Presence Carriers – David ShearmanSample

Finding Alignment

At the gate of our family home is a large wooden mail box. It has a lock and Edward, one of my grandchildren, is very proud that he knows the combination! The padlock had 1,000 possible combinations, but only one opens it.

With alignment, everything seems easy. If we get ourselves in line with the purposes of God for our life, then things begin to “open up” to us. Things happen that wouldn’t otherwise happen. It is thrilling to be a presence carrier, to live with a sense of purpose and to watch God at work doing amazing things, but we must learn to be aligned to His plans and ways. What things will hinder or help that alignment?

Hindrance: Sin. We have all sinned and we all still sin. John reminds us that, “If we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). Thankfully, we also read that, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (v9). My advice is to repent quickly and always deal with sin urgently.

Help: Allow Jesus to be Lord. Until we absolutely surrender every area of our lives to God and fully come under His Lordship, we are not in line for the full favor of God. People tend to argue with God about how they use three things: their time, talent and treasure. The truth is, "we are not our own, we have been bought with a price." Our full freedom comes not only when we cease being slaves to sin, but when we choose to be "slaves to Christ".

Hindrance: Unforgiveness. Relational breakdown often results in bitterness, anger and unforgiveness – all of which are blockages that prevent God’s blessings flowing to us and through us. When someone hurts us, we ask, “How can I forgive them when…? What fills in the blank is usually an excuse to not forgive. But Jesus urges us to forgive others whether they express sorrow or not. Forgiveness is required if we want our lives rightly aligned to be conduits of God’s blessing, and true alignment requires us to act first.

Help: Forgiveness. I cannot stress enough the importance of forgiveness, nor adequately express its power to release those imprisoned by bitterness from the actions of others. I have seen amazing transformations take place in people's lives when they have allowed the Holy Spirit to touch them and their situation. Great burdens have been lifted off shoulders and freedom has come. The underlying truth behind all of these thoughts is that the power of God flows in ways that are quite remarkable to us when we align ourselves to His word.