John 1:16-17 - His Fullness Lights The Way
Step 1: Pray. Select.
Today, as I sit thinking about the way the LORD gently transitions us from one phase of life to the next, I hear the words glory, grace, and presence.
I take these words and look up scriptures about the three themes, and as I come across John 1:16-17, I realize that, though we had the law through Moses, it was through the presence of Jesus on Earth that we experienced the Lord’s grace and glory, as well as the fulfillment of God’s promises.
This was the perfect place to start my journey today. So, I moved to STEP 2.
Step 2: Write. Read. Circle
After reading the scripture three times, the following words stood out amongst the others:
And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Step 3: Re-Write
With a focus on the words I circled that stood out, here are the personalized sentence(s) that came alive in my heart.
Jennifer, His fullness, grace, and truth came through Jesus Christ.
If you are doing this alongside me today, add your name in front of your unique sentence so the Lord can speak directly to you.
Step 4: Visualize
I close my eyes and visualize my sentence from the Holy Spirit today. I picture myself sitting outside at a wooden picnic table. I am in some type of national forest where pine trees tower over the area where I sit.
I look across the table and I see Jesus sitting there. He is youthful and vibrant, with a warm smile. He wears all white and is peaceful while we both take in the beauty of the area we are in. He is wide-eyed and childlike in some ways, almost as if he is experiencing the wonderment of our surroundings for the first time.
We don’t have any food, so I'm not sure why we're sitting at a picnic table, but wherever we are, it doesn’t really matter; we're both delighted and fulfilled to be there.
In this place, it is as if time doesn’t exist. We are listening to the animals, the trees, the sound of the wind brushing through the leaves, and the water from a nearby stream. We both look up at the towering trees and then back down at eachother as if to say wow! This is incredible.
He smiles, and then I notice a strange glow of light shining through his linen wrap-around shirt. It appears to be coming from within his chest area. He looks down as if to say, “Oh, that?” then slowly takes his hands, almost in a Superman pose to reveal an “S” on his chest, and opens the top portion of his shirt, and a flood of light explodes outward, almost blinding me completely.
He is showing me that where he came from, there is so much goodness and grace it overwhelms him from the inside out. He lets me know that no matter what anyone does here on Earth if they are willing to sit with him, as I am today, he will show them his light, and it will fill any darkness that resides within their world. It is clearly no match.
The Holy Spirit tells me that this light, has no beginning or end. It is everlasting and comes from a place that we do not know yet. Our spirit knows it, so we are not afraid, but our flesh cannot comprehend.
I have a question for the Holy Spirit, so I move to Step 5.
Step 5: Ask. Seek
The requests/questions that came to mind are:
Holy Spirit, if I am sitting at this table with Jesus, where in my life does he need to overcome darkness?
Step 6: Hear. Write. Receive
Here is the answer I received:
“As you know, there will always be areas for improvement in your life. Improvement and growth are never-ending, precisely like the light you are witnessing in Jesus. This is why you need to remain focused on eternal things so that you do not limit your capacity or the capacity of what your Father can do. Maybe, in this moment, you need to focus on how big the LORD actually is. Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence? (Psalm 139:7) He is everywhere and can be brought into all things. Don’t underestimate his power and strength to provide light where ever you go, even in dark situations. Sometimes, we need him to overcome darkness with light, and at other times, we need him to shed light on our situation, providing clarity. Today, ask the LORD to reveal to you where you cannot see. Open your eyes and illuminate the places you may not have noticed before but need to pay attention to as you travel down a new road and embark on a different and unfamiliar path. Look for places to sit quietly with Jesus without talking so you can hear and see what he has to show you to guide your next steps. Stopping looking back, stay present, and wait for his revelation of your future.”
Step 7: Pray. Confirm
Heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus.
I thank you for sending Jesus to this peaceful place to fellowship with me. Thank you for revealing that there are two ways to receive eternal light within every situation.
The first is being able to light up the darkness, overcoming any hindrances that keep me from you and your perfect will for my life.
Second, shedding light or new perspective on situations that lay ahead.
Let me come to this place amongst the trees and take a moment to sit with Jesus and admire all your creation and the fact that it doesn’t matter how far I wander or where I am; Jesus will always find me with endless, eternal light to share and bring clarity along the way. Let me keep this feeling of peace close to my heart and constantly be reminded of the warmth and grace of Jesus, who is a mighty king but leaves the ninety-nine to come meet up with little ole me.
I lift you up and thank you in Jesus' mighty name; I pray and seal this prayer with the blood of Jesus - Amei.
Step 8: Share. Testify
If you used the 8-Step Prayer Practice today, we would love to hear how God works in your life! You can comment below or share your miracle or testimony HERE.
Conclusion:
Friends, today, take a moment to sit down with Jesus in your special place to realize the infinite peace, power, and grace of the LORD.
Let us be reminded to stay childlike in wonder and awe of all he can do in our lives.
Do not limit his capacity to do above and beyond what you can imagine in life, but rather accept that he cares enough to show up and provide a caring, nurturing way to give you peace as he promotes you so you can do more work on behalf of his kingdom.
Keep your eyes open for how he is lighting up certain things in your day and ask yourself, 'Does this need to overcome a dark place, or do I need to change my perspective to receive more of what the Lord has in store for me?'
God bless you. See you soon!
