Three years ago I lost someone very dear to me. We met in college and she married one of my closest friends. During the past three years i have been traveling to their home to help out in any way I could. Cooking, cleaning,laundry, yard work, office work, counseling, consoling, and driving kids to and fro. After I closed my mortgage business early last year, my friend asked me to come up and manage his business for him so he could run for political office. With a family in SC, working in VA full-time would be a challenge. Initially my wife and I thought… “No way”. But, as i prayed about it and submitted it to God, I some-what reluctantly said yes. This step of faith and obedience began in earnest my WILD GOOSE CHASE. It is important to remember that Celtic Christians refer to the Holy Spirit as the “Wild Goose”. Now I did not know that I was on some super-natural chase at the time. I am not that bright! Not even close! Way above my pay-grade!(laughter). During the first month in VA, I experienced many emotions…. anger, frustration, bewilderment, angst and a real desire to be home with my family. Now, the old Jon would have “bolted” for home early on, but, each time I was ready to leave God spoke to me and I began to pray about it. “OK, Lord not my will but thine be done.” Early on I said to God,”why am I up here, my family needs me?” Slowly but surely God, in His love and mercy, began showing me the Why’s and giving me wisdom and insight along the way. Wow! It is awesome to know that God is using you and that He has a plan. During my season of trials I had wondered many times if God would use me again! He had put a desire for ministry and Kingdom work in my heart many years ago and I had sensed it coming alive again over the last two years. -Oh, I feel one of those promptings…..(It is vital to remember that 7 years ago a desire to move to Denver was birthed in my heart and that when my mortgage business began to wane I started looking in earnest for ministry opportunities in Colorado but to no avail. Knock, knock , knock but no answers just closed doors! So, when I went up to VA to work full time- Colorado was out of the picture….. or was it? Lets just say that it was out of my limited picture!) – O.K. back to the story….So, during my first full-time month in VA (going home every 2 or 3 weeks for a long week-end) I met a man (my friends political advisor) who was instrumental in my coming to VA. He had told my friend that if he was going to run for congress he would need a right hand person for his business. My friend immediately thought of me and so Iwas invited up to work full-time. During my meetings with the political advisor I was being “tested” to know the level of my commitment to moving my family to VA and being the “right hand man” in my friends business. Now, one of my best qualities, so people say, is my honesty. So, I would honestly say that I was very open to the idea. Note: These meetings and talks of a moving commitment began in earnest in mid February, 2010 through March. Well, when they became hot and heavy I started running into people who were from Colorado, going to Colorado or had a relative in Colorado. These “meetings” would happen anywhere… coffee shops,a bakery, the Appalachian trail, VA, SC, NC you name it! No matter where I was. Bamm!- a Colorado connection with someone I’d meet!
I began to have a strong sense that maybe my friend and His political consultant would be instrumental in my journey to Colorado. And then………………….Tim gets drafted by the… Denver Broncos in April.
So, one Saturday in early May… I had just parked my car in front of a hiking trail in VA.. I got out and ensued my hike. As I began my walk I said, “O.K. God, what is going on with all these Colorado run-ins?” Then I got quiet…. and heard three words…. Tim Tebow Foundation. Then I thought, OK, what am I supposed to do about that? Sure, I have been a gator fan since I was 15 and sure I love Tim, his passion for the things of Christ and his football talent. But Tim does not know me from Adam! (Now, just prior to this event, Tim had been drafted by the Denver Broncos!) Prior to the draft, the thought had crossed my mind… “man, it would be great if I ended up near where Tim is going to play pro ball!” Now, I want you to know… I am not making any of this up! Well, hold on… it continues… Early on in my time in VA, I had a sense that I may not be in VA long term. During my early days at the office, I had one of the first of my VA divine appointments. One day at work, there was a young lady who was doing some contract work for the firm on the database. We talked briefly and I heard some of her “story”. Shortly thereafter, I heard the Spirit prompt me to hire her to work in the office. After sharing this with my friend and selling him on the idea to at least consider it, I gave this person a call. I went on to ask her if she was interested in steady employment? She immediately said YES, I have been praying about finding steady work and had even thought that working at the “firm” would be fun! I asked her to send me a resume and I set up an interview. When I saw her resume I laughed out loud! Her skills and background were a perfect fit for the office and beyond. She even had experience that would be vital for a political run! OK, I may be slow, but I knew then that God was up to something. Unbeknownst to my friend, I began to train my new hire in all things pertaining to “my job”. Note: the wisdom to do this came from above! I can’t take credit for it! Besides giving this single mom of a 14 year old son a steady paycheck, God had more in store. She became my spiritual little “sis” and I her big brother. (I like big brother better than spiritual father- it makes me feel younger). Anyways, God was using me on many levels in VA and I was encouraged and excited.
Back to the Tim Tebow thing… Four days after my hike and hearing from God, my friend asked me out to dinner. I had the strong sense that He was going to press me about moving up again. Not quite, the evening turned out to be the following… my friend began to speak into my life…He said “I have been watching you and thinking about your talents. I see you working as someones right hand man, someone with a big platform, and someone you really respect.” Now, I did not share with anyone what I had heard on the trail the previous week! I left that dinner with a spiritual buzz of wonderment as to what God was up to. Note: I must tell you that during these last few years I held the attitude of “I am not doing anything big without God making it really clear that He is in it!” After a few bad decisions and the suffering that came with them, I had become very uncertain of my ability to make a wise and timely decision. When you own your own business you are used to making things happen… being the man with the plan and the answers! Over the last few years God was impressing upon me my need to learn to wait on him and to hear His voice. I guess you could say that I was in an advanced course at this point! After the dinner meeting, I felt God prompting me to tell my friend about Colorado and the Tim Tebow Foundation. Up to this point I had kept all the “Colorado encounters” to my self. No need to rock the boat yet I told myself. I’m sure the practical side of my friend thought I was crazy when I told him what was going on. I went on to insure him that I was not making any decisions and was still open to moving my family to VA. Thereafter, the Spirit began to really confirm in my spirit that I was not long for this job and VA. I did let my new hire at the office know that my time in VA could very well be coming to a close. God began to really crystallize in my mind/heart how He had brought me up here to serve my friend and his family, helping him get his life and business back together after losing his wife of 22 years. He also confirmed that I was here to help my “new hire” get further down the path of her walk with God. When I would think about it, I would get such an overwhelming sense of gratitude for what God was doing in and through me! It is very humbling to know God is using you with all your flaws, shortcomings and past failures. Towards the end of May my friend “cornered me” and challenged me to “step up to the plate” and keep the job I had with him. To meet my responsibilities at home and forget this Tim Tebow and Colorado thing! He went on to say that the economy is really tough and that he feared for me and my family. I left the next day for SC with my tale between my legs! I was hurt and confused but I did know this,…. God was up to something and that I was not to be discouraged or swayed but to stay strong and steadfast.
After my long weekend home I went back to work and my friends tune had changed. He had become open to the idea that God may have something else in store for me! He had left his position of fear and doom and gloom and had moved to a place of faith, hope and matters of the heart. Prior to my long weekend home I had promised to pray and give him a decision by June 15th. I woke up on Monday the 7th and knew that the coming Friday (the 11th) would be my last day! I sent my friend a text confirming this. You may think that is crass but he communicates mostly by text and email. Hold on, I must digress…. Over the past few weeks I sensed the Lord telling me that I was ready to make a decision now, to trust my spiritual hearing again. That I did not need to wait for my friend “to release me” from service to him and his family. Early on, I had told God that I was going to work for my friend until he released me! This way I could be sure that I was not “going my own way again”. Also, during this time period I was also hearing the Lord tell me it was time to take a step of faith. Like Moses, who had to step into the Red Sea before it parted. So, during the first week of June the thought began to formulate that my step was to be …. going to Colorado. That’s right, driving to CO.! No job offer, no interview, no nothing! Just a lot of Colorado promptings and a word from the Lord about the Tim Tebow Foundation. I did not know if Tim was even there or if God was setting up another divine appointment of such magnitude. Now, I must admit that when I considered this trip I thought about the potential for people to look at me as a failure… a fool and an idiot! I am sure that’s how many of Gods saints have felt or thought before they took the big, irrational and scary step of faith! Also during this time, the week prior to June 7th.) I “ran into”- a divine appointment with the Young Life Director for the area. For 3 years I had heard great things about him and the Young life ministry in the area but had never met him. It turns out that his oldest daughter was about to leave for Central England to work with Young Life. Wow! My only daughter and eldest child lives in Northern England with her British husband and our first grand baby! Needless to say, besides Christ we also had a deep connection through our “English” daughters and all that goes with letting our kids go, especially so far away! We had to cut our “meeting” short but spoke about getting together soon. After our talk I had the strong sense that I was meant to connect my “new hire” and her son with Young life. That the ministry would be a big part of their lives and instrumental in their spiritual journey. Later that day I sent a text to my new Young Life friend and mentioned this. Two days went by with no response and so I called him and left a message. At this point I must explain something. In the past when I reached out to people more than once with no response I would begin to think lesser of them, especially if they were in ministry. “Wow, the guy is in spiritual leadership and he can’t even return a phone call” would be my normal response. But, I was learning to not go on those thoughts/feelings. Then, on the 7th of June after I had sent my letter of resignation, I was driving one of my friends son’s somewhere and I mentioned about getting my “new hire” and her son involved in Young Life. He called the Young life leader from my car and began to tell him about all this. Hmmm. “He get right through and I can’t get a return call”. I let it go and chose to wait on the Lord. The next day, Tuesday the 8th, I got a call from the Young Life leader. He said we can meet at 9 on Thursday the 10th after his early appointment. I hung up and immediately thanked God for His patience in teaching me to wait on Him and trust Him. Well, Thursday rolls around and Iam still tentatively waiting on God about driving to Denver on Friday after work. So, I am at Starbucks, waiting on my 9 A.M. appt. and I run to the bathroom just prior to 9. I come back out and the Young Life leader is sitting at my table. Kind of surreal I thought! After some chit chat I start to tell him “my story”, the one I am telling you in this blog. He gets this big smile on his face and says, “I have a book in my car for you!” It’s entitled, The Wild Goose Chase. He goes on to say that he was going to give it to his first appointment but that it had cancelled due to a schedule mix up. Then he says, “Now I know why he cancelled, God wants you to have this book!” So, that night I go to bed “mostly” committed to going but still waiting for a “sign from the Lord”.
Well… I wake up at 3 in the morning and God tells me that I am going to CO but not driving. That I am to go on Priceline and will name my own price for a flight and car and it will cost the same as if I had driven! Well, I would say that is a pretty good sign! I go to work Friday and it happens just as He said. I left on Saturday, at 8 in the morning! Oh, I almost forgot… the Young Life leader dropped by the office and met my new hire Thursday afternoon and they planned out how to get her son plugged in this summer! We were collectively floating on a spiritual cloud seeing how God had orchestrated everything! Meanwhile, during my stay in VA I had heard about couch surfing and promptly signed up for it when I thought I was going to CO. So, after several inquiries I find someone willing to host me starting Sunday night but no one to host Saturday yet. Normally, I am not one to take a chance but plan out my trip in advance. On Friday I call a friend who has a friend in Denver who might be able to put me up. He is a Christian. But my friend has not heard back from him… I walk in faith…On my flight to Atlanta… God begins to show me all the “divine appts.” I have had over the last 5 months and a smile of joy mixed with tremendous anticipation wells up within me, akin to leading someone to the Lord or seeing your firstborn enter the world. So much so that I begin to look for Tim Tebow in the Atlanta Airport as I walk to my gate! Sounds crazy I know! But, following the Wild Goose is a wild ride! I begin to read more of the book the Young Life leader gave me as I wait in the Atlanta airport.. The Young Life leader had sent me a text on Friday, asking me if I was laughing in amazement at what I was reading and how much it compared to what was happening with me. Here it was Saturday, at The Atlanta airport on my way to Denver and as I read I begin to laugh out loud and what I am reading. “this is exactly what is happening to me!”
As I search for my seat on the plane I am still looking for Tim. Guess who the Lord seats me next to? No, not Tim! But, a 7th grader who, I imagined, was the spitting image of Tim at that age. He was so well spoken and would answer all my queries with a yes sir! And get this, he is a huge Georgia fan! You just can’t make this stuff up now can you? He and his family were off on their own adventure going to a dude ranch in Northern CO. Well, we land in Denver and his dad shakes my hand and thanks me for being such a good host to his two youngest kids. Really, it was my pleasure! I get my rental car, after the longest wait ever! The old Jon would be upset,,, but the new Jon is patient. Praise The Lord! I get maybe two miles down the road and my friend calls and says I have a place to stay in the Washington Park area of Denver! Just where I had wanted to be! God is amazing! My faith walk continues…. I hook up with my host and we proceed to a cook out with friends from His church. How awesome is that! Instead of staying the night by myself in a hotel, I am having fellowship with a bunch of Christians eating great food and playing corn hole… a bean bag game! They invite me to their Church and I gladly accept! I sit down in Church and in walks this girl who sits right next to me. Turns out she came to CO to work at a Young Life camp and is now volunteering with Student Venture! I was on staff with Student Venture 22 years ago! Ya just can’t make this stuff up! We go to a Rockies game Sunday afternoon and God blesses us with great seats at a great price!
I wake up Monday and go for a jog in Washington park. While I am jogging a guy walking towards me looks at me as if he knows me! He says, I used to work for you in the mortgage business! I said, you must be mistaken! I used to have a mortgage business but not in CO. I left shaking my head. I stop at Starbucks after my run, just down the street and on my way back to the apt., to use the restroom and the Spirit prompts me to look up today’s devotion on Streams in the Desert website via my blackberry. The days devotion talks about waiting on the Lord and I sense the Lord telling me to wait. After showering I head to Stella’s, a cool coffee shop owned by a man named Stan. Note: I had planned on heading down to Dove Valley to see if God had a divine appt for me with Tim. But the Spirit encouraged me to wait. So here I am at Stella’s working a crossword puzzle. I overhear this man in his 60’s talking on the phone and singing a prayer I am familiar with. When he gets off the phone he walks by me and I tell him I know that prayer. He proceeds to tell me he was praying with one of his prayer partners who is sick and they always close with that prayer song. He then tells me about his journey of faith and how God has been with him in so many very real and tangible ways! I tell him I am out here on my journey of faith and he lays hands on me and prays! Wow! I go back to my puzzle and shortly feel a strong sense that I am supposed to move. So I head down to Dove Valley. I pull in the parking lot and sit. It has turned nice, cool and partly sunny! I sense I am to get out and sit on a wall in front of the building. I bring my book (Wild Goose Chase) and read. An amazing sense of peace comes over me. Such tranquility! Amazing! I sit there for an hour and a half and then it starts to shower. I head to the car and wait, trying to hear from the Lord and fighting off thoughts of ” you idiot, what are you doing here!”. I start to drive away and get this strong sense that I am to turn around and go back. I obey and go back. This time I sit in my car and wait, peaceful. I fall asleep. I wake up after a brief nap and end up leaving at 3pm. Four hours of peaceful waiting. No Tim Tebow but much peace.
During my remaining days in CO I sightsee and hear the Lord telling me that I need to trust Him and be strong and not waiver. Time and again I am reminded of this and also that I will be under attack. Yes and Yes! On Tuesday, my new Denver friend and host encourages me to go to Breckenridge- a nice day trip. So after my jog I head up to Breckenridge. It is a beautiful day, the sun is shining after 3 days of rain. The Rockies are showing off all their glory the Lord gave them! I am so joyful! I get to Breckenridge and walk around. A lovely town… Note. I had planned on going to Steamboat Springs but was wavering due to the long drive so I settled on Breckenridge. I walk upon a Thai place and stop for lunch. Sitting outside, the owner walks out and sits by me. We strike up a conversation and out of the blue she starts talking about Steamboat Springs and how i must go visit. I leave there and say, Ok ok I going God. I stop at Starbucks and get on my computer and shoot some couch surfing requests to people in Steamboat. No replys..
I head on in faith. The drive is spectacular! The glory of the Lord is all around me! I get to Steamboat and park. I start down main street and have a sense there is a river across the way with a river walk. I ask a police officer and he says yes! As I get closer to where I think the river is I happen upon a health food store. I make it a point to always stop at one to get a healthy recommendation for a meal. The clerk recommends a place right on the river with a deck that backs right to the water. Awesome! I sit down and order a salad. Two girls at a table of 5 start talking to me from afar. They ask if I am by myself and then ask if I would like to join them. Turns out they all work at a restaurant that will be opening soon. Three of them turn out to be chefs and one of the girls is newly married to one of the chefs who is from Germany. They ask me what I am up to and I proceed to say that I am just here for the afternoon and evening and will then make the 3 hour drive back to Denver. One of them says it is too far to go back late. I told them I had tried to couch surf but had not heard from anyone yet. They proceed to ask me to stay with them at their condo on the mountain! Now I want you to know that I am a foodie! I love good food prepared with love. Here I am in one of the most beautiful spots God created and I am being offered free lodging and fellowship with a bunch of chefs! I get to watch my beloved Lakers crush Boston and eat free grilled salmon in holandaise sauce with oysters, thick cut bacon, sauteed mushrooms, asparagus and a great bottle of riesling to boot. All with people I just “happened to meet”.
Following the Wild Goose is wild, is it not? It turns out that one of the two girls was from a very legalistic Christian background. To me legalism and Christianity don’t mix! I could tell she had been wounded by the “religion” she grew up with. God told me I was to love on these folks. I awoke early and after my run by the river, I bought some flowers and a card to return the kindness these strangers had shown me.
On my way back to Denver I stopped in Boulder! Wow! I hiked up in the hills right on the outskirts of town. Just amazing! It reminded me of hiking in England this Spring. I then walked through this outdoor mall and came upon a traveling musical group. They were amazing! Bluegrass! I clogged a bit right then and there! What a blast! I had not clogged since my college summers in the Mtn.s of Western North Carolina. I closed my stay in Denver by going to a local brewery where I had the best Belgium beer I have ever had! Cheers to the Wild Goose and all those who have shared in my Wild Goose Chase. My last day in Denver God urged me to journal my story. This blog, my first, is a result of my continued obedience to the Gooses promptings. I thank God for His goodness and mercy in my life. That He wants to daily communicate with me still astounds me! He truly does want relationship. It sure is fun being a branch on the Vine! There is more to follow I’m sure of it. Stay tuned. Blessings, Jon
I’m sure you know the song….”my God is so big, so strong, so mighty… there’s nothing that He cannot do!…God is GREAT, God is GOOD… THERE’S NOTHING HE CANNOT DO FOR YOU!”
Why is it that our perspective view of God can vacillate so much? Over my 35 years as a believer I have seen God do great things both in, through and around me! My faith and view of God has been either large or small. Why can’t our view of God be like learning to ride a bike? Once you learn it you have always “got it”! It seems that when it comes to God, we humans have long term memory loss! The past victories that have given us a big view of God seem to get lost in the muck and mire of day to day living. I think that is why the “old” believers of long ago were so “monument” crazy. Every time God shows up in the Old Testament and reveals Himself the believers would build a monument of remembrance. Now, that’s wise! They did not want to forget the great things God has done so they built a remembrance. I think that the remembrance was just a part. As they labored in the building of the monument, I can imagine that they spent the time praising God and giving thanks. This would seal in their hearts and minds the memory of what God had done. I remember the principles of learning…. we learn better when we write it down and even better when we internalize it and spit it back out. The information is crystallized and stamped on our hearts and minds! I am realizing how big remembering past success and victories are to my current situation and trials. We need to have a “pool” of remembrances of how Great our God is and what He has done for us in the past! This is a vital part of our walk…. remembering. ” He was with me back when…. and He was faithful during…..He answered my prayer when….His love was so evident during…..We need to have these “bricks” of faith and remembering in our spiritual foundations or we will surely get led down the path of forgetfulness which leads to despair and hopelessness and a very small view of God, His character and power. The world needs believers with a big view of God and a crystallized vision of His awesome power! The power that raised Christ from the dead and sets the captives free! Like David, Caleb, Daniel and so on, let us be True Believers who stand up and say, “I have nothing to fear, My God is great and He is with me”. His perfect love casts out my fear for I serve a Mighty God! If God is for us who can be against us? Remember, God does not change! His awesomeness never wanes! He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Let’s stay plugged into that remembrance! Then, we will be “strong in the Lord and the power of His might”…
<strong>Trials and Temptations </strong>
2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
12Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
When I consider this passage, I must admit that I have struggled with the concept of considering my trials with “pure joy”! when I think of the word pure I think of something really good, excellent, awesome, quality etc. Lets see what the dictionary says about these two words.
Pure; adj., pur·er, pur·est.
1.Having a homogeneous or uniform composition; not mixed: pure oxygen.
2.Free from adulterants or impurities: pure chocolate.
3.Free of dirt, defilement, or pollution: “A memory without blot or contamination must be . . . an inexhaustible source of pure refreshment” (Charlotte Brontë).
4.Free of foreign elements.
5.Containing nothing inappropriate or extraneous: a pure literary style.
6.Complete; utter: pure folly.
7.Having no faults; sinless: “I felt pure and sweet as a new baby” (Sylvia Plath).
8.Chaste; virgin.
9.Of unmixed blood or ancestry.
10.Genetics. Produced by self-fertilization or continual inbreeding; homozygous: a pure line.
11.Music. Free from discordant qualities: pure tones.
12.Linguistics. Articulated with a single unchanging speech sound; monophthongal: a pure vowel.
13.Theoretical: pure science.
14.Philosophy. Free of empirical elements: pure reason.
Joy-
1.
a.Intense and especially ecstatic or exultant happiness.
b.The expression or manifestation of such feeling.
2.A source or an object of pleasure or satisfaction: their only child, their pride and joy.
v., joyed, joy·ing, joys.
v.intr.
To take great pleasure; rejoice.
v.tr. Archaic
1.To fill with ecstatic happiness, pleasure, or satisfaction.
2.To enjoy.
Wow! two pretty powerful words! Put them together and you get magic! Other worldly. beyond our comprehension. That’s just like God to mix it up. To introduce a concept of pure joy in relation to trials. At first glimpse, they seem to be polar opposites don’t they? Of course, our natural tendency is to complain, grumble and have a bad attitude towards the trial and ultimately toward God. “How could a loving God allow such a thing to happen?” I think one of the keys to viewing trials in this light and beginning to grasp the “pure joy” concept is- Our view of God. Do we see Him as a loving, compassionate, merciful God or a mad and angry taskmaster. Someone whose love is conditional on performance. Now i don’t know where you are in your faith walk but I have been a Christian for 35 years and have plenty of biblical training. From high school to college to ministry. I “knew” it all or so I thought. I think as we age and mature and experience trials our faith that came easy, that child-like acceptance, becomes challenged by the “heat” of the fire. I think that this process is the “working out of our salvation”-Philippians 2:12 -that head knowledge versus heart knowledge concept. i don’t know about you, but i do know that as my life got more challenging I have had numerous opportunities, to pack it in so to speak,and not follow my “beliefs”. you begin to ask yourself,”if i really believe these “absolute truths”, why am I having such doubts?” To me, the working out is the purifying of my faith and the weeding out process. So, I believe that the only way to have Pure Joy in trials is to 1) Know the character of God,and 2) know his promises/truth. Jesus knew the outcome and He knew the character of the Father. Without these we most likely will fall away. Over the last 10 years I have said on numerous occasions, “I don’t understand but I trust you Lord”! I let go and let God- in essence- not my will but thine be done! Jesus, even knowing the outcome pleaded with the Father….”I don’t want to drink this cup of trials”! Jesus basically said that in the garden. Is it not interesting that the King of Glory was in a garden when he struggled with the cross. Hmmm. I know someone else who struggled in a garden… I wonder what the correlation is? In conclusion, here is what i know… 1)Jesus told us we will have trials but take heart for we know the outcome! 2)He works all things together for our good and His glory. I think that if we are expecting the trials, not specifically of course, but have that warrior mentality that goes out each day with an attitude of expectancy. “I am trained to do battle and the Lord thy God is with me where ever i go”. Would you rather hit the battle head on or be ambushed? Jesus expected the battle and had his sword ready! Let’s get ready to rumble for we are in a war and our enemy is fierce! But, take courage for the Lord your God is with you and He will fight on your behalf. He will go out before you on your wings of faith. I can’t say that I have got the pure joy thing down patt. But I sure understand my heavenly Dad better and how his spiritual economy works. Jesus loves me this I know for my renewed and healed heart tells me so!
I feel the prompt of the wild goose to testify of God’s amazing grace! Any true believer is well aware that God is everywhere. He is in the laughter as well as the tears. In the joy and the sorrow! “I will never leave you nor forsake you declares the Lord” and “lo I am with you always”. these are promises that our Loving Heavenly Father has given us. Why is it that we wander around life doubting these promises? Can we not take God at His word? Is He not trustworthy? Is His grace and Love conditional on how we live or don’t live? God forbid! if this be true, we really are lost and without hope! I have often wondered about that verse that speaks to our “working out our salvation”. I never really understood what that meant until recently. The “desert” comes to try us and find out what we are made of. To purify us as a refiners fire does precious metal. The only way that we can truly reflect the character of Christ in us is through fire. “Christ in us, the hope of glory” . So the working out of our salvation happens as we walk through the fire in the desert. During these past 6 years in the swamp/desert God has been working all things together for my good according to His will…..”He who began a good work in you will finish it”. Just as we pull our hand away when it touches fire, so are natural tendency is to run from the pain and the trial God has allowed in our lives. We try to wiggle out, to escape, to bargain with God, to manipulate the situation to an end that we are happy with. We through our tantrums and pity parties and just “want the misery to end”, to get to the other side of this! We are more concerned about the end than we are the process. Trust me, God is way more concerned about the process and how we respond. He knows the outcome and just wants us to trust Him and let the trials accomplish their work in us to the glory of God! The longer we kick and scream, the longer it will take for us to be refined and perfected in Christ. I am here to say with a resounding YES! God is in the desert! He has shown Himself faithful and true to Himself, His character and His word. “the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory”! You want to see the glory of God? I believe He is best seen in the dark of the desert! When human reasoning says, “my God, why have you forsaken me?” The gospel was perfected through great pain and tragedy! He was born to suffer and die so that we might live! True life and freedom comes with a great price! Jesus paid for our freedom with His life! Why are we surprised when we suffer pain, trials and misfortune? Human nature does not like pain! Even the perfect one grieved over the thought of the pain to come, even to the point of death. So let us consider ourselves Sons and daughters of the Most High when we encounter various trials that are for our good and God’s glory! For He truly is in the Desert for that is where I re-found Him.
As I said before, Satan is dead set on taking us out! We must be wise to this… to his tactics and lies. Too often, we let our defenses down and get sucker punched my Satan! How did Jesus deal with Satan? He used the TRUTH! “you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free”. Lies = bondage, Truth = freedom. Our Creator hard-wired us for freedom but we seem to confuse freedom with independence. When we choose independence, going our own way, we are in essence choosing bondage. We “think” we are free because we are doing our own thing and being “true to ourselves”. Being true to our design would mean walking in relationship with our Creator and not going our own way. As trials and lies come our way, knowing the truth is vital to our freedom! And not just knowing it but believing it in our hearts. I am learning more and more that a life truly lived is lived at the “heart level”. Head knowledge will not get us through the tough times! But, operating in “heart knowledge” will insure that we live as we were intended= truly free in Christ. For it is impossible to really be free apart from Christ! I like to think of it as one of the Spiritual laws! So as the trials of the last 6 years began in earnest I bought into the Lie that God was punishing me and that His love was conditional. My heart won out over my head! I really did not believe at a ‘heart level’! So, when does the transfer take place? When do we go from head knowledge to heart knowledge? I think it is different for each of us. I believe that, to the extent that we were shown unconditional love as children, will determine how well we “get” Gods love. If Gods love was not modeled in the home we will be “walking wounded” unable to truly feel loved and thus vulnerable to Satans biggest lie…. that God does not really love us…… “but, God demonstrated His LOVE for us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” …….. And a true father, a loving father, disciplines His sons and daughters! So, I believe our hearts must be healed before we can truly know at a heart level the Father’s love. “Heal my heart Lord so that I can freely receive and give your love away”. For without love, real love we are all clanging cymbles and harsh gongs! Remember, love is a verb! “For God so loved the world that HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON”. Thanks Abba! I love you too!
