When a pullback is a full forward!

QUOTE: No one has ever won a game of chess by only taking forward moves. Sometimes you have to move backwards to take better steps forward. (Unknown)

There is something profoundly prophetic about rowing. At first glance, the movement seems illogical; rowers sit facing backward, pulling in the opposite direction of their destination. Their eyes do not rest on where they are going; they rest on the one leading the boat. There are times when life looks reversed, but that does not mean motion is not in the opposite direction. Rowers face backward, yet every stroke thrusts the boat forward. The rower’s posture appears counterproductive, yet movement flows with strength not gained by clarity but faith.

Rowing is the Kingdom’s reminder that divine movement rarely mirrors natural logic. When the enemy intends harm, God turns it for good. If your situation does not yet carry the fragrance of “good,” then the Author has not finished writing.

Rowers sit facing the opposite direction, yet the boat slices ahead. That picture carries a word: do not judge your progress and position by sight alone. Many do that and miss just how close to the prize they have come.

In this present moment I believe Heaven is saying, loud and clear: we are AIMED & READY to launch forward. The last few years on this planet shook every system, exposed foundations and revealed hearts. Strange events on a global scale tried to drown hope, kill faith and bury trust. In the middle of all of that, God kept speaking. We’re still moving forward. This is a pullback not a retreat. It is not exposing what you think. While you’re pulling back, I am exposing pride, rebellion, judgement and self-righteousness in your midst. It is witchcraft. It has become like a filthy rag before Me, but I am exposing it. Trust Me you are leaving that religious stink on the banks behind you. That judgmental religious spirit cannot come with you. Stroke by stroke with your oar I’m creating distance between you and it. You are being set up to win and prosper as I have promised.

Prophetic words have been building like waves on the same ocean, connected and converging. Pullback for a season, yes. Abandonment, never. The God who starts a work completes it.

Right now, many sense heavy pushback in their spirit as they prepare to step out in faith to occupy promised territory. Do not panic. Rejoice. Tension on the line means release is close. What felt like a funeral in one season will prove to be a delivery room in the next. When Heaven calls for “COMEBACK,” graves lose their grip, prodigals run home, captives taste freedom, revival breaks out and barren places bloom again. You will see where My favor rests.

God is positioning His church to look at Him rather than at their destination. He is training them to follow His voice, His rhythm, His direction, rather than relying on their own visual clarity and ideas.

He is building His church. The church has been rowing through a season of what felt like retreat: pressing backward, digging deep, facing unexpected storms. Yet all this backward motion has been generating power and drawing the rowers focus back on Him.

Justice belongs to the Lord. Now that distance has been made from the launching point and all that junk is left behind, the coming revival with those truly focused on Him, obedient to Him and lead by Him, can receive what they’ve asked for and desired when they got in the boat where Jesus is the leader!

Cutting edge prophetic word for 2026. Taken from my new book ‘AIMED & READY – Your pullback is a setup for your comeback!’ & the awesome DEVOTIONAL WORKBOOK is available everywhere. Please remember to… Like, share, ORDER & REVIEW!

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