Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! | 2 Corinthians 5:17
There are many who are feeling as though they are “dying to their flesh,” experiencing intense stretching from a prolonged season that they have been in. People of God, I encourage you to remember the truth of the Father: death gives way to new life. Even the death of self that you are experiencing is giving way to new life: the life that God intends for you to have. As it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
Your pain has not been in vain. Indeed I tell you, the Lord has not been blind to your tears, nor deaf to your cries. The tears that you have cried have been watering and fertilizing the very ground from which your harvest will spring forth! As it is written, “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24).
Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion (Psalm 84:5-7)
Be reminded that the Lord’s grace is sufficient for you, for His power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Though you feel weary from battle, the truth is that the Lord is strengthening you in this hour. Indeed, He is fortifying you, even now. The Lord is getting ready to take your very desert place—that which has been causing you the most pain and heartache—and turn it into a fruitful, lush field. It will become a place of abundant harvest!
God has been depositing much into you during this season, and you have grown and made amazing progress. Keep moving forward; do not look back. Be encouraged, and keep your hand to the plow. Lean into the Father during this time of transition, and allow His grace to carry you through this final stretch.
Once again I tell you, the tears of your intersession have been watering the harvest that you are about to come into. Watch, as it will spring forth suddenly! That which was barren is about to produce new life. Get ready, for He is about to make all things new, and beauty will rise out of the ashes.
To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair (Isaiah 61:3 NLT).