You’re doing it again. You are gathering so much data that the idea of organizing it is overwhelming you.

Do you remember how I had you delete 7,000 pictures from your phone - four year’s worth of pictures - in one night? Remember how anxious you felt when I asked you to do it, the fit your mind threw as you did, and the peace you felt when it was over?

Looking back, do you regret it?

For a few weeks now you’ve been asking Me to talk to you about what you keep hearing pastors say: that you should put a demand on your faith; put a demand on God or command God to act.

There’s a good reason why you feel such a strong pushback in your spirit when you hear this: you are not so arrogant that you would dare to put a demand on Me or command Me to do anything.

If you ever hear yourself saying or thinking the words, “I know I shouldn’t, but…” STOP. Whatever comes after “but” could be replaced with “I am choosing to live in willful disobedience to the leading of Holy Spirit in my life.”

When I hear you saying, “I know I shouldn’t watch this show, but at least this is a lot better than what I used to watch.” I hear, “Daddy, I know that I shouldn’t watch this show, but I am choosing to live in willful disobedience to the leading of Holy Spirit in my life.”

I’m pouring out My Spirit in your life and you’re still holding up that silly little glass to catch it.

Last night at worship, you opened your hands to receive what you felt Me pouring out. Your hands are just a sieve. Laying out across the floor, posturing yourself as a surrendered vessel, felt inappropriate… but how much more can you receive when your entire body is postured to receive?

I’ve been hinting around and simultaneously speaking plainly for months now about what it looks like to live as a bondservant of Christ. A bondservant is one owned by another. They have nothing that is their own. For a bondservant, even their time belongs to their master. From the moment they wake up each morning until the close of day, they seek to know and do the will of their master above all else. This is the calling on the life of those who make the conscious decision to follow Christ as a Christian.

You asked Me to break your heart for what breaks Mine. Do you want to know what really breaks My heart? My children, My precious little babies whom I handcrafted in My image, are looking like cookie-cutter images of the world around them.

My children are living in spiritual poverty. THAT is what breaks My heart.

Are you tired of being double-minded yet - SAYING you trust Me, asking Me to lead you, and then rebelliously acting out of self-will instead of the radical obedience we recently talked about?

Yes? Then let’s make a game out of this struggle you’re facing. You seem to enjoy games. You’ve been playing the cat-and-mouse game of control at the enemy’s suggestion for 33 years now.