So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. | John 8:36

It says in the Word that the Lord cuts off every branch that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful (John 15:2). I believe that 2018 is going to be a year of incredible freedom for those who have surrendered their all for the Lord. These people have allowed the Lord to have His way in their lives, as they’ve truly embraced the pruning process (even when it seemed painful to their flesh).

The year of 2017 has been an intense season, but it has also been a year of personal growth. There have been many ongoing issues that some in the Body of Christ (myself, included) have been facing head-on for a long period of time. We have been contending for freedom from issues that have been passed down through generational bloodlines. It has seemed as though the enemy has been working overtime to bring division and destruction. However, despite these circumstances, we know that if anything is brought to the light it can no longer hide in the darkness (Ephesians 5:13). Be encouraged, Beloved! God’s heart for you and your loved ones is to bring healing and restoration; for the blood of Christ speaks a better word (Hebrews 12:24).

A couple months ago I began travailing over some things, and to my flesh it felt extremely uncomfortable. As I inquired of the Lord as to what I was experiencing, He immediately quickened my spirit and reminded me of a word that He had given to me in January of this year. The Lord further instructed me to go back and reread that word over again. I was shocked, as I discovered after pulling up the word that I had written it exactly nine months ago from that day.

God instantly began to flood my spirit with His wisdom and revelation in regards to my question and feelings of discomfort. “I gave you a word declaring that 2017 will be the year that the umbilical cord is cut. Nine months later, similar to a mother’s pregnancy, I am bringing that word to completion in your life. Now is your time of birthing! You are experiencing discomfort, even as a woman in labor has birthing pains. However, once the baby is birthed, there will be incredible joy and freedom.”

The Lord has been cutting away unhealthy attachments and root systems so that the Bride of Christ can come into her place of freedom. I sense even now, as 2017 is coming to a close, that the Lord is completing this process of inner healing. Then they will be able to enter into 2018 completely healed of soul wounds and those unhealthy attachments.

Although His “cutting away” process can be painful to our flesh, it is all for good. God is getting rid of the old wine skins and making room for the new. This can be a vulnerable process; often during times like this, the enemy tries to come in and deceive. Yet, just as it’s written, “the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy,” but the Lord has come so that we can have life more abundantly (John 10:10).

Do not believe the lies of the enemy that seek to tell you that you are being punished. The truth of the matter is that the Lord prunes His fruitful branches, those whom He loves, so that they can produce an even greater harvest. I believe that those God uses the most often endure the most intense time of pruning, however, it is so that they are prepared to carry the “more” that He is about to release upon them. To whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48).

Beloved, if you find yourself in a season where things are being brought into the light, know that the Lord is bringing restoration by allowing this to surface. He is completing His work in you, and He is flushing out any toxins in order to bring the healing that He so desires to give. Truly the Lord is doing a great work, as His ways and thoughts are always higher than ours.

It is vital in this season to look beyond what we see in the natural, having absolute trust that the Lord will complete the good work that He started in us. He tears down, but He also rebuilds (Job 12:14, Isaiah 61:4).

I sense the Lord’s heart of encouragement today. He is in the process of rebuilding, making beauty out of the ashes. Jesus Christ is allowing His Bride to enter into complete wholeness and health so that she can be fully equipped to go into this next year strong and free from her past entanglements and bondage. 2018 will be a year of new assignments, greater favor, and even geographical relocation for many. If you are currently experiencing turbulence, just hold on. This will soon clear, for the Son is breaking forth and you will experience a new day!

What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived—
the things God has prepared for those who love him (1 Corinthians 2:9).