Simplicity - The Way Forward

You have been searching for a way to move forward. You thought the discovery of that way would be part of a complicated process. God does not work through complication. He is profound because He is able to communicate the greatest of truth in the simplest of terms. Push aside those things pressing in on your life that demand an immediate response. In that place of uncluttered simplicity, the answer you seek will gently appear and the way forward will be made known. Carry that simplicity with you through the remaining seasons of your life and you will never worry again about the way forward.

Thank You, Savannah

As a 28-year old police detective, I thought I had seen it all until I was handed the homicide case of an 18-month old little girl named Savannah. I will never forget her name because God used her death to bring me life.

Savannah was murdered by the drunken, live-in boyfriend of her mother. A single punch to her tender midsection injured her little body beyond repair. I was low on the totem pole of seniority in the Detective Bureau, so I was stationed in the morgue until the Coroner could arrive to protect the evidence chain of custody. Savannah’s body had become a piece of evidence that would be used to gain a conviction in the trial.

When I arrived at the morgue, Savannah’s body lay atop a stainless steel examination table. The room itself was stainless steel to allow easy cleanup from the gruesome but necessary procedures required during an autopsy. Savannah was fully wrapped from head to toe in a white cloth. Even her face was covered. She looked like a miniature version of Lazarus lying in a closed tomb awaiting the command of Jesus to come forth.

For the next 8 hours, it would be just Savannah and me together in the numbing silence of a stainless steel tomb.  Together we waited for the arrival of the Medical Examiner who would perform the autopsy.

At the time of this incident, God had been working on my heart to return to Him. Jan and I were a young couple who met in Bible college and eventually got married but had walked away from fellowship and the things of God. I was ripe for His touch.

As the hours stretched on, I could not take my eyes off of the tightly wrapped body of Savannah. My emotions began to overcome my professional police demeanor. Our daughter, Anna, was the same age as Savannah. I began to weep over her body knowing she would never see life and feel love or laugh again. I even laid my hands on her body and asked God to return her breath. This was a real stretch for a young Baptist kid who had not yet encountered the power of God. I was desperate to see life visit this cold, dead place.

At the end of my experience in the morgue, I walked out of the facility like I was experiencing a resurrection from a place of personal entombment. Within weeks, I would have an encounter with God that would dramatically change the direction of my life and would bring me to this moment typing these words.

All the death that surrounds us and seems to entomb us in its grief is never greater than the plan of God for our lives. God used an infant murder victim to strip away all my defenses to reveal my needy heart and set me up for a life-changing encounter with Him. Savannah’s life looked like such a waste if you did not know that in her death, God used her murder to help a young detective find his way back home to His heart. With God, nothing is ever wasted, not even death. God will cause all our suffering and sorrow to work things out for a higher good that even the deepest of tragedies can never entomb forever.

Moving Beyond the Speed of Light

At times, it can seem like your life has come to a standstill. You may feel like you are dead in the water. But, if you have a measure of faith the size of a mustard seed, you are actually moving forward beyond the natural speed of light at the supernatural speed of faith. Never let your surroundings be the speedometer of your spiritual life. It would amaze you to see how fast you are moving in the realm of the Spirit.

Mapping Out Your Future

Recently, Jan and I had coffee with some friends who were preparing their church to enter a new season. In the course of that preparation, a person with a significant leadership role in the church resigned. They were left with an important staff position to fill. I said to make sure they did not hire someone based on the history of the church. God wants to do something new - something that will not be discovered in their history. That new thing will require that my friends hear a fresh word from God regarding staffing and all areas of the ministry. God will use that word to steer their church in a new direction for a new season.

History positions us - Revelation leads us. Many times we use our history to form the decisions we make about the future because our history is familiar and predictable. Decisions based solely on history will produce the repetition of what currently exists. Revelation carries risk and uncertainty because what is revealed has not yet been attempted and is not part of our history. Obedience to fresh revelation is where new ground is gained and new territory is explored.

If you have a significant decision to make, give your history to God. This will allow you to offer empty hands to God as you process your decision. God will be faithful to place in your hands the revelation needed to help you step in a new direction that will reveal a new future. Don’t throw away your history. Learn from it but never let it be your only source of direction. History does not require faith. Revelation requires faith and that is what pleases God.

The Editors of Your Life

Be careful to whom you give permission to edit the content your life. They can end up rewriting your life to such an extent that you look and sound like your editors, not like the unique person God has created.

My wife, Jan, is the first person to read the rough draft of my books. I want her to do this because she knows my heart and can speak the truth in love helping me see when I sound less than authentic or missed a deeper truth about the heart of God. After these honest and many times painful first reviews, the book is ready to present to an editor for the final preparation before publication.

Each of us needs to have honest and faithful friends who we allow into the core of our lives to examine our words, motives, and actions with honor and honesty. These kinds of friends are few and far between. If you find them you have found a gift that will not try to recreate you in their image but will help you express your uniqueness in a way that living an insulated life can never produce.

Hope - The Ultimate Change Agent

Someone asked me, “Do you ever bring correction with your prophetic ministry?” I said, “Yes, I correct with words of hope.” Over the years, I have become convinced the introduction of hope into a place of human brokenness is the most powerful influencing factor we have at our disposal to bring about positive and long-lasting change in a person's life.

The Fence Line of Your Life

God has placed a fence around your life. You have seen it as a fence of restriction. It is actually a fence of definition and protection. In this season, God has been redefining all aspects of your life. He has used the fence to protect you from those things that want to intrude upon your peace and destroy your hope. This restricted place is your green pasture. Learn how to wait in patience within its enclosure. In the waiting, the fence line will begin to expand and your green pasture will become larger.  The advancement you desire will not come from more activity. It will come from learning how to rest in the waiting.