TRAINING CAMP: THINGS I’VE LEARNED
From August 8-18 I got to spend some time in Gainesville, Georgia at training camp for the World Race. Essentially, it was a time of physical, spiritual, and emotional preparation for the World Race (which is just 6 weeks away – AH). You’ll hear more about those topics in other blogs, but here I would like to just focus on the main things I’ve learned:
1. Jesus loves me.
Yes, I know what you’re thinking. If you’re a Christian or you’ve ever had anything to do with church you’ve probably heard this before and you probably think it’s the most basic point. While you’re partially right, this revelation should never cease to blow our minds and grow our hearts.
Throughout training camp there were high moments and low moments – such is life. In one of the low moments I was sitting around a campfire unable to really take in all that was happening around me. My mind couldn’t seem to settle and I don’t even know what I was thinking about. Thoughts, or lack there of, flooded my mind and overwhelmed me. I felt confused and upset and sad, and I couldn’t even pinpoint why I was feeling this way. I sat down as I tried to calm my mind and process what was happening inside of me. All of a sudden a squad mate of mine sat down beside me and said “hey Farrah, I feel like God’s asking me to ask you what’s on your heart”. In that moment it felt like all of the pressure that was building up inside of me released. In the midst of all that I was feeling, Papa reached out to me through a teammate to remind me “hey Farrah, I know what you’re feeling, I see it, and I’m right here”. I just felt so loved. My Father cared enough for me to tell a friend to check up on me and speak truth into my life.
Jesus loves me. I feel it in my heart when I’m down, I feel it in the peace that comes when chaos surrounds me or invades my mind, and I feel it when He uses people around me to straight up tell me He does.
My friend Amy feels it whenever she gets flowers. Amy loves flowers. She told me a story of when she was hiking up a mountain in the winter. When she got to the top there was a tree covered in flowers, fully in bloom. It was winter, it was the top of a mountain, and yet this tree was somehow covered in flowers. She told me she felt like God had placed it there in bloom just for her to see. Nobody else was really up there that day, just her, and she felt like Papa was using it just to say “I love you, Amy”.
For the rest of her story I’ll use her own words: “Once upon a time, I found myself in a windstorm on the side of a mountain. I sat on the couch talking to a friend as the storm passed and when she opened the door, she found a bouquet of flowers resting on the doorstep blown there by the wind. I knew they were blown there for my sake, as a gift to me from God just to say, ‘I love you’. Ever since that day, I’ve loved flowers. My dearest friends know the story of the bouquet from heaven and often buy me flowers to remind me that I am loved. Tonight, we empowered 99 World Race participants to go share the love with the Gainesville community. Along the way, Holy Spirit told one of my participants to pick up a bouquet of flowers which he brought back to campus and handed to me. Hundreds of people encountered the love of God tonight, and I am no exception. How have you encountered love today?”
That participant was my teammate. As we were in the grocery store picking up instant coffee (the struggle of training camp), my friend walked over by himself, picked up some flowers and bought them. He initially didn’t know who he was getting them for, but on the drive back to campus he told us “I think I’m gonna give these to Amy.” I thought it was just a sweet gesture to show her how thankful we were for her, but when he gave them to her, her face shone with excitement, joy, and love.
It was so cool to watch God nudge my friend to pick up some flowers and give them to Amy just to remind her that He loves her.
Essentially, what I’ve learned is that my God is a God who loves the individual and who will go to all lengths to intentionally show us how much He is pursuing us. He’s someone who will check in with us when we’re feeling low and buy us flowers just to tell us He loves us.
2. Jesus has all authority, and I have His authority!
So in the bible we’re told time and time again that all authority has been given to Jesus (check out Matt 28:18). Not only that, but we ourselves have been given Christ’s authority (Luke 9:1 is just one of many verses). Throughout training camp we continued to come back to this point. Jesus Christ has ALL authority, meaning the enemy has ZERO authority. So if he has zero authority, why do we give him any?
For example, sometimes I’ll be having a super great day, but if one thing goes wrong I’m bitter for the rest of it – my joy has been stolen and I’ve allowed satan to take it. Other times I might be tempted to do something I know isn’t right, but instead of fleeing from it I give into it. When these things happens I’m literally giving satan authority that he doesn’t have!
Instead, throughout training camp I learned that I have the authority because Christ has all authority. In moments of weakness, temptation, fear, or bitterness, I get to claim the victory for my own, I get to tell satan to get the heck away from me, and I get to rejoice in the fact that I am free and that the devil can’t touch me. But again, all of this only happens because Jesus Christ has all authority and has given it to me!
So now, if ever I hear lies in my head, I rebuke them in the name of Jesus and go back to normal life with Him!
I encourage you to take this on. Jesus has got you and Holy Spirit lives, or can live inside of you! You’ve got nothing to worry about. So next time you begin to believe the lies in your head or that joy you have feels like it’s been stolen away, approach it with victory, because the enemy’s got none, and Jesus has got it all.
Raelynn, Aimee, Amy, Alex, and Marissa – my beautiful leaders who lover me so well and taught me so much!
