Promotion time is here! It began on August 1st and will continue until August 15th. August is the eighth month on the Gregorian calendar, and the number “eight” means new beginnings. On the Hebrew calendar, this period covers the last week of Av and the first week of Elul, the last month of year 5781. It is the beginning of the rebuilding time in the Season of Teshuvah or repentance, ending on Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. For the Jewish people, the Day of Atonement is the Highest Holy Day of the year, beginning at sundown on September 15-September 16.
During the Three Weeks of Sorrow in the month of Av, from July 27-July 18, your bodies were crushed and your hearts broken. We remember these times as symbolic of the Babylonian and Roman destruction of the Temple. Therefore, if you felt crushed in your body, you are coming into your time of promotion. God has cleansed “the temple” that is you and rebuilding it in the month of Elul. As a result, you can carry double glory at Rosh Hashanah on sundown on September 6th, the new Hebrew year of 5782.
During these Three Weeks of Sorrow, a time of testing and trials, your identity has been shaken. Naturally, you question your identity and God, but this reaction is understandable. Many heroes of the faith experienced the same crisis, even after they had seen great signs or miracles.
There was a man named Gideon who found himself in this very situation. Judges 6:11-12 says, “And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite; and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him and said unto him, ‘The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.”
Powerful! The Lord sent an angel to Gideon even though his identity at the moment was not one of power and might. Gideon was feeling depressed. The Israelites were under oppression; then God showed up! Even after Gideon questioned the Lord after all the amazing things He had done, here was His angel sitting under a tree! In God’s love and mercy, He sent the message through an angel to call Gideon, “thou mighty man of valor.” God gave Him a new identity!
Maybe you feel oppressed today. You’re questioning the trials and testing; you’re asking the Lord, “Where are the miracles?” Be encouraged! God is going to build a new foundation in you! A new temple of God is emerging where glory will be present!
When God came to Gideon, He specifically spoke about how Gideon’s identity had to change. He had to stop identifying with loss, tragedy, and oppression and begin to see himself as a mighty man of valor! If he was going to he victory, he had to renew his mind and thoughts to align with God’s declaration. The same is true for you.
Now is the time of change! If you’re going to transition into God’s strategies of promotion, you have to start seeing yourself as God sees you. Your identity is in Him and Him alone! You’ve got to start seeing things as God sees them. He is rebuilding you now for double glory!
Remember when the angel called Gideon a “mighty man of valor?” The word “valor” in Hebrew is the word “khalil,” meaning “the glory of the Lord, the wealth and resources of God.” So basically, the angel was saying to Gideon, “Hey, you mighty man of valor with great resources who carries the Lord’s glory.” Praise the Lord!If you’re feeling like you aren’t carrying the glory of the Lord right now, all you have to do is allow your identity to begin to shift and transition for this promotion time. You are going to carry more of the glory of the Lord when you find yourself in Him! Your new identity in Christ as a person of “valor in Him” is your new foundation for your temple for the new Hebrew year!
I’m telling you right now that on September 6th, when the calendar turns over on Rosh Hashanah, the brand-new Hebrew year of 5782, you’re going to walk in double glory! Yes! Double glory! There is going to be a double explosion coming. Prepare yourself!
Dr. Candice Smithyman is an international prophetic revivalist & healing minister who is Founding Pastor (retired) of Freedom Destiny Church with husband Adam and Vice President of Dream Mentors International. She hosts the television show Glory Road and Your Path to Destiny on ISN- It’s Supernatural Network. She has appeared on Sid Roth’s Its Supernatural, among other shows, the author of several books including, Releasing Heaven: Creating a Supernatural Environment through Heavenly Encounters; Angels of Fire: The Ministry of Angels in the End Time Revival. For a full bio, visit: www.candicesmithyman.com
