 Dear Friends, I hear the Lord saying to His Bride: “You thought I abandoned you, but I have not forsaken you! You thought I left you in the wilderness, but you did not perceive what I was doing behind the scenes as you learned to depend entirely on Me. “For here I have given you the gifts of My Presence and provision, which will carry you out beyond the wilderness and into a world at war. I am taking My cup of wrath and placing it in the hands of your tormentors, who took you captive and made you like dirt for them to walk on. I am pleading your cause and rendering justice in your case. Your justice will become a testimony to your tormentors!” I see the Lord’s Bride emerging from the wilderness with spiritual power and authority that can come only from the Throne of God. This Throne is firmly founded on justice, holiness, and righteousness.  A HOLY, VICTORIOUS BRIDE EMERGINGOur Lord is HOLY. He is incapable of evil; entirely just and fair; morally excellent; spiritually pure, and perfectly GOOD all the time. “Holy” is His very Name! The Lord’s Spirit at work in His Bride is also holy and pure. While this past season has been one of intense refining, I see the Spirit now drawing people out of the wilderness and their former places of wandering, into a place of true, uncompromised character. I hear the Lord saying: “I am driving out the nations and giving YOU the victory! No man will be able to stand before you: I am laying the fear and dread of YOU on all the land!” For the bridal company who has yielded to His embrace, the fresh knowledge of the Lord gained in the wilderness will protect them from increased deception. They are awakened to the "fellowship of the mystery" of Christ and to their unity with His Body of believers in powerful communion. I see God’s holy lovers becoming true “plumb lines,” exposing every false measure and shaky foundation. LOST AND FOUND IN THE WILDERNESSSome of you thought you would lose sight of the Lord in the wilderness, yet it was there that He found you and brought you back to Him for good! “Now the Angel of the Lord found (Hagar) by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur… Then she called the Name of the Lord who spoke to her, ‘You are (El Roi) - the God who sees;’ for she said, ‘have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?’ Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi (‘well of the Living One seeing me.’)” (Genesis 16:7;13-14) I hear the Lord speaking the beautiful promises of Isaiah 51 over you: “The Lord will comfort Zion in her captivity; He will comfort all her ruins. And He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of a melody.” Just as the Father delights to sing over you, so the sound of your worship delights His heart! You are emerging from your wilderness season not as battered, wounded servants, but as sons and daughters who have encountered His love and are now strong and ready for battle. I hear Joshuas and Calebs shouting: “Give me these mountains!” WILDERNESS WEAKNESSES BECOMING STRENGTHSThe Lord is highlighting to me the classic “turnaround story”of Joshua’s battle at Ai. (Joshua 8.) Ai’s men had just dealt a severe blow to Israel, whose soldiers had been compromised by sin. Fear, not strength, permeated the ranks of Joshua’s army. Yet once the sin was dealt with, Israel was able to enact a new, winning strategy. God instructed Joshua to set up an ambush behind the city of Ai with some of his soldiers. The rest of Israel’s army then pretended to be defeated on another side, luring the enemy to chase them as they ran back towards the wilderness. Once the city of Ai was abandoned and unguarded, Joshua raised his spear, and his soldiers in ambush came out of hiding to set the stronghold on fire. Ai’s soldiers found themselves trapped between two Israelite regiments. Israel used the perception of weakness and the boundaries of the wilderness to their advantage - and won the war! In a similar way, I see the Lord turning the weaknesses the Bride faced in her wilderness into powerful new strengths. Throughout this long season of fiery purging and refining, the remnant-Bride has been preparing herself in the wilderness, regaining strength and learning to lean on Christ alone. All the while, God has been setting ambushes against the enemy. It will now be the strongholds of the enemy that are consumed by fire, not the dwellings of the Bride! The Bride will know how to use lessons learned in the wilderness to defeat her enemies. I decree that former places of confinement and defeat will become your inspiration for future success strategies. Your prayers are activating holy ambushes, and you will only have to look with your eyes to see the destruction of the wicked! While the world thinks God’s deliverers are retreating in defeat, I hear over and over again a Gideonesque victory shout in the Spirit: “The sword of the Lord and of ______!” (Insert your name in place of Gideon’s.) There is a company of warriors rising up who refuse to be intimidated by the enemy any longer. They are prophesying victory as they wield their own Word-Swords, which have been crafted by faith. God is quenching thirst and refreshing His Bride even as He burns up and destroys her enemies! What was once barren and dry in your lives will be saturated with springs of living water as you open your hearts to receive from Him! I see a vision of the Lord uncapping long-sealed wells of the heart to release rivers and streams of life. I see His Bride emerging from the wilderness refreshed, singing, and prophesying about God’s goodness, deliverance, and holiness!  FULL REDEMPTION FOR THE BRIDEThe prophet Isaiah’s words are coming to life right before our eyes. Rebel rulers and worldly, unjust judges who can be bought for a price are now being shaken right out of their pride. Those who have been deaf to the cries of the righteous, or turned away from the unborn and the fatherless, are now seeing a supernatural “Avenger” arrive on the scene, toppling their “screens” (of deception) and interrupting their “shows” (false signs of strength). The arrogant will learn that “Where the Word of a King is, there is power;” no one can say to God: “What are you doing?” (Ecclesiastes 8:4) To the faithful remnant-Bride, I hear the Lord saying: “I will restore your judges as at the first, and [wise] counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you will be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city. I am redeeming Zion with Justice and reviving the repentant with righteousness!” (See Isaiah 1:26-27.) GLORY! To lovers of God emerging from the wilderness: it is the Lord Himself who is setting angelic ambushes and fighting your battles! I see the Lord's justice restoring you and freeing you of remaining enemies in this season. Your redemption stories will fill the enemy with fear, but the righteous with hope. Your wilderness season has turned the Fear of the Lord into your treasure - and the enemy’s dread! For Him, Deborah   |
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Deborah Perkins 
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January 2023
AuthorA severe hearing loss from childhood caused Deborah Perkins to develop what she now calls her secret weapon: tuning in to God's voice. A Wellesley College graduate and an award-winning writer, Deborah is now a wife and mother of 3 boys. Deborah has devoted over 25 years to professional and lay Christian ministry in New England and beyond. Her passion is inspiring people to cultivate greater intimacy with God. 
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