Friday, June 25, 2010

Part 6 ~ Chapter 47 ~ The Final Link

Okay, I'm in tears again today. I know part of it is that our sweet journey is ending. Another part is that God is just so good!

Some of you know that for the past 20 months I've been sick on and off again with recurrent ear/sinus infections. During the past 19 months, my husband has been without a full-time job and we've struggled financially.

Well, near the beginning of these struggles, I heard a song that gave me hope and has served as a reminder through these trials.

It's no secret that the Lord speaks to me in songs and that music is a very important part of my life.

Today as I read Isaiah 40:28-31, the song Everlasting God by Lincoln Brewster immediately came to mind. When I hear this song, I am always reminded to wait on God and His provisions. His timing is not my timing, and His ways are not my ways. What really gets me, though, is that "strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord."

So, there is purpose in our waiting. ; ) There is hope in the storm! Strength is rising!

I have been in a waiting period here lately. I can feel that God is preparing me for something, but it's not quite time for a lot of action. In fact, He's been telling me to "be still and know that {He} is God" (Psalm 46:10 {emphasis mine}). There are preparations and stillness but very little action, especially when you're sick all the time.

This is a wonderful reminder today (as I was getting a little frustrated in the waiting over the last couple of weeks) that I need to be still and wait upon the Lord. He is the source of my strength, and if I look to Him for my strength... I will not faint or grow weary, but I will soar on wings like eagles!

Something very refreshing in this chapter, for me, is the nugget of knowledge Beth shares on page 273. She says, "The Hebrew word for 'hope' (KJV, 'wait upon') is qawah, meaning 'to bind together (by twisting)... to be gathered together, be joined.' "

Wow! To wait upon the Lord is to have hope in Him and draw close to Him. While I'm not perfect, mind you, that's exactly what I've been trying to do these last 20 months. Believe me when I say, there have been plenty of times where I've started to lose hope and have been grasping at straws to find hope... but I have always turned back to God. I have confessed my times of unbelief and renewed my relationship with Him. I have asked for patience and then gone back to being still and waiting; drawing close to Him as He draws close to me.

I believe God clipped my little independent wings about 20 months ago. I had plans and wanted to do all kinds of things with my photography career. I believe God knew well enough to know that I would go after those dreams with all my soul and totally ignore His plans for me.

I believe that He has a plan, a hope, a future for me and that it is far greater than anything I have ever hoped or imagined. If I had the last 20 months my way, I probably wouldn't even be writing this post. I certainly would not have gone on this journey with you. And, I'd still be in bondage.

I believe, just as He clipped my wings to slow me down and pay attention to Him, He will allow me to soar on wings like eagles when He's ready to ween me out of the little nest He's kept me in for 20 months.

I could go on and on about what this study has meant to me, but I will try to encapsulate my journey in a few sentences. I'd love to hear from you, too, about what this journey has meant in your life.

When I first discovered this book, I knew that God wanted me to study the contents, but I had no idea that He wanted me share the journey with you. I had fully prepared myself to do the study alone, in private, because I was afraid of the "baggage" that would surface. Then, I felt like God was asking me to do the study online... on the blog. I wondered why I got the nudge to start a blog : ) just a month earlier. On April 17th, it was official. I would offer the study online. Without going over all the details (because you've already read them once), I never imagined that I was still enslaved to things from my past! The unplugged part of our journey was definitely the breakthrough for me, but I am continuing to uncover strongholds. Plus, I gleaned so much from the chapters afterwards. When I had such revelations over the unplugged week, I thought that would be my highlight... BUT GOD just kept surprising me over and over as we continued the journey!

In a nutshell, I believe this study has opened my eyes to see that there were quite a few major strongholds in my life. I now have the tools and the knowledge I need to be set free!!! The knowledge has been there all along, but I finally Stop, Dropped and Payed attention so God could reveal these things to me. Since our week unplugged, I have been able to experience loose shackles in so many areas of my life!!! GOD IS GOOD!

I hope the trend continues. After a life in captivity, I'm ready for the good life... the one that is only found in God! I've tasted freedom and it is OH SO SWEET!

I pray that you are living in liberty as well! I will continue to pray for you, for the ones that are following close behind us and are almost at the end of their journey, and for the ones who will come after us and study the message of Breaking Free on their own or with their own group.

I can't wait to display His presence in my life and reflect the glory of the Lord!

I am thankful for your words of encouragement and open heart! Don't forget:

Stop, Drop and Pray. If you allow it, the Lord has a life of liberty coming your way!