Partnering With Love
A few months ago I went on a retreat with my sister in Michigan. Little did I know that would be the beginning of an incredible journey that God has brought me on. This journey is about letting go of fear, and partnering with Love and, Who is Love? God is Love.
Let me explain.. On this retreat we got to do a lot of amazing things. Rock Climbing, Zip Lining, Skeet Shooting(where I discovered a hidden talent that can only be practiced in the sates #CanadianGunLaws), but the one that impacted me the most was this activity above ^^ called High Ropes! Don't ask me why, but for some reason we thought it would be fun to climb up high, put on a harness that was attached to a wire, and climb from platform to platform as the courses became more difficult. One course in particular stood out as God began to speak to me, high up in the air about fear in my life. On this one particular course to the next platform, there were these skinny wooden beams that looked like swings. You had to step out on to these wooden beams and walk across it to get to the other beam. There were ropes on each side of the beam that you could grab onto to swing to the next beam. There was only one problem.. The ropes were just out of reach from each other. I had to let go of the rope I was holding onto, in order to grab the other rope. When I let go of this rope to grab the other, I will be relying on only my balance to walk to this other rope! I just want to note that by this point, MY WHOLE BODY IS SHAKING, and my mind is screaming for me to give up and turn around! As I looked at this next rope I had to grab, I paused to take a breath and muster up the courage to let go.
This is the moment I heard God speak to me. He said “Chanelle this is a beautiful picture of the breakthrough I am bringing in your life. This is what it looks like to let go of fear, and grab onto Love.” I didn't understand it fully in that very moment, but He began to bring me back to this moment as the months went by and, It's all becoming very clear to me.
A few months later I had an amazing breakthrough from fear. I began to see that God had surrounded me with people to live me back to life in this area. He placed people into my life that saw how much fear was stealing from me, and made the uncomfortable decision to call me higher.
You see, if your not surrounded with friends and loved one that are willing to make themselves uncomfortable to call you higher in life, then your never going to grow. It's easier for someone to just stay quite and let you live your life the way you want, because we fear they will reject us. But real love is making yourself uncomfortable sometimes, when you see that something is stealing from them, and calling them higher. Jesus came in truth and in grace. Those are the kind of friends I want in my life.
Fear had been stealing from my life for a long time. Fear had become my security, believe it or not. I was comfortable with it. It had become my friend. In order to be the person I want to be, and the leader that I want to be, fear should have no place in my life! I was letting it define who I was, and I was even allowing it to make my decisions for me. But until those that loved me enough confronted me on it, I couldn't see it! It had become such a big part of my life that I was blind to it. God had begun to stir things in my heart, and one day fear roared its ugly head. I'm so glad it did now because I was able to cut it off! But it wasn't pretty!
Along with fear came Victim mentality and Control. I was facing the very things that had stolen from my life for so long! God began to show me that I had become a victim and decided to walk in it. I believed the lie that I was powerless and couldn't overcome, and because of that I controlled everyone around me to believe that lie as well. I had done a pretty good job at convincing most. Through that God began to show me the incredible people in my life who knew that I was a powerful person and tried in many ways to show me that. But because I didn't believe it, I cut them out of my life.
2 Timothy 1:7 started to become so clear to me!!
For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Up until this point I always read that scripture and wondered why power and a sound mind were in the same sentence as love. God began to show me why. When you partner with the spirit of fear, you become powerless(victim) and you have allowed fear to make your decisions for you, becoming double minded. Your mind and your thoughts are never at peace because your constantly unable to make decisions, and if you do your always backing out of them. When you partner with the spirit of love, which is the Holy Spirit that lives inside of you, you know that you are a powerful person, who can make powerful decisions because the spirit is leading you. Therefore having a sound mind or what I like to call an “undivided mind.”
As I sat in my room with my journal open, tears began to flow. It was sinking from my head to my heart. It wasn’t just head knowledge but heart knowledge from God Himself. He started bringing me back to all the times in my life where I had allowed fear to make my decisions for me.
He was inviting me to partner with the spirit of Love, and He brought back to the moment He spoke to me on those ropes in Michigan. He said "Chanelle, in order to partner with Love, you need to first let go of fear." Letting go of that rope was so intense for me because it was the thing that was keeping me secure in that moment. But I knew I couldn't grab onto the other rope without letting go first. I had to take the leap of faith. And I believe we all need to take that leap of faith in our walk with God. That day I let go of fear in my life and I clung to Love Himself. I decided that I was going to partner with Love and not allow fear to define me any longer. What a journey it has been as He continues to invite me to partner with Love, and let go of fear! He is bringing me deeper and deeper!
One thing I have realized is that, you can't experience the power and the sound mind that partnering with Love brings, until you let go of fear! You can't hold onto both! The truth is we were never meant to partner with fear. All it does is steals from us. We become our true selves when we partner with Love. The more I partner with Love the more I get to know and walk out who God has created me to be, and it's SO freeing!
I thought fear was my protection and security but it only brought hurt and shame! God is Love, and when you partner with Him, He is your security and protection! When we try and protect ourselves, we hold people at a distance and shut people out. But we were created for community. We were meant to experience His Love for us through other people! If you shut people out, you will shut God out too. Let Him protect you! It's so much better!
My question for you today is, what do you need to let go of? What has God been asking you to let go of? Have you been allowing fear to define who you are? I can tell you today with confidence that YOU are a powerful person! You may not believe it yet but that is the truth of who God created you to be! Partner with Love today, but first let go of fear! Walk in the fullness of who God has created you to be, and surround yourself with those that love you enough to call you higher! It's The Kingdom Culture that we were born to live in!