So, training camp. Everyone wants to know about it. What’s it like? What do I need to bring? What do you do? Well I’m about to tell you everything you need to know about training camp. My hope is that you’ll be well prepared for training camp if you go someday, and if you’re just reading to follow my journey than I hope this speaks to your heart too.
We are all in a “training camp” of sorts. If we’re growing closer to Jesus’ heart then we should be getting outside of our comfort zones, which is what training camp is all about. So, here’s some of what I took away from training camp, the beautiful and freeing work that the Holy Spirit did in my heart, and how I’ll never be the same again.
- Leave your expectations behind. Don’t let an expectation for a certain “religious experience” keep you from experiencing the Here and Now. Jesus is doing a work in you right now. The Holy Spirit is always drawing us to His heart. He’s calling your name, don’t miss His calling because you expect things to look and feel a certain way. You may not recognize that it’s Him at first, but PRESS in and keep looking for how He’s speaking to you. This is something that He’s been teaching me. Before, when He spoke to me if it didn’t rock me to my core and bring tears to my eyes, then I didn’t see it as “authentic”. What I’ve learned is that He is speaking all the time. He speaks to me through other people, music, t.v. shows, books, quotes, the radio, art, pictures, etc. He is a jealous God and He wants all of us all the time
- Embrace the Stank. I mean this literally and spiritually. Literally, embrace the different lifestyle that you will experience. Dive into it fully and be willing to change your perspective and try not to complain. You will try new and different things, go with an open heart. You will stink, embrace it because everyone else is stinkin’ it up with you. Just enjoy the day you’re given and live it with joy and in community with your new family. They’ll love you even if you stink, I promise. Spiritually, embrace the stank. What I mean is, don’t be afraid to lay it all out there. There is NO shame with Jesus, He accepts you just as you are…no matter how dirty. For some of you reading this, you’ve got things and secrets stuffed so deep, things you’ve never told anyone, things that would change everything if people knew. LET IT GO. Surrender it to Jesus and lay it at His feet. Don’t pretend it’s not there anymore, or that you can fight it on your own. You know the havoc it’s causing, you can smell the stench, and you’ve seen the devastation it’s left in its wake. Those secrets cause such an infection in our heart that keep us bound in chains, and Jesus has come to set you free. Embrace the stank that is in your heart and be willing to face it and let it go, don’t hold onto it for one more day. He makes you brave and by His stripes we are healed.
- Community is a good thing. I wasn’t too sure about this when I first got to training camp. I found myself so out of place and not being myself. I’m usually a very extroverted person and get energy when I’m with people, but for the first couple of days I found myself reverting into my own world, judging others, and felt abandoned. But Jesus revealed to me, that because of some past wounds with close friends, that I had put some walls up around my heart and wasn’t allowing others in. So, by His love and gentle care of my heart, he broke down that wall and I embraced the community of my new brothers and sisters and it was AMAZING.
- God is our Great Physician. I knew this, but on a very shallow, surface level. I’m learning to change the way I pray and He’s changing everything about how I see the world, myself, and other people. I don’t want to treat Jesus like He’s our last resort, but that He is our only hope. Too often, we run to doctors, the pharmacy, and Web M.D. before we even stop and pray about whatever ails us. There’s nothing wrong with medicine, I’m a nurse and I’ve seen the power of medicine in people’s lives, and God uses medicine to bring healing. But, I want to run to him with ALL things before I seek the power of man. The Holy Spirit knows all things, he is our great teacher, comforter, and healer, and He did a beautiful healing in my heart one night at camp. Spiritually, my heart had grown an infection that lead to confusion and fear. The Holy Spirit opened that wound wide open, flushed the wound and replaced my fear with His peace, and my confusion with His truth. What the enemy meant to destroy me, He has turned into good. He is our great physician physically and spiritually. Go to Him first and ask Him for healing in all areas of your life. He is faithful.
This is just a small testimony of what He did in my heart at training camp. The best is yet to come. So, these are the secrets unveiled of what to expect at training camp: Don’t place God in a box of your own expectations but come expecting Him to do an amazing work in your heart. The stank is a good thing, embrace it physically and let it go in the spiritual realm, allow your heart to know real freedom. Community is worth embracing, your team will give you such love and acceptance, love them back. Lastly, the Holy Spirit is all about healing, ask Him each day how He is working and what He is speaking. The lies have no place in the Kingdom of Jesus. These secrets revealed will push you out of your comfort zone, but you will grow. He loves you right where you’re at, but He has so much more for you. Trust Him and dive in!
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