There have been some thoughts that God has been laying heavy on my heart lately. Like, HEAVY. It’s taken me a long time to be able to put into words what the Holy Spirit has been brewing in me for the last several weeks. It’s been weighing on me, and I’m finally ready to get it out. After all, God won’t leave me alone until I do. I’ve learned over the last year that when God lays something on my heart/mind, and it won’t go away, it’s because there is a message He wants me to speak on. A lot of things I post and share come from those persistent nudges.
To be honest with you, there’s a lot of grief and lamenting that comes from getting these words out. I feel like Paul when he said, “I’m suffering labor pains until Christ is formed in you.” I understand to my core, how desperately Paul wanted people to “get it.” I don’t know how to explain it, but I’ve learned to just be obedient and say what God is urging me to say. Doing this has cost me friendships and has brought name-calling. I’m not mad. For Paul, it brought execution. Jesus said the world will hate us because of Him, so I’m actually starting to get a taste of exactly what He meant by that. God has used every ounce of the ridicule to teach me very important lessons. The pushback has strengthened me. I’ve learned to put my value in what God says about me, not humanity. I’ve learned the value of putting on my spiritual armor every single day. The devil is relentless. I’ve experienced so much spiritual warfare over the last few months. I’ve been fighting demons in my dreams almost every night for the last few months. However, through all of the warfare and resistance, I’ve felt God near more than I ever have in my life. I’ve felt a greater sense of confirmation and peace over what He is calling me to do. God is moving and it is obvious why the devil is fighting me so hard. I don’t think the devil realizes that all of this just motivates me to go harder for the Kingdom.
The Book of Deuteronomy and 1 Corinthians set off a light bulb for me recently, which gave me the revelation and clarity I needed in order to understand the direction God is calling me into. I feel like I’m stepping into a new season (I’m not the only one), where God’s children are becoming laser-focused on expanding spiritual territory. It makes sense why spiritual warfare has been at a raging high.
Toward the end of Moses’ life, in the Book of Deuteronomy, it entails Moses’ final words, including passing the leadership baton over to Joshua, who is tasked with leading the Israelites into new territory. The forty years they spent wandering in the wilderness is officially behind them. Throughout the years spent in the wilderness, God was with them, teaching them, guiding them, and helping them rediscover their true identity before it was time to enter into new land. The problem with taking the land that God promised them was that is was already occupied. There were many giants to overcome and battles that still needed to be won. Joshua was not alone in this call to take possession of God’s promise—God was with Him the whole time. As Joshua led the people into the land of Canaan (Israel), God repeated to Joshua: “Be strong and courageous.” “Do not be afraid or discouraged.” “I am with you, just as I was with Moses.” I imagine God knew that Joshua needed repeated confirmation.
The important thing to note here, is that it was time to move. God had accomplished His purposes in the wilderness years, and it was time to step into a new season of expanding territory.
I am learning that I’ve been stepping out of the years I’ve spent wandering in the wilderness, and God is calling me to help others do the same. He is calling me to expand spiritual territory. And it is coming with spiritual giants that must be defeated along the way. I feel that this is God’s call for many of His children, and we are just now starting to realize it.
I have been in the laboratory with God since July of last year, working on some things that will be shared with the world in His timing. I am also getting ready to launch Season Two of The Promise Perspective Podcast this month, and the nudges that God is giving me are going to result in some heavy messages that I am going to share with others. Spoiler alert: It’s going to be hard for a lot of people to listen to. God has already prepped me for the people who will unfollow me for it, the gnashing of teeth that will come from it, and I’ve battled a lot with this. I have so much inner turmoil from desperately seeking God’s guidance on trying to be the right amount of truth and the right amount of grace.
Jesus told His disciples before He commissioned them into the world, that He was sending them out like sheep among wolves. Peter also tells us that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Guys—this world is not a playground. It’s a battleground. And until we begin to understand this, we are going to continue to be deceived. There is a very real enemy who is working in the hearts of people who are ready to rip us apart. For the longest time, I always cared what people thought of me. I valued the opinion of man over the opinion of God.
Can I be honest?
I still care what people think about me. BUT, what God thinks of me holds way more weight than the opinion of man. I will rejoice in getting ripped apart by wolves all day every day, if it means that I can encourage one more person to stand up for the Kingdom; to step out of the comfortable, quiet, don't-ruffle-any-feathers Christian box that this world wants to keep us in. We are called for so much more than that. This is the season God is calling so many of us to step into. Just like God was calling Joshua to take possession of the land of Israel, He is also calling His children to step out of the wilderness. There are giants that need to be defeated, but we can’t live out the call God has for our lives if we continue to live in fear and in ignorance of our true identity that can only be found in Jesus.
I can only speak for myself, but the years of wilderness are over for me. God accomplished His purpose there. God built my faith in the wilderness. God’s promises have given me the courage to step out like Joshua and answer my calling, putting my complete trust in Him. I want to talk about the hard things, the unpopular things, the things that challenge the lukewarm temperature of our society, and even the lukewarm temperature of churches and pastors. The enemy has taken way too much territory, and we’ve allowed it—and it was never really his to begin with anyways. As Christians, it is not our job to be friends with the world, and too many people would rather hold hands with it than challenge it. Too many people would rather straddle the fence than pick a side.
It’s not easy, but God is with us. He is for us. He fights for us. This is new territory for many of us, and I will be the first to tell you, it’s a little scary. But who is going to do it? Who is going to lead the way, even if it costs us our reputation? Even if it comes with ridicule or mocking? We have to learn to be okay with not being liked by the world. I’m still learning myself. You're not alone.
Is God worth it? If the Kingdom isn’t worth standing for, then what exactly do we stand for?
We are given an ultimatum. Elijah confirms this in 1 Kings 18:20, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal, follow him.” The call is clear.
The Kingdom is here. It always has been. God always raises up a remnant in every generation to be these territory expanders. The body of Christ has a history of flourishing amidst persecution. I am desperate to be a part of the remnant. I don’t want to be a fan of Jesus, I want to follow Him. Those are two totally different lifestyles.
The thing is though, many people call themselves a Christian just to put it on their resume. It looks good on paper, but that’s it. Christianity isn’t cute. It’s hard. The call to follow Him is not easy. It’s spiritual warfare 24/7. You’ve got to stay focused. You have to talk to God. You have to read Scripture. You are going to upset people along the way. Living set apart will have people accuse you of “being better than others.” Embracing your worthiness in Christ will have you mistaken for a fraud. I’ve wrestled with that a lot. Imposter syndrome is a real struggle for me. How can I talk about sin when I’m a sinner myself? It’s hard to pursue living a godly life when you fall short every day. Because of this, we fall on our face to God, just for people to call us a fake or a phony, when at the end of the day, it’s the grace of God that changes us and sustains us. It's the message that people desperately need to hear, but don't want to hear.
The wolves are relentless and the lions are prowling. The lines are being drawn in this world, and it is becoming more and more obvious who is a Christian on paper and who is walking out their faith in practice. It is starting to get more obvious who is holding hands with the world and who is walking with Christ. God is separating the secular Christians from the biblical Christians. He is separating the remnant body of Christ from the apostate body of Christ. If we follow Christ and everyone likes us, then we’re probably doing something wrong.
I can’t tell you what the end result of this is going to be, because at the end of the day, I’ve told God my plans and I am trusting, praying, and allowing Him to order my steps. I just felt the nudge to share what has been on my heart. Part of living my faith out loud is showing people the raw life of being a follower of Christ. It’s a little messy, but it’s a real journey and a real relationship that deserves transparency to an unbelieving world.
I know that this season I’m stepping into is going to upset a lot of people. All I can say is that you’ve been warned. I don’t play about my God, because my God doesn’t play about me. He doesn't play about you either. We are fighting for souls out here, and I’d rather offend you to Heaven than flatter you to Hell. Whether you agree with the things I say or not, in my posts and on my podcast, this is what obedience looks like to me. This is the way God has called me to walk in, and although I don't fully understand why, I know that if I don't obey His calling and nudges, I will feel disobedient. And that is something I can't live with. I’m not bothered by what people have to say about me. God is calling me to go deeper, and I am willing to go as deep as He wants to take me. I know God’s hands are on these next steps. I feel it. I can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on. I know what God has promised me. It’s all in His timing, though. That way when it happens, people are going to know that it’s all God. When God fulfills His promise to me, it’s not going to leave any room for doubt that it was all because of God. Not me. After all, Jesus did say, “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me” (John 15:5).
I do this because I love you, and I care about where people’s souls are going. I care because God cares, and I am happy to fall on the sword over and over if it means that God will add one more person to the Kingdom.
The wilderness years are over. You can’t stop God’s plans. I am so thankful He called me to be a part of it. The call is open for anyone.
Isaiah 6:8// Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who should I send? Who will go for us?
I said: “Here I am. Send me.”