Your times are in His hands and His mercies are new every morning. Psalm 31:15, lamentations 3:22-23.
As each new day brings a reset for our lives in the wonder of the mercies of God, so can a New Year. As we leave 2024 and enter 2025 no matter what 2024 held in the processes of God, we are always offered new mercies.
The Hebrew connotation to this word mercies in the context of lamentation 3:22 is kindness, goodness, beauty, and favour.
OIL OF FAVOUR
Recently I had an encounter with the Lord regarding this new season we stand in.
The Lord was anointing His beloved with fresh oil and I heard the Lord say the “Oil of Favour”.
In the context of Lamentation 3 here is a new mercy for a new season.
YESTERDAY ENDS TODAY
As I pressed into the Lord in this encounter I clearly heard His voice say “The past is the past and yesterday ends today”.
In this sentence I saw a vision of a door being shut on yesterday and all that was previous. In this vision however I knew the power was within the hands of God’s people to close the door. It was a choice to let it drop once and for all, and not return to the past from yesterday previous. In the vision I could hear and see regrets and failures being rehearsed and on repeat, I could see moments lost and stolen, I could see grief and loss, years and relationship, so much was involved in what flashed before my eyes.
The Lord showed me these flash visions of scenarios of rehearsed losses, failures and regrets, wounds, offences, unresolved issues needing recompense and justice were hindering people from walking into and embracing the oil of the new season.
We see after the Lord anoints our head with oil in Psalm 23:5, verse 6 says and goodness and mercy follow us all the days of our lives.
This oil of favour is the goodness and mercy of the Lord!
GILGAL
He said “I am anointing my people with fresh oil a new grace for this new season.”
I had the understanding that since this past rosh Hashanah 5785 we have shifted into a new season. It even felt as if there was a new birthing that had come forth. The Lord revealed to me the scenario of the children of Israel crossing the Jordan into the promised land. I believe this past rosh Hashanah there has been a “crossing over” for many who are stepping into possessing promises.
However the recent encounter I had with the Lord – “Yesterday ends Today”, spoke of the first encampment the children of Israel came to after they crossed the Jordan “before” they went in to take Jericho. It was a place called GILGAL- which means to “roll away”.
In Joshua 5 this story is outlined where the Lord told Joshua to circumcise all of the uncircumcised younger generation. Circumscision is a symbolic representation of covenant – a people who belong to Yaweh, whereby belonging to Him they are not led by the flesh but by the Spirit of God. In other words a covenant people of faith.
This symbolises for us the circumscision of the heart that we walk by faith into the promises. We cut away – repent of the eyes of the flesh – unbelief – and choose to live by the unseen realm and be pleasing to God. We enter in by faith!
GILGAL is where Joshua received the new instruction for the new season. Without the old removed the new revelation can’t be received or believed.
ROLLING AWAY OF REPROACH AS GOD DEALS WITH LEVIATHAN
And it was at this place of GILGAL that the Lord said “today I roll the reproach of Egypt off you!” Wait what? They had been out of Egypt 40+ years wasn’t that what roaming around in the wilderness was for? Clearly the Lord is showing us that we can enter in, cross over but still have the reproach of the past in us or on us.
I believe we as a people have come to GILGAL, and the Lord is rolling off the reproach of Egypt. They hadn’t lived in Egypt 40+ years but the shame and reproach of Egypt remained.
This speaks of a tail position. The word says as God’s people we are called to be the head and not the tail (deuteronomy 28:13). Reproach is a shame and dishonour that causes you to be below or beneath instead of favoured and positioned as above as we are promised as children of God.
DEALING WITH LEVIATHAN
Let’s go a bit further.
At the beginning of 2024 the Lord spoke to me and said this is an Isaiah 27:1 year, I am going to punish leviathan. With that I knew he meant regarding nations, and his people. We have to understand when the Lord visits to deal with an enemy He EXPOSES IT. This is for the purpose to bring about a spirit of repentance in order to make available an opportunity to detether oneself from any influence, alignment or agreement to the lies and belief systems of those demonic enemies and henceforth bring about and enable a deliverance from destructive fruit and cycles of death those demonic attachments impose on one’s life. (2 Corinthians 7:9-10 Amplified classic version).
I have witnessed in this hour there has also been an untethering from leviathan in bloodlines of those in the Lord’s house.
Job 41:34 says leviathan is the monarch over the princes of pride.
In Psalm 74 :13 it says when the Lord split the sea the waves did crush the head of leviathan – referring to Egypt.
If the Lord is saying we are at GILGAL and he is rolling the reproach of Egypt away, and he likens Egypt with leviathan and reproach (shame, dishonour and being the tail) is all fruit of leviathan activity, then it would be fair to say that the Lord is punishing leviathan in the very act of rolling the reproach of Egypt away.
But we see the circumcision came first. This is symbolic of repentance. Symbolic of death to the flesh and becoming alive to God (Col 2:12-13). In this we have access to the victory spoken of in the next verses in Col 2:15 whereby Jesus disarmed the principalities that raged against us. Leviathan is one of those principalities.
This is exciting stuff folks! He is bringing a reset to His people, the ones who have endured the humbling of the wilderness, and learnt surrender and have crossed over the Jordan following the Lord in a way they have never been before in this past season, to now the place of GILGAL where He rolls away the reproach and anoints us with fresh oil.
It’s the “instead of” season at GILGAL.
Isaiah 61:7 says
“INSTEAD of your [former] shame you shall have a twofold recompense; INSTEAD of DISHONOUR and REPROACH [your people] shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double [what they had forfeited]; everlasting joy shall be theirs.”
This is the rolling of reproach.
Reproach must go so favour can come. Favour is the esteem of the Lord, it is not the favour or good standing with man, it is the favour of God which is what is needed in order to enter in.
The favour of God will give you favour with man, that you could not get on your own merit. It is sovereign, underserved and unearned. It is for His purposes to be established in this earth for His glory and the expansion of His Kingdom.
PURIFICATION AND BEAUTIFICATION FOR PROMOTION IN ORDER FOR DEMONSTRATION.
Esther was purified then beautified, she was then presented before the king to be positioned to demonstrate the rule of the “kingdom of God” on this earth. Likewise, those who have surrendered through the purification process of this past season are now being beautified with the Lord’s favour, in order to be presented and positioned (promoted if you like) to demonstrate His Kingdom for such a time as this.
DREAM – THE LORD IS MAKING EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL (eccl 3:11)
There is a “time” for everything, and we must remember that “our times are in His hands” Psalm 31:15.
This past week I had a dream of this very scripture. In the dream there was a working together of the wisdom that brings favour and the working of the hands of the Lord. In the dream the Lord was wrapping presents with the person wisdom as His helper. Together they were making these presents beautiful with much care and joy. I kept hearing in my dream, I’m working to make everything beautiful. I had the sense in the dream that this preparation of these gifts were attached to TIME. As if with Christmas time we wait for Christmas Day to exchange and unwrap gifts, it is a “day” to unwrap but the lead up is great preparation. I felt these gifts were linked to a time, a “Christmas Day” if you like, representing a season of fulfilment of time. But as a gift or present is hidden, it felt the same, the receiver was unaware of the effort and joy of this preparation that the Lord was embarking on in wrapping these gifts and wisdom being his right-hand helper was indicating that His timing is within His higher wisdom. We can’t always see what He is working on, and in the natural it looks like NOTHING is moving, but great preparation is happening in the unseen realm. And the intent and precision the Lord prepares is with great delight in the detail.
His wisdom is higher and our hearts can rest and take comfort in the timing of His wisdom. This is challenging for the heart as mere humans we want to know everything. However, to know there is movement on your behalf behind the scenes strengthens us in the waiting and we can be rest assured that we are NOT forgotten! His timing is perfect and He is making everything BEAUTIFUL!
Like Esther she was made beautiful for a purpose. The Lord’s purposes in us are being made beautiful so His kingdom (His rule, authority and dominion) can come in and through our lives and His will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
May 2025 see the fulfilment of long awaited promises and the GOODNESS of the Lord be demonstrated in the land of the living Psalm 27:13-14.
His Kingdom Come, His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Much love to you all my dear friends
Anita Alexander
