Since coming on the World Race I have really delved into the
gifts of the Spirit and realizing the power we have through Christ. One specific gift He has been opening my
heart and mind to more and more is the gift of prophecy. I have experienced this is beautiful ways,
most specifically through speaking and receiving words and images during
feedback times with my team. The other
night though the Lord woke me up to speak something to me, through waking up another
teammate. I woke up at 3am to my
teammate Emily Rae typing furiously on her Ipad. She said that the Lord had woken her up and
flooded her with visions and words for people back home. I tried to fall back asleep, but had to use
the bathroom (of course). Afterwards
though, as I was falling asleep, I heard the Lord tell me that we are like
trees going through the seasons and the last image He gave me before I fell
asleep was a tree on fire.
The next day, my team along with two other World Race teams
working in Mbarara decided to take a day to climb a scenic hill spend some time
in worship and prayer together. We spent some time individually with the Lord
before we all came together. As I was sitting in the beautiful countryside
splendor of Uganda, I asked the Lord to walk through the meaning of the words
He had so clearly spoken to me the night before. He walked me through each season and revealed
in a sense, the Gospel. Here is what He
was telling me:
When we first start learning about who the Lord is:
Our leaves are
changing colors. What we thought was
once green is now slowly changing to hues of red, orange and brown. Our edges are becoming more brittle; one snap
and we’re broken. We are preparing
ourselves. We are getting ready to fall
off. We are falling.
When we come to accept Jesus:
Our leaves fall
off. We lose everything we thought we
were. It takes some leaves longer than
others to descend, but eventually, they do.
We are bare.
Being Covered in Christ:
We are covered. We are blanketed with the purest, white
snow. Our frail, naked limbs become a
beautiful showcase for the majestic winter light. We are covered.
Stepping into our new identity in Christ:
The snow seeps into
our core and we use its nutrients to start our regrowth. We are bare once again. But soon, small, delicate buds start forming
on our limbs. They blossom into
beautiful flowers and bear the symbol of new life. We are new.
Walking with the Spirit and discerning His voice:
Our Maker doesn’t just
leave us to wildly grow whatever which way; He prunes us. He carefully forms and shapes us, so as to
make us into the most bountiful trees we can be. Each leaf that is not of who we are in
quickly snipped off. In the same way,
the fruit that comes from our branches is taken away to nourish other living
bodies. We are pruned.
Process of Sanctification:
Our Maker places us in
the Sun (Son). He knows we flourish in
the Light. He refines us through the
fire of the burning heat. We only grow through the Sun (Son). We are refined.
I am a beautiful tree.
