The other night, as I was resting and preparing for bed, I heard the Lord speak one word, "Mephibosheth." It shook my spirit as it has been a while since I had read about the story of Mephibosheth, but knew enough off hand to know this was the story of Jonathan's crippled son. As I began to seek God about this Word and the "burden" I was feeling, the Lord shared a Word with me that I'd like to share with you now and over the course of the next few newsletters. But first, allow me to give you a brief background on the story of Mephibosheth.
According to 2 Samuel 4, Mephibosheth was in the care of his nurse when word came that both his father, Jonathan, and his grandfather, Saul, were slain at Jezreel. The calamity and fear of the on sweep of the Philistines incited terror in Mephibosheth's nurse resulting in her fleeing while carrying him. She fell and consequently Mephibosheth was left permanently lame. They fled to Lo-Debar where Mephibosheth remained until King David, upon learning of his existence, sent for him. Mephibosheth left Lo-Debar at the response to the king's call where he then resided in Jerusalem for 17 years and was a daily guest at the king's table because of the covenant David had with Jonathan.
In reading and studying this text, there are so many truths within this text that scream at me; the temptation for me is to exegete the text. However, the current assignment is in relaying to you the burden the Lord gave me concerning the body of Christ in hopes of bringing edification. The more I sought God about this and the more I pondered, the heavier the "burden" became; The body of Christ has been functioning numb! Understand beloved that numbness is one of the characteristics of crippled conditions. The Church by in large has been functioning crippled and has presented a "dwarf church" which has been dwelling in a place that is not equipped to bring fruit or advancement; a spiritual Lo-Debar. Please note that while the Hebrew texts for Lo-Debar means "no word," the book of Amos adds new vowels making the meaning of the word "a place of nothing" or "not a pasture." But God is sending forth a clarion call to shift the Church out of their place of Lo-Debar into their place of Jerusalem.
Beloved, you are being summoned from a dry place, an unproductive place, a place of numbness to a place of peace, a place where the spirit of God rests, a place where you can receive streams of living water. No longer can you dwell in “a place of nothing.” But God is calling for a shifting to happen. Your “chronos” and “kairos” has made a collision which results in a jolting and an awakening where you “come to yourself” and realize Lo-Debar is not where you belong. The call has gone forth. But the response to the call is the beginning of the shift that is needed.
