Prophetic Word: Take Off The Grave Clothes. The Old Is Gone; The New Is Here
Hi, Kingdom Family! The Holy Spirit has a beautiful word for us today and I believe it will find exactly who it's meant for. 💛
A few days ago, I returned from a three-month solo missionary journey with the Lord. When I left, I packed almost entirely winter clothes because I was headed to the mountains of Colombia. However, right before I zipped my bag, I felt prompted to throw in a couple pairs of shorts and a few tank tops. At the time, I didn't think much of it.
After a month in Colombia, the Lord redirected me to the Dominican Republic where it was warm and sunny. I spent two months on that beautiful island wearing the same few clothes day after day after day. My clothes eventually turned to “rags” but I was so thankful for what I did have.
When I returned to America for my nephew's graduation, I needed something to wear to the ceremony. I went into the store and this odd feeling washed over me because everything felt so unfamiliar. I wasn’t sure of my style or even size anymore. And if I'm honest, I didn't feel worthy of choosing something new. The old, worn garments had become so familiar that it was almost an identity.
It was right there, in that ordinary moment, the Holy Spirit whispered to my heart:
IT’S TIME TO TAKE OFF YOUR GRAVE CLOTHES.
In the days that followed, the Lord kept bringing me back to John 11. Jesus had just arrived in Bethany after Lazarus had been dead in the tomb. The situation looked final and the mourning was loud. Mary was in such anguish over her brother’s situation that even Jesus wept. He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled (John 11:33).
This is important because we must remember that our Messiah steps into human suffering when we are crushed in spirit. The Bible tells us that Jesus loved this family, but even then, great suffering had come upon them.
Jesus later stood before the place of death and cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
Here’s the thing -- Lazarus didn’t burst out triumphantly. There was a slow emergence. His hands were bound. His feet were bound. His face was covered. He had resurrection life inside of him, but he was still wearing the garments of death.
Then Jesus looked at the people standing there and said, “Unbind him and let him go” (John 11:44).
In the Greek, the command carries the meaning of “release him” and “set him free.” Jesus did not leave Lazarus isolated in that condition. He involved community. He involved people. He involved touch. He involved participation. In many ways, this is the picture of the Body of Christ functioning correctly. God raises people up spiritually, then uses wise, loving, discerning believers to free others from their restrictions.
And I believe this is the word of the Lord over many of you right now:
You have truly encountered the resurrection power of Jesus Christ, yet you still feel wrapped in old grave clothes. You are alive spiritually, but parts of your mind, identity, emotions, and history still feel bound by what you survived.
Lazarus did not run out of the tomb polished and perfected. He emerged slowly, still wrapped, still vulnerable, but fully called forth by the voice of God. Jesus is showing you that He is not ashamed of your unveiling process. In fact, He is commanding the right people around you to help “unbind” what trauma, rejection, grief, fear, and spiritual warfare tried to keep attached to you.
Let me minister to your heart for a second. Beloved, some relationships have been removed in your life because they kept you identified with death instead of destiny. In their place, others are being sent forth who will carry compassion, wisdom, and discernment. These are true saints of God and they are needed for this next stage of your healing. Embrace them. The Lord says you are not going backwards into the tomb you came from. What once confined you can no longer contain the life of Christ inside of you. Keep moving forward, because there are people connected to your future. They need the very gifts God developed in your tomb season.
I want you to remember this: after Lazarus was raised, his very existence became a testimony, but it also made him a target. He became a walking confrontation to those who were spiritually dull because it exposed their hardened hearts. Don’t allow these people to have any impact on you.
There is no indication Lazarus returned to a “normal” life. How could he? He was permanently marked by resurrection. And friend, so are you. When Jesus calls you out of the tomb, you will not fit back into the familiar, and that is a gift. That is evidence. Your life now bears witness to the resurrection power and voice of Jesus Christ.
PROPHETIC ENCOURAGEMENT
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord wants His sons and daughters to start “living” again. The old is gone and the new is here. The same resurrection power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead lives in you (Romans 8:11). We have been crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20), and practically, this means the old identity no longer gets the final word.
Shame no longer leads you. Fear no longer defines you. Survival mode is no longer your home. The parts of you that were bound to hopelessness were nailed to the cross with Christ so that you could walk in newness of life.
Even Lazarus’ name carries a prophetic message for you. In Hebrew, his name means “God has helped” or “God helps.” Jesus brings life where there is no human solution.
There is a version of you coming forth now that carries wisdom without shame, humility without hiding, and authority without apology.
To those who have lost their voice, the Lord says: speak again. Write again. Sing again. Your sound was not silenced. It was sanctified. Your words will carry oil because they were formed in the place where only Jesus could reach you.
To those who feel vulnerable coming forth in front of others, remember Lazarus did not emerge privately. Resurrection often has witnesses. Do not be ashamed that others can see the process. What God is doing in you will become evidence of His glory.
And to those who are still wrapped in what was - release the bondage of your past. Jesus is sending hands that will not mishandle you, voices that will not condemn you, and relationships that will not sabotage you. Come forth. The grave clothes are coming off. The life of God in you is stronger than the season that tried to contain you.
The Lord says: the grave was never your final address. Start dressing now for your future.
YOUR NEW GARMENTS WILL REQUIRE THESE 4 THINGS
When Lazarus walked out of that tomb, he hobbled. He shuffled forward, still bound, still blinking in the light. Resurrection does not always feel glorious in the first moments. Sometimes it feels disorienting. The unfamiliarity is a normal part of the process as you are becoming.
Here is what this next season will ask of you.
YOU WILL HAVE TO GET COMFORTABLE FEELING UNFAMILIAR TO YOURSELF.
This is the part nobody talks about. That unfamiliarity is not a warning sign. It is confirmation that something has genuinely changed. If the new thing feels completely natural right away, you may still be reaching for the old. Expect an adjustment period. Expect to feel like you are learning to walk again, because in a very real sense, you are. It will take time to figure it all out, but God will help you.
YOU WILL HAVE TO RELEASE THE NARRATIVE YOU BUILT AROUND YOUR TOMB.
Some of you have organized your entire identity around the story of your dying season. It became the way you explained yourself to others, and even to God. It became the first thing you reached for when someone asked who you are or what you have been through. But you cannot step into the new while still narrating the old. The story of your survival was never meant to become the ceiling of your identity.
This does not mean you deny what you walked through. What you endured was real. The pain was real. The loss was real. It means you stop allowing it to have the final word over who you are becoming. Lazarus did not turn around and crawl back into the tomb. He walked out of it and kept walking, straight into the rest of his life.
YOU WILL HAVE TO LET PEOPLE SEE YOU IN THE NEW.
Grave clothes kept you hidden from others. They explained your limitations and kept people at a certain distance. But when the wrappings come off, you become visible again, and visibility is vulnerable. The Lord is saying the new thing He is doing in you is meant to be witnessed, not concealed.
YOU WILL HAVE TO EXTEND MERCY TO THE PEOPLE WHO WOUNDED YOU.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek,” “Blessed are the peacemakers,” and “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3-9). We read those words and they can sound gentle, almost passive. But there is profound strength in meekness. There is enormous power in making peace, especially when someone harms you. When you extend forgiveness, it reveals the heart of Jesus Christ. It reveals someone so transformed by the love of Christ that they can hold both their own pain and another person’s humanity at the same time.
Remember: coming out of your grave clothes means coming out with open hands, even toward the people who put you in that tomb.
This does not mean you return to unsafe places. You can stay separated and still keep loving someone. Distance is sometimes the most merciful thing you can offer both of you.
Do not confuse forgiveness with reconciliation, especially if someone repeatedly seeks to dishonor you. It takes tremendous spiritual maturity to forgive harmful people, and we can only do it through the power of the Holy Spirit. When you are excluded from certain people and atmospheres, see that as a sign of protection from Jesus Christ.
Paul writes, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Romans 12:18). That one phrase carries so much grace: as far as it depends on you. God is not asking you to control another person’s behavior or carry responsibility for their choices. He is asking you to keep your own heart clean before Christ. Man looks at the outward appearance, God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Trust me, Jesus sees and knows all, including your pure intentions.
Now, there will be people who make this genuinely difficult. People who do not want peace. People who maliciously target you, who carry an assignment of harm against your life and calling. There is often a spirit of division, jealousy, control, exclusion, competition, and accusation behind it all. Their mode of operation is slander, gossip, and malice. They love to accuse others instead of looking inward.
Malice is a sin of the heart that involves intentional ill will toward another person, including the desire to wound, humiliate, or bring someone down. In Scripture, malice is the opposite of the heart of Jesus Christ because it feeds on bitterness, resentment, revenge, and cruelty -- instead of love, mercy, and forgiveness (Ephesians 4:31-32).
These behaviors are real, and I do not want to minimize it. Elijah dealt with Ahab and Jezebel. David was relentlessly pursued by Saul. Jesus dealt with the Pharisees and religious folks. If you have a high calling on your life, the Lord will train you around these people. But understand what is actually happening in those moments: the enemy is using that conflict to keep you tangled in grave clothes.
Satan knows that as long as you are consumed with defending yourself, rehearsing what was done to you, and waiting for an apology, you will struggle to fully walk out of that tomb.
So here is how you handle it: you pray for them, you release the situation to Jesus, and you keep moving forward. You do not owe anyone a permanent residence in your mind. Give them to the Lord and take your hands off of it. I am a living testimony that Jesus rewards us when we do this. More deposits are added to our treasures in Heaven (Matt. 6:20). Remember, earth is not our home. We must live for eternity and “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).
There is profound freedom when you operate with love toward your enemies. Their behavior no longer has the power to keep you bound.
Finally, remember this….
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).
There is a difference between peacekeepers and peacemakers.
Peacekeepers often avoid conflict at any cost, but peacemakers make an intentional choice to reflect Jesus Christ, even in painful situations. When you do this, you reflect the heart of your Heavenly Father. He rewards you with an overflow of His love and you’re marked as His child.
Beloved, the grave could not hold Lazarus, and it will not hold you any longer. It is time to put on your new clothes. 🌻
