Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’” Assemble and come, all you nations, and gather together all around. Cause Your mighty ones to go down there, O LORD. “Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow– for their wickedness is great.” Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. – Joel 3:9-14
Believers are presently being exercised to make decisions, and not to have them made for us as children. We are faced with decisions that will have far-reaching and powerful effects and consequences now and in the ensuing weeks, months and years. To many, the Lord is seemingly silent. We have been, much like children, used to asking the Lord to do such-and-such for us, for others, etc. His silence is His answer that it’s now time for us to make decisions based on our intimate knowledge of Him, His character, His ways, and the knowledge of the truth through the word and indwelling Spirit of God. It will take FAITH…true faith and not that which has been bantered around as something we use to get stuff from Him. It’s the “faith of the Son of God” who dwells within us, Who is also seated at the right hand of God.
These decisions cannot be based on common sense, or what it is the most comfortable, the cheapest, or the best for us, according to “Americanized” Christianity. Decisions must be based on the knowledge of God and what is righteous and just according to His nature and His word. Grow-up time! These decisions are a form of spiritual warfare that, if made wisely, will release a greater faith, authority, maturity and provision. The first decision, according to the passage above, is to arise, shake off passivity, and surrender ourselves for the purpose of spiritual battle.
Making these decisions, especially going against normal reasoning, will be the first step in seeing successful warfare that will release a greater harvest than we’ve even seen. Successful decisions that are made now will be the result of choosing to seek His face in intimacy and obedience in the past season. Those without a track record of an intimate walk with God will find these times very difficult, but there is still great hope and mercy if we stop what we’ve been doing in the past season, and pray, fast and seek His face NOW!