This Is Who We Are - AND WE ARE POWERFUL
May 08, 2014
Walking around the walls.
It’s all about seasons. God impressed upon me that this story in the Bible is vital for us today as we begin to see the seasons. The Israelites walked around the walls for seven days. And then on the seventh day, they marched around seven times.
It’s seasons for us. It can be a day, a year or several years (seven). I see each of the times we get up and march together as a season. My first march around the walls that contain Mike Donovan was a season of just figuring out what the heck was going on in my marriage. I had to take each step to understand why my husband was walled up and hostile to my faith. Each step forward was a tiny step of faith and progress to see how God was working in the situation and to understand the enemy’s tactics.
That first season for me was likely to be more than seven years. That’s because I was unyielding and didn’t want to listen to God’s voice. Oh how I was like those stubborn Israelites. I walked slowly around the walls. Practically being dragged by others who were ahead of me, many who were yelling words of encouragement, “Don’t give up. You can do this. Stop being so selfish. See your husband through God’s eyes. Love your husband and listen to God’s voice.”
So I’m thinking that I have walked now six times around, six seasons, each season teaching me how to love this man. Each season leading me to hear the voice of God with clarity. Each season teaching me how to lead my children to follow. Each season, I pick up others along the route who have fallen and can’t get back on track. Each season was a critical time as God personally groomed me to become the person I am today.
I’ve walked a LONG TIME.
So have many of you. Some of you are just getting started. It’s hard work and often grueling, painful, lonely. But let’s remember, when the day is over, we return to the camp and we sit together. We share our stories around the fire (or internet). We encourage one another. We pray with passion for those walls to come tumbling down. We find hope. We encourage one another. And then you know what we do…..
We get up the next day and determine to walk another season.
I’m now walking in the seventh season of this marriage. The walls are still there. I’ve made some progress but do you know what is in the seventh season? I must walk longer than I have ever in the past. This is the final season and it’s seven times longer than any that I’ve conquered before now. It looms scary before me.
And yet…
I’m so excited I can barely sit still. I’m a seasoned wall walker now. LOOK OUT! There isn’t an arrow of the enemy (words from the walls) that can get me down now. I’ve listened for years to the voice of my Papa. I’ve surrendered stupid expectations and silly little girl dreams. I’m a warrior girl. I am here to give up my selfishness and strive for the lives of those who are trapped behind the lies of the enemy. Behind the enemy gates. There are eternities at stake. Lives at stake and hope is at stake.
I’m a prayer warrior. I will not give up or give in. And as I think about it now, it’s time to restate the anthem of our people:
The Fellowship Of The Unashamed
"I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.
My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won’t give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go 'til He comes, give 'til I drop, preach 'til all know, and work 'til He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me-my banner of identification with Jesus will be clear."
So…… my friends…. Are you a wall walker? Are you willing to be one of those who is in this rare and glorious fellowship of the unashamed?
Love you, Lynn