The Shut-In

The Shut-In

Marsha Deveaux Johnson, Living Joy Ministries, Inc. http://hepzibah40.blogspot.com

I grew up in a rich environment of faith where I saw faith lived out in my grandmother and my parents.  For a short period of time as a child I lived with my grandmother.  I look back now and I cherish those days when I saw right before my eyes simple faith exercised by these precious ones.  They believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and served Him with their whole heart.  Of course, as a child I did not realize the total value of what I was seeing in them but God knew.  God so loved me that He made it possible for me to have heroes of faith in the household where I grew as a child.

During the period of time I spent with my grandmother I experienced what was then called a “Shut-In”.  Men and women of God would set a time for this (usually overnight but it could also go on for days).  They would gather their bibles, some clothes (remember housecoats), and food (now referred to as snacks) for the children and go to the church for this event and it was an event.  Fasting, praying, singing, and repenting took place to the glory and honor of God.

I can remember the “saints” (we now call Christians or Believers) would lay blankets near the front of the church where the altar was and put the children there to sleep.  Although the prayers were loud and many of them walked around (in housecoats) with praise and adoration for God, the children slept sound.  I believe that the grace that is upon my life today was pronounced as I lay asleep as a child surrounded by the prayers of the righteous that avail much.

I also experienced this with my parents who pastored a church.  This same event was called “All Night Prayer”.  It took place in the church.  There is a childhood memory of one of these events.  We lived next door to the church in the parsonage.  I was the youngest of four children and my parents (then it was safe) left me asleep at home while my sisters and brother went with them to church next door.  Somehow, I awakened during the night and found my way to the church next door.   My mother recalled that she looked across the church and saw her toddler walking down the aisle on the opposite side of the church.  Needless to say, from then on, I was never excluded from all night prayer.

God has always summoned His people for a “Time Out” with Him.  It is the “Solemn Assembly”, the “Gathering”, the “Convocation”.  It is Him calling us to repentance, redirection, and love for the mission He has given us.

The Bible records a God ordained Shut-In for the children of Israel when they left Egypt.  They were instructed to apply the blood of a lamb to the doorposts of their houses and go inside and shut the door.  The death angel was passing by and would only spare those who were obedient to the instructions that they had been given by God (Exodus 12:13).

Moses was Shut-In or hidden in the cleft of the rock as God passed by to reveal Himself to His servant (Exodus 33:22). 

Perhaps the most famous Shut-In took place when the resurrected Savior of man(Jesus) told His disciples to go into an upper room in Jerusalem and wait until the Holy Spirit would descend from heaven (Acts Chapter 2).  After a Shut-In there will always be an unveiling of Truth, an unleashing of Power, a releasing in Anointing, all in the person of Jesus Christ to His body.

I can remember the refreshing that always accompanied the “Shut-Ins” and “All Night Prayers”.  Sometimes afterwards revivals would “break out” in the churches.  The bodies of Believers would be healed and lost loved ones would return home. These events served as a reset button for the lives of God’s people. 

We have one of these events now, a mandated “Shut-In”.  This one has been so ordered by our Heavenly Father.   Listen to Him.  Hear Him. Be refreshed by His ordinance and His power to change you and the world in which we live.  What has He been saying to you that you could not hear when you were not Shut-In?  Has your outlook on anything changed?  Have you begun to see current conditions, opinions, and attitudes in a different light?

I speak for myself and say that in this Shut-In Father God has moved in my life in a depth that He has ordained.  I am delighted to submerge myself in His logos (written) word and He is revealing Rhema (inspired) word to me.  I have grown to love the word of God even more than I have in the past.  I see His eternal plan more clearly. 

God’s plan makes the plan of man so small and insignificant that I am strengthened as a Believer to carry out the commission, “Go make disciples”.  I know that this “Shut-In” will yield a tremendous harvest for the Kingdom of God.  Don’t attend to the distractions.  They are just that.  Attend to God’s word and His promise of eternity.

At the beginning of the pandemic, God instructed me to pray for the people (all people) and to walk and talk with Him.  I remain faithful to this simple request that keeps me focused on God and what He is doing rather than the rhetoric of other voices in the earth. 

Years ago, God spoke to me about the “Underbelly” of this nation.  He is exposing it now for what it is.  It is not pretty but needs to be exposed and dealt with.   This reckoning is necessary for the release of His purposed revival for this nation.  We can only believe as Believers the truth as God sees it.  Not as we see it.   We must stop now and hear what Father is saying in this Shut-In.  Are you listening? 

Truth is going to prevail.  Align yourself with God’s plan, purpose, and desire or you will circle around in your own plan (or another man’s plan) as did His children in the wilderness.  His glory and revelation are now being revealed to His body.  Receive from this Shut-In all that God has ordained for you to receive.  Journal and write down what He is saying to you because He is speaking very loudly.  Pray for people, pray for blindness to be lifted from the body of Christ.