Experiencing Turbulence
Navigating a season full of turbulence
Navigating this pandemic season is new territory, to the majority of us. Idols and gods of our lives have been revealed, things we didn’t know existed. Many of us are wrestling with God, uncomfortable, stretched and left feeling vulnerable.
Three summers ago I was on a flight down to Atlanta, GA for a family reunion. I was flying with my husband, in-laws, 2 year old son, 18 month old daughter and was 20+ weeks pregnant. The 5 hour flight ended up being 8 hours, as thunderstorms shut down the Atlanta airport, we had to circle, land in Nashville to refuel and finally land in Georgia.
During the storms we started to experience constant turbulence. My daughter (18 mo), was sitting on my lap at the time. And in the midst of the storm she fell asleep in my arms, her heart resting on my heart and her head resting right beneath my head.
In that moment the Lord spoke to me saying:
Kirsten, this is what I need you to do in the midst of the storms. When uncertainty arises and the turbulence hits, I need you to rest in me, I need you leaned into me so that my heart can align to yours and my thoughts can download to yours. If you are resisting, serving anxiousness you can’t hear me and it will only bring harm to you. What is happening here is a prophetic act of what I need you to do, what I need my people to do.
In the midst of uncertainty, God is asking for us to press in to him. To crawl up on the lap of the Father and take a rest with him. To get in close, so not to forget the heart and thoughts of the Father. We live in a world addicted to hurry, even in the forced slowdown it can be tempting to fill our days. The invitation is to receive the forced slow down and REST! As a mom of three young children I know this can be challenging. Whether it be rest time or giving Sabbath a try, or choosing not to Netflix binge at night, continue to make space for the voice of God and learn to recognize his voice in the midst of the chaos. He is always speaking, we have to turn into him to hear His thoughts.
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9
In this unique time in history, I believe God is calling us to lean in and rest in him.
Ways we can align ourselves with the father’s heart:
Soaking in the scriptures. Choose one of God’s promises or a scripture that resonates deep in your soul. Some scriptures that have been meaningful to me in this season are: Joshua 1:9, Isaiah 26:3-4, Isaiah 43:2, Psalm 27, Psalm 91, Psalm 121, 2 Timothy 1:7.
Fill your house with worship. Many worship songs are filled with the character of God, often reminding us of who He is.
Spend time in listening or contemplative prayer. Start your day off by focusing on the Spirit of God, inviting him to lead your thoughts, lead you day. Throughout the day stop and check in with God, realigning yourself with the Spirit.
Establish rhythms. If you don’t already have rhythms or rules of life in place for your spiritual walk this can be a great time to start them. Whether it be a daily devotional in the secret place, Sabbath, daily prayer, journaling, etc. A rhythm we have started during the quarantine is family devotionals after breakfast. We have been reading the Bible and praying for our day. Honestly, this has been really meaningful and something I want to continue post pandemic.
As we seek Gods face in these times and lean in it can be tempting to head down the ‘why’ hole. God why is this happening? Why didn’t you stop this?
I want to challenge you, and myself: instead of asking why, because unfortunately that won’t change anything and there are many mysteries of the world we won’t understand now, start asking what questions.
God WHAT do you want me to know?
God WHAT do you want to remind me of?
God WHAT do you want me to do today?
It's my firm belief that those questions lead to breakthrough. Those questions lead to shifts in your heart and in your home. These will lead us closer to the head and the heart of the Father.