I am coming off one of the most incredible weekend retreats I have ever been to. A group of women from our church went to Tulsa to see Priscilla Shirer at the Church at Battlecreek. It was great!
Priscilla started by talking about "sleepwalkers". You know them...I am one of them. We go through life saying things like, "I wish summer would hurry up and get here.", "I wish I would hurry up and graduate so I could go to college and move out.", "I wish Mr. Right would come along; I want to be married like all my friends." Or, maybe, "I wish this really tough time in my life would be over. I feel like God has forgotten about me." If you are like me, you have spent half your life, as my Mom called it, wishing your life away. How many times have you missed the lessons and God's miracles because you closed your eyes to what's happening now and only saw what you wanted the future to bring. As Christians we pray for a miracle and then try to avoid the situations where we will see one. You can really see God in those tough times, if you open your eyes.
These are Priscilla's "Secrets For Sleepwalkers"
Genesis 28:10-17
1. Certain places are sacred places. Jacob reached the "certain place" and could not go any further on his journey. Scholars tell us that when the Bible talks about a certain place it refers to a place where something happened before. Maybe it was the site of sacrifices to God or where people gathered to worship. Jacob reached this certain place at nightfall and stopped and closed his eyes to sleep. He didn't see this place as a sacred place.
2. Secrets of stones. There is good stuff in the hard stuff. Jacob picked up a stone, turned it over and over and found the best spot on it to lay under his head as he slept. He found a good spot in that hard stone because he looked for it. We must always keep our eyes open when we are in difficult times. God will shows us the good stuff.
3. Secret of confirmation. When life does not affirm, God will go out of his way to confirm. In the middle of sleep on this rough journey of Jacob's, God came to him in a dream. He didn't give Jacob a new revelation. He told him again what his plan for him was. This had to be great comfort to Jacob in a time when he had to be down and depressed. Expect confirmation from God and look for it.
4. Secret of returning. What you return to will concern you. You have to remember the seeds you are sowing now. God says what you sow you shall reap. Remember this in tough times. How you handle situations will be your witness for Christ, and whatever seeds you are sowing you will harvest. You will see them again.
Luke 24:13-28
5. Secret of behold. When the Bible says "Behold", it means that you need to sit up and pay attention. On the road to Emmaus the two travelers didn't even realize something extraordinary was happening to them. They were in a behold moment. When you are in tough times, God will see you through. Ask yourself in these "behold moments" what you are supposed to be learning. Sit up and pay attention because God is about to do something extraordinary in your life.
6. Secret of going home. These two men on the road to Emmaus had just left the Passover celebration and were on their way home. Jesus chose that time to appear to them. Why didn't He do it when they were among all those people at the party? He waited until they were alone and going home. Being in fellowship and worshiping with other believers is great, but there are some things that only happen when we are alone with God.
7. Secret of looking ahead. We all know how damaging it is to concentrate on the past. We should remember the past in terms of the lessons learned from mistakes that were made, but we need to keep looking forward and not dwell on those mistakes.
8. Secret in silence. The two travelers on the road to Emmaus were so busy talking and discussing the events of the weekend, they missed Jesus walking along with them. Sometimes we talk to much. Why do we think we have to talk to others about our problems? Our friends sympathize with us, but that is as far as they can go. Why not take it to our God, who can sympathize with us, but also has the power to do something about our situation?
9. Secret of invitation. It wasn't until the travelers invited Jesus to come into their home that they were able to see who he really was. We must continue to be listening for the knock, answer the knock, and invite Jesus into our lives.
These are some of the things I got from this weekend in Tulsa. It was a great time and I recommend going to see Priscilla whenever you can. I have never left a women's conference thinking more about God than the speaker. Priscilla is truly anointed.
