Lessons from the Father's Classroom

PREFACE

At this moment, I am completely full. It's funny because I just finished pouring my heart out to a friend. How ironic it is that when we are poured out, we are filled simultaneously. Life works like that, because we were created for companionship, designed for each other; so fulfillment is found when we share the overflow of our own hearts with others. It is for that reason that I'm writing. Throughout my journey with God, I've learned many lessons. I hope that by sharing my experiences and revelations with others, I can help them to realize those same lessons...lessons of wisdom, guidance, strength and intimacy with God. These lessons were not learned from scholarly individuals or physical institutions. They are straight from the Father's classroom. I am writing especially for my children, so that they can have a glimpse into the journey of my life as they began to explore their own journeys. I want to leave a legacy for them through my writing and share with them the many ways that God has revealed Himself to me personally, encouraging them to develop a very strong, personal relationship with their heavenly Father. Every time I read over these experiences that God has brought me through and these lessons He has taught me, I'm reminded of His constant companionship, His unfailing mercy and His limitless power and authority in my life. I hope that these words, these stories and lessons will encourage, inspire and empower you as you grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ.

CHAPTER 1- If God gives you a bridge, it isn’t walking on water!

“…I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20 NIV

Perhaps one of the greatest faith stories of the New Testament is the story of Peter walking on the water. We can learn so much from Peter’s experience. He was able to do the impossible at Jesus’ command, “Come.” Peter stepped out of the safety and security of the boat to walk on top of a stormy sea….and he was successful! Peter was doing the impossible …until he took his eyes off Jesus. He looked at the storm. As soon as Peter realized the absurdity of his position from the human perspective, he began to sink. He was no longer focused on Jesus. We learn from Peter that when we look at our circumstances instead of at God, we will fail. Faith ends where fear begins, because fear compels us to rely on our own strengths and abilities instead of leaning on God. My preacher friend, Tim Staire, once preached a very powerful message on this topic during a revival in my church. He called it Get out of the boat! He shared that we have to get out of our comfort zone and take a step forward in faith if we want to grow. We have to leave those “comfortable” things that drag us down behind and trust that God has better things for us. At the time of this message, I was really struggling with a past relationship. It had died to nearly nothing, but I was hanging on to the strings that remained. I was in my first year of college and felt that I was losing the “love of my life.” During Bro. Staire's message, I felt God beckoning me to “let it go” and “step out of the boat in faith.” I knew that God had great things in store for me, but I just couldn’t see how I could ever be happy without the relationship I was so desperately clinging to. While I said that I trusted God's plan for my life, I was, in fact, questioning it. I thought I knew what I needed. I knew what my heart was saying, and I was allowing those feelings to guide me rather than submitting to God's truth. The truth was and is that He has good plans for my life, not plans to harm me, but plans to give me a hopeful future. (Jeremiah 29:11 paraphrased) I would say to God, "Let Your will be done, but please don't make me let 'him' go." I wanted to be all that God was calling me to be, wanted to do great things for Him, but just could not let go of the comfortable, the familiar, what I thought I needed. God wanted me to trust Him with all the details of His plan for me. He wanted me to just let go and allow Him to lead me. On that night in revival, as I heard God gently calling to me to get out of the boat, to step away from that relationship into something deeper, my response to God was, “Okay. I’ll let go. Just show me that there’s someone else for me, and I will let go of him for good.” God sharply replied back in my spirit, “If I give you a bridge, it isn’t walking on water.”