This is such a great blog by our sister, Julie Hopper, about how the Lord speaks as we simply get in His presence and look for Him and listen to Him.
It was a few weeks ago that I took a trip to an Alabama lake house to spend the weekend with several of the sisters from our lead team in Living Deeper Ministries. We spent the weekend worshipping, praying for each other, and just being filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit. Before we left the sisters gathered together and we prayed over each person individually, letting the Lord just speak over each person what the Lord was saying. It was a spiritual experience like none other I have experienced. I found myself in a fall on your face and take your shoes off Holy Ground.
I left that house in Alabama and I have to say, that as I drove away I felt that I had to have come very close to the way Moses must have felt when he left the burning bush. He, like I, was commissioned for a journey and forever changed after being in the overwhelming presence of God.
On my drive back home I was praying about a specific thing that the Lord had spoke over me and confirmed. I told the Lord as I prayed aloud, “I will do anything you ask, just show me exactly what you want me to do with this.” Just then a single deer ran out in front of my car! Later that day I saw deer two other times. As God confirms things in threes, I knew that the Lord was definitely answering my prayer in the form of a deer.
After I researched the spiritual meaning of deer to be symbolizing the journey of spiritual enlightenment I was just dumbfounded. That is exactly what my weekend was! It was no less than a journey of waking up all of my spiritual senses and experiencing God in a closer way than I had ever felt him before. God was calling me as I was praying that prayer to keep pursuing him relentlessly despite any obstacles I would face and in that pursuit, he would show me the exact steps to take in my journey.
I thought about the well known song, “As the Deer.” It was written in 1981, the very same year I was born. Yes! Now you know how old I am! It is said to be one of the most popular songs in contemporary Christian music and was written by Marty Nystrom. He had found himself in a place of feeling overwhelmed in his ministry and his roommate had recommended he do a spiritual fast. On the 19th day he was sitting trying to write a song when he saw a bible open to Psalm 42. His eyes met the first verse and he began to sing the lyrics. The entire song was done in a few minutes. Marty was taking a spiritual journey for enlightenment and it ended with an incredible song of faith being written!
I encourage you to keep pursuing God and where He wants to take you on your journey! May we wake up every day being hungry and thirsty for more of him and more of what he has for us!
[from Jena: and what is so awesome is that the verse that follows Psalm 42:7 says “deep calls to deep”…..when God is calling you deeper and your heart is panting for more of Him, that combination will have amazing and beautiful results!!!]
Do you want to go deeper in your journey and relationship with God? Please join us at the Deeper Retreat Nov. 12-13, 2021!