There is such a buzz and excitement when someone is getting ready to give birth. Everyone is fussing about the newborn that is on its way. As pregnant women, we go through various stages in preparation for the birth, including mild abdominal cramps and nesting.
I remember in 2015, when I was close to my due date, I took a spade and started tilling the soil in my mom’s garden, I hand-washed two blankets and spring cleaned my room… All in one day. In hindsight, my subconscious was telling me to get ready – delivery time was just around the corner and, regtig waar, two days later, I gave birth to Luphawu.
As we (women of reverence) have declared this season to be our birthing season, my prayer has been for God to help us (equip, edify, rebuke) to till the soil, wash out our blankets and spring clean our hearts.
With this prayer comes a certain level of effort needed, through God’s grace, as He is about to birth something NEW:
1. We till the soil: the soil is tilled so that it can be fertile.
Fertile soil is essential for a seed to yield fruit. Mark 4:5 (NIV): “Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.” Another word for tilling is “cultivating.” As born-again believers, we need to continuously cultivate our spirit man, in order for the seed (the Word, which is Christ) to bear much fruit in and through us. As we are in the delivery room, may we continuously till the soil by staying in the Word, fasting and praying, so that the enemy does not snatch away the gift we are about to deliver. In our generation, we can not afford to have shallow soil.
2. Take out the blankets: blankets speak of comfort.
One thing about the delivery process that I am sure we can all agree on, is that it is uncomfortable – to say the least. Birthing something new, be it a dream, a desire or an assignment that the Holy Spirit has given you, is not easy… It is uncomfortable. God operates best when you are uncomfortable; in that way, you will have assurance that you could not have done it on your own. He gets the glory! Deuteronomy 1:6-8 (NKJV): “The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Turn and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all their neighbours in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negeb and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.’” As we operate in the giftings, assignments, dreams and desires that God has given us, we step out of the comfort that we have built for ourselves and establish ourselves in the will of the Father.
3. Spring clean your heart: one thing about the heart is that it is very deceptive.
It is, therefore, important that we constantly check our hearts, especially as we are about to give birth to something NEW. Proverbs 4:23 (NIV): “Above all else guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
Some of the questions you can ask yourself are: How will this new birth glorify God? Is it actually about God or am I following my own selfish ambitions? What are my motives behind this birth? David summarises it well in Psalm 51:10 (NIV): “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
As you till the soil, take out the blankets and spring clean your heart, may your delivery be smooth (not easy) and safe ( wrapped up in the will of the Father), knowing that all things work together for the good of those that love Him and are called for His purpose.
Love
Yamkela
Women of Reverence welcomes Yamkela Pan as a CONTRIBUTOR. To read more about Yamkela click here.