Growth Through Personal Pandemic

Release Reach Remain

There was a season of my life I was under tremendous attack and the thief had shown himself to come to steal, kill and destroy. For several months, I had nightmares of people chasing me, certain specific people. I would run to the point of exhaustion, for a long time, until I found a good hiding place. Or so I thought. In these nightmares, people would pretend to be friendly and helpful but as soon as they got close, they joined the ranks of my attackers and began participating in the chase. In the dreams, these perpetrators would try to grab me, and while holding me captive they would come towards me with blunt objects to poke out my eyes. Eventually I would always escape them. Though I am no dream interpreter, clearly the perpetrators were trying to steal my vision.

My nightmares finally ended on the day I wrote all the elements of these attacks from the enemy on paper and laid them before God, just like Hezekiah. I built a bon fire and I put them into the flames, releasing them completely to Him. At that time, I made a commitment to no longer allow my fears hold me. I would no longer allow the traumas of life to steal my ability to have vision. I would begin to allow God to bring good from the bad circumstances I had lived through in life. It was then I began the process of reaching toward much greater things.

I asked God to show me a new vision that I began writing down as described in Habakkuk 2:2-3: “2 Then the Lord answered me and said, Write the vision And engrave it plainly on [clay] tablets So that the one who reads it will run. 3 “For the vision is yet for the appointed [future] time it hurries toward the goal [of fulfillment]; it will not fail. Even though it delays, wait [patiently] for it, because it will certainly come; it will not delay. (AMP)

God promises that our vision will return. After I released everything to God, I went one step further that year and traveled to Israel with my pastor and a group of about 40 people. I have always been curious about the Western “Wailing” Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. Given I was still in the middle of my walk-through fire, I was especially anxious to get there. I was seeking any place where the power of God could possibly be present. 

Built as a retaining structure on the western flank of the Temple Mount by King Herod two decades before Christ’s birth, the wall has taken on tremendous significance in centuries since. Jews came here initially to lament the destruction of the temple by the Romans, but now the wall is a place of prayer. Pieces of paper with prayer requests are slipped between the cracks of the ancient stones. I had plans prior to the trip to write out detailed prayer requests of my own and to get everybody on the trip to do the same. We each had journals we had been writing in throughout the trip inspired by the verses in Habakkuk 2:2-3.

After traveling throughout the old city, we arrived at the Temple mount across the great courtyard and the wall stood illuminated, a fifteen-story relic of an ancient time. I was uncertain of the protocol because Orthodox Jews were bowing and praying rhythmically. I finally walked up and tucked my prayer requests deep in a crevice of the rock. I placed my forehead on the wall, and as my fingertips touched the stones and I began to pray, my friend began to pray over me too.

A tremendous peace swept over me and a sense of reassurance of the power of God came in both a whisper and a roar. Finally, I stepped back to notice the prayer requests in every nook and cranny, hundreds, maybe thousands. I thought about how long this wall had stood, taking on the many cares of the masses.

As we continued to walk the land that Jesus walked, I became even more acutely aware that the same power of God present with me as I prayed at the wall was with me everywhere I went. When I flew home from Israel, I felt it. What was different? Was it the Wailing Wall? Was it Israel? Was it spending 10 days with wonderful godly people having a good time?

It was perspective. I had released what was not in the will of God. I was reaching towards that which God had begun to show me in a renewed clear vision, and I made a decision to remain in them. 

Depending on the circumstances that has brought us to a season of trial and tribulation, what the scripture often refers to as a storm or a “Walk through fire.” If you are like me, you didn’t want to give it a name. Sometimes we have no words to describe the seasons but we know it is an attack from the enemy so we can call it our “ITs.” During this time we likely have lost our vision. Or perhaps it was taken. But God is a God of restoration and He will restore our vision. And God will restore many times over what the enemy has stolen.

What responsibility do we have to position ourselves so that God can restore our vision? First, we can maintain a strong prayer life, which is essential for a close walk with God. Second, we can be totally immersed in the Word of God. And third, we can begin to open ourselves up so the Holy Spirit can guide and direct us. When we go through something that causes us to be stuck to the point we feel paralyzed, we sometimes need help getting pulled out and set on the right path.

How can we get unstuck? What can pull us out of that place of paralysis and set us on the path God has destined? Yes, the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus has come so that we may have abundant life. So, what is our responsibility in receiving the abundant life that Jesus came to give us? 

The process of the fire has changed us. Some areas of our life have been completely destroyed and some have been altered. Some have been formed just as God showed Jeremiah in the vision of the potter at the wheel, molding the clay. If we can think about our walk-through fire again as we did at the start of our journey, let us think about that as we ponder what the fire has done to us on our walk. As we think about that, let us remember God’s promise that everything works for good to them who love God and are called according to His purpose.

Let us fill in some blanks in our own thinking. As a professionally trained coach I began using these same methods in ministry that I would use for coaching organizational leaders.

Let’s imagine we are sitting and having a cup of coffee together and having this conversation. This is the start of how one might engage in this coaching process.   

Let me ask, what is our vision for the future?

First let us work on vision with this specific definition: Vision is a highly detailed mental picture of a preferable future.

Let us imagine life 10 years in the future. Whatever age we are presently, let us think about ourselves 10 years from now. Everything is different. Our life situations are 10 years different. Everyone we know is 10 years older. Our challenges, (our Its) are 10 years behind us.

Now why are we imagining this scenario? Because we need to visualize the hope that God has put within us.

Now let us pretend we are having a dialogue and we begin discussing how we have achieved everything we have wanted in life. We have become incredibly effective and God has blessed us mightily. We are happy and fulfilled and truly successful. We are fully grown trees with ripe fruit.

Let us name some of the accomplishments that we have achieved and even write them down. To achieve all this success and to have the full blessing of God on our lives, we need to examine what decision we made exactly 10 years ago that got us off on this right foot. What decisions did we make that changed the direction of our lives?

Did we make the decision to delve deeper into our problems, or did we decide to receive deliverance and take the necessary steps to be freed from IT?

Did we make the decision to put off education, or fail as many classes as we could, or did we decide to build capacity, pursue our self-development, and give it our best efforts?

In our relationships, did we decide to hurt people or give the best of ourselves and add value to them?

Did we check out on life or did we plug-in to our greater purpose and begin the pursuit of it?

Remember now it is 10 years in the future and things have changed for us. We are no longer in the fire. We will never have to walk through that fire again!

Words mean things. The “best” words convey the right meaning. The less than best words may convey the wrong meaning or at least something unintended. For example, we should avoid using the term lose weight. While it may seem picky, think about it. What is the first thing you want to do when you lose something? Find it, right?

Now, I get that “losing weight” is generally a good thing. But a better term may be to “release weight.” No, I am not trying to be New Agey, but is not the intent of the process of weight reduction releasing that which we do not wish to continue holding?

Imagine if our entire approach to life change was one of “release, reach and remain.”

Release the things, actions, habits, intentions, and beliefs that bind us and keep us from achieving what matters.

Reach for the things, habits, intentions, relationships, and beliefs that are part of our change and growth.

We need to remain in full contact with them until we approach our goals. Then the process starts all over again.

So how do we release the weight? Well, we eat differently, we conduct physical activity differently, we think differently about nutrition, and so on.

How do we remain weighing less than before? By maintaining our new beliefs about nutrition, physical activity, and lifestyle!

So imagine again then, 10 years ago, we did not “give up” something to gain the better thing ? we released the things that did not help us in our goals and now we are reaching for the things that do.

Together let us remember to write our future history in a different way than our present trajectory by remembering who God is. With Him, nothing is impossible. Let us begin the process of what it takes to release, reach, and remain. Release that which we do not need and reach for those things that we do need. And of course, we may have no idea what the identity of either of these things might be, yet God will guide us. All of this will be part of the good that comes out of our walk-through fire.

Every time we say this from now on, we will ask God to help us to release those things that we do not need, reach for the things that we do need, and remain in full contact with them if we receive the abundant life that God desires for us.

Because this walk-through fire may have hindered our abilities to release, reach, and remain in meaningful and lasting ways, we need to dig deeply to build Christian based accountability systems around us to help us reach toward spiritual maturity. These support systems will essentially instruct and coach us through the process of healing step by step. When working through these issues we should not do it in isolation.

I have known of people who were instantly delivered from the anguish of life when experiencing a touch from God, but for most of us healing is a process. There are very specific steps involved in successfully releasing toxic issues and reaching for God’s best for us. We need the help of the Holy Spirit in this process, and oftentimes we need experienced and spiritually mature believers.

Venting anger is an important part of the release. As we do this, we will notice that the intensity of it will minimize and a variety of other emotions will take their course. This release is healthy as long as we do not allow the emotions to keep us stuck.

When we get to the point of feeling so stuck that we are not able to function, then that is where we need intervention.

We may need the help of intercessory prayer warriors.

We may need the help of Christian counselors.

We may need Christian life coaches who have experience with breaking unhealthy thinking patterns and walking us through the process of obtaining God’s best for our lives.

Nothing can stop the destiny God has placed within us, although it is important to remember there are universal laws that govern the way we think and behave. However, these laws are God’s laws, the universe just obeys. God is sovereign. He is in control.

Though the fire may at times be intense, remember we can trust in God’s promise when He says, “Do not be afraid. For I have bought you and made you free. I have called you by name. You are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you pass through the rivers, they will not flow over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. The fire will not destroy you”, (Isaiah 43:1-2; NASB.)

Say this Declaration with me:

I will get through this because God is with me.

My walk-through fire may be painful,

And it may be long,

But with God’s help I will overcome.

In the meantime, I will be wise and hopeful because

God will use IT for good.