In August, I received a prophecy on the topic of raising my own expectations of God. Frankly, it offended me at first, because I thought that my expectations were already pretty high—and I was still waiting on some of them to be met.
But when I had a dream in October on the same topic (see “The Mailbox and the Loading Dock”), God visually illustrated the vast difference between what his people have long expected from him, and what he wants us to prepare for. The dream reinforced to me that God is serious about this, and that my conception needs to change regarding what he wants to do.
After I wrote the blog post about the dream on October 15, I got busy releasing three more fiction books in the Valley of Artisans series.
Then, when November rushed in, I began asking God if he had a message for this email community. I was kind of surprised to find that he had more to say on the topic of raising our expectations.
Here is the message I believe God has for us:
God wants us to raise our expectations of him. He wants to do more than we could ask, think, or imagine.
He meant it when he said that those who believe in Jesus will do even greater works than witnesses saw Jesus do. If not now, when? In this generation, God will pour out his Spirit on us. The harvest is ripe, and waiting, and we can’t bring it in without him. Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord.
He loves us, and this is his dream for this generation on earth: to know him, to hear his voice, and to walk humbly with their God. We are the city on a hill, and his light becomes our light that draws all nations to him.
He longs to gather us under his wings as a hen gathers her chicks. He sees us, and he knows us, and he longs for us to see him and to know him. There is more he has for us. He is prepared to give us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.
Our whole lives have been leading up to this time, this moment.
If we will humble ourselves and pray, then he will hear and will heal our land. He is more powerful than any plague, and he wants more than anything for us to know him intimately enough to believe that.
Our destiny is not in the hands of anything in the realm that can be seen. We can trust him with it.
He sees us, and he loves us.
Turn your heart to him, draw near to him, and he will draw near to you. Don’t fear. Fear is a spirit, and perfect love casts out fear. God is perfect love.
Look to him because he loves you. He always has, and he never stopped.
The gray season is over. The season of light has begun.
I would love to hear what this message means to you. Just hit reply to send me an email.
Parting Words
I want to thank all of you who have been ordering books in my brand-new Christian fiction series, Valley of Artisans! (Links are below.) Without giving any spoilers, I will say that if you enjoy an uplifting fictional story that will help you raise your expectations of God, this inspiring series is for you.
All the books in the Valley of Artisans series will make great Christmas gifts, too. They’re designed to be read in order, but if you like the ones with Christmasy covers for Christmas gifts, then you could give book 2 and book 3 together, or even book 2 on its own. (They’ll make sense without having read book 1, but the reader will have an even richer experience having started reading with book 1.)
I also want to thank those of you who have said you’ll leave a review on Amazon for the Valley of Artisans books, or who have already posted your reviews! Those reviews are so helpful to encouraging more people to buy the books, and I really appreciate your support.
God bless you in this season of light.
To your freedom, health, and wholeness,
AmyLu
Christian Fiction Books by AmyLu Riley
Remembering: Valley of Artisans – Book 1
Open for Miracles: Valley of Artisans – Book 2
A Winter Wedding in the Valley of Artisans: Valley of Artisans – Book 3
Ordinary Miracles: Valley of Artisans – Book 4