Another in the Fire
Have you ever had one of those dreams which seem so real?
Or have you ever woken from your sleep still carrying on a conversation?
This happened to me the day after Jezebel attacked.
Yes, Jezebel attacked again…. but her arrows missed me.
And I drifted back to sleep.
Thursday morning I woke up…and the conversation was so fresh in mind.
Yes Lord, Jezebel did try to attack again, but her arrows missed me.
I have no doubt the Holy Spirit was guiding my thoughts; as I thought of the song Another in the Fire by Hillsong United.
A perfect song to listen to as I got ready for the day ahead. While in the shower, I thought about how, while in the office, my heart was calm… my words were fluid and clear… I didn’t cry… and my body was upright. And the conversation continued….
I sustained you.
Yes Lord, you sustained me.
Wait!!! Lord that was you?!?
What I felt when I left that office was…. that difference…. was you!
As I drove to work I thought about what had happened. Suddenly memories from the past couple of months began to enter my thought process.
And the conversation continued...
I wanted to make sure it was engraved in my mind; as I knew the time would come for me to write about it.
Here is what he showed me….
After I was a guest on Evolve with Shauna Marie, I would describe my relationship with God as being on the mountain. During this time, she and I had many talks while we worked together during morning arrival. We would talk about who God is and/or what he had been or was doing in our lives.
During one of our talks she spoke about arrows.
(I have mentioned this discussion in a previous post)
You see the devil can’t see our future so he has to try to use our past…. He will shoot arrows
Around the same time these conversations were happening, I saw a post about a sermon in which the speaker referenced three circles. The inner circle… the focus are those absolutes… middle circle… convictions or reflections… outer circle… opinions.
(Again, I have mentioned this sermon in more depth in a previous post)
One morning, I left one of our conversations to go into the office. During my 1:1, I listened to a lot of things that were being said about me by people I work closely with.
However, because of my conversation with Shauna Marie… and the post, I had created a table to represent the three circles. As each comment was shared, I categorized them into the correct category: absolute/truth, conviction/reflection/something to pray about, or opinion.
As each arrow was revealed, I began asking for evidence or examples to support the statement. If an example or communication of evidence of the statement was shared, I would place the statement either in the absolute/truth or conviction/reflection/something to pray about column of the chart. However, if no evidence could be provided, then the statement went into the opinion column of the chart.
And although I had this knowledge, I still entered what I will refer to as the valley of silence.
When on the mountain, it is easy to see God working.
However, when walking through the valley, our words must become actions.
And I needed to refocus to ensure that I was truly trusting God to be exactly…. who he is… and everything I needed.
It was around this time that I also read a devotional about three roses: glass, metal, and clay.
( I have mentioned this devotional in more depth in a previous post)
You are the glass, I tried to mold you a little more and you broke.
You are right, Lord.
More silence and refocusing.
I continued to drive
He brought to mind a conversation from another office visit. This time, it was communicated that a person I work with said things were getting better. I was told, whatever you changed or you are doing, keep doing it! In response, I snarkly (yes, I totally made that word up) said…. the only thing I changed was I put my focus on God.
And as if he was sitting right next to me in Beastly,
You were being snarky when you said your focus was on me, but while you did... I was fighting the battles for you.
You see when I put my focus on him...that center circle… the absolutes… the truth….
He was able to identify what needed to be changed… and begin molding me. Molding me to see what mattered, where my focus needed to be, and what was real.
And when that focus was put on him….. he fought battles that I didn’t even know existed.
That valley of silence and surrender became the stage so he could reveal everything he is.
And this one experience will totally be illustrated through ink….
One day
💙
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