(Note:
The following message originally aired on Autism One
Radio. To hear the broadcast at any time, please go
to: http://autismone.org/radio/default.cfm?archive=914&bg=&FromA1
and click on the arrow above “Listen to Jack and
Rebecca Sytsema.”)
ARISING
TO A NEW DAY
Come,
and let us return to the LORD; for He has torn, but
He will heal us; he has stricken, but He will bind us
up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day
He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight.
(Hosea 6:1-2)
A NEW DAY
is truly a wonderful thing. As the dawn breaks, the
light of new hope comes with it. There are certain days
in our lives, however, that completely shift us from
an old season into a new season. Days of wedding, births,
moving, promotion, graduation, and so on propel us out
of what life used to be into a whole new realm. These
are the pivotal days of our lives. Some we can plan
for, and some are complete surprises, but each of these
days holds the power to forever change the course of
our lives.
Throughout
the Bible, significant days such as these were recorded.
Many times these things occurred on “the third
day.” One of the most significant events in the
Bible occurred on the third day when Jesus rose from
the dead. From the point of view of Jesus’ followers,
this was a dark and horrible time. On the first day
Jesus had been crucified and died. Surely they were
greatly confused and disheartened. On the second day
the reality of His death was beginning to sink in. We
can imagine that on that day they were tremendously
scattered in their emotions and unable to reconcile
what had happened in their minds. Yet, it was in the
midst of their deepest despair, their greatest confusion,
and their darkest hour that dawn broke on the third
day… a day that would forever change their lives
and the course of the world.
There are
times in every one of our lives when we hit deep despair
and great confusion. For many parents of children with
autism (or any special need, for that matter), one of
those times could have been the day that the reality
of our child’s condition finally began to sink
in. Like the disciples on the day of Jesus’ death,
we can easily fall into confusion and despair wondering
how this could have happened and how it can ever work
out.
I truly believe,
however, that even when we find ourselves in that condition,
that God has planned a new day – a “third
day” in our lives; a day when we will be able
to arise into a new season. To arise means to get up
from a prostrate position, come up out of oppression,
awaken, or ascend. As our third day begins to dawn,
God can break all the confusion and disappointment of
the past season off our lives and can clothe us with
favor and strength for a new advancement. Here are some
other biblical examples of the third day that have applications
today:
1.
IT WILL BE A SEASON THAT WE WILL AWAKEN TO NEW BLESSINGS.
“Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn
us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us
but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will
revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that
we may live in his presence” (Hosea 6:1-2 NIV).
When we go through a hard season in our lives, it is
easy to fall into a pattern of discouragement, when
we begin to ask God why, disillusionment, when we begin
to wonder if God cares for us, and disinterest when
we begin to separate ourselves from God altogether.
However, when the dawn of our third day begins to break,
the Lord can remove all the discouragement, disillusionment,
and disinterest from us. In our third day, we awaken
to new blessings when the Lord heals, revives, and restores
us so that we can live in His presence with joy and
satisfaction regardless of our circumstances.
2.
IT WILL BE A SEASON WHEN WE ARISE WITH NEW, REFRESHED,
OBEDIENT HEART.
“On the third day there was a wedding in Cana”
(John 2:1-11). So begins the story of Jesus turning
water in wine. It was the beginning of a new day in
the life of the world. It was the first miracle Jesus
performed. This was also the beginning of His glory
being manifested on the earth. In our third day, the
Lord is going to do unexpected things in each of our
lives. Whatever direction you feel God is giving you
in this new season, it will be important to obey Him
so that we can see new manifestations of His glory in
our lives.
3.
THIS WILL A TIME WHEN THE TESTING GOD HAS PUT US THROUGH
WILL PRODUCE A RELEASE OF NEW PROVISION.
“God tested Abraham … and said, ‘Take
now your only son Isaac … and offer him as a sacrifice.’
So Abraham arose early and went to the place which God
told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes
and saw a place far off … and the Angel of the
Lord called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham
… and God provided a ram. And Abraham called the
place Jireh, for ‘The Lord will provide’!”
(Gen. 22:2,4,14). Abraham underwent a strong test as
God called upon him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Abraham
obeyed. Ultimately, Abraham was not required to sacrifice
his son, and in the midst of his obedience—on
the third day—was provided with a ram that could
be sacrificed instead. If we are willing to lay our
lives on God’s altar, not only will we pass the
test, we will receive new provision for the days ahead,
just as God provided the ram for Abraham’s sacrifice.
4.
THIS WILL BE A SEASON OF CHANGING OUR GARMENTS AND RECEIVING
NEW BOLDNESS.
“Now it happened on the third day that Esther
put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court
of the King’s palace …” (Esther 5:1).
Esther put on a royal robe and went before the king
with boldness to ask for favor for her people. She knew
she could lose her life for doing so, but instead she
was able to sway the king’s favor, save the lives
of her people, and see the enemy of her people destroyed
in the very gallows he intended to use against Esther.
This new season will be a time to put on garments of
favor and confidence and go before the Lord with boldness
asking great things of Him.
GETTING
FROM HERE TO THERE
There is always a transition period as we are moving
toward the third day God has for us. These transition
periods can often be unsettling and confusing because
things don’t look quite like they used to, but
we are really sure where we are going. Gaining our footing
is sometimes difficult, but as we allow the Lord to
lead us through our transition times, we will be able
to get through them strong and ready for the new day
He has in store.
But the enemy
loves to prolong our transitions past their appointed
season because that effectively prevents us from coming
into the new. The enemy never wants us to arise into
the third day! He wants to hold us in the discouragement
of yesterday. He knows if he succeeds in doing this
we will never see our Lord's plan manifest for the future
season. He also knows that he can keep an entire generation—our
children—from advancing forward into the riches
and blessings of a covenant God.
One consistent
way he does this is to lie to us about our future by
saying that things will never change, or that we are
disqualified from all of God’s promises because
of our circumstances or because of what we may have
done in the past, or that God does not have a plan of
prosperity for us or our children. But that is not what
the Bible teaches us. Whenever we hear those lies, we
need to counteract them with the truth of what God says.
One of the best ways to do that is to have an arsenal
of Scriptures that you can read, out loud if necessary,
that tell of God’s goodness and of His promises
for the future. The truth will always dispel lies, and
it encourages us in our faith.
I love Isaiah
41:14-16 which says, “‘Fear not, I will
help you,’ says the LORD and your Redeemer, the
Holy One of Israel. ‘Behold, I will make you into
a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth; You shall thresh
the mountains and beat them small, and make the hills
like chaff. You shall winnow them, the wind shall carry
them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; you
shall rejoice in the LORD, and glory in the Holy One
of Israel.” In Children of Destiny’s Daily
Prayer, we have prayed in the past that God would remove
the mountain of autism from our children’s lives;
that He would cast pieces of it into the sea each day.
While we will continue to pray that, it is important
to be aware that God will often use us as the instruments
to pulverize the very mountains we face. This is an
important part of arising to the new day God has for
us.
We at Children
of Destiny have the following prayer for you: “May
the Lord bring a new release and liberty to your life.
May new favor rest upon you and your family. May any
discouragement, disillusionment, or disinterest of yesterday
break. May the breaches from broken relationships be
mended. May the losses of the past season be returned
to you in this season. May you declare restoration over
your life and over your family. May you see the promises
that lie ahead of you. May your latter be greater than
your former. Arise and enter into your third day. Amen.”
With blessings,
Jack and Rebecca Sytsema
©2006,
Children of Destiny. All rights reserved.
(Portions
of this article have been adapted from the book, The
Future War of the Church, by Chuck D. Pierce and Rebecca
Wagner Sytsema, published by Renew Books, 2001).
__________________________________
ARISING
TO A NEW DAY
SCRIPTURE GUIDE
Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory
of the LORD is risen upon you.
(Isaiah 60:1)
Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces
but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind
up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on
the third day he will restore us, that we may live in
his presence.
(Hosea 6:1-2, NIV)
But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness
will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go
out and leap like calves released from the stall.
(Malachi 4:2, NIV)
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve
my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger
of my foes, with your right hand you save me. The LORD
will fulfill [his purpose] for me; your love, O LORD,
endures forever-- do not abandon the works of your hands.
(Psalm 138:7-8, NIV)
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and
deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over
you, and His glory will be seen upon you.
(Isaiah 60:2, NKJ)
We went through fire and flood. But you brought us to
a place of great abundance.
(Psalm 66:12, NLT)
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining
toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to
win the prize for which God has called me heavenward
in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 3:13-14NIV)
Now if we are children, then we are heirs-- heirs of
God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in
his sufferings in order that we may also share in his
glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not
worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed
in us.
(Romans 8:17-18, NIV)
This is what the Sovereign LORD says: On the day I cleanse
you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns,
and the ruins will be rebuilt. Then the nations around
you that remain will know that I the LORD have rebuilt
what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate.
I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.
(Ezekiel 36:33,36 NIV)
From the womb of the dawn you will receive the dew of
your youth.
(Psalm 110:3, NIV)
But today I am freeing you from the chains on your wrists.
(Jeremiah 40:4, NIV)
He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he
will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he
will continue to deliver us,
(2 Corinthians 1:10, NIV)
I
will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten--
the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts
and the locust swarm-- my great army that I sent among
you.
You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and
you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has
worked wonders for you; never again will my people be
shamed.
(Joel 2:25-26, NIV)
May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; may his
foes flee before him.
(Psalm 68:1, NIV)
___________________________________
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