Onto the Crashing Waves We Go

There are times when God decides that it is time for us (Mark and I) to put our money where our mouth is. Time to really show Him and the world that we do trust Him with everything in our lives. That time is now for us. And it is NOT comfortable. In this particular situation in which we are going through, we are obedient followers (not willing followers) and we know that this will take months for us to complete this journey.

We are officially out of the boat, walking on water towards Him. The waves of doubt, fear and trepidation are all around us. Every now and then we get hit really hard with one of these waves and get knocked over. We struggle to get up and sometimes we fail to get up successfully in a rapid manner. We feel the prayer of others cheering us on. We are very wet and sometimes very cold. At times, we are walking on the water hand in hand. But after a wave knocks one or both of us down, it is a struggle to find each other, pull ourselves up and continue hand in hand. We have forgotten more than once to look for God’s hand to pull us up. We have also forgotten to look at Him and have started to sink. But thankfully, the reminder cheers and guidance of our spiritual advisors and prayer warriors show us the way to His hands.

As we take this journey across the water, we are relying on our faith to get us through. The spiritual attacks to us individually and as a couple are very difficult battles. These attacks at times also include our children. The more we journey, the worse it gets. Satan does not want us to be successful in our journey and is making it very difficult for us. We are already exhausted from the battles, but we press on. We seek God’s will in this journey, obedient to His direction.

While we desire to be transparent in our lives, this journey is one that requires us to walk obediently, with our mouths crying out only to God and to our spiritual advisors. We may withdraw at times from our normal routines in an attempt to protect others from the residual damage of being under attack or our weary state. We have a common goal; we will NOT allow Satan to use us or defeat us.

If you are currently out of the boat, here are some things that we have found to help us stay focused on Him:

1. Be VERY purposeful in your daily quiet time. Do not allow anything to interfere with it.
2. Pray without ceasing. In our busy lives, it is difficult to stay focused on having a prayer-filled life. Yet, God gives us so many opportunities to pray, even if just for a short moment. Below are just some small examples of these opportunities
a. When you wash your hands (this will also ensure that you are washing sufficiently to prevent illness)
b. When you are gathering everything you need to start you day (when I’m walking out to my car and putting my son and briefcase in it)
c. Walking from one place to another
d. Before you eat (and not the Thank you for this food prayer)
e. When you’re fixing a meal
3. Pick a verse that you may have already memorized or is easily memorized that helps you remember that you are not it in alone that you can recite when needed (Psalm 23 and Jeremiah 29:11-13 are mine).
4. Confide in your spiritual advisor about your struggles; be specific with areas in which you are in need of encouragement/prayer.
5. Enlist prayer warriors to pray for you (we have huge group of warriors! Thank you!)
6. Find an inspiring song, one that reminds you of God’s greatness that you can play or remember when you are discouraged; our current one is Our God by Chris Tomlin – “If our God is for us, then who can stand against? Our God is greater, our God is stronger…”

God is definitely growing us through our journey and while it is painful and exhausting, we know that as long as we seek Him, He’s got us covered. He has no desire to see us harmed, but we will suffer the consequences if we choose to not follow Him. We choose to follow Him.

We are thankful for our spiritual advisors who are doing everything that they can to help us with our battle armor and for going into battle with us at times. We are also thankful for our prayer warriors, and while they do not know our specific circumstances, they are praying for us.

We look forward to the results of this journey. There is no turning back and our eyes remain focused on prize; Him.