December 31, 2022

PROPHETIC CAUTION FOR 2023!

Leanness of Soul

Leanness in the body is great. Leanness in the soul is not great at all.

In the Word of God, there is a contrast that can be found in the description of the state of a soul, it’s either fat or lean.  When a soul is fat, from a few Hebrew word definitions, it means abundance, luxuriance, spiritual blessings (Ps. 63:5, Isaiah 55:2, Jeremiah 31:14), prosperity, a source of blessing, enriched, satisfied, and anointed (Prov. 11:25, 28:25). In a nutshell, a person with a fat soul is spiritually healthy, they are not merely talkers of Biblical truths, but they are manifesters and demonstrators of said truths. A soul that is lean, according to the Hebrew word Razon, means scantness, scant, a wasting disease or wasting according to Brown-Driver-Briggs. So a lean soul is lacking, sickly, inching towards death and not life and lacking real substance.

When the Lord first spoke to me on this, the scripture below was the point of reference:

Psalm 106:15 - And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.

This leanness being sent into their soul happened to the children of Israel for a few reasons. From verses 13 and 14, the scripture pointed out that the children of Israel forgot the works of God (ingratitude and forgetfulness are most times linked), they did not await His counsel nor His plan to develop, they lusted intensely in the wilderness and the Amplified version says they … “tempted God [with their insistent desires] in the desert.”

For this blog, I want to point our attention to the last reason, the tempting of God with their insisting desires. The children of Israel were continuously forcibly making demands from a very gracious God. They seemed to have been in pursuit of the satisfaction of their flesh and gave very slight regard for their soul, the part of them that played such an important role in determining mortal and immortality.

This leads us to a truth documented by the Apostle John,

 1John 2:15-17 AMPC

15 Do not love or cherish the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.

16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh [craving for sensual gratification] and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life [assurance in one’s own resources or in the stability of earthly things]—these do not come from the Father but are from the world [itself].

17 And the world passes away and disappears, and with it the forbidden cravings (the passionate desires, the lust) of it; but he who does the will of God and carries out His purposes in his life abides (remains) forever.

Israel kept falling in love and craving what God had ordained forbidden for them. They knew Jehovah Jireh very well, yet they were never satisfied with His provisions though they did not lack. These children wanted to have security in the abundance of things. The pride of life has become so strong in the church these days. Like the children of Israel, we want to be continually comfortable, there is a constant pursuit of fame, fortune, accolades, and academic prowess. There is a strong desire for obvious accomplishments, and we are making these things slowly replace our anchor, Christ the solid rock, with something limited only to this world and this life.

Being materialistic is an offspring or symptom of pride. It is this never-ending pursuit of the next acquisition, all for the sake of satisfying one’s self and the casting of the view of importance or relevance. This is increasing in the church more and more. My concern is that it is so subtle that we are not realizing that the manifestation of the power of the Holy Ghost is diminishing in our services. The people of God are now being motivated more towards financial stability and comfort than towards seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. As a result, the leanness of the soul is becoming increasingly evident, and leaders are trying to mask the reduction of the power and presence of God by perfecting and increasing activities and adding more fanfare to their delivery. Persons who sincerely love the Lord have been testifying of a dryness within them and that they are not being properly fed, within some of the busiest churches. People seem simply satisfied with being able to “name drop” powerful preachers and teachers than to know the Omniscient God. Leanness of soul is a loss. The leaner the soul gets the more impoverished the spirit of the person becomes, the more prone they become to deception and bondage, the more futile the works, the less joyful the soul and the more difficult to hear the voice of the Living God. This was understood by Agur in Proverbs 30:8-9 when he wrote “…give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.” Prosperity tends to cause us to become at ease in Zion, self-confident and self-reliant. If we are to be honest, we are often closest to God when we are in need and going through rough times. Am I against prosperity? Absolutely not!

However, prosperity that robs God’s Power and Presence, is no Prosperity at ALL!

So as the year 2023 has been prophesied as a year of abundance according to the Hebraic calendar, a year of increase and wealth transfer by some and inheritance by others, let’s guard our hearts and ensure we don’t make anything we have gained an idol and so become lean in our souls!

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Comments

  • Nascine Brown
    January 8, 2023 - 4:25 pm ·

    I never knew I NEEDED to read this until I began reading it. 2023 is indeed looking like the year for wealth and the manifestation thereof. If we aren’t mindful, we will become caught up in the prosperity and soon the blessing can become a curse because it robs us of our soul as we gain the profits of the world.
    I’m glad God loves us so much, this much…. That he cares to give this caution.

  • Junior Mohalland
    January 8, 2023 - 5:30 pm ·

    Wow! Timely and powerful. May our souls prosper greatly even in the times of increase. May sufficient grace and mercy be extended to us in 2023 and beyond in Jesus name.

  • Kevin
    January 8, 2023 - 7:06 pm ·

    WOG, I thank you for this it made me do a soul search.God bless as you walk in you purpose.

  • Sandra
    January 8, 2023 - 8:00 pm ·

    I was so encouraged when I read this I pray that God will give us the strength to pursue all the heavenly things and that the desires of our hearts is lined up with His will for us so as the blessings and increase come in 2023 we will not forget our umbrella. As you said Apostle it’s all about seeking the kingdom of God first and all His righteousness.

  • Oshane Spencer
    January 8, 2023 - 11:55 pm ·

    Man, it is so EASY to get to a place of leanness of soul, even in the most subtle of ways. This was an enlightening eye-opener. How often do we tempt God with our insisting desires…
    There is so much here to consider and to do introspection on but may God help us in this season that we will seek to honour Him in all things!

  • Jhrene’
    January 9, 2023 - 3:42 am ·

    This not only made an excellent read but also serves as fulsome food to the soul and mind. May our souls become fat as we prosper and inherit the richness of God in this year and years to come. Thanks for sharing ?

  • Glenesha Aiken
    January 9, 2023 - 6:30 am ·

    This word this word, my God, on time word Beautiful Lady, thank you for sharing this! I was truly blessed by this and I pray that we as God’s children will indeed become fat in our souls because it is necessary in these times we are living in.

  • BLWRIGHT
    January 9, 2023 - 8:48 am ·

    Lord cause me to pursue leanness of body and fatness of soul for 2023. Let my cravings be only for You and not the things of this world. Thank you Apostle Nicholeen for this “food for thought” for us to chew upon daily. GOD BLESS YOU ?

  • Sanique Cole Stephens
    January 9, 2023 - 11:46 am ·

    Awesome words mommy, thank you. You know, towards the latter part of last year, I’ve been focused on not allowing anything or anyone to become an Idol in my life and I’ve been praying this and instructing Faith in this regard. Then you come with this amazing blog and add so much more to the matter. I pray that for this year and beyond I will be so fat in my soul I’ll be
    obese in Jesus name. May you continue to hear from Abba, if I don’t know anything else about you, I know you will be obedient and deliver just as you hear. Bless you mommy.

    • Nicholeen Williams
      January 9, 2023 - 11:51 am ·

      Oh Beloved daughter! We are so loved by the Almighty. He keeps on keeping us in His will through corrections and insight! Your lineage will benefit from your faithfulness and willingness to submit to His will!

  • Jodian
    January 9, 2023 - 12:22 pm ·

    It is so funny I was thinking,I haven’t heard not from you. Then hear comes this whole plate of food lol,definitely something to meditate on. God bless you

  • PL
    January 9, 2023 - 1:38 pm ·

    We can always look for food for the soul when reading your blog Apostle. I pray that God continues to bless you that you continue bless us, in Jesus name.
    We can milk Him but we must not try to forcibly demand Him. He is a very gracious God. “ If you catch His hand in the cookie jar make your request known too.” But as His Apostle explained to us, we should not try to force Him to do it.

    God Bless you Apostle.