“It was a river I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed. He said to me, ‘Son of man, have you seen this?’ Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river. When I returned, there, along the bank of the river, were very many trees on one side and the other. Then he said to me: ‘This water flows down toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley, and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, ITS WATERS ARE HEALED. And it shall be that every living things that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. It shall be that fisherman will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim; they will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea, exceedingly many. But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt. Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for medicine.” Ezekiel 47:5-12

“And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever” Revelation 22:1-5

“Blessed in the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And it will not be anxious in the year of the drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

Intimacy with the Father allows His rivers of living water to wash over us healing every wound even the deep wounds that no one may see or know about; but the Lord. Many of us have walked through some dark places in our lives. We have been abused, mistreated even by ones who claim they love Jesus. We face things that are painful and cut deep, circumstances that oftentimes we are born into and cannot control. If you are walking through life, you have wounds and scars that tend to accumulate. In the spiritual realm, many people are walking around hurt, wounded, and bleeding. These are not just lost ones who have not received Jesus. These are brothers and sisters in Christ, adopted and accepted in the Beloved.

Many times in the church or religious circle we hear that we are victorious in Jesus and loved by the Father. We hear how we are over-comers,  but rarely do the words sink in, because there are deep wounds not being addressed. Many times people even scoff at you if you are walking through something, believing that it must be something you are doing wrong or that you are just not praying or reading the word enough. This just wounds the hurting person even more and makes them want to distance themselves from the church. We cannot treat people like this as the body of Christ! These wounds have to be addressed in love and not just bandaged, but stitched up and healed! If not people are walking around smiling, but it is just a mask to the depression, pain, anger, or grief they are dealing with. It is not okay and it is not healthy. Jesus came to bring life! He is love; but we cannot fully understand His love if we do not allow Him into the messy parts of our lives to shine His light.

I grew up in the church my whole life, but these last 4 years have been the first time that I have began to comprehend just a little piece of the depths of the Father’s love for me. You know why? Because I walked through some hard places and saw God’s faithfulness in it that He was not leaving me in my broken state. He took me by the hand and was not scared or put off by my brokenness or mess. No, He saw me fully in my nakedness and loved me in the midst of deep pain. His love in my darkest times, in my anger and in my pain, began to cast out my fear. This love began to heal the deepest parts of my heart. This love began to rewire my thinking even about the Father that He loves me! HE REALLY LOVES ME! It is not conditional on what I do or how much I serve or how many people I minister to. None of that matters to Him. He loves me, Sara Nicole Bennett, just as I am. You know what, that love has been transforming my whole life. I have understood more of my identity as His daughter and His heart for me. From this place, I have been able to understand His heart so much more for each person He puts in my path. Why? I truly began to understand His heart for me individually and uniquely. I was overwhelmed by His goodness. faithfulness, and grace. I have been able to grow so much and come into freedom in a lot of areas through just seeking after the Father’s heart. Not from being beat over the head with scriptures or told of all the things I am doing wrong that is keeping me from my breakthrough. No, it was from getting to know a holy, loving God whose kindness and goodness led me to repentance. Man, that is God’s heart for everyone! That they taste and see His goodness. I am undone by the Father and know the harder or I go after Him, the more undone I will be and the more effectively I will be able to love people. Beloved, know the Lord is for you and not against you. Know His heart!

The Lord came to bind up the brokenhearted and heal their wounds (Psalm 147:3). The worst thing you can do when someone is going through a hard time is to give them a cliche, religious encouragement that has no power behind the words. “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power” 1 Corinthians 4:20. We have to be in tune with the Holy Spirit when it comes to loving the broken. A lot of times someone will be bleeding and instead of helping clot the wound, people come in and actually are wounding people even deeper. They cut them more with their words. Words can be like swords. The Lord will send us to the broken; but we have to listen to what He is saying about that person and see them with spiritual eyes. We have to partner with Jesus and ask how to love them well. I will share a small excerpt of something intimate the Lord spoke to me. Only because I believe we each need to have this heart when being sent to love the wounded and broken beloved.

“You must always fall on your face and seek me. The people I will send you to are broken and hurting and in pain. They need to know my love and gentleness. I am entrusting my lost ones to you, so seek out my heart everyday. It’s delicate surgery, it’s very precise. Their wounds need stitched and you need to clot the blood so that they do not bleed out and die. But this is not in your own strength, it’s only through abiding in me. Apart from me you can do nothing…”

This is a small excerpt from my journal; but such a good reminder from the Lord. He will daily send people into our paths-not just on the missions field or on outreach- everyday. But we need to know Him beloved! We need to Know His heart intimately to look into His eyes of fire and see through spiritual eyes His heart toward each person put in our path. We carry the life of Christ, seated with Him in heavenly places. We are His beloved sons and daughters called to partner with Jesus everyday to bring people out of darkness into the light of Christ!

“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The One riding on it is called Faithful and True, and He judges and makes war in righteousness. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and many royal crowns are on His head. He has a name written that no one knows except Himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which He is called is, ‘the Word of God.’ …From His mouth comes a sharp sword-so that He may strike down the nations- and He shall rule them with an iron rod, and He treads the winepress of the furious wrath of Elohei-Tzva’ot. On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘King of Kings, and Lord of lords’ (Revelation 19:11-16). Guys, this is the kind of God we serve! A victorious King! We get the privilege to know and behold Him! We can see the fire in His eyes and carry that fire! Man, we get to daily study out His word and hide it in our hearts. We get to go out and love the broken and release healing! Man, we are so blessed! We get to release the life of Jesus to people who are broken! We are carriers of His glory -which a lot of times we understand more through seasons of being crushed and broken. We have to die, so that Jesus can live in us and be unleashed to others. Its all about Jesus not us. We have to daily pick up our cross and follow Jesus; but we are so blessed. We get to behold Him. We get to know Him! We are adopted in the beloved, grafted in. His sons and daughters- destroying hell for a living and bringing life!

Jesus came so that we could have life! “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). The word of God is full of scriptures that show the heart of the Father. The more we study the scriptures the more we see Jesus and His love throughout the scriptures. Jesus came so that we could have life and freedom to bring people out of darkness into His glorious light! (1 Peter 2:9). He came to bring everlasting life! “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” John 4:10.

The heart of the Father towards us is love. He “Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness-BY WHOSE STRIPES YOU WERE HEALED.” 1 Peter 2:24. Jesus is the key to our healing! He came to bring us physical healing; but also emotional healing as well. He bore everything on the cross! When He rose from the grave it was a finished work!

I truly believe the heart of the Father longs to wash over our every wound and to heal us completely to make us whole! The healing comes through intimacy with Him. Guys when hard times come we can run to the one who created us, who knows us intimately, who knows are deepest pains, who knows our hearts. He himself wants to help us walk out our healing. We have to be willing to embrace the pain, lay down ourselves, and go deep into His waters though. His rivers of living water bring the healing. We are not meant to act like we are not hurting or push down or try to forget the memories of the hard things. No, we are meant to face them; but with the Lord. “His perfect love cast out all fear” 1 John 4:18. “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.  When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you” Isaiah 43:2. Though we “walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” we “will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4. The Lord never leaves or forsakes us. Nothing separates us from His love (Romans 8:31-39). NOTHING can separate us from His love.

I really believe the Lord wants to encourage some of you walking through deep valleys that He is with you. Be encouraged, be of good cheer, and do not lose hope beloved sons and daughters of the most High God. You are seen, valued, and loved. In fact, many of things you are walking through that you have not understood the Lord is going to turn around for your good (Romans 8:28). The Lord Himself will wash over you and bind your every wound. He will take you deep into His heart. You will know Him in a way you never have before. You will learn the deep chasms of His heart. You will learn His heartbeat of love for you. He will bring healing and be your hiding place and refuge. He will raise you up from this place of intimacy and wholeness to overflow with love to unleash this healing from the Father’s heart to others. Know the Lord sees every tear you cry (Psalm 56:8). “You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will you allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At your right hand our pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:10-11). Do not lose hope beloved. Isaiah 41:10, “I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Beloved, know that even the dreams in your heart that you have been going after the Lord sees and knows. Do not lose hope on your dreams. Dare to keep dreaming and trusting Him, knowing that He is good. He is a faithful Father who provides for His children in every season. Know the work He is doing in your life now is vital to your journey ahead. He is healing you and preparing you for the things He has. Trust His appointed time! Work toward the vision, make it plain and right it down (Habakkuk 2:2-3). Go after God with everything you are. Be present, partner with Him everyday looking for ways to overflow with love wherever you are. However, do not live in worry, stress, or fear. Those things are not from God. As Todd White said at a conference I was at recently, “Fear is a liar!” Know your identity. Take captive thoughts that are not from the Father. If you are having overwhelming emotions, ask the Father to pinpoint the root to walk through healing with that. However, know beloved that you are right where He needs you to be if you are doing these things.

If we are actively going after the Father’s’ ‘heart with all we are and longing to be in His will, we will walk out the things that He has. Be confident. Be strong and courageous. Do not let the enemy steal the dreams in your heart though. Look in the Bible at people like David and Joseph. They went through so much, but the plan of God was unfolded in the appointed time over their lives. Romans 4:18-22, “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations…without weakening in His faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead- since he was about a hundred years old- and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He had promised.” God knows the promises and will bring them to pass in His time beloved. Know that even in times we miss something or slip up He is so compassionate and gracious. He is slow to anger and abounding in love (Psalm 103:8). There is grace. God is so much better then we think He is. Sarah even laughed at the promise of God; but she was still known as the Mother of Nations and remembered as a woman of Faith (Hebrews 11:11).

I pray for each of you that the rivers of heaven would wash over you and bind up every wound. I thank you Lord that you breathe fresh life and that you bring healing deep into the hearts of every soul. I thank you that you are raising an army of whole people who will carry your glory every place their feet step from Jerusalem, to Judea, to the ends of the earth. I thank  you that you are with them always, especially in the dark places- in persecution, in hardships, in loveless marriages, in their addictions, in their depression, in their pain. I thank you that as they come to know you as Father that you bring freedom. I thank you that you heal the brokenhearted and bring liberty to the captives. Lord I thank you that you are a loving Father. I thank you that you are King of Kings and Lord of Lords that you reign victoriously. I thank you that by your stripes we are healed! In Jesus name.