Walking on Water

To honor Him fully we have to live in such a way that unless God shows up, what we are attempting to do is bound to fail.- Bill Johnson, Hosting the Presence.

When Jesus commissioned His disciples He told them to go; to go even without provisions in the natural such as a place to stay, money, or clothing.
"After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.-Luke 10:1-4"

He told them to make themselves so vulnerable to His purposes that if He didn't come through they would not succeed. This is what I learned to do over the past 6 months. When I packed my bags in May and decided to go on a faith journey with God, not knowing what it may require, I surrendered all to Him with no plan B. I put all dreams, friends, comforts, safety, provisions, and finances into Jesus's hands and told him. "If you do not come through, if you do not show up, I will fail in all aspects. I will not and can not go on without you." After agreeing to His plan and burning all bridges there was no chance of going back to life as normal. I gave it all to Him, until I had nothing left other than trust and reliance on His beautiful nature. So I went; on a journey of walking by faith and not by sight. And oh did He come through; abundantly, unexpectedly, and extravagantly! The journey led me first to Mozambique where He sent people from around the world to teach me how it looked to live a life completely yielded and dependent on His Spirit. Then he took me to some of the darkest and most perverse places in the world. Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, to live out the reality of what I had been taught in the months before. He began stretching my love and trust in Him at such exponential rates my growth was unbeknownst to me at times. He also taught me that sometimes the safest place is in the front lines of the battle; because where there is darkness, the light shines the brightest. "For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ." -2 Corinthians 4:6

So naturally after learning and living this type of lifestyle for 5 months I expected it to continue once I came back to the United States. If He was inviting me back home I fully expected Him to continue providing and surprising me. All the while making me more dependent on Him and entrenched in this Spirit led lifestyle. After all, it was what I had surrendered to, agreed to, and was what I had been taught was the only way to live. So imagine my surprise when I arrived back in America and they didn't like this supernaturally dependent lifestyle. They regarded it as weak, as foolish, as unwise. But it's all I knew, all I could remember. Another way of life seemed hazy now, a memory at best; so I continued through. As I arrived back I had no plans, just open to whatever He wanted. And what He wanted was for me to have a season of rest. Something very foreign to many Americans, and even to me. Rest was something not highly regarded as a high priority or valuable by the culture here. But despite all the voices beckoning me to get realistic, to get practical, to get serious. I stayed firmly planted and rooted in what God had shown me, to rest. I'm sure rest looks very different for many people but for me it looked like spending every day in His presence; singing, worshiping, and talking to Him. Devoting my whole day to what He had to say, not being distracted by money, people, or success. And I'm so thankful for every moment of it, what a blessing it's been to have this time with Him. Sure there have been days where I would begin to question is this really what God said to do? What am I doing with my life!? Why am I here? But I stayed put, not moving to the right or the left, just resting in His promises. I've learned once again that even in America, in a place where everyone might think you have to earn or work for what you want, He always provides freely, always protects, always satisfies, and always lavishes the best gifts on us. This journey back has been quite different than I expected, but nevertheless treasured in my eyes. I think I'll look back on this time for many months to come and smile at the deep heart work He did and preparations He made in this month. I know this season of rest is soon coming to a close and that He has something else for me in this faith journey. But rest assured whatever comes I'll still continue dependent as ever, leaning on childlike faith, and smiling and laughing all the way. And I believe if I listen close enough I can hear Him saying over me... ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; so now I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!-Matthew 25: 21’

A Tree of Life

God began to speak to me the other day about a tree of life. A tree that was full of apples of all kinds; apples that held different destinies for each person. The best fruit was at the top of the tree, furthest away from corruption or destruction, a place where no birds or mammals could steal their goodness. People from all walks of life were invited to come to the tree and receive their apple full of destiny. The crowd all waited behind a wooden picket fence while the Master Gardener Himself explained the choices that lay before them. They could pick their own apple from the tree or let Him pick for them. Either way, He wasn’t displeased. He was so happy to see that they all had came. The crowd began to discuss the matter and many decided that there was no point of waiting for the Master Gardener to pick their apples when they could get their own immediately. So, many rushed forward and began to pick apples that were accessible to them. In the chaos, many picked their apples before it was their time. Indeed, they ended with apples that weren't done blossoming. Others had chosen to settle for rotten apples because it was all they could see to receive in the midst of chaos. They supposed a rotten apple was better than no apple at all. After the crowd left there was a few that stayed behind, the faithful ones He called them. They stayed there just waiting, just watching the Gardener, knowing in His perfect time He would reveal when their apples were finished. He began to announce to the faithful ones that the apples they were waiting on were ready to be picked. They gladly marched forward and received their well done apples; full of perfection and freshness. However, the apples were still a lower grade than the ones at the top of the tree. But the faithful ones counted themselves lucky to have a perfectly done apple. Even though it wasn’t the absolute best, they were still content in knowing they had better than the others who hadn't waited for the perfect time. Then all left, and alas it was just the Master Gardener and I. I keep staring at Him and He in turn would stare back at me. We gazed into each others eyes, searching out the truth that was within. Then, slyly we smiled at each other. We both knew there was a secret only the two of us were aware of. He kept waiting on me to leave or to ask for the apple I could have. But I just kept waiting, and waiting. Then I started singing and smiling all the while knowing I was going to get the very best apple. He said "Don’t you want your apple Brittany?" And I said "I want you to pick it for me." He looked at me directly; almost questioning, probing, my heart and said "But why? You can get a really good one right here, probably everything you’ve ever wanted." And I said "No, I will not settle for reasonable, or feasible, or good, I want the one only you can get, the one I would never be able to reach. And I know you can climb much higher than me. And I know you are much stronger than me. And also, you know all the apples on the tree and you know exactly the best one. So I want YOU to pick it for me." Suddenly, I felt a new excitement rising in my heart. I knew that this apple He would bring back would look quite different than the others. How could you even begin to compare the best apple of the tree with a puny one at the bottom. I knew that this apple would be intimidating at first, because it had been given from the Master Gardener's hands, nothing I could have attained on my own. The Gardener looked back at me, smiled, then laughed. He said "Just wait." As He climbed He started throwing down all kinds of apples that others hadn’t waited on, hundreds and hundreds of apples came tumbling down on me and I started uncontrollably laughing. Then He reached to the very top and picked the very best one and it was gold. He tossed it down to me and said "This.. my daughter is your destiny. You waited, therefore, you have been given a destiny way beyond your imagination. But not only will you have that, I am also giving you all the other blessings that others left behind because they were in a hurry. And not only will you partake of this tree’s fruit but there are also many other trees in my orchard that will also be yours."
As God started explaining to me what this story meant, He showed me many people who were too busy to receive His best for them. They where taking whatever they could grasp, acting as orphans, not beloved children. They were too busy to be blessed, too busy to wait on God. Just as in the story, many of us act before it is our time. We are desperate to receive anything for the Lord so we grasp at what is accessible to us. What is accessible is not His best. Dreams and destinies are meant to sought after, fought for.
"An inheritance claimed too soon will not be blessed at the end." -Proverbs 20:21
In the story there are some who chose a life that was yielded to His timing but didn't let Him pick His best for them. Instead they requested something from Him and wait on Him to do it. They didn't realize their requests for what they wanted were limited to human understanding. Only He can see the big picture. Although He is good in meeting our wants and needs, He has so much better that many of us never get to see, because we do not ask.
Lastly in the story, there are those who let him pick what He wants for their lives, and then they wait. This is the place where dreams of the heart are met that you didn't even realize you had. You become become fulfilled. This is the place where divinity meets your destiny, and you start to realize you are doing the impossible. This is place where waiting gets rewarded. Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.-Isaiah 64:4" He is faithful to His word. There are destinies waiting for each of us. Some will not even grasp the concept, others will show up at the tree but take before their time, and others will wait for the right time but will take the apples with human wisdom not God’s power. But those who wait on the Lord, allowing Him to map out their destinies and future will be richly rewarded. He is waiting for the ones who truly believe Him and trust Him to lavish all the blessings He’s been storing up.
" The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. -2 Chronicles 16:9" Wait for Him and His best and through the process you will come forth as gold.
But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.- Job 23:10"