Bob Hartley:
A New Hope-Filled Operating System Based in
Rest
God's Heavenly Hope-Filled Perspective for
2011-2020
In the midst of perceived waves and challenges in the earth, the Lord has
been unveiling His hope-filled perspective for
2011-2020 to the Body of Christ
by revealing His solutions to every circumstance and situation in the earth.
HE IS THE SOLUTION. The Lord has been equipping His people in
many ways so that we can become a dwelling place for Him, and we can become
places of His presence and hope in businesses, in education, and in our homes.
He is equipping us with Hopeful Eyeglasses (the ability to see rightly from His
heavenly, hopeful perspective), Hopeful Hearing Aids (the ability to hear His
voice rightly as the God of Hope) and the Right Body Armor (the importance of
surrounding ourselves with marvelous comrades and loving, hope-filled
communities) in this season, and now He is giving us a
New Hope-Filled
Operating System based in rest.
There was a prophetic picture about this New Operating System that my
daughter and I discussed, which revealed that I was operating out of assignment
versus relationship. Initially, this picture was given for me personally, but
God has since expanded it through dreams as a word to build up the Body of
Christ. The essence of these dreams is a new partnering with Him, where we
become
experts in rest as we discern the stressors and
clutter in our lives and turn our focus instead toward Him, toward adoring Him.
Where the Body of Christ has been operating out of assignment, out of striving,
stress and unbelief,
the Lord is coming to show us His more excellent
way, the way of operating in rest and relationship, of seeing His solutions from
above the clouds with Him.
In Exodus 33:15 Moses said to God,
"If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from
here." At the core of the New Operating System is this valuing of
the presence of God above all else.
The New Operating System of Rest
God is calling us into this New Operating System that moves out of rest in
His presence – an operating system that He began 2 explain 2 me in a dream
through a pile of leaves. The dream came at a time when years of pushing hard in
life and ministry had left my body and soul running low. In the midst of this
time, as I was looking for a new way forward, God brought 2 me the beginning of
the answer in the form of a dream, a dream that began with
10 piles of
leaves.
In the dream, as I am walking toward a villa in Germany, I encounter a woman
who instructs me 2 rake up the leaves in her yard into 10 piles. So I start 2
try 2 comply with her instructions, but the wind is blowing and I am running in
too many directions at once, trying 2 rake up and gather the leaves, feeling
confused and exhausted. The Lord showed me that these 10 piles of leaves
represented present needs and issues facing the Body of Christ, which are real,
but need 2b left 2 God.
In the dream there was too much 2 do, too many directions 2 go in. I was
feeling increasingly exhausted, but I wasn't getting anywhere. Just then a woman
with blonde hair and glasses, from the house next door, came up 2 me, grabbed
my face, and said, "
One focus, not ten," telling me 2 work on raking up ONE
pile of leaves instead of the ten. "One focus on His eyes," she said, and as I
raked the remaining leaves and followed her instruction,
I did it with rest and
ease.
One Focus: His Presence
In the dream God had also spoken the words, "Thirty days for Thirty Years," 2 me, which He explained meant that if I would give Him thirty days it would
set me on this course, this course of a New Operating System that would change
who I was and how I operated for the next 30 years of my life, and He said that
the same promise was true for the Body of Christ. When I shared this dream about
the woman with blond hair and glasses 2 a good friend, he said 2 me,
"I know
the place and the woman."
A few months later, I went 2 the wellness center that he had spoken of in
Germany. I went 2 enter in 2 this New Hope-Filled Operating System based in
rest and 2 restore my body and soul. When I arrived there, I met the woman with
the blonde hair and glasses from the dream. She was helping 2 run the wellness
center and she spoke 2 me in the same way with the same words she had spoken 2
me in the dream. "One focus," she said over and over again in the thirty days
that I was there. "One focus moving out of a restful place of hope where
ministry comes out of overflow, not residue."
During my time there, God continued 2 unveil this New Operating
System, based in rest, based in one pile of leaves, one focus in Him, that He
wants us 2 function from in the days 2 come. This one focus is an
Ephesians 4:4 call 2 the Body of Christ.
Ephesians
4:4-6 says,
"There is one body and one Spirit,
just as also u were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith,
one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in
all. ONE FOCUS IN HIM.
The "Healthy Hope Center of Heaven"
To enter into this New Operating System, He has revealed 2 me a series of
rooms in a "Healthy Hope Center of Heaven" similar 2 my encounter in the
Classroom of Useful Information, which u can read about in our 2011
word.
In the "Healthy Hope Center of Heaven," God has shown me
four rooms that will be
key in unlocking this New Operating System for us. They are the
Room of
Rest, the
Room of Patriarchal Love, the
Room
of Care for Your Soul, and the
Room of Care for Your
Body.
The Room of Rest
The first room we enter into is the "Room of Rest." In this room we learn a
new rhythm, a new focus, a new way to be in His presence with intentions of only
love and hope. Here we move from scattered focus and disconnection to clear,
concentrated connection in Him. Here we leave behind our Babylon chaos and
confusion and enter into His rhythms of rest, as in
Hebrews 4:9-11 where it talks about this Sabbath Rest:
"So there remains a Sabbath Rest for the people of God.
For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as
God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no
one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience."
As we enter this "Room of Rest" we have to trust in the God of Hope, the God
of
Jeremiah 31:25 that says,
"For I will satisfy the weary ones and refresh everyone who
languishes." We have to trust that
"those who
wait for the Lord will gain new strength" (
Isaiah
40:31). We have to "stand by the ways...where the good way is, asking for
the ancient path" of Sabbath Rest, trusting that we will find "rest for our
souls" (see
Jeremiah 6:16).
The "Zimbabwe Road"
When I was living in Zimbabwe about 20 years ago, we didn't have anything
except for one another. Since there were no distractions there was a depth of
love and intimacy that developed between us there. I especially remember the
Zimbabwe road where I used totake walks with my wife and how much our
relationship deepened and grew on those walks.
In this "Room of Rest," God pursues that "Zimbabwe road" type of relationship
with us, that road where we walk together for the sake of relationship alone.
In
John 15:15, Jesus says 2 us,
"I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard
from My Father I have made known 2 u
u." He speaks to us as friends.
The greatest act of love in return is for us to listen to His voice.
Only then can we enter into His Rest
The Giant of Busyness
When I was on the plane flying back from Zimbabwe, I had a dream where God
spoke of the promises over our land and He showed me the giants that we would
have to fight to obtain the promises He spoke of. One of these giants was
"Babylon busyness, activities devoid of life," which is like the "ten piles of
leaves" from my dream. As we try to rake up these "ten piles of leaves" to
attend to needs and issues of the day in the Body of Christ, we find that our
focus is scattered and disconnected because we are locked into the motion, the
activities of the day vs. heart connection with Him.
Years ago, I was a lifeguard, and I was on duty one day when a boy drowned.
This was an incident that impacted me deeply. Many years later God showed me a
picture of myself on that same lifeguard stand, and He spoke 2 me that it was
time to come down from that self-imposed responsibility that I had placed on
myself. He said that it was not my job to rescue everyone in the world, 2
address every need and issue in the Body of Christ. He later showed me that same
lifeguard stand, but now
He was the lifeguard on the stand and I was
sitting next 2 Him. God is emphasizing for us, the Body of Christ in this time,
this distinction of
partnering with Him while allowing Him to be the
lifeguard on the stand.
Call 2 the Body of Christ
God is calling us back 2 "one pile of leaves," one focus in Him. He is
calling us into a New Operating System that moves out of rest in His presence,
an operating system that He will give to us as we follow Him through these rooms
in the "Healthy Hope Center of Heaven."
There are three more rooms in the "Healthy Hope Center of Heaven" for us to
explore on another day, including the room where we learn to give and receive
Patriarchal Love, the room where we learn to Care for our Soul and the room
where we learn to Care for our Body. Until then, return to the ancient paths of
hope you already know.
Remember to ADORE HIM, proclaiming who He is and the God of Hope that He has
been 2 u in your life. Remember to ASK HIM how He sees u and what good
things He has stored up for you in the hope-filled days to come. Remember 2 ask
Him how He wants u 2 enter into this "Room of Rest," ask Him how He sees u,
and ask Him what good things He has for u through this New Operating System of
Rest.
Bob Hartley
Deeper Waters Ministry
Email:
deeperwatersinc@gmail.com