Prophesying to the Winds

Awake, O north wind, and come, O south! Blow upon my garden, that its spices may flow out. Let my Beloved come to His garden, and eat its pleasant fruits. Song of Solomon 4:16

With these words, the Shulamite articulates the primary transition of her life. Her desire is no longer that her comfort zone be maintained. Rather, her desire now is that the King would receive maximum pleasure from the fragrance of her life. The spices and fruits speak of the fragrant impact of her life, and she recognizes that in order for that fragrance to be released to the fullest degree, both the north and south winds are necessary.

The north winds speak of times of adversity, and the south winds speak of times of comfort and pleasure. There are some spices, some fragrances of worship that can only be released in the pressures of difficulty and trouble. When worship arises from a soul that is troubled, it is a pleasing and fragrant aroma to God, and a sign of defeat for the enemy. Without times of trouble, the fragrance of worship is not complete, nor is the experience of intimacy made full. There is a communion of sorrows that is uniquely precious, and only those who welcome the north winds can know that communion.

By the same token, there are spices, or fragrances of worship and love that can only be expressed as thanksgiving for times of blessing. The point is that her desire is not to be comfortable, but to give full expression of her love for the King, that His pleasure might be full. She is living for Him now, and her preparation for her place of intimate authority is nearly complete.

In the past days of her life, the changing winds would have been a source of anxiety and fear for the Shulamite. But now she sees that she can command the winds to produce and release fervent love in her own heart. So she prophesies to the winds, commanding them to do their work of refining and releasing the pure fragrance of adoring worship that the King desires. What a transition, and what a preparation for glory!

Gary Wiens

What In The Heavens Are "Blood Moons"?

The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.
- Joel 2:31, NKJV



A fascinating thing is occurring this year on April 15, which is the beginning of the Passover Feast in the Jewish calendar, and October 8, which is the beginning of Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles. The fascinating part is the occurrence of successive "Blood Moons," or total lunar eclipses.


As a matter of fact, there are four "Blood Moons" happening in 2014 and 2015, all on the Feast Days of Passover and Sukkot. These four total eclipses, called a "Tetrad," occur with some frequency, but only very rarely do they coincide with the Feast Days. The fascinating thing is that every time the Blood Moons coincide with the Feast Days, significant things happen regarding the State of Israel.

This coincidental event has only happened seven times since the resurrection of Jesus, and three times in the past 700 years. The most recent occurrences were in 1493-94, immediately following the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. This event has increased interest in the plausible theory that Christopher Columbus had a Jewish ancestry (see the article in the Huffington Post by clicking here).

The next occurrence of the Tetrad on Feast Days was in 1949-50, following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and the most recent was in 1967-68, when the city of Jerusalem was restored to Israeli control.

So, we are poised to witness the eighth occurrence of Blood Moons happening on Feast Days since Jesus walked the earth. Prophetically, the number "eight" speaks of New Beginnings, and so we are encouraged to pay attention, to watch and pray, and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit regarding the meaning of the events that will unfold surrounding this time in history.

Jesus commanded His followers to know the signs of the times. He gave the sun and the moon as lights and for "signs and seasons" (Genesis 1:14). We would be wise to watch, to pray, and to pay attention to what the Holy Spirit would say and do in these next weeks and months.

Blessings! Gary Wiens

Dark Nights and God's Ways

Dark Nights and God’s Ways

In the journey that God has each of us on – the journey toward intimacy and authority as the Bride of Christ – it is essential to understand the strategies of God, particularly during those seasons when His presence seems hard to find.

The primary promise of God, spoken to the Shulamite in Song of Solomon 2:4, is that His banner of love is over us for the entire journey. In other words, everything He does and everything He permits is about loving us, and drawing us further into His grace and power.

This truth seems the most difficult to grasp when His immediate presence is withdrawn from us for a season, and we experience a “dark night” of wondering, longing, and searching. These “nights” happen for several reasons – the first being compromise in obedience. This is the one most easily understood, but God does not withdraw because He is angry or rejecting us, but rather to draw us back to Himself, to woo us further along the way into His fullness and love.

The more difficult strategic withdrawal to understand is when His presence is taken away, even though we are walking in obedience and faithfulness. The purpose of this withdrawal is to present an opportunity for more extravagant worship and faithfulness, costly adoration, the sacrifice of praise. This costly, worshipful obedience is what Jesus presented to the Father during His dark night of suffering, and because of this He was given the highest place of authority and intimacy at the right hand of the Father. He was proven worthy to have all authority because He was the Faithful Witness during the greatest possible test.

Because God desires to present a worthy Bride to this worthy Son, His strategy is to allow similar – though much less strenuous! – dark nights for us, not because He is not caring or not paying attention, but because He is inviting us to have the same mind as Jesus – loving the Father extravagantly regardless of the season or circumstance.

The result of this kind of extravangant worship is a greater, more powerful revelation of the beauty of Jesus, the magnificence of the Father and of His plan for us. When Jesus suffered the tearing of His flesh, which was the veil between us and the Father (Hebrews 10:20), the full love and power of God was revealed to all who would receive Him. Similarly, when we trust the Father in a dark night, He moves to reveal the beauty of Jesus to us in greater measure, making our hearts lovesick instead of offended, and causing all those around us to desire to know Him as well. The result? Greater intimacy, and greater authority.

Such are the ways of God with His beloved Bride. For a full treatment of this topic, access my teaching from Sunday, February 16 here: http://internationalhouseofprayernorthwest.org/category/listen-to-messages.

You can also order a full series on the Song of Solomon by visiting the BHM store at http://www.burningheartministries.com/Shop.

Be blessed in the journey!

Gary Wiens