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Consider how a colt feels when he’s done nothing
but experience total freedom of movement until
the day he’s introduced to a halter and the
confines of being tied to a post
. How would
YOU feel?  What would YOU think?  Your
freedoms are being
assaulted!  Do you yield
or do you fight?  But YOU know something that
the colt doesn’t.  YOU know that once the
colt is halter broke, he can be led to other
pastures, experience other freedoms that he
would never know until he’s broke to lead. 
What LOOKS like a limitation to freedom
is in reality the doorway to greater liberties! 
WE are that colt and God is using the SAME
strategies on us as we do on them. 
Here is the story of 3 colts...
Bubba, Cadillac and Princess
and each of their individual responses...
which one are you???


 
2 CD series

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by:  Crystal Lyons                

One of my favorite portions of scripture to quote daily is Psalm 103:1-5.  Verse 5 says that the Lord
will satisfy my mouth with good and renew my youth like eagles.  Youth renewed…..I like that.   
It was just the other day as I was quoting this verse that it suddenly occurred to me that this verse isn’t
simply talking about regaining physical youth, though that is included, but it includes ALL areas of
youth renewed.  This includes the renewing of childlike qualities of faith and trust.  Old wounds
healed so we can believe like a child again….see like a child again and forgive as quickly and
easily as a child.  Jesus Himself said, “Except you become as a little child, you shall not ENTER the
Kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3-4 and Matthew 19:14)  This is talking about MORE than getting
saved.  Many born again people, who are truly saved, will never walk in Kingdom power and
authority.  They go to heaven when they die but they don’t enter the Kingdom.  I go to heaven
when I die as a result of what Jesus did…..but I enter into the Kingdom through much tribulation. 
(Acts 14:22) Salvation is free, but entering in and walking in Kingdom authority costs!   Matthew 11:12
says the Kingdom suffers violence (many things resist the Kingdom in this world system) and it’s
the violent who take it by force!  We must press through the resistance to walk in Kingdom
power and authority!  We must rise above the earth bound things to soar like eagles!  To do this,
we must have our youth renewed.  Not simply our physical youthfulness, but our childlikeness.

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How are we to walk through a world where people betray and wound us, grow in wisdom that
rises above the foolish immaturity of a child, and yet retain the childlike qualities of faith and trust? 
It can only be done as we allow the Lord to do His work in us.  Be angry, but sin not…..let not the sun
go down on your wrath.  (Ephesians 4:26)  This means that you have the freedom to FEEL the way
you feel when injured or betrayed, but what we DON’T have is the liberty to let it become a part of us! 
God gives us a time to sort through hurts, anger, bitterness, grief, etc., and then in His incredible
wisdom and perfect timing, He begins to ask us to let these feelings go.  It’s time to move on. 
If we continue to wallow in these emotions and painful memories, we will get stuck and be buried
where we lie.   Like Jesus said, we can’t walk in the fresh outpourings with the old wineskins. 
Through the battles of life and the scars incurred, we can become brittle and unable to move
into the next phase with the Lord unless we go through a time of renewal.  These times of renewal
will often place us in “the cleft of the Rock” where we are hidden for a time in the Lord while He
works on us.  It is during this time that the fellowship and support of other believers is essential. 
If it were not for other believers encouraging us with truths that we cannot, at the time,
grasp for ourselves; we could shrivel up and die under a weight of depression.  Through
this process, a softening of the crusty areas and a healing of old wounds occur.

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I want the renewal of youth,
though I gotta admit, I’m not too
incredibly thrilled over the process. 
But the other option is even less
desirable.   I don’t want to be an old
wineskin that has to be set aside
because I refuse the process by
which the old skin is made soft,
pliable and stretchable again. 
Not only am I claiming scriptures
for my physical youth to be renewed,
I also want my inner man to be
made young again.  The battle
scars I carry have made me
much wiser, but amidst the
wisdom, it is easy to become
less trusting, more rational and
even cynical.  These are crusty
areas that must be dealt with or
I won’t be able to move within
the flow of what God is doing next.

                                                                                                                                                                           

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One of my other favorite scriptures is Psalm 23; in it is a promise from the Lord to “restore my soul”. 
Our soul is our mind, will and emotions…..our personality.  When something is restored, it is brought
back to its original form.  It isn’t new, but it’s been restored, made fresh and like new again.  That’s
what God promises to do for our soul….our mind, emotions, personality.  He wants us childlike again. 
Not childish….childlike.  He WANTS us to be wise in the ways of war…not easily subverted or
fooled….He wants us to keep the wisdom we’ve gained from our encounters with the enemy,
but He DOESN’T WANT us to lose that inner childlikeness towards Him!  We are to be wise as
serpents but harmless as doves.  Easy to believe what God says, easy to trust God, easy to
love others….even our enemies.  This takes GOD renewing our inner being!  But if we’re
going to soar like eagles, run and not be weary, walk with Him and not faint….we MUST
have our inner man made new.  Old calloused places must be dealt with.  We must be
willing to lay aside our earthly wisdom born out of hurts and wounds and receive a
higher, heavenly wisdom that supersedes the rational knowledge that we’ve put our
trust in.  This earthly wisdom is a product of fear born from a desire for self
preservation.  Jesus basically says to cease from a lifestyle of preserving self….
to place ourselves unreservedly in His care….and as a result, He will renew our youth,
restore our souls….make us childlike again.  Those who grow bitter and cynical…die. 
Maybe not physically at first, but certainly destiny wise.  Bitter, cynical people are
disqualified for use in the Master’s Kingdom.


I
once had a mini-vision where I was shown how God wanted me to embrace a person,
who I saw in the vision holding a knife, ready to stab me once I embraced them.  I said,
“Lord….if I do what You ask, they will only hurt me”! 
His reply kind of shocked me.  He said, “Yes they will….but do it and trust
that I will heal you”.   I would love to say that I obeyed this command
unreservedly, but that would be a blatant lie.
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The Kingdom of God is near.  He is looking for those who will walk in supernatural Kingdom
power and authority.  This will take a restoring of our childlikeness….
a renewing of our youth.  Earthly wisdom must be submitted to heavenly.  Our eyes must
become childlike again….able to see and believe what’s going on in the invisible realm. 
We must be made quick to love the unlovely…..trust God when we can’t trust man….
see a bright future when the world around us is swallowed up in cynicism.  Even though the
process to let go of old hurts and wounds, and allow our heart to be made soft again,
is not without its pain; the promise of becoming one who walks in God’s manifest presence
so far outweighs the pain of the process that like Paul, we have to say, these “light afflictions”
are not worthy to compare to the glory that will be revealed!  
God renew our youth like eagles!

                                          

                   

     

 

To view more articles written by Crystal, go to Word Is   

 

                                                                                     

 

  

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