God's Daredevil

Daredevil [dair-dev-uh l]–noun   a recklessly bold person

Hearing shouts from the backyard I glanced out the kitchen window. The sounds came from a tree. Nine feet in the air my son stood. With one hand holding the trunk, the other waving wildly in the air he shouted at the top of his lungs. I sensed joy in my son’s adventure. He seemed to be in a world all his own. Yet, my curiosity peeked. What was he was shouting?

Opening the back slider the gusty desert winds met me with force. Walking over to the tree I saw the thrill in my son’s face. With his shirt and hair flapping in the wind my son shouted these words over and over…

“I ’ m   A   D a r e d e v i l!”

Upon that declaration he jumped from his place of safety to the branch five feet in front of him and grabbed a hold of it—then fell to the ground. Exclaiming the awesomeness of his feat he headed back to the tree to climb it again.

God was stirring something in my heart. He wanted me to see something—and I did.

My son was living my dream.

That afternoon I watched my son over and over again climb that tree, declare his fearlessness and jump. And each time he jumped he grabbed his goal then fell to the ground in fits of laughter only to get up and do it all over again.

I wondered what it would be like to live out my dream of bold and reckless abandonment for God. What would it be like to live the life of—a daredevil?

What if each day I took a risk to climb up the tree God has planted for me? What if I stood fearlessly at the top of that tree declaring my passion to set others free from bondage? What if I sensed His pleasure in such a way that empowered me to take leaps of faith for His Kingdom? What if I left that place of security, not by a push, but rather by choice? What if I grabbed a hold of my destiny—even if just for a moment? What if crashing to the ground only exhilarated me to do it again—and never give up.

What if?

How will you live like a daredevil for God today?

Share your journey.

Relevant Worship (more like soundtracks for daredevil feats)

*What is your theme music for making leaps of faith? Share in the comment section.

Indiana Jones Theme Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pNlMgH2p-Y

Superman Theme Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9vrfEoc8_g&feature=related

Reflective Scriptures

The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.—Proverbs 29:25

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.—Romans 15:13

Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.

—Psalm 37:3-6

Powerful Force

In the midst of Sunday morning worshipers a small, blonde-hair, blue-eyed figure stood before me. The sad condition of his heart was evident. With shoulders drooped forward and head bent low—shame enveloped his body and spirit. Burying his face into my legs I leaned down and scooped him up and held him close. His morning tantrum and defiant behavior ceased. He was silent—finally. Yet as much as the screaming may have come to an end, his heart was noticeably unresolved. I held him, rocked him, and comforted him.

I sensed in my spirit this moment to be different than previous parenting occasions. It didn’t seem right to lecture or even punish my four year old. I wanted to tell him he was forgiven, but even that seemed to miss the mark.

“Lord what does he need to hear?”

Love

I pondered the Lord’s reply as the music in the worship center grew increasingly intense. People young and old sang in unity the words that comfort every soul—the truth of God’s love.

Love is a powerful force.

I took my son’s face and turned it toward mine. He resisted at first, but soon yielded. When his eyes met mine they looked big, anticipating a reprimand. I stifled his expectations by deliberately and thoughtfully speaking the words, “I love you”. His eyes grew bigger as if waiting for news of his punishment. I said it a few more times and his eyes softened, his countenance lightened, and snuggled happily back into my arms.

Love is a powerful force.

As the worship continued in the sanctuary, this personal moment with my son magnified within my heart. The Lord impressed there were others in the crowd gripped with the same condition. Even though my natural eyes saw people standing upright with heads lifted high, my spiritual eyes saw shame wrapped tightly around hearts.

Shame is a powerful force.

It’s the human condition. Whether we are the recipient or the executor of embarrassment, dishonor, humiliation, or indignity we have all experienced shame. Unhealed it can leave our soul wounded with an inability to trust or even forgive—anyone.

Shame is a powerful force.

But Love is a far greater one.

For it was Love who rose from His throne, left heaven, and stepped into our world. His presence alone soothes the aches in our hearts. Carefully chosen words escape His lips only as a whisper, yet resonate within our soul like peals of thunder. Shame-breaking holy words—

“I love you”

releases forgiveness, healing, restoration, and honor over every deep, dark, and broken area of our heart.

Love is a powerful force indeed.

Will you agree with God and declare over yourself, “He loves me”?

Listen in on this week’s Relevant Worship playlist and share your journey—with me…with someone.

Relevant Worship

How He Loves by Kim Walker-Smith

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GFIJXWXiyI

Restoration by David Brymer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rKLMO0IcJ8&feature=related

You Are My All in All by Gaither Vocal Band

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb_M4iZw6ns&feature=related

Reflective Scripture

But God--so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us…Ephesians 2:4 Amplified

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:8 NLT

He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul. Psalm 23:2-3a NASB

Recipe Box

As I lay in a sobbing heap on the floor the Lord’s presence drew near as He beckoned me to trust. The words surrender and sovereignty impressed deeply on my heart. Waiting for complete understanding the Lord met me in my tears and made it all clear to me…

I watched the Lord shuffling through what appeared to be an old worn-out recipe box. It was crammed full of index cards with jotted down recipes—recipes for Surrendering to His Sovereignty. My life circumstances were listed as ingredients. I noticed how some items were bitter, and yet others were sweet. Each card represented a moment from my life. Even though the ingredients varied from card to card the cooking instructions were identical. It simply read—Trust Me.

All day and night the Lord passionately and empathetically read each recipe card to me…

When you’re crying in a dark corner because of your parent’s divorce—Trust Me

       When darkness becomes your friend—Trust Me

When you’ve pushed for 3 ½ hours and

there is still no baby to hold—Trust Me

And when the baby won’t stop crying—Trust Me

When you share your heart and dreams with your husband—Trust Me

       And when you won’t share anything at all—Trust Me

When you take your son to his first day of school—Trust Me

And when he forgets to miss you—Trust Me

When you confess your darkest secrets with a friend—Trust Me

When you guard your heart—Trust Me

When a fountain of blood spews from your son’s head—Trust Me

And when the ambulance refuses you to ride with him—Trust Me

When you stand before an audience with a microphone,

but without notes—Trust Me

And when I take you off the platform

and put a pen in your hand—Trust Me

When your husband has skin cancer—Trust Me

       And when he disregards sunscreen—Trust Me

When your boys snuggle in close to you—Trust Me

And when they push you away—Trust Me

When a reader tells you you’re going to hell—Trust Me

And when you feel like you are living in hell—Trust Me

When credit card debt is more than you earn in a year—Trust Me

And when you don’t care—Trust Me

When your son presents a biblical report in a public school—Trust Me

And when he doubts my Word is real—Trust Me

When your husband remembers—Trust Me

And when he forgets—Trust Me

When you take risks to step into the destiny I have for you—Trust Me

When you want to give up—Trust Me

When your son gazes into your eyes as if

he’s known you your whole life—Trust Me

And when he screams he hates you—Trust Me

When you jump off your brother’s desk

to soar through the air—Trust Me

And when you fall on your face…Trust Me

The Lord suddenly stopped. Tears washed over my face as I surveyed the many recipe cards strewn all over the room. For the first time I noticed the cards were worn and the edges bent from use. My heart paused, “Lord, have we done this before?” He need not answer for me to know we have. Something tells me He is willing to do it all over again.

I then looked and saw the box still open in the Lord’s hands. Inside sat even more cards—white and crisp they were left untouched. The Lord made no effort to pull them out. “Lord?”

There are more moments yet to be experienced for you to trust Me.

The recipe is the same time after time. Regardless of the sweet or bitter ingredients stirred up in my life God is urging me again and again to surrender to His sovereignty.

“Tell me again Lord, how?”

Trust Me, Beloved, Trust Me.

What is written on your recipe cards? Share the journey.

Reflective Scripture

Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.  2 Samuel 7:28

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. Psalm 143:8

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Relevant Worship

No Matter What by Kerrie Roberts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA3MSqufJP4

In Christ Alone by Avalon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJCYHPPqmE0

Here in Your Presence by New Life Worship

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJrHpESAYPQ

Supernatural Alignment

“Mommy?”

“Yes, love?”

“Will you lay down with me?”

His sweet voice drew me in.  I snuggled in with my firstborn and I quickly fell asleep. Only a short time passed before I was abruptly awoken by the Lord. My son snuggled close to me—wide awake. I said nothing to him, yet something strangely familiar was resonating in my spirit.

“What is it Lord?”

Do you remember?

Before I could respond it was as if the Lord pushed play on an old dusty movie reel and I became a spectator to a life long forgotten thirty years earlier…

Sleepy-eyed she climbed the stairs to her parent’s bedroom. Pushing their door open she tiptoed in and stood by her father’s bed side. Hidden in the shadows of the night she quietly whispered to him.

“Daddy.”

Startled awake her father reached for his glasses to see who stood near. His cleared vision focused on a small figure in front of him. It was his little girl with her troubled eyes. He knew it was her. She always came to him in the night— always trembling—always frightened.

“Another bad dream, Pooh?”

“Yes, Daddy. Can I sleep with you?”

He opened his arms and she crawled in. Relieved she was no longer alone she nestled up next to her father. She knew she was safe. Yet she could not escape the memory of the nightmare. Hearing her father fall back to sleep, she lay awake wide-eyed with haunting thoughts. The house was dead silent except for one distinctive sound—her father’s breathing.

The little girl listened attentively to the hum of her father inhale and exhale.

In. Out. In. Out.

She was fixated on the tempo. She noticed how different his pattern of breathing was compared to her own. His long and noisy puffs of air contrasted greatly to her short quiet ones. With determination she began to imitate his breathing pattern.

In. Out. In. Out.

It had a strange calming affect on the little girl. She would continue to breathe with him until the vibration of her father’s heart diverted her. She then contemplated for what seemed like an eternity how she could manipulate her heart to beat in sync with his.

The little girl concentrated so intensely on her father’s breathing and heartbeat she soon forgot about the bad dreams and eventually drifted off to a deep and peaceful rest.

The movie reel stopped and the past faded into the present.

I remember. I remember countless nights of my childhood spent breathing in sync with my father. I looked down at my boy beside me and sensed the Lord near.

Listen.

My heart quickened. It was the sound I heard when the Lord woke me. My son was intentionally aligning his own breathing pattern to match mine.

“Lord, what does all this mean?”

Beloved, you need to come into alignment with Me.

His words resonated deep in my soul.

Aligning with the Father is both powerful and vulnerable —it is a position of intimacy. When I come into alignment I am close enough to feel His breath on my face as He speaks my true identity over me. Even close enough to hear His heart beat of His great love for me.

This supernatural alignment only occurs when I choose to wake up from the bad dream, climb the stairs of the throne room, and crawl into the Father’s lap. It is only in Him where I will find a deep and peaceful rest.

I’m already awake, so I’m off to start the climb…

How about you?

Reflective Scripture

God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who He is, and we know who we are: Father and children.

Romans 8:15 Message

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:1 NIV

"I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. 2 Corinthians 6:18 NIV

Relevant Worship

The Father’s Song by Matt Redman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm6xr4Q9BZc

We Welcome You (Father God) by Cece Winans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QblruH8wbHY&feature=related

The Father’s House by Laura Rhinehart

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kBHnW5zkUo