This word is submitted by Teresa Seputis  [ts@godspeak.net]

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             When The Usual Way No Longer Works For You

Child of Mine, I want to explain something to you about the nature of
our relationship together. There will be times in your life when you
seek Me in the usual ways, but you will no longer find Me that way.
The things that used to work for you--that allowed you to to draw close 
to Me--they will stop working. When this happens, dear one, don't be 
confused and don't allow the enemy's lies and his voice of condemnation 
to enter into your thinking.

I have not abandoned you and I am not displeased with you. I am not 
pushing you away, nor am I rejecting you. What I am doing is inviting 
you to grow and mature in your relationship with Me.

Think about it in the natural--as a child grows, it goes through seasons
of change. As an infant, it nurses off of his mother's breast. But 
there comes a time when that child must be weaned, when he must learn 
to eat solid food. At first his only responsibility is to play and grow
in stature, but there comes a child begins to do chores and to assume
his rightful place in the family and carry his weight. Likewise, the
way that a child relates to his parents changes over time as he grows.
His understanding and reason increase, he is capable of relating to 
his parents at a higher level.

Dear one, did you think it would be any different in the Spirit? 

I am your loving Heavenly Father, and you will always be My dear 
child. That relationship will never change--but how we relate to each
other will go through seasons of change as you grow and mature. Some 
of the ways that I have met you in the past were never intended to be 
permanent ways for us to interact together. As you grow in Me and as 
your ability to perceive in the spirit increases, I will begin to reveal
more of Myself to you. And at times, that will require a change in how 
you relate to Me--and even in how you seek Me and where you find Me.

As you grow in Me and as you come to better understand My holiness, 
some things that used to be permissible in your life will no longer be 
allowed. I never abided in some of the places where you went to look 
for Me--I was simply meeting you where you were at because I desired 
to be found of you. But as you grow to become more like Me, I will 
hold you to a higher standard. At times I will require a higher level 
of dedication and obedience from you, and I will require a higher level 
of holiness from you. I will ask you to behave more like Me and to act 
more like I do. I will start asking you to refrain from some things 
that you did not even realize displeased Me when you were at a lower 
level of spiritual maturity. And at times I will no longer be found 
in some of the ways that you are used to meeting with Me.

Do not despair when this happens, for it is an invitation to move 
into new depths of relationship with Me. When you do so, you will
come to know Me better and you will receive a greater level of My 
power and anointing upon your life. The transition times from one 
level of maturity to another may seem frustrating at times. But as 
your relationship with Me matures, I will bring you to higher place 
where there is more opportunity and where you shall taste of Me in a 
much greater measure.

So again I say to you, dear one, do not fret as our relationship begins
to grow and mature. When you cannot find Me as easily in the old ways, 
press in and seek Me all the more. I will lead you and teach you and 
show you how to find Me at the next level. As as you get to that place,
you will experience a greater level of My presence and I will show you 
more of My glory and reveal more of Myself to you.

So come, dear one, press into Me and grow and mature in our relationship
together.