Warriors Called to Boot Camp

  I believe many are hearing the drums of a tribal beat awakening the spiritual warriors from their slumber. 

These warriors have known they were different from the time they were children. The women who love Joan of Arc, Deborah, and Wonder Woman, and the men who love David, Batman and the rest of the Superheroes. The ones who want to fight for the underdog and for what is right. It’s a call out of apathy and passivity. Now is your time. It is time for you to be equipped for what is to come. He is calling you into boot camp for His glory. It is not an easy road but it is one of true honor!

Remember this battle is not with flesh and blood. It is to be fought in the spirit through praise, worship, and intercession!!!  We are called to LOVE one another here on earth, but in the spirit we are called to fight the good fight of faith. Warriors are trained in the fires of boot camp. 

When you enter boot camp as a recruit it is a whole new world. You must surrender who you think you are in exchange for who your Commander says you are. Sometimes you need to lose who you are not, before you awaken to who you actually are.  You will be pushed to your limit but it will absolutely be worth it. New routines are learned. A new way of doing things. A new way of thinking.

In spiritual boot camp recruits will:

• Learn strengths and weaknesses- you will build up the weak places
• Learn to function as a single entity- you will learn unity.
• Learn the voice of their Commander- you will not follow the voice of a stranger
• Learn the voice of their enemy and develop resiliency- you are not shaken when he screams in your face with lies.
• Learn how to maintain their armor –  you understand how vital armor is and you make sure it does not have holes in it.
• Learn how to fight effectively- you will know how to be proactive in situations and what skills/weapons are needed in each situation and use them with expertise. You will be aware of enemy tactics and will be able to avoid his traps.

By the end of boot camp the recruits have earned the title of  Warriors; they know who they are, Whose they are, why they enlisted and that they are fully willing and capable of doing whatever they are called to do with full confidence in their training and abilities. They can handle anything that comes their way. They are ready to go and change this world for His glory!!

          Ask not what your God can do for you, but ask what you can do for your God.

 

Your Confinement is an Illusion

It wasn’t very long ago when I went through a period of feeling very “boxed in.” I felt hindered by something invisible. No matter which way I turned, it felt like I couldn’t move more then a couple of feet. I prayed about it and I saw a picture of myself in a box and I heard the Lord say to me “look up.”  I looked up and the top was OPEN!  I realized that in all my feelings of being trapped that I was, in fact, NOT trapped at all!

The way to get OUT was to go UP!!

I needed His perspective on this box. I had to go up higher to get a bigger picture.

This is where is got really interesting. He then says to me “Want Me to really blow your mind?”

“Sure God, blow my mind” (I mean really, who says no to that offer?)

Get ready for a Matrix moment….He said….

“There is NO BOX”

“Ummm….yes there is”

“It’s ALL in your mind, it’s an illusion, it doesn’t exist”

BOOM!!

“WOAH”

Some times the things that hinder us aren’t real things at all. Sometimes they are enemy illusions meant to keep us from moving forward. Sometimes they are man made limitations that we put on ourselves based on what we believe. Sometimes we can fall into believing that we need to change who we are in order to make the people around us more comfortable and it can make us feel as though we aren’t free to speak or move. What we believe to be true will effect what we see, think, feel, and do. Make sure it lines up with God’s TRUTH!

• When we say we can’t……God says we CAN do ALL things through Christ. (Phil 4:13)
• When we can’t see a way through it……He WILL make roadways in the wilderness and streams in the desert. (Is 43:19)

Don’t worry about the time lost while the illusion is in place. He uses all of it and He redeems it all. He is using the time to build intimacy with Him. He is using this time to build and strengthen our weak muscles. When we can’t see what’s in front of us, we can still see His face. He will never leave us or forsake us. He is in our box with us the whole time!

There is many different forms of imagery that God uses to describe this scenario. Sometimes it’s jail cells or bird cages with the doors open, or like I saw with the box. The point is still the same. YOU ARE NOT TRAPPED!!! You shall know the TRUTH and the TRUTH shall set you FREE!

He wants us to be limitless. He wants us out of the box. He wants us FREE!!

Making It Through Transition

 

 

Transition. Yikes! It’s not a word that makes you feel all warm and cozy now does it? The word itself brings feelings of uncertainty, insecurity, and dread for most of us. I challenge you today that you may just walk out of transition with feelings of renewed hope, peace and a strength that you have never known.

The Bridge

The image I get is of a bridge and one side symoblizes all our comforts and life as we know it. We stand on the edge of this side as if it were the edge of a cliff.  The cliff is overlooking a HUGE chasm. Before us is a rickety rope bridge with some rungs missing and nothing to hold on to for support. We can stand there watching it sway in the wind which can reach tornado strength gusts. Sometimes there is rain showers with thunder and lightening. It feels like we are questioning everything we ever thought we knew. We see JESUS on the other side of the bridge and He is NOT flustered by the storm one bit. He holds His hands out to us with a smile and says very gently “Come”.  As we look in His eyes there is total peace and love in them and we feel something inside us deciding it’s most definitely worth it to cross that bridge to be with Him. There is an inner sense that everything we were destined to DO and BE is waiting on the other side.

There are some things we need to lose before we step on the bridge for the bridge can only handle our own weight. We cannot carry anything or anyone across the bridge. It is an individual decision for us all to make. All comforts must be left on that side of the bridge. He wants us totally dependant on Him for this journey. All disappointments and pain from the old season need to be left there. All generational hindrances needed to be addressed and forgiven. All security blankets and people, even good relationships, must be left behind. Even if you are married each has to make the decision to cross for themselves. What is on the other side is so CAPTIVATING, it’s only a matter of time before you will see them take their first baby step onto the bridge.  Faith tells us that they will make it to the other side at some point. We cannot be distracted by looking around us and wondering about who is with us.

No Looking Back

As we start to take our first steps across there will be the temptation to look behind you. Whether it’s through reminiscing or simply looking to see if your loved ones are coming. We won’t make it across if we are looking behind us. Our future is not there. I found in my own journey that whenever I did look back , I ended up opening the door to old questions, confusion, and tormenting thoughts. There was a point where I heard the Holy Spirit say STOP LOOKING BACK. So I did. What happened at this point was amazing! Once I made that decision to go boldly forward and not backward I started to be able to imagine myself on the other side of the bridge and it was awesome!!!

But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.- Hebrews 10:39

Intimacy

What He is after is intimacy with you. He wants quality time with only you. It may initially feel like you are lonely. Especially if you, like me, were used to surrounding yourself with people all the time. You may find that ALL your supports disappear. To be honest it can be quite a heart breaking season. You may have been betrayed by people closest to you. You may have lost someone quite dear to you. The pain you feel will need to be expressed and it can end up being a very creative time. Painting, song writing, poetry, dancing, whatever releases those emotions is what it is all about. Crying out to Jesus with all your heart and leaning apon Him to comfort you and encourage you is what He is desiring. He wants to be your ALL in ALL. As you spend time with Him, you will be building momentum with each step.  A strength and peace that wasn’t there before will be part of your core. He is building our strength, endurance and perseverance. He wants us to see what we are capable of when we partner with Him.

“Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God.”- 1 Chronicles 22:19

The New

As you take your steps across the bridge you will find that you are no longer distracted by the wind and the rain. You no longer cringe when thunder rages in an attempt to distract you. You will find  God bringing new relationships into your life to assist you on your journey and they are as passionately devoted to crossing the bridge as you are. You can start to hear others cheering you on from Jesus’s side of the chasm. New doors of opportunity will fly open before you. There is now a fierce resolve inside of you that there is NOTHING that can stop you from getting to the other side and into your DESTINY!

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. – Isaiah 43:19