BAPTISM IN THE JORDAN

//Baptizo// BAPTIZE:

1. to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge (of vessels sunk)
2. to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make clean with water, to wash one’s self, bathe
3. to overwhelm

I have been baptized before. In a season where everything needed to be sealed in a new faith that I did not have before. I know deep in my heart that my first baptism in that salty ocean 7 years ago, was life changing. Yet I felt such a new stirring within me that I needed to seal in what God had done in me over this trip with baptism. To submerge the things needed to die. To cleanse and make clean the slate once again. To overwhelm the grave with NEW LIFE. With new identity, new belief, new freedom. Now I know baptism is not my source of salvation, the blood of Jesus’ death on the Cross is.

But I also know the importance of a transaction of faith, of obedience. I know God had some things to tell me in those waters. His Holy Spirit pierced me straight to the heart with words undeniably certain. I had an opportunity to share my testimony a few days before this and I did not understand how releasing of His power it would be until this moment. I took a step of faith and stood first in line because I was hungry to hear from Heaven. Even now, as I write, I weep as I hear these prophetic words afresh watching that video over and over again. God met me so profoundly, it was indisputable.

Pastor Phil: “For daughter I have had My hand upon you and My eye upon you for many, many years. In the times of woe, and the times of hurt and the times of pain, I have been there. I am the God who brings healing and restoration. I didn’t intervene in the inner part but I do now because I have come to do a deep work in your spirit and your soul. I come to bring healing that will last a lifetime. The greatest healing is that of your mind. Know that you have been My little girl from the very moment you were placed on this earth and I have longed for you, even as you longed for me. And what lies ahead is an amazing journey of You and I together, allowing My spirit to continue mold and change you. For daughter I have much in store for you and blessings. Thank you, my daughter, for enduring for you will help others to endure and to know My love.”

Pastor Tom: “Healing indeed. Healing, indeed.”

Pastor Joe: “Lydia, though your name on this earth may have been in question in times, now solidified, know your identity has always been firm. Always been established. You have always been the daughter of the King of Kings. You stand here now cemented in that to an even greater degree, knowing this is way bigger than you, that you are a part of something God has woven together for eternity.”

Tom Thompson: “Lydia, you are a precious gem in your Father’s sight and you are of the utmost importance to Him. He’s going to do a mighty work here today in your life. Gems are formed by pressures and unpleasant circumstances but those things are in the past now. You are your Father’s gem.”

“O Lord, my healing God, I cried out for a miracle and you healed me! You brought me back from the brink of death, from the depths below. Now here I am, alive and well, fully restored!” – Psalm 30:2-3 TPT

All I can do is weep with revelation, in awe and reverence of the Hand of God woven throughout the fabric of my life. To receive such powerful vision from the Holy Spirit wrecks me. If you have been following this journey, you know I had been seeking healing with a deep, fervent desperation. My #1 strength according to Strengthfinder’s is BELIEF. I am firm in my belief; it takes a mountain moving to change what I believe. In most instances, it is a wonderful thing. It means I will fight for what I believe with all that I am. On the flip side, it means I can be immensely stubborn in my wrong thinking and unbelief. But I knew baptism would mean stripping away everything that had held me back, every lie, all unbelief, which I have held so tenaciously to.

These words spoken are earth-shaking, they are a softening of every mistrust, every disbelief, every failing. They are a vital response to prayer. It was a necessary restoration of what I had lost sight of and the beginning of a process of unraveling the things that needed God’s healing touch. For the first time in a LONG time, I was renewed, filled with new joy, and anticipation for what was to come. I left wholly revived in and by the waters of that Jordan River.

“Then he broke through and transformed all my wailing into a whirling dance of ecstatic praise! He has torn the veil and lifted from me the sad heaviness of mourning. He wrapped me in the glory garments of gladness. How could I be silent when it’s time to praise you? Now my heart sings out loud, bursting with joy—a bliss inside that keeps me singing, “I can never thank you enough!”” -Psalm 30:11-12 TPT