RED CARPET READY

That’s a Tight Fit!

BY DEANN ALAINE

I am pro-pajama. Anytime I come home from anywhere, I am quick to put on pajamas… maybe too quick. I love pulling pajamas that are freshly washed and smell like my favorite fabric softener out of my drawer. It’s even better when I pull them right out of the dryer and put them on. I wonder if the robes that we’ll wear in Glory will be cozy bathrobes. Hmm, probably not.

Think of how many people became pro-pajama during 2020. Even those working remotely from home wore “professional” on top, pajama on the bottom. I can hear the masses shouting, “We are pro-pajama!”

Around December 10, 2023, my husband and I started to notice a shift in our prayer time from one kind of prayer and calling to prayers with an expanded vision. I didn’t know that with the expansion of tent pegs would come a season of pressing. Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes (Isaiah 54:2 NIV).

Do you know the feeling of trying to cram fat into your favorite pair of jeans? I do. I can hear the button yelling, “You’re not gonna make me keep all that uhhh… I don’t know how much more of her I can take in!!!” There’s nothing comfortable about being crammed into a tight space! We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair (2 Corinthians 4:8 NIV). Talk about discomfort!

My beloved and I decided to take a small trip to St. Augustine, Florida, for our anniversary/Christmas since they’re so close together. Under normal circumstances it would have been an amazing time, but NOTHING is amazing when being pressed. He and I said to each other several times, “I know nothing is wrong between us, but something is definitely up.”

I don’t know about you, but when the Lord is pressing on me to take certain thoughts captive quicker or pressing on my emotions to heal some deeper wounds in my heart, I certainly don’t want to be in public! And don’t ya know, when the Lord is doing a good thing to make me more like Himself, that no good-for-nothin’, piece-ofslime-liar, the devil, will try to cause his own trouble and make things seem much worse than they really are in an attempt to get a toe-hold or worse, a foothold!

I had to keep my mouth shut! My flesh, in the pressing, wanted its own way. For instance, my precious husband decided to read the book of Jeremiah. All the while I was saying to myself, “Jeremiah!!! Why Jeremiah?!?!?! Why can’t we read John?” I was having a hissy fit! Day after day, Jeremiah, Jeremiah, Jeremiah…AAAAAHHHHHHH! Thank God I kept my mouth shut! It didn’t matter what he did, it was all wrong because I, I, I, you get the picture. When I think of being pressed, my mind goes to I Love Lucy (Season 5, Episode 23), where Lucy is stomping grapes in a wine vat in Italy. Do I want to taste and see that the Lord is good, or do I want to get into a fight of flinging grapes because I’m tired of the work it takes to surrender to Him? I don’t think fighting the good fight of faith includes grapes.

ENLARGE THE PLACE OF YOUR TENT, STRETCH YOUR TENT CURTAINS WIDE, DO NOT HOLD BACK; LENGTHEN YOUR CORDS, STRENGTHEN YOUR STAKES. (Isaiah 54:2 NIV)

Sometimes with a shift of season can come a pressing. It’s not the kind of pressure to stress us out. It’s His pressure to hide us in the cleft of the Rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by (Exodus 33:22 NIV), to be protected during change for healing or restoration, a pressure to heed His voice for direction, a pressure on the olives of my life to have a deeper understanding of Himself or His anointing. Whatever the reason He chooses, it is His call, because he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care... (Psalm 95:7 NIV). I find myself saying to my flesh, “Die already, just die!”

Our time is not our own; we are on His clock. I can assure you that if He wants your undivided attention, He will have it, even if it’s during a major holiday. He cares about your walk with Him a lot more than a date! (Be sure to read “Red Carpet Ready” from the last VOT issue, and you’ll know why I’m giggling.) I still have to say by faith, “I love His pressing” until I actually do, and that’s okay since I’m starting to enjoy the benefits of wearing those tight-fitted jeans more than my pajamas! I’m even glad to say that as I write this, I am in day clothes. With His pressure comes an even more intimate relationship and that is worth all the pressing in the world.

Now stand up and, with a loud voice shout, “I am not a grape-flinging fighter! I am ANTI-PAJAMA!!!”

DeAnn Alaine is a comedienne whose mandate from the Lord is to bring joy to the world through stand-up comedy. She is the CEO of ComeeDeAnn Productions LLC and host of the award-winning carwash comedy show, Modwash Moments with DeAnn Alaine on SOLWIN TV. Visit www.deannalaine.com today!