Reflections of an Election Heart, Round Nine

“The Progressive Order of the Holy Spirit”
Nancy C. Bentz

As I write this, it is the day before Donald Trump becomes President of the United States. By the time you read this the Oath of Office will have been taken and his first day will be a marker in the annals of America’s history.

Too, I know there will be global ripples that will bring tides of change designed to usher in that which the Godhead has been holding in their Eternal hearts since, well, eternity. In the future, ones will look back and recognize that ‘progressive’ held many interpretations, not the least of which is the one I am persuaded will prevail: “The Progressive Order of the Holy Spirit.”

For those whose hearts are surrendered to the Lord and His trustworthy governmental rule of their life, the Holy Spirit takes keen interest in the use of daily moments to point hearts and feet in directions of His choosing. He knows how to get a message across. Kind of like incessant poking until you finally want to shout, “Okay! I got it!”

This week He’s been speaking loudly. My response was initially along the lines of Is that You talking? ’cause You know I wouldn’t normally choose to do something like this, don’t You? Then I tentatively stuck a toe in the water.

Unless the Lord indicates otherwise, He and I (and another or two) will be marching in the Spokane Women’s March this Saturday, January 21. Some would count that worthy of being judged guilty by association. I have a heart witness it is more – and the only one I’m guilty of associating with is the One directing Him and me to go.

It’s not like He hasn’t been preparing me for an expansion of my heart once again. Hearts can stretch to hold and embrace more of Him and others, don’t you know? I have spent years writing of the matters of the heart, the Shulamite Bride of Christ, posts for Ishshah’s Story (ishshah meaning woman, with our final post published just this week, worth the read here) and interacting with and listening to the hearts of women and men. It began years before with matters of my own heart.

As a result, do I believe that all lives matter? Oh yes. Yes I do. That’s part of why I’m planning to walk. Because the heart of Jesus beats in me and He knows how to cause me to hear what His Spirit is saying, He and I have some shining to do on a wintry January Saturday – brightening till the day be fully come. (Proverbs 4:18 Darby)

In the last month the Holy Spirit used a dream, a daughter and a number of other things – including putting to rest the Ishshah’s Story blog – to bring fresh encouragement and challenge to this life I live in the flesh, by faith. There’s an uptick in what He’s about these days. One of the many things I’ve learned living my life in Him is this: when His clock strikes Now it’s best to get a move on in step with Him or be left clueless in His glorious dust. He is patient and kind – but Time continues on and moments passed are not recaptured. What may we have lost?

For any believer who has wrestled with remaining an armchair quarterback or leading with their life in response to the dictates of the Holy Spirit, you know it’s true that the battle is fought and won in the mind and heart before it ever is evidenced as action in one’s physical realm.

As for the Women’s March (the main one is happening in Washington D.C. the same day, with local marches occurring in all 50 states, and now I read today 57 other nations!), I know what beliefs I hold dear and endorse.

No carte blanche list of grievances, fears, or reasons for anger are motivating me. Nor is it the world’s version of love that I’ll be there to support. And some so-called ‘rights’ I will not ever give my heart, mind and energy to as I am about life, not death – physical, spiritual, emotional or any other way the Enemy seeks to kill, steal and destroy the Created sanctity and value of human life. That’s enough right there to get me in wrong with the others who do not share my biblical beliefs. But, I don’t answer to them, only to God. I will pray for them and support that which is good and to be valued, especially where it is not and continues to be trampled upon.

I will not be holding a sign or wearing a hat, pumping a fist or repeating a chant. I am participating to be a presence in the world but not of it. A live experiment of carrying light into darkness for, believe me, I am very much aware of the grievous issues women have had visited upon them since the era of Eve. I know, for I am one.

What I appreciate about the Lord is that He and I have shared a lot of conversation and prayer around the things I do not embrace and the questions upfront in my mind. He started prepping me early on, more than a month ago, and faithfully brought scripture flooding back to my mind – fitting this piece and that one together to broaden His perspective in my understanding and enlarge my capacity for this decision I made a few days ago.

Will this one body make a big difference walking down Spokane Falls Boulevard? Perhaps not, but one heart can.

I choose to be one of those hearts. What the outcome will be weeks, months or years down the road, I do not know. What I do know is He is asking me if I will trust Him in this that is so foreign to me. He surely has a reason.

With my eyes watching and ears listening, no one will know the conversation going on inside my heart and mind. But He will. And it’s His opinion of that which will surround me that counts. He knows hearts. Mine, yours, all.

As a member of “The Progressive Order of the Holy Spirit”, I am –

~ Gracefully Free

P.S. As a dear teammate on Ishshah’s Story wrote in a post about numbers in the Bible, one significance of the number 9 is that it is the number of the Holy Spirit. Round Nine. Doesn’t He give exquisite attention to detail?!  

Note: if you’d like to talk more about why I’m participating in this Women’s March, I’m open to a conversation. However, I will not engage in argument. Thank you. Grace and peace to you ~ Nancy