Faith Experiences in the Mission-Filled Life

Isaiah 28:16, "Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily."

As I went through my work week, I barely had time to stop and breathe much less anything else. I like it that way though because I am being productive, I feel useful and it makes the day go by quickly! I didn't like my job at first because it was so far outside of what my career path has been thus far. I'd pray each day on my way in for the Lord to just let me find ONE thing that I liked each day because I knew this was from Him. It was clear. I nearly didn't apply to it because it was so different, but more so, because the pay was barely enough to survive on. Now, in the distant past, I've taken positions that I foreseen would help teach me vital skills for my future and as long as I was able to pay my bills and have some left over, that was good enough for me. Because I came a long way from that point, it was very difficult for me to take such a hit financially but it's ONLY because I KNEW this was from the Lord, did I accept the offer! I knew without a doubt that if it was from Him, and I was continuing in my obedience to Him by accepting it, then He would see to it that all of my financial needs would be met. Anyone that knows me knows I'm not materialistic so wanting money to spend on myself and "things" isn't in my makeup. I try very hard to stay within the will of the Lord and with that said, leads me to this post.

Trials, Tribulations and Testing AHEAD!

When the Lord calls us into a consecrated, mission-filled life, there are steps that follow in order for us to be able to fulfill His will and calling. It's not easy. It's not without a lot of bumps, bruises and trials. As I speak from my spirit about this, I want to first tell you this post is not about those bad choices we make and the ensuing "spanking" we get because of it. It's not about the bad choices we make and the bumps and bruises and trials that WE created through disobedience. We do create some trials and bumps because of our own choices and not waiting upon the Lord. This isn't about those times. Quite the opposite. This is mainly for those who are obediently following the will of the Lord, with the casual trips and stumbling of our sinful nature, and for those who are being prepared for what lies ahead that has been prepared by the Lord God Almighty! It's for those who are staying obedient as much as possible, always relying on the Lord for  their strength, direction, patiently waiting for His answer or His voice to guide, and for those who hear an instruction, who will do it without question and trusting fully that all the necessary tools and provision will be given unto them for that sole purpose. I've directed a few posts to our bad choices and all of us can relate to what happens in those circumstances as long as we ACKNOWLEDGE that they were bad choices and not put the "blame" on the Lord!!! But this is being directed towards the ones who are obediently doing the will of the Lord or surrendering themselves to be used by Him, and through no fault of their own, through no bad choices, or disobedience, trials, bumps, bruises and tribulations hit. Blessings and miracles follow. At the same time, it will speak to the spirits of many who will be ready to take this journey, who God is preparing and prayerfully, it will help prepare them for a joyful, peaceful and fulfilling journey! Those who haven't experienced what I'm going to be talking about, please read on anyway. It will enlighten you to understand that everyone's journey is special, different and hand-picked by God Himself. Why do I say that? Well, because, many people compare the trials and bumps in their lives to those around them who aren't having such a bumpy ride. Remember, we are each individually "hand-picked"and specifically created by the Hand of God and everything, including our mission field and our trials, bumps, bruises and tribulations, are also unique and specific to each of us individually! We are EACH special in His sight!

As the Lord speaks about a consecrated life, He often times compares it to building a house. In building a house, it takes a solid, firm foundation FIRST. Without that, everything else that would be put on it and in it, would ultimately crumble. Eventually washing away. So the first step in this process is laying the foundation and THAT foundation is JESUS CHRIST! Any foundation other than Jesus Christ will not stand! All others will wash away. Matthew 7:24-25, "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: v25) and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock." As you can see, He tells us clearly that our Faith that is built upon the Lord Jesus Christ is our solid foundation that will not fall through any storm, any wind, and any flood! However, if we don't build our foundation upon the Lord Jesus Christ, He tells us in the next two verses, in Matthew 7:26-27, "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." He definitely makes it clear that whoever doesn't build their house upon the solid foundation of the Lord Jesus Christ will be as a foolish man building it upon the sand.....meaning anything else OTHER THAN JESUS! See? There's only ONE way but TWO choices. Believe and build your house upon the rock of Salvation OR turn from the Lord and do it the way that you want to build your house. I've been near a raging ocean before and the power of it is immense! I wouldn't want my foundation made of sand!

As we enter into our walk of Faith with God, the 2nd step begins to unfold, and oftentimes, this is the

All for the Glory of God!

most difficult part and is where our character is molded, our strength is found and we find what we are made of in the face of adversity. Part of His preparation, if you will. He'll allow each of us, individually, to experience trials, hardships, testings, miracles, and many difficult challenges in our life that are intrinsically designed to provide us those undeniable "faith experiences." Faith Experiences are demonstrated tangible evidences of His work, His Hand, His guidance, in our life! Something that clearly cannot be denied or misunderstood. We may not know they are faith experiences while going THROUGH them, but we WILL know they were when we come through the storms! Amen! Some of the biblical "faith experiences" were the likes of Moses's' burning-bush experience, Peter's walk on the water, Joshua's parting of the Jordan River. ALL of these built faith in each one individually. Now remember, each one was SPECIFIC to the individual for the purpose and the will of the Lord. Maybe Joshua's parting of the sea wouldn't have affected Moses the way the burning bush did! The depth, width and height of our calling is directly, and precisely, proportionate to the faith experiences that God allows in each of our lives. And our bad choices can come into play at this level because when we're making bad choices, it's out of disobedience and God will allow our discipline to take form in the shape of yet another trial. Even if it's our own doing.

So let's say God plans some profound ministry with you, say an international ministry, chances are much greater with much higher odds, that you will experience a higher degree of "faith experiences" compared to another person who's ministry is just as profound, but not as far reaching. The reason for this is that you'll need to look on those faith experiences to ensure your calling and to provide your testimony for the lives of others of His work in your life. Without these experiences, our level of Faith isn't quite as strong and as sustaining as they become WITH those experiences. The bigger the mission, the more adversity one will face. I told someone once that EVERY mission that God gives to us is BIG but He also gives BIGGER ones to those He chooses to! And to those who are willing to surrender themselves fully unto His will. He knows what each one of us are capable of and He knows how to make us achieve what WE think is impossible!

In keeping with the tone of the 2nd step, it is here that I will tell you that you can be moving along the path, being obedient, listening to what He is telling you and then BAM! You get side-swiped by an unexpected boulder! Out of nowhere! It lands right in front of you, knocking you over, but not quite out. No fault of your own. It just happened. You already know the road was bumpy and that you even received some bruises, but this?! This appeared out of nowhere and for no reason that YOU can find. But God knows why He set that before you. He knows that you needed that boulder obstructing your way to make you stronger, to make you rely on His strength and provisions and to help you solve a problem...."how do I get around this boulder with everything still intact and continue on the path the Lord has put me on?" These things happen all the time when you're being prepared for something the Lord has in store for you. Some people can't handle it and will crumble, losing not only the blessing when completed, but the assignment the Lord set you out to do!

So now, onto the 3rd step. This has to do with motives. Ah, the one thing we all grapple with, some more than others. Motives. Even the word sounds ugly because mostly we associate that word with the negative action instead of the positive. Motives go hand in hand with intentions. In Proverbs 16:2, it tells us, "All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the spirits." Isn't that a sobering statement!?! If you don't think so, then you need to read those words until they are! Our motives can be seen clearly by those who are privy to human behavior, to those who the Lord has given sight to and to those who understand there's reasons behind everything we do! Good or bad. Proverbs 16:2 deals with the motives of our ways and is an important step in this process! This is something that all of us MUST get a handle on because too many have set out to do the work of the Lord but discovered it wasn't turning out the way that was meant to be because the motives were all wrong! We need to be asking ourselves some pretty serious questions.

What's the motive behind my actions? Is it only for financial or material gain? Is it to gain control over a person, place, situation or a thing? Is it to create independence? Is it spiteful because you were wronged? Is it vindictive because you want to get back at someone? Is it even selfish in order to shine above others? If each of us would take a few minutes before doing something and ask ourselves WHAT OUR MOTIVES ARE, maybe we'd be a better person. Maybe we'd be able to stifle what our true intentions are and do what the Lord would want us to do, thereby conditioning ourselves to pray before we act. I've gotten much better at this part of my walk. I may have the wrong motive in my THOUGHTS, but it's much more difficult to ACT upon them now because I know I'll be convicted by the Holy Spirit and the lesson that I was supposed to learn will just take longer to attain! I stumble from time to time, but as I said, I've gotten much better! Thanks only to the Mercy of the Lord and an "observation" from someone years ago!!! The primary motive HAS to be obedience to God's leading you to take such an action in the first place! All of the other factors should only be the by-products of the decision.

Sometimes our motives start out right, and righteous, and then a little seed is planted by an unsuspecting person that also was likely placed in your path to test you. That seed has soon taken root and suddenly, the motives have changed. Whether or not we ALLOW that seed, which is contradicting the word we received from the Lord, to take up root or choose to reject it, is up to us. These are testings. They come out of nowhere when we least expect them and cause us to 2nd guess ourselves. Tempting us into changing the "direction" because it appeals more to US. By choosing to reject the seed however, secures us a smoother, less bruising, journey. Each time we reject a bad seed, otherwise any seed that isn't of the Lord, we learn to reject them more readily because something is always easier to LEARN the MORE it's done! It becomes who we ARE and will become!

Now to the 4th step. This step involves being prepared to actually take ACTION! All of the preparations above would be in vain if we never took the appropriate action that Jesus was instructing us to take! Afterall, He's been preparing us for this so why wouldn't we act?! It's here that we need to ask ourselves, "Do I have the skill, quality, strength, faith, trust and ability to enter into this activity/task/job/mission?" "Do I have the resources laid before me from the Lord to complete this mission/job/task/activity?" Do I understand fully that I'm not in control but He IS?" "Am I willing to complete this mission/job/task/activity that the Lord has given me no matter how difficult it is or becomes?" We can learn skills and abilities along the way to better prepare us for whatever He is leading us to do. That's why I ended up getting clear peace about accepting this job, much in the same way that I had with another position about 5 years ago. The pay is awful and isn't anything near my profession. But, it was clearly from the Lord and as I began to get settled into the job, I was learning so many things! Things I hadn't learned in any other position I ever held! And I could have only learned these skills with the help of the Lord because I had no clue walking in there the first few weeks! If we view everything we go through as a chance to LEARN and GROW, then we can be more easily used as His vessel while following His calling. Too often, we haven't trained ourselves, nor have we allowed the Lord to give us that training, adequately enough to be successful in our endeavors. You wouldn't want someone working on your teeth that never trained or been certified/licensed as a dentist! All soldiers need to be trained for their mission. No different being a soldier of God. No matter how great or small our mission is every day, we MUST be trained and ready for that encounter because there will be many more ahead!

While being prepared to take action, we also need to stay focused on the mission and the calling. It will be here, that diversions will often be set in front of us to get us off track. To get us to side step away from what the Lord wants TO what WE want. It's happened to ME before and it wasn't a pleasant outcome! Did I learn from that time? You bet! And from that experience, not only did the Lord get me out of it, but I was able, and am still able, to see a diversion in the paths of others clearly! I can also see them in my own life when I'm being prepared for something that the Lord is calling me to do. Actually, in this job, I'm currently being tested and I've seen the diversion as well. I just spoke about diversions although not in this capacity, in another posting that can be found here. Diversions are always lurking around the corner to get us off track and to get our eyes off of Jesus!

So now that the 4 steps have been spoken about and expanded upon, let me say boldly that when God is the center of the mission/job/task/activity He will bless it every step of the way! Those blessings can come in many forms and in many ways and through many different people. It all depends on His plans for you and how willing you are to go forth with complete FAITH and TRUST to do His will and follow His calling! If the Lord has called you to do something, then remember, He will ALWAYS provide the means, the provisions (whatever they may be for you individually) the tools, the skills and the guidance! He will protect you, light the path when it appears dark, give you comfort when you are feeling weak and discouraged. He will hold you when your spirit is crying out! When trials, bruises, bumps and tribulations come at you from every direction while you're walking in obedience, and they most assuredly WILL, don't doubt the Lord! Embrace them because it's all for the good of your walk! Don't try to figure out the "why's" and the "how's" and the "what's" of any situation because sometimes He doesn't want us to know. If He does, He will definitely reveal it to us but only in HIS time! The blessings will also happen DURING the storms, DURING the trials, bruisings and tribulations! These moments of hardship and testing and trails and tribulations that I'm going through and have been going through for awhile, ALL have had blessings bestowed upon me in many different ways! Spiritually I've been blessed because I've seen His hand on many things as I've surrendered to His will even when it didn't make sense to ME! I've been blessed emotionally and even financially when a bill needed to be paid and I wasn't sure where that money would come from to pay it! I'm BOLDLY going to say that I have never went without in any situation that the Lord had me face to get me where I am today! He is ALWAYS there, right beside me, through every storm, every corner, every dark alley. Whether we like it or not, or whether we want to ever face up fully to this reality in this fallen world, in this temporary life, every single one us, saved or unsaved, will have to face a certain amount of conflict, adversity, trials and tribulations as we take our journey through this life we have been given here on earth. There are absolutely no exceptions to this cold, hard, brutal fact. The difference is, the saved have Jesus Christ guiding their way whereas the unsaved have the enemy guiding theirs. The unsaved won't experience the "faith experiences" that I'm speaking of until they have made the decision to accept the free gift of salvation! The saved will experience them throughout their journey!

We must always ask what the foundation is based on whenever we enter into a new project/job/activity/mission/task? We need to ask what experiences did God demonstrate in my life that indicates HIS involvement IN that project/job/activity/mission/task? We also MUST ask, and be clear about, what is my motive for accepting and surrendering to do this job/mission/task/project/activity? And finally, we must ask ourselves do I have the skill, quality, strength, faith, trust and ability to accomplish the project/job/activity/mission/task that I've been called to do? By answering these questions, after prayer and supplication, will tell you whether God will bless your job/mission/task/project/activity in the way only He can, and will, do. Remember, if He's called you to do it, then surrender yourself and let Him guide you into the ways that you must go in order to successfully accomplish it! There's no feeling better than that! As a child of God, you have a powerful story to tell. If you are not saved, it's not too late to become a child of God! As with everything in life, there is a before and an after and those after stories and testimonies are powerful ones! All of our experiences rolled into one big beautiful story to share with the lost, the longing, the brothers and sisters going through trials and trying times that we, ourselves have once went through, to those who are sitting alone and afraid! Jesus SAVES! He is the ONLY way and it's a BEAUTIFUL way! He changes those who truly call upon His name!

In many "faith experiences" that we will encounter in our walk, the best way to prepare for them is to listen for the voice of God, hearing what He is instructing us to do, to remain obedient, faithful, prayerful, and watchful, no matter what challenges, difficulties or trials you will undoubtedly face. Faithfulness produces a bountiful harvest of blessings and joy. In Genesis 22:1–12, we read of Abraham's faithful response. He has just been told by God Himself, that his offspring will become God’s own chosen people, and is totally prepared to make the most gut-wrenching, heart-crushing sacrifice imaginable to any human being and parent, as God commands him to make a burnt offering of his only son, Isaac. See, when God calls out, "Abraham!"Abraham simply answers, "Here I am!" When Abraham then receives God’s instruction to slaughter his own beloved, flesh and blood son as an offering, that simple "Here I am" of obedience guides him as he prepares for the sacrifice. His radical faithfulness is rewarded when at the last possible moment, God intervenes to spare Isaac. What a testimony of FAITH! And at the same time, this was one of the most intense, yet beautiful, examples of a "faith experience." Here is Genesis 22:1-12 in its entirety for those who don't know the story!

"Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” v2) Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” v3) So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. v4) Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. v5) And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad[a] and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” v6) So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. v7) But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” v8) And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together. v9) Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. v10) And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. v11) But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” v12) And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

Another example is found in Genesis 46,  where the Bible tells us God had visited Jacob in a dream. When God calls, "Jacob! Jacob!" Jacob, like his grandfather did, Jacob responds with a simple "Here I am." Here we see how God brings Jacob a word of comfort to allay any fears he might've had about going down to Egypt where his son, Joseph, had been a slave. God tells Jacob not to be afraid and reassures him with these words, "I will make of you a great nation there."  With God’s promise in his ear, and in his heart, he goes down into Egypt with his family where they are then reunited with his long-lost son, Joseph. They are welcomed by Pharaoh himself, and given the best land in all of the kingdom to settle.

The Bible tells us that we have to learn how to become good soldiers of Jesus Christ, and in doing so, if you can learn how to become a good soldier of Jesus Christ, learning how to walk with God's anointing in your life, then you can either keep plenty of the storm clouds from ever hitting you in the first place, OR you can quickly defeat them once they come knocking at your door. Remember, the more something is done, the easier it is to learn!!! Once it's learned it becomes a part of who you are and who you become so be watchful of what you learn and WHERE you learn it and from WHO it's taught! As children of God, we will face storms, adversity, troubling times and testing. We will face all kinds of things. But what gets so many Christians in trouble in this part of their walk with the Lord is not having a full understanding of why these things has to happen to them at all in the first place. It really shouldn't matter as long as we know it's for the glory of our Lord and Savior. But to many, it does. As frustrating as it may be, sometimes the answers to those questions are much worse than what we are going through because our minds wouldn't understand the ways of His thoughts and mind! We wouldn't grasp it in the way that it needed to be so this is when I let it all go to the foot of the Cross and just let Him take control. I used to be one of those people who wanted answers. I'm not like that so much anymore. I usually deal with whatever it is, learn, praise and be glad in each day that the Lord has given me to do His will and mission! I WANT to be a good soldier! I WANT to be trained and I've had some pretty tough times along the way! But He is always right there, beside me! Comforting me!

Eternity AWAITS!

God will allow a certain amount of trials and tribulations to come our way, to come at us like a speeding bullet sometimes, for the express purpose of testing our faith in Him. Faith that isn't tested cannot be trusted! It's really easy to have super high levels of faith when everything is moving along just fine, when the going is good and great, but just let any kind of severe adversity come knocking at our doors, and many Christians will start to shake and throw their fists up at God, questioning WHY this is happening, and so they start to lose their high levels of faith in God once things start to really get tough. I've seen it too many times in people who praise the Lord all the time because they are moving along nicely, without speed bumps, and without much adversity. But wow, when it hits, whether of their own doing or of it being allowed by God for their own good, they don't have the same kind of "unfailing" faith as when things are good. It was once said, "Great fights will come great faith." This simply means that you can't develop great faith in the Lord unless you have had your faith tested, developed and strengthened with some great fights first! Many children in the Body of Christ have had their personal relationships with the Lord severely damaged as a result of not being able to fully understand why God will allow adversity in their lives in the first place! It's important to note that He did not promise us a life full of fluff and blessings and riches of the WORLDLY kind, which is what many is after. He didn't promise us a life that wasn't full of trials, testing, storms or tribulations. As a matter of fact, we are told quite the opposite so it might be a good idea if they read the following: Matthew 10:22, "And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved." And also John 15:18-21, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. v19) If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. v20) Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. v21) But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me." As a result, you have many wounded soldiers in the flock that are going out to battle, in the battlefield, who can't seem to get themselves back onto God's playing field from the dugout where they are now sitting. This is a direct result of not being able to get over the severe adversity which may have just struck them and their family. The enemy wants this more than anything! To keep the children of God living in the past, remembering pains, remembering their darkness's. This only holds you back and keeps you down. It hinders your testimony and it hinders the way the Lord will be able to use you.

In closing, it will be only through your faithfulness, prayerfulness, your watchfulness and your trustfulness that will prepare you well for the encounter with God in many, many ways. Your future will be enriched greatly as a result and you will be richly blessed! Express your gratitude to Him for His blessings and His ultimate role in your life as you surrender to His will and plans for you! Most importantly, let Him know that you are here to serve Him, utilizing your unique spiritual gifts and that you are willing to do what it takes no matter how difficult the journey may be in whatever way He leads you! Be prayerful in discerning His will for your life, but don't get discouraged if it isn't automatically revealed in YOUR time. He will speak to you in different ways in preparation of a greater mission. Be receptive to His calling and His divine guidance and intervention! And, as so many Biblical characters have in the Bible, and as I do every day, completely give yourself over to Him by declaring, boldly and without fear, "Hear I am.!"



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