...not broken or sinful or ugly, but holy, beautiful, loved, and made new.

Many of us are walking around with a distorted perspective of the goodness of God, as well as a distorted perspective of ourselves. This can cause us to develop false identities. What's a false identity? A false identity is a story we create about who we are that isn't rooted in truth. It might be rooted in an experience we've had, but that isn't the same as the truth.

Do any of these statements resonate?

• This is just the way I am; I'll never change.

• I'm single as a Pringle! This probably won't change anytime soon.

• I'm so broke! Am I ever going to get ahead?

• Who's gonna want someone like me?

Sometimes we have been stuck in a hard season for so long, we begin to identify with that season or circumstance. But singleness isn't an identity; it's a season of life! Not having money isn't who you are, it's a circumstance you're experiencing. It's time to ask God who He calls you. God wants to rewrite our identities with who He calls us—and He has GREAT things to say about His kids! In fact, He may call you "married" or "wealthy," long before you're physically experiencing either of those things.

There is a divine exchange happening right now. It's time to come back to the presence of God. If you've felt trapped in a false identity or false beliefs about yourself, come back to the truth. Fix your eyes on Him. When you accurately see God, He will reveal who HE calls you...and it's good!

Come Into Our Mess

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (John 14:26)

So often, we're afraid to let ourselves be fully seen—fully seen in our strengths and our weaknesses. We have areas of shame that we try to cover up and hide. Maybe it's finances or a broken relationship or a hidden addiction or a failed career or a forgotten dream. Letting others in to see these places of pain is terrifying. But healing comes from first letting ourselves be fully seen in our messiness and brokenness. A wound cannot heal properly without nurture. Likewise, we can't properly heal in the dark.

It's easy to mask pain and areas of shame. Some of the ways we numb out or mask pain actually look positive on the outside, but can cause us a lot of harm. We can mask pain with busyness, with achievements, with overcommitting to social events, with isolation, with gossip, with food, with alcohol, or with TV. But all of these are masks that keep pain trapped and unprocessed. In reality, pain is a gift. Pain lets us know where we need healing.

In this season, God is highlighting specific areas of pain and bringing healing. If you've been feeling like running away and hiding, or have areas of pain you want to avoid acknowledging, this word is for you, and it's time to let God in—and let other safe people in. (Photo via Pixabay)

God is bringing people to a place of 'healed and whole,' but we must walk through pain to get there. We can't avoid it. Rather, it must be faced, and the light needs to come in. Invite God into your pain, into your mess—and don't be afraid to feel it in order to heal. God will meet you there. Invite trusted people, counselors, or a therapist to help you process pain. Let go of the shame of your mess in order to let God in. He meets us in our messy places and turns our ashes into beauty.

The Break of Dawn

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23)

There are few things as life-giving and restorative as the fresh light of dawn after a long, dark night. Many people have been in seasons of darkness where they've felt hopeless, alone, or abandoned. They've had long experiences of depression, isolation, and loneliness. But this dark season is coming to an end and light is breaking forth. Along with the new dawn, fresh hope, fresh vision, and fresh ideas are coming. Creativity is rising up. Many will experience a newfound strength that comes from walking through something difficult.

Perhaps this has been a difficult, reforming, and refining season for you. You feel like you've been in a pressure cooker and you're not sure how much more you can take. Well, dawn is breaking and the season is new! Ask God for a fresh word for the new season. Hold onto hope and keep your eyes looking for the goodness of what God is showing you—look for the light. Praise Him no matter what. Believe that goodness is coming and count it. Thankfulness is a key for you. The dawn is breaking forth.

Declarations:

• I am coming back to my first love.

• I am exchanging false identities for the truth of who God calls me.

• I am inviting God into my messy places.

• God is bringing me into a new dawn and new day.

• I am taking off all masks and living with authenticity.

Whatever you do, don't miss another ELIJAH LIST email! Subscribe at this link: elijahlist.com/subscribe.

Anne Jackson
The Crowning Jewels
Website: www.thecrowningjewels.com
Email: hello@thecrowningjewels.com

Texas-born Anne Jackson worked as a nurse for seventeen years before fully embracing her creative nature. Having grown up believing that God only spoke through the Bible, her life was transformed with the personal knowledge that He still speaks today. As she experienced a revelation of God's love for her and the power of words to transform and heal, she began designing jewelry, partnering with the Holy Spirit to create a tangible way to bring Heaven to Earth. This is where her prophetic jewelry company, The Crowning Jewels, was birthed. Many people recognize her company as a business-ministry hybrid. She is known as a prophetic visionary with the drive to accomplish her dreams. Her mandate is to champion others as they discover their God given identity and fulfill their divine purpose. After living in Redding, CA for ten years, she recently moved back home and currently resides in Texas.

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