What do you think of when I say “rock”. Do you think of a pebble? A boulder? Something with meaning? Something that means nothing? Perception is such a big factor in our lives because we all see things differently. When you hear something, do you write it off right away? Do you think through it and dig for the purpose? As you read this story, think about how you perceive everything.
One week before launch weekend for the World Race, I received a message on Facebook. It was from one of my squad leaders. He had something put on his heart that he wanted to share with me. This organization has a strong belief behind listening to God speak and acting on it. This is a story of confirmation of how that actually works. Eric sent me a message and I read through it. I didn’t really know what to think at first. I took the day to analyze it but then completely forgot about it. Here is the message he sent:
Hey! I just wanted to share this with you. The first day of training camp I had a spiral ring with all the squads pictures/names in it and I asked the Lord to give me words for each person. I feel like I should share these words now. The word I received for you was “You are a Rock”
Tyler, I just see the Lord looking at His son with such proud eyes. Don’t imagine this scene with the Father in heaven looking down at you, but He’s standing right in front of you. His Hands on your shoulders and His Eyes staring right into yours. I want to encourage you to ask the Father to take you to this place and let Him speak those words over you “You are a Rock” and ask Him what He means!
After I read this, I did what Eric asked. I asked what it meant but didn’t keep digging. I just simply thought it meant I was mentally strong and limited it to that. When God tries to speak, you have to give Him space to create. You can’t limit something He is trying to pass along. He wasn’t done trying to get this message across. This is where He popped back up to remind me to keep creating space for Him to work.
As we were finishing up our time in Spain, we were in the small town of Mijas. This city was so beautiful. It was full of white buildings tucked into the mountains of southern Spain with an ocean view. If you are familiar with G42 Leadership Academy, that is where we stayed and attended our training for the next country. If you are not familiar with G42 Leadership Academy, I encourage you to look it up and see how God is moving in Spain.
While in our trainings, we had a guest who came to speak. He did not know any English, but we had a translator. This man converted to Christianity from his Islamic background. He comes from a remote village in the mountains of northern Africa where the Islamic religion is all that exists. I am hoping to share his testimony with you all of how that happened, but for his safety, I am going to withhold that for now (keep an eye out for a future blog on it). When he finished sharing culture, safety tips, and lifestyle of our new country, he asked who needed prayer. The two guys on the squad and I were sitting together, so he brought the translator over to pray. This turned into him closing his eyes and speaking prophecies over us. At first, he only spoke over Charles and Daniel and then stopped. It seemed to have a strong impact on both of them and I couldn’t help but want some of that as well. Well, God sure does know the deepest desires of our heart. He then came over to me. The translator couldn’t really understand what he was trying to say so they grabbed another. Minutes after going back and forth the message was finally understood and shared. “You are a rock”. I don’t cry much, but this was one of those times where I felt so close to God and started to tear up. How does Eric send me that in a message on Facebook, then a man who I don’t know, who doesn’t speak my language, say the same thing? Not only was this confirmation of something God was trying to communicate to me but this man also had the “why” as well. He told me I have a strong discernment for others and that I am steadfast and can withstand any journey.
I used to think life was full of coincidences. I used to think things like this were just a crazy stat. What if a coincidence is actually God speaking. What if the “one in a million” thing that happens in your life is actually something greater. I want to challenge you all to listen. Dig deeper into the meaning of things. Even if you are not a believer of what Jesus did on the cross, I challenge you to dig into the “one in a million” things and just ask why. You may be surprised by who comes to fill your heart with answers.
