Left Out to Dry
Some of you faithful few—true Christ followers—have found yourselves caught in a whirlwind of circumstances over the last 5, 15—even 20 years—that have made you feel like you’ve been left out to dry.
While praying with a friend several weeks ago—someone who’s been walking through a long, difficult season—I heard the Lord say,
“I’m shocking the wheat.”
I could see bunches of wheat gathered and bound together, standing upright in fields—just as farmers used to do. I looked it up, and sure enough: “shocking the wheat” is a real farming practice.
Later, while talking with another friend about that word I had heard, she told me, “Please write about it and send it to me when you do.”
I wanted to write about it right then—but I couldn’t.
The words wouldn’t come- I didn’t have the full picture.
So I waited.
And then today, I heard Him again:
“My people feel like they’ve been left out to dry.”
Those words echoed in my spirit all day. I knew it was finally time to write about the “shocking” we’ve experienced.
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To the Faithful Few
The Holy Spirit has shown me true, faithful believers—consecrated Christians—who have obeyed everything God asked of them.
He showed me how they have sacrificed greatly for the call on their lives:
Some have given financially almost to the point of ruin. Others have adopted children and cared for widows, single moms and the elderly, only to be mistreated or abused in return. Some have left behind family, friends, land, even spouses and children (not always physically, but relationally) to follow Jesus with no reconciliation or resolution in sight. Some have endured wave after wave of demonic assault. Some have even stumbled under the pressure. But they got back up instead of being paralyzed by it, they took up their mat and followed Jesus again
And many of us… we’ve been judged.
Judged as we struggled to follow Jesus where He was leading.
We looked back at their judgments with our hearts breaking, wishing they understood.
that we don’t even understand – we just know that love Him and,
we know we’re in His plan.
We know we’re called and chosen.
We just don’t know why it looks like this.
With pits in our stomachs, praying “God, please come through,” we’ve endured ridicule from people we thought were on the same path—or at least supporting our calling.
But their support began to feel more like watching us suffer for Christ than loving us in the places we have found ourselves.
And it’s hurt.
It’s really, really hurt.
These consecrated Christians have fought to stay hopeful while being called foolish. They’ve believed God for the impossible even against their unbelief. And they’ve done it while surrounded by others who seem to have sacrificed much less—but seemed to have gained far more.
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The Consecrated vs. The Comfortable
The consecrated ones—those truly set apart—have watched:
• Their children go wayward
• Loved ones pass away
• Relationships unravel with no explanation or healing
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- healings half received
And Many of God’s holy remnant are tired.
Exhausted.
Not out of love—but nearly out of faith.
And they feel like God has left them out to dry.
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They’ve Fought for Purity
Over these last 5, 15, 20 years, these believers have:
• sought healing, deliverance, and prophetic wisdom
• Pursued purity through, confession, repentance, casting down idols by the leading and with the power of the Holy Spirit
• Fought Goliath after Goliath—every time they thought they’d finally caught their breath there seemed to be another giant in the land.
And now they feel somewhat empty.
Disconnected from the intimacy that once sustained them.
Wondering how to carry on without that closeness to the Holy Spirit that kept them afloat.
If this is you…..
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You Are Not Crazy
Let me say this clearly:
You are not crazy.
Brothers and sisters, believers in the Most High God—this is by design.
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Understanding the Shocking
When wheat is “shocked,” it is quite literally left out to dry.
This process of shocking follows an aggressive process of harvest – realizing we were called to be set apart. It hurt but we had no idea what was coming…
The shocking removes moisture and critters—anything that would contaminate the wheat or make it hard to separate the grain from the chaff later has to be dried up and run off.
That “moisture” in the wheat of our lives could be likened to:
• False teachings
• Religious customs
• Contaminated beliefs
• Unhealed soul wounds
• Ungodly relationships
Shocking also drives away pests—rodents and insects—which can be likened to demonic influences and the people carrying them. (Remember, one of Satan’s names is Beelzebub, “lord of the flies.”)
Just before winnowing (separation of the wheat and the chaff), the wheat is at its very driest.
Its most fragile.
Its most vulnerable.
But also… its most valuable point of the process to date.
It’s on the cusp of becoming.
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Then Comes the Winnowing
After the shocking process is through then comes winnowing—a disruptive but necessary process. The wheat is tossed up and down in the wind, again and again.
(When I saw this process in the spirit I saw it like children jumping on a trampoline having fun double jumping each other)
And in that tossing:
• The chaff (the worthless outer husk) is blown away
• The wheat berries (the usable grain) are gathered for purpose
• What once looked like a dry, broken bundle becomes useful for its intended purpose.
In the case of the wheat that purpose is for making bread
For us, it is for making disciples.
Doing the works of Christ from a pure heart, with pure motives of Love for God and man and from a supernatural faith not our own.
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This Season Has Been Shockingly Long
This season of “shocking” has felt just that—shocking.
Many of us started out hopeful, believing that the situations we were walking through would be redeemed and at least more quickly than they have.
And as the years dragged on, with highs and lows, the hope has worn thin.
We’ve asked:
If this is God… why has it taken so long?
It’s taken way longer to dry us out of false gospels, wrong alignments, and unholy expectations and wrong motives.
There were more critters than we imagined.
More demons hiding in the crevices of our souls than we knew.
The trauma-
Deeper than we thought.
The healing-
More layered than we expected.
We started strong—but the process grew long.
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Why You’ve Felt “Left Out to Dry”
This “shocking” has felt like abandonment.
But it’s not.
It’s preparation.
The Lord is saying:
When you feel the driest, the winnowing is coming soon.
Your calling, your purity, your purpose—it’s coming.
But it will come in the right time.
And only God knows when the moisture has fully dried…
when the pests are truly gone…
when the soul wounds have finally healed…
when you’re truly ready.
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He Won’t Send You Out Half-Healed
He’s not interested in sending out half-healed, half-delivered people.
He’s preparing a bride who is:
• Saved
• Healed
• Delivered
• Pure
• Spotless
• Ready
Able to comfort others with the same comfort they’ve fully received.
Ready to give out the same grace they have finally understood.
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This all Is End-Time Preparation
Twenty years ago, your “shocking” may have looked like random circumstances.
But now you know: it was unto something greater.
You, my brothers and sisters, are part of an end-time harvest and the first of it at that….
So I say to you:
Yield to the process, not the pain.
Let Him finish the good work that He started. Your faith is being perfected in weakness. Your character being strengthened under great pressure. Your calling being clarified by removal of distraction. The anointing made to flow by your submitted tears.