Wisdom From Living Water

After my recent trip to Syracuse, Indiana, I’m reminded of how restorative rest truly is. There's a message in everything if you allow it to speak to you.

Early one morning, I had the awesome opportunity to ride a speedboat and as we were on the water, I began to breach new insights. The texture of the terrain itself was very distinct from the normalcy of land.

Our captain, affectionately referred to as Cap, urged and ushered us out to the boat early as he weighed the rhythm of the wind, knowing that the waves blew a bit more gently at the onset of the day.

For context, the tone of the trip was set when my friend David said it was a spiritual retreat, so from that point on I was open and expectant of the LORD moving through and around us on this occasion.

Built for the Bump

Experiencing the buoyancy of a boat was such a revelatory experience. Climbing into the back of the boat, I settled into a seat. Secured by nothing more than a rope used to dock the boat, I was officially out there on faith. I realized how much symbols of security like belts can really numb our sense of necessity in God. If not for His hand on our lives, we wouldn't really be secure and safe, now would we ? Thus I buckled myself in prayer as we started on our way.

As we began the ride, I felt the violent rush of wind dashing past my face, coursing through my clothes. Gripping tightly to the handle to my left, I let off a shout of joy. This was exilileraitng. Soon the boat stood still in the middle of the lake and Cap faced the three of us, extending an invitation to drive the boat. First, he explained the rules of the road and we commenced. Eventually, my turn came around and it was on.

To drive the boat and ride the waves, you have to hit the wave at a certain angle. As I accelerated, the boat began to burst with speed, slashing through the water with a gradual bounce and bump amidst ever-changing waves. Each bump deterred me (not wanting to break this man's boat), I slowed my role similar to how I would approach a speedbump on the street. But when Cap drove, he was in such control, he responded well to the waves. When the captain drove I realized how not only was I calm and comfortable, but the bump was fun, from the backseat.

This was a metaphor for life. When God is the one leading you, there's nothing to worry about. Yes it can feel uncomfortable being without a belt, but he's got a life jacket in the back if you need it. Jesus even walked on water (Matthew 14:22-33) which shows us the distance in which God will go to meet us where we are.

Stepping into the driver's seat you can feel the weight of the ship. You don't wanna be the reason people get hurt. I've been there in life. I've tried it my way and I still stray sometimes, but when I made Jesus LORD over my life, I gave him the control He rightfully deserves, because He is the best person for the job. Not only that but when you're filled with the truth about God you have access to the greater truth about yourself. Not only that, but God will encourage and empower you to remind you that you are built for every bump you may face in life. So keep it pushing cuz no temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind (1 Corinthians 10:13).

The One In Charge

Being on the water can truly do wonders for our spiritual comprehension. Faith took on a whole new meaning when I was "far from the peaceful shore". It takes a great deal of faith to believe that God will bring you back to dry land and in one piece. We always hear people talking about how they're in a storm, but this experience showed me I really don't even know what a storm is. My storms have been in the shelter of a car or crib, but to be "in the elements" in the belly of the beast is a vastly different context with which we conceptualize what a strom is. I thought about Jonah 1:1-16 when he was in the midst of a mighty tempest at sea and how distressed the men on that ship were. There are so many uncertainties at sea. Winds can change, water levels can change, and things aren't always in your control. But then I began to think about Jesus in Mark 4:35-41 and how He rebuked the wind and quitted the squall. It dawned on me that through the lens of both passages, the One who has the power to stir the storm is the same One who can silence the storm. The One who creates certainly has the capacity to destroy, but it is largely dependent upon how we react to what He has told us. Jesus told the disciples "let us go over to the other side". God told Jonah in "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me". Jonah fled and the disciples were distressed.

I heard the question posed simply like this before, are we following or are we fleeing? In light of everything we're witnessing today, our world must ask itself this same question while having the humility to reckon with the reality of the answer.

Under the Sun

I entered into my seat at the medical center, waiting patiently for my name to be called, sitting right next to the door in anticipation of my upcoming appointment.

I showed up early so I knew there would be a weight in the room. Shortly after getting seated, I was joined steps away by two people I learned were a father,in his elder age, and a daughter who was grown.

As they seated themselves under the sun, they pointed out the brilliance of the light. I looked up and noticed now a feature that had been there all along.

I move on and mind my business on my phone until an argument erupts. I catch wind of their conversation and its surrounding abortion.

He says "I’m pro life"

She says I’m "pro life and pro choice"

The daughter admonishes her father further, saying I asked that we don’t talk about politics.

He relents and moments after, silence slices through the tension. They continue on. He begins to cough violently, revealing the severity of his condition.

They chatter and ponder on all the things that come to mind in a medical center waiting room. Like treadmills and stress tests, like family matters that make no sense to outsiders.

The two are summoned by the staff to their appointed room. They walk past and I smile, as if to say I see you.

The daughter says sorry you had to hear us. I said I heard nothing but love.

The truth is she’s resilient, the truth is, though they disagreed she stood there for her father. Not out of a misguided sense of allegiance, but a deep care for his wellbeing.

As they argued, I listened and prayed. I see why God sent me here, for help.

I’m reminded that God wants us to be available. I’m striving to be better each day about embodying the truth and love of Christ. This family may not understand each other’s viewpoints, but they understand surrender, they know how to release the need to prove a point in the heat of the moment. They know how to, as Common says, let love have the last word.

I believe in choices, I believe in the preservation of life. I believe one of the most powerful choices we can make is to choose the way, the truth, and the life in Jesus Christ - even when it's unpopular and seemingly inconvenient.

I saw the love of Christ embodied in both members of this family. I don't know the full extend fo their beliefs and behaviors, but in this brief interaction I'm reminded that our walk with the LORD is one of surrender beyond comprehension, one of love unconditional, and one that yields life more abundantly (John 10:10).

What I've Learned About Refinement

Yesterday I had a dentist appointment to fill some cavity's and while laying in that chair I learned so much about refinement.

1. Refinement first requires us to be present for our appointment.

There is an ordained atmosphere in which transformation becomes optimal. So we can't try to "get right" in the wrong spaces. We have to position ourselves in the proper environment that will allow our needs to be addressed at the core.

2. The Refiner has to go beneath the surface.

Refinement required that the doctor went inside of me and cut some stuff out. But not only did they cut, they replaced some things, they filled the voids and the crevices with substance. So we have to be careful what substances we subsitute things for becuase this particular substance that was being placed inside my mouth, was one that would sustain the grind, bite, and gnawing of everyday life. When you're looking for a subsittue make sure it's something that is built to endure and in the face of everyday life.

3. Refinement requires loss & shedding

In the removal and renewal process, there is a cutting, a shaving that is done to create fertile groudn if you may. Similar to the sanding process that's done to wood before its primed, painted, and finished. Similar to God's clensing process [Zecheriah 13], He purifies us, refines us by fire and sends trials to test us, so that we may emerge assured in our idenity in Him. You've got to be prepared for some loss when you're going through the refining process.

4. The Refiner is a professional.

I can't just let anyone work on me because in the event I do so, I risk worsening the damage.

• The Refiner sees what I can't see. The reason I'm in the chair in the first place, is because I was examined and diagnosed on a condition I could not detect on my own.
  

• The refiner not only has the tools for the task, but they know how to use the tools. It's one thing to have pocession, but it's another to be a professional. It's not enough to just have access to resources, but do you have the ability to activate the resrouces - to where healing happens and not harm.

5. Refinement ain't always visible

I coulnd't see what was going on above me, but I felt the hands at work in me. I coulnd't see the results until the refinement process is over. So be patient becuase some of us are expecting to see the product before we've finished the process. You're not supposed to see it all. I caught glimses of the equipment hovering over my head, but I lowkey didn't even want to see what all they were using. If I saw how sharp the tools were, I would've probably jumped and tried to evade the expereince. But there's something graceful and loving in the way God can numb us. Y'all know what it's like to be numb - to not feel the full effect of your reality. I love it when God makes me numb, not when society makes me numb. I don't want to be numb to injustice and things that should really discomfort me. I want to be numb for the sake of renewed sensitivtiy and that's a word for someone today, the reason you're in the chair right now is because God is trying to restore your awarenes, your compassion, your mindufulness. Don't leave the doctor/dentist/refinement process, and keep moving the way you did before you got there. You've got to learn some lessons that'll make you adapt and evolve your lifestyle in accordance with your exposure.

6. Refiement has a frangrance and refiment has a sound.

Now I didn't really feel the pain becuase I was numbed, but I heard what was going on and I smelled it. I could smell the smoke flowing from the friction of tools on my teeth, like the residue of a saw shaving through wood, there was a scent in the air. I can still hear that wretched sound ringing through the room. Refinment is noisy, refinement is not always silent so don't associate being numb with being null. You're still a particpant in the transofrmation process. Refinement requires stillness, but stillness is an act of submission. It requires energy and attentiveness to stay still and open wide when directed. It rerquires that we give of ourselves and that we trust in the hands that are working on our behalf.

I would not have this mesage to share with you if I was not asking the question of why am I here in this seat, if I did not wonder what it was like for God to be behind the scenes speaking to me, if when I looked to my left and saw the assitant, I imagined her as grace, if when I looked to my right and saw the lead dentist I imagined her as mercy - one with power but careful with how she used it. If I didn't look through the people and look for God at work in the room, I wouldn't be writing to you right now.

7. Refinemnt is a gift and refinement is for our upbuilding.

Refinement is whenever the clay recognizes that it's in the potter's hands.

You're in God's hands, always.