The more we engage with the Father, the more we are transfigured and transformed, growing and maturing in wisdom and grace. The first dimension in which we engage is in the Earth, the physical realm, but in the spiritual atmosphere of an open heaven.
Convergence of time and eternity
The cloud of His Presence, the cloud of the Father’s glory, comes around us and God speaks to us from where He is, out of eternity. Truth will be revealed to us from His perspective, not necessarily ours. That is why I suggest we do not try to figure it all out or try to understand it, just to receive. Your spirit will receive and digest it, and the Holy Spirit will bring it to your mind when you need it.
That goes for all the things that He has spoken to you throughout time and eternity, even if you have not heard or understood them! There is a convergence of time and eternity in the moment that He speaks. He is always speaking from the eternal now, so He is not restricted by the constraints of time. He may speak words you understand, or He may speak directly to your spirit.
“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning” (John 15:26).
“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you” (John 16:13-15).
He will reveal all that you need to know to fulfil your destiny as a son of God.
Intimacy within
Beyond the physical realm, we can also engage in our spirit and hearts, the spiritual dimension. Wherever we are, we can experience the same intimacy within, all the time. We never have to feel in any way separated from God because Father, Son and Holy Spirit have chosen to come and dwell within us. We can learn to engage them there.
Our soul and spirit are contained within our physical body but the dimension of our spirit is a little like Dr Who’s Tardis – bigger on the inside than it appears on the outside. So you can have a garden within your soul, within your heart, acres and acres of soil to be cultivated. Jesus talked about the different conditions of the soil of our heart in the Parable of the Sower, and you may find there are beautiful areas in your soul but also some parts that are not so good. God desires us to cultivate it all so that none of it is hard, stony or weedy. So, as a house of God and a gateway of heaven, the Father dwells in us.
We should develop and nurture this ‘first love’ relationship, experiencing how much He loves us. Within that relationship God is looking to restore our hearts. Then we are able to love Him in return; able to fully express our love towards Him without any restrictions, limitations or hindrances caused by the hurt and damage most of us have incurred in our lives. Everything you encounter in God can be planted in the good soil of your heart, where you water it, and in due course you see young shoots coming through which grow up and produce fruit in your life.
Jesus invites us
Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. (Rev 3:20-1).
So Jesus invites us to open the door in our spirit to allow the presence of God to fill us. When our spirit is full, that presence overflows and fills the garden of our heart, fills our soul with His presence. This is essential to the promise that follows, that we will be seated with Him on His throne, exercising authority and participating in the government of the Kingdom.
Most of us have lived off the trickle that flows under the doorway that Ezekiel describes. Therefore we do not yet have rivers of water flowing out of our innermost being, we have a trickle. All the gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit that we have experienced so far have been as a result of that trickle. Imagine what our lives would be like if the flow of the river of life in us were ankle-deep, knee-deep, waist-deep, over our heads! That trickle is amazing, but what would it be like if it were a flood?
The Lord is my best friend and my shepherd.[b]
I always have more than enough.
He offers a resting place for me in his luxurious love.[c]
His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss.[d]
That’s where he restores and revives my life.[e]
(Ps 23:1-3a, TPT).
Close your eyes1 and think of that door in your spirit.
Let that door form in your imagination.
By faith reach out to the handle and choose to open the first love gate.
Welcome the Father’s presence into your spirit
Allow your whole being, spirit, soul and body,
to engage Him in a loving embrace.
Invite the Father into the garden of your heart
Let Him lead you to the green pastures or to your secret place.
As you are lying in the Father’s presence in your garden
Let Him begin to restore your soul
to face-to-face blameless innocence,
revealing wonderful truths to you of who you are.
Every night I send my soul into the garden of my heart to lie down with my Shepherd in green pastures. My spirit is active in heaven, and I go to sleep. When I wake up, sometimes I am aware of the conversation we have had during the night, and sometimes not. But I have set my soul in a place where it can engage with God all night; you can do the same. Why not try it tonight?
(1) Listen to an audio version of this activation:
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