Every year we set our hearts on a new beginning of some sort—but 2015 is different than 2014, 2013, 2012 and the years before. That's because 2015, as the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart, is the year of new beginnings.
The most significant new beginning of my life happened in a jail cell about 15 years ago. I was falsely accused of a crime I didn't commit. After losing my husband the year before, I lost just about everything else I had during the 40 days it took to see my vindication. I lost my apartment, my job, my savings, my dog—it sort of sounds like one of those sad country songs. (You can read my entire testimony here.) But I gained Christ and I consider everything else worthless compared with the value of knowing Him (Phil. 3:8).
Nothing can top my salvation experience, but I do believe 2015 will prove to be a year of new beginnings—notice the Holy Spirit told me beginnings (plural) and not beginning (singular). In 2014, many in the body of Christ sensed they were being prepared for something—something they couldn't articulate. Many felt like they were being stretched beyond their natural limits. Many thought felt they were pregnant with something big and felt the pain and frustration of being past due.
A Year of Birthings
I believe 2015 is a year of new beginnings and that means birthings. Last fall, Ken Malone had a prophetic vision that shook him and the Lord impressed upon him that we are in a season of giving birth.
“I saw and heard the radical remnant of the Lord pregnant with the dreams and visions of the Lord. They were pregnant with the purposes of God in the earth. Many are pregnant with awakening revival for their nation, cities and families. Others are pregnant with a harvest of souls. Still others are pregnant with signs, wonders and miracles. Then there are those who are pregnant with His presence, intercession and gifts of the Holy Spirit,” Malone writes.
“The radical remnant I saw and am seeing is beyond full term. Something is keeping them from delivering God's purpose. The remnant is not able to deliver. Groaning and travail as with a woman in pain of childbirth is on the remnant. But no one can deliver. Suddenly, I began to see why we could not deliver. The accuser of the brethren was standing there making accusation against the remnant. Dreams and visions from the Lord are being held hostage in the womb of the sons and daughters of the Lord by this accuser.”
Preparing for New Beginnings
You can read the rest of his vision, which will encourage your heart, but I would encourage you to get ready for the birthing that will bring the new beginning. 2015 is a year of new beginnings. That means some of you are going to birth some things. That means you may be a little uncomfortable in 2015. It means you will face some transition. It means you may enter into travail. It means you will face the accuser of the brethren and engage in spiritual warfare at new levels. But you will win! It will be worth it!
What is your part to play in this birthing unto new beginnings? Let me get real practical with you and offer four keys to equip you for this season.
1. Give your will over to the Lord.
What you are birthing may seem scary to you or it may seem insignificant to you. It may seem overwhelming to you. We can take a lesson from Mary. It's time to face your fears—fear of the unknown, fear of failing, fear of rejection, fear of transition. When the angel came to Mary and told her she would birth the Son of God, she ultimately responded: “I am the servant of the Lord. May it be unto me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
2. Be willing to adjust your schedule.
When you are expecting a baby, you are preparing for its birth. Women, we change the way we eat, the way we sleep, how we spend our time. As we prepare to enter a year of new beginnings and birthings, we must be willing to adjust our schedules and to spend more time in the Word, in worship and in prayer. That may mean giving up other things. “Therefore, since we are encompassed with such a great cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1, emphasis added).
3. Be willing to shift your direction.
I've had a number of baby dreams over the years. In one of my baby dreams I was nine months pregnant but the baby had stopped moving. The baby wasn't kicking or rolling or showing any sign of life. I thought the baby was dead and I panicked. Then, suddenly, I had the unction to shift the baby's position with gentle pressure from my hand. (I later researched this and discovered there's a name for it: the Diaphragmatic Release.) When I did, I could feel the baby kicking again. I knew all was well.
Sometimes things look dead but you just have to reposition yourself for life. It doesn't always take much. Just one gentle movement in the right direction can cause God to breathe on that thing again so you can birth it and begin nurturing what God has given you to steward. But you need to hear from the Lord about which way to shift. Remain close to the Holy Spirit, and “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' whenever you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left” (Is. 30:21).
If God has given you something to birth, it may be time to pull an Ezekiel and speak to those dry bones. It may be time to pull an Elijah and raise it from the dead. It may be time to walk away from the Ishmael. Refuse to abort and just reposition yourself to receive what God intended all along. You could just be in the wrong place or in the wrong time or with the wrong people. Listen to the Lord.
4. Embrace the transition.
Transitions are difficult. This is the place where people tend to grow weary and faint. The moments right before you give birth to that new thing—before you enter that new beginning—are the hardest of all. I'll write a follow up article in the coming weeks on transitions that will equip you as we move into this year of new beginnings. Amen.
Jennifer LeClaire is senior editor of Charisma. She is also director of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale and author of several books, including Satan's Deadly Trio: Defeating the Deceptions of Jezebel, Religion and Witchcraft, and The Spiritual Warrior's Guide to Defeating Jezebel. You can visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.
