A Riverfire Meditation on When the Lord Creates a Shift in Your Life

by James Harvey

As Jesus walked along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw two fishermen, Simon and his brother Andrew, catching fish with a net. Jesus said to them, “Come with me, and I will teach you to catch people.” At once they left their nets and went with him. (Mark 1:16-18 GNT)

As Saul was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting!Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” (Acts 9:3-6 NLT)

Last week, the Holy Spirit gave me a huge revelation that meant a major change in how I’m going to spend my ministry week moving forward. Looking back, it all makes sense, but when I heard the Lord tell me about this SHIFT, I wasn’t sure if it was my idea or his.

Discernment in the Holy Spirit takes time, care, patience, and focus. Sometimes we think we hear the Holy Spirit say something, and then later we find out it was our own thoughts. The longer we intentionally walk with the Holy Spirit, the more experienced we become in readily discerning the voice of the Lord in our minds. 

I’ve been a fundraising missionary for 17 years, and fundraising has always been a “side gig” for me. I had my main ministry calling and focus, and I would occasionally spend time reaching out to potential partners telling my story and asking for help, but it was never more than a few hours or one day a week.

The SHIFT last week for me was into full-time fundraising. The Lord did some financial miracles for my nonprofit last year, which enabled me to hire and train a leadership team, so that our ministry can grow. I hit a roadblock in capacity managing our ministry myself. While I’m so grateful for all our Father did for us last year, our monthly giving isn’t sustainable to support the new team of leaders we have. Therefore, I have to get out there and shake the bushes to see who believes in me and wants to help. I’m so used to fundraising on the side, that it was quite a shock to realize I need to fundraise full-time.

As I prayed, as I tested the message from the Lord, I knew it was him, and I immediately made the switch. I told my team about it, and I’m rebuilding my weekly routine around what the Lord asked me to do.

If you’re like me, you don’t want to rush discernment and confirmation of the Lord’s revelations, but you also don’t want to drag your feet if he’s given you an assignment. We don’t just need the Holy Spirt’s presence and guidance, we also need his help to know the pace he’s setting for us to walk, and the direction. 

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25 NIV)

Missionary Paul is talking about two types of commitments here:

Commitment 1: Seek to live by the Spirit as a way of life.

Commitment 2: Seek to keep in step with the Spirit every day.

Many Christians want the benefits of being a son or daughter of Father Yahweh; yet, they don’t want to really live for him. They want to be selective about what they do or don’t do. They want to call the shots in their walk with God. They want to do what’s comfortable on their terms, but they don’t want to make big sacrifices or suffer. 

Paul says it’s not about calling yourself a Christian. Just because you said “yes” to Jesus in the past doesn’t mean your “yes” is still on the table. Commitment One is the big picture of identifying with Jesus. Commitment Two, however, is the Philippians 2:12 “working out your salvation in fear and trembling” daily devotion that no one wants to talk about.

That’s what being Always Available means. It doesn’t mean always available to everyone for anything. Always Available means always available to the Father: whatever you want, whenever you want it, whether I understand the reasons or not, I will follow you. 

Wherever he leads, I’ll go.

It’s an ongoing test for all of us who claim to be true disciples of Jesus: am I Always Available for the Spirit, or is my faith in God on my terms? Are my time and resources always before the Lord for him to do with as he pleases? Or, is my life mine, and I’m willing to worship and follow God when it’s convenient, or based on how the crowd is living?

When Jesus called his disciples in Mark 1, it may have seemed like he was calling them into a whole new ministry world. But in Truth, everything they had learned in how to catch fish would serve them well in learning to catch born again believers for Christ’s Kingdom.

When Jesus called Saul in the Acts 9 vision, it may have seemed like Jesus was calling him to a new mission. But in Truth, everything Saul had learned as a devout Pharisee would serve him well in becoming a missionary of the Great Commission.

Some SHIFTS feel big, others aren’t that noticeable; all are essential to our destiny.

Questions to Ask During a Shift

• Father, please confirm this change is from you.
• What does it mean? Why are you doing this?
• Please teach me about this new season.
• What do you want me to focus on?
• Who do you want me to tell? 
• What’s most important to remember during this time?

During my recent SHIFT, once I received confirmation in the Holy Spirit, I immediately made changes. 

Some big SHIFTs will take time to make, because it’s more of a SEASON of change than it is a MOMENT of change. But for me, the change was immediate. I thought I might catch some whiplash, but clearly the Holy Spirit had already been preparing my heart for the SHIFT, and I’m already rocking & rolling in what the Lord has for me now.

I’d made a New Year list in January of all the big goals I wanted to accomplish by Christmas. When I realized what God was doing, I went to that list and got rid of everything that didn’t match up with this new vision God gave me. I told those closest to me about the changes, and received affirmation from all of them. Several of them told me that the change made total sense to them, and they fully supported me. I created a new folder on my computer and started developing my game plan and making a list of my new goals and how I am going to track my progress towards the Finish Line.

Here’s my advice for the next time the Lord SHIFTS something in your life: Pause and check your heart. Don’t rush the SHIFT. Pray, and confirm it’s from the Lord. If it is, carve out time to deep dive in what it means, what he wants, what you need to do, and then go tell some close friends and pray together. Ask them to commission your new season, declaring blessing, provision, protection, favor, and victory over all that God has for you now. And then, as the Holy Spirit leads you, move forward in faith, trust, hope, and courage.

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Father, thank you for the shifts you make in our lives. We aren’t always ready for them, but you’re always helping us to navigate your revelations. Thank you for creating a world where we don’t have to figure everything out. We don’t have to have all the answers, and we don’t have to figure out the plan before we start anything.

Thank you for teaching us to live by faith and not by sight. Thank you for cultivating our discernment, so that the longer we live the more we can attune our hearts to your voice, and the quicker we can confirm you have said something to us. That’s all we want: to abide in your presence, rest in your promises and peace, and listen for your Good Shepherd’s voice.

We are ready for changes, Lord. Not because we want them, but because we know your nature: you’re the God of Mysteries & Surprises! We don’t want to become so comfortable that when you ask us to do something different we choose our comfort over your will. Never let us be like that, Father.

Please keep us humble and flexible: wet clay in the Master Potter’s hands. We are ready for whatever you want to say, and however you want to lead us. We will always be available to you, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

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Riverfire Life is an attempt to help you experience a daily friendship with the Holy Spirit. These meditations and stories are written from the hearts & experiences of global missionaries. 

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[Image credit: nature photo by Dawid Zawila on unsplash.com]