WOW! This time next month, we will all be at Devoted! So exciting!! When I think of Devoted, I think of a beautiful gathering of women eager to encounter God- waiting expectantly on the Holy Spirit. I think of the joy of the Lord manifested in a real and present way. True joy might be hard to describe, but you know it when you experience it. It can be childlike in nature- no rules attached, unconstrained, but totally encompassing and fulfilling.
The visual I get of unbridled joy is like the group of kids at our Angel Tree party who were playing in the remnants of the Build the Snowman game. There were piles and piles of shredded paper and the children were grabbing huge handfuls and throwing the paper up in the air, rolling in the piles, smiling, giggling and laughing- great big belly laughs. It was uninhibited joy! They weren’t worrying about what the kid next to them thought or was doing – they were just experiencing joy.
My prayer for Devoted is not that women will be throwing paper in the air, but that they will come ready to experience the true joy that comes from encountering a real and present God. That they will be able to take their cares, worries, and struggles and throw them up in the air to Jesus who is ready to take them off their shoulders. That they will raise their hands in surrender to a loving God and take time to just bask in his presence- that the joy of the Lord will fill them in a beautiful way! I love how the Message version describes this in
Isaiah 61:1 “I will sing for joy in God,
explode in praise from deep in my soul!
He dressed me up in a suit of salvation,
he outfitted me in a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom who puts on a tuxedo
and a bride a jeweled tiara.
For as the earth bursts with spring wildflowers,
and as a garden cascades with blossoms,
So the Master, God, brings righteousness into full bloom
and puts praise on display before the nations”
So let’s pray together that women will come expectant for miracles & life changing encounters. It’s been said that a person will never receive beyond their expectancy- so let’s expect BIG things from God!
Lord, we thank you for all the amazing group of women who will be attending Devoted and Holy Spirit we ask that right now that you plant that seed of expectancy in the hearts and minds of your women. That you prepare them for all the wonderful things that you want to do in their lives in this conference. We ask that you clear the way of any obstacles that might get in the way and ready them for a life changing experience of your JOY and your PRESENCE.
AMEN!!
Love,
Sue Fitzgerald