Not long ago (about 6 months ago) I had a vision, a picture. A picture of a hummingbird trapped in a cage, flying around frantically searching for a way out. This bird knew every inch of its cage. Every boundary that defined its edge. And soon the hummingbird stopped searching for a way out, hopeless. Immediately this glorious hand clothed in light reaches out and opens the door to the bird’s cage. The door is opened so the hummingbird looks at the way out and says “I’m not sure if I want to be free. I’m not sure I know how to be free.” To be free, to live life outside the cage, the familiar. And so in fear she flies just a little outside that door. Saying to herself, “I will test this freedom and see what it feels like, but instead gets scared and flies back into the cage. This glorious light beacons her and says “Now come to me. Come be free. Come home to where you belong. So this hummingbird, living in love and walking in faith, flies forward and off into the distance, and away.
It‘s a beautiful vision. A vision that inspired me. A powerful vision that speaks to my very soul. And then at worship just last night He brought me back there, to Rwanda, where the Lord gave me that vision. To the place where my very heart was stolen. To the place where I got to live out my freedom. The vision started the exact same way. With only one cage and one bird and one bird flying high in freedom but then the hummingbird turns back around and sees a whole wall of cages, these birds trapped, panicking and searching for a way out, and this one little bird and the glorious light behind it comes and opens all the cages and these birds fly beautifully free flocking, into the glorious light, together. At first I thought this vision was just for me. For me to see that freedom can be found and that we can set others free. But the Lord reminded me to say, “Liz stop being selfish. This picture isn’t for you. This is for my people: My people whom I love, my people in whom I am well pleased. Who I have chosen.” And He said “This is for the body, the body of believers around you. You might not know their names, but I call them by name. You and this group are going to set people free. Free from bondage. Because you know what it is like to live a life in chains. Then I (Jesus)came along and broke your chains. I taught you what a life worth living looked like, a life surrendered to the Lord. Of walking, of being a slave to Christ. I will forever remind you of your identity. You are no longer a slave to sin for you are a child of God! That you have been set free. That we are set free and when we go home, when we return, to our proper places and right now they might not seem proper because our hearts are all across the globe. Your home is this group of people. Your home doesn’t feel like home anymore, but to the place that you’re going next wherever that may be. Be a freedom bearer. Be a kingdom bringer. Have faith that this kingdom living might start with baby steps but that one day you’ll start taking enough baby steps so that you can take a leap of faith. That you can be a slave to Christ and after those baby steps, that we can pick up our pace and start jogging towards Him so that we can run the race with perseverance the path marked out for us because that‘s our hope, our dream and our goal. For all of us and after this season, this season of Project Search Light, this season of being home for three weeks then talking about what we‘ve struggled with during transition. In this season of ‘the Lord changed my life and I was overseas for nine months and now I have to be here in America with family and friends whom I haven’t seen in nine months who don’t understand how the Lord has changed my heart‘ but the Lord keeps saying and bringing it back to this. That we must cling to the freedom He taught us to walk in. That we must behold it. Brings it wherever you go. To cling to it with all that you have and all that you are. That written on your heart is the word ‘free‘ and to do that we must live in Teshuva. A Hebrew word meaning return to Adonai which means my Lord, my master. Because we must look to Jesus to be our Lord and Master for us to live in freedom. And that for me was the biggest part of PSL. I went from the Lord being my Savior, and praise the Lord for He saved me from my mess, to Him being my Lord, the Lord of all creation, of water, Earth, and sky, the Lord of my Life whom I will follow in surrender all the days of my life. PSL started a heart shift, a heart change, something I didn’t expect after being away for nine months and growing so much in that time. A spirit lead but biblically backed transition into life in America which is something I have and you have struggled with because that‘s who we are as people we struggle. PSL was a safe place to be a mess all over again and returning to the lord (Teshuva) and saying I will follow you to the ends of the earth. I‘ve been home for 3 weeks and have fallen on my face but I am going to return to you and fall on my face some more but this long transition has given me the power and the tools to get back up after falling on my face when I do fail and to get back up again. To restore broken relationships, to make goals, to have accountability, because these are the things that are important. To train in righteousness, to study the bible, to actually read what the bible says is what we did here at PSL. Of digging deep into God‘s words and seeing what he says about us and what he has for us in this next season. We were reminded that this World Race adventure is not the end all be all off our lives but that it will be a spring board. Launching us into the future. That it might be the bow pulling back the arrow to be shot into the future to have an even greater impact. That these past 5 days of PSL is the catalyst. PSL was a reunion, a coming together of my favorite souls on the planet and also of meeting new beautiful souls whom I have never met until now but we the same of being radically on fire for the Lord at 18, 19, 20, 21 at young ages, where often people tell us we are too young but to these people we say,
2 Timothy 2:14 ” Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young but instead be and example to the believers in speech, in life, in faith, and in purity.”
And we want to be the crazy people. PSL is being activated to live this out in modern day American society. Where it might not be easy, where in fact it might be really hard, but God never promised easy in fact he promised hard and if we wanted easy we shouldn’t have said ‘yes‘ to him instead our heart cry as young people as a changed generation we will say yes lord, you have called me higher. You have called me deeper, and I’ll go right where you lead me Lord.
