While standing on my front porch in the middle of the day, I took in the familiar scenery surrounding my home. This was the day of the historic solar eclipse, and I was witnessing its effects on the environment before me. Though my region experienced a partial eclipse of the sun, the results were noticeable as the vibrancy in the colors of the present landscape dimmed, and a faint haze temporarily settled in the air.
I wandered off of my porch and onto the boardwalk, catching a glimpse of this sign in the sky. As I stood in the remaining rays of the sun, a lukewarm atmosphere swept over me. I had heard other words concerning the solar eclipse, but this moment was bringing a different perspective. The Lord started speaking to me about the eclipse, but He made it personal, touching on the effects of even a partial eclipse of the heart, the heart of the body of Christ.
Light Diminished, Intensity Lost
This word is not to bring condemnation, but to wake us up. As the Lord spoke to me about this revelation, I found myself desiring His heart, a heart free from any eclipse. I may not have witnessed a complete solar eclipse, but I witnessed the effects of a partial eclipse, and even that affected the environment.
The intensity of the light and heat emitted from the sun was diminished, creating an atmosphere less vibrant and lukewarm. We as the church have aided and abetted this same atmosphere by permitting the darkness to overshadow His light and dampen the fire of His Spirit in and through our lives. We become less effective in emitting the fullness of His presence when we choose darkness overshadowing us over being truly hidden in Christ. We must understand that His light finds a way to shine through us even when we take refuge in the shadow of His wings because there is no darkness in Him.
I could feel the heart of the Father on this matter. He wants to deal with the heart issue present in the body of Christ. His heart, however, is not the source of the problem, but the body housing His heart. There is much talk among us that “God knows my heart”, but the question begs to be asked, “Do you know His heart?” Do we have His heart, or is the body rejecting the new heart that His Word declares over His people? This heart is His heart, free from the eclipse of darkness and burning with such intensity that we are branded and sealed as His own. The body of Christ cannot function without the heart of Christ.
Arise and Shine With His Glory
During this time, the Holy Spirit brought Isaiah 60:1-3 to my remembrance,
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For the darkness shall cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord shall rise upon you, and His glory shall be seen upon you. The nations shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising.
I believe that God is dealing with His people on both a personal and corporate level in this hour. Before we can unite corporately, we must unite with the Lord individually. We must do a heart-check and ask the Lord to reveal to us if our heart is eclipsed in any capacity by darkness. We must be willing to examine ourselves and see if we are emanating the fullness of the light of Christ and the intensity of His Spirit. We cannot afford to be lukewarm. It is all or nothing.
We cannot be moved by the manifestation of darkness so that we forsake the glory of His manifest presence. We were made to carry His glory, to dispense His glory, and it happens when our hearts are in alignment with His Word, His heart and His Spirit. He is calling us to arise and shine in this hour. I challenge you today to examine your own heart. Refuse to have His light and fire diminished in your life because of an eclipse of the heart. Let us embrace a new heart, the heart of God. His is the only heart that overcomes the darkness with the radiance of His glory. {eoa}
Dawn Hill is a Christ-follower and a freelance writer. She writes a blog called “Lovesick Scribe.”
This article originally appeared at lovesickscribe.com.
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