As you begin this new week, understand that there is more in this season. In fact, God’s design for times like these is that you encounter him in such a way that your life is changed forever.

So, as the word of the Lord has come to you, as you have encountered fresh fire and more power, remember that God is not done yet. There is more!
The question now is, what will you do between now and the next special meeting? Will it be business as usual? Better still, how will God have you prepare in this period for what He’s set to complete?

Luke 2:16-19
New King James Version
16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.
17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.
18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Amidst the spectacular sighting of angels and a visit from the shepherds, Mary had a noteworthy reaction. She took it all in and pondered over it. The explanation of the Greek word for ‘kept’ means to mentally conserve from ruin and to remember and obey.

These were angelic declarations and prophecies about her child. A child whom she knew was special and set aside for God’s plan from his conception. Yet, she ensured that she not only heard and rejoiced about the words, but she kept them in her heart.

There was another incident in Jesus’s life where she had the same response.

Luke 2:46-47,51
New King James Version
46 Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.
47 And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers.
51 Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart.

The backstory to this was that Jesus, at the age of 12, was in the temple conversing with scholars, and giving answers that left them astonished. In such a case, it would not be wrong for his mother to brag to everyone about her son, but she did something different; she kept these things in her heart yet again.

The Bible records how Joseph’s father, Jacob, reacted generations earlier in the Old Testament when his young son shared a prophetic dream about his future.

Genesis 37:11
New King James Version
11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

While others reacted with jealousy or dismissiveness, those who understood the weight of God’s presence knew how to sit quietly with a prophecy, watching and waiting to see how God would unfold it.

What God has begun in this season is nothing short of astonishing. You have seen the expression of diverse gifts of the spirit, heard words and instructions that have commissioned you for more, but you have a crucial role to play with what you have received. You must learn to keep them and brood over them.
It is incredibly easy for the routine of daily life, the sudden return to bills, work, traffic, and noise, to ruin how you respond to what you received.

The psalmist understood this, and that is why He would say this in Psalm 119:11
New King James Version
11 Your word I have hidden in my heart…

Once again, he’s talking about keeping and protecting God’s word like a treasure because this is the way it will have an impact on your life, not only for a season but for your whole life.
It is your responsibility to treasure the words you have received from teachings and expressions of the gifts of the Spirit. Keep them in your heart.
Just as a hen that lays an egg but broods over it till it hatches, stay with God’s word till it changes you, till you receive the next instruction, till God shows you more.

As you rejoice over every encounter you have had in the last few days, do not be quick to forget, do not be quick to move on. Keep God’s word diligently in your heart.

Prayer Point
Father, I thank you for every encounter in this season. As I have received your word, I preserve it in my mind till it changes me.