Run Your Race! Get Moving!

Penny Chenery, Secretariat’s owner, gives a great line in the movie. Right before the last race, the Triple Crown, she says “I’ve run my race. Now go out and run yours.”

And run He did, with such an excellence that He left them all behind, not just to win but to win big. He ran His race. And, it was a very long race. Unchallenged and strong, he did not look back or slow down but kept running because it was in his creative makeup to run. He was born for this race.

I watched this movie again yesterday. God often uses movies to speak into my life. He truly used this one. I cried at the end and I am not a big crier. In fact, at the end of the movie, my husband looked at me and asked, “Are YOU crying?” I was. It struck a deep chord in my life, a resonance connecting with heaven.

Jesus ran His race and now it’s time to run ours with passion, persistence and confidence to know that we are born into such a time as this.

Hebrews 12:1-3 (MSG) Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. 2 Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. 3 When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!This beats in my heart. When God stirs passion with a word, I know it’s meant for others. I usually walk out the message that God is birthing in my life. 

Run your race. Run it strong. Run it focused. Run from a deep inner passion to know that you know, you are called to run. Run with excellence. Even as I am writing this today, I feel such an anointing of life and light on these words for those who will take them as their own, believe them and take action to see the manifestation in their own lives.

To those feeling ignored or disqualified. Run YOUR race.

To those ready but strapped down by past failures. Run YOUR race.

To those who think their best days are behind them. Run YOUR race.

This relates to many of you. It’s time to run.

Tap into that inner resolve that lives inside of you, Christ in you, the hope of glory. Tap into His grace and strength. Submit to His way, not your way. Believe that anything is possible in Christ…anything He calls us to do is already resident within us, our destiny and empowered by our faith in Him.

2017 – Run……….faith to see and believe in the possibilities that are in God in Christ AND the obedience to walk it out and risk being comfortable.

By the way, I am running this out with each one of you, too.

Living with Passion and Purpose in Christ,

Debra

Deep Canyons, Distant Dreams – There’s Got To Be A Way To The Other Side

Here I am, standing on the edge of a great canyon. Looking down all I can see is how deep the bottom seems to be. Looking up, the distance between me and the other side seems enormous. It’s over there, yet it is unattainable to me, even after all this time.

My ideas, dreams, revelation – there they are, on the other side. My declarations, what I believe – I spoke them forth, but they manifested in the distance, a bit of an illusion.  Do I really believe them? All these declarations build up on the other side, far away from me. I interact with them in my heart; words come out of my mouth, yet I can’t seem to actually flow in their reality now.

I know what God has placed inside of me. I dream with Him each day, yet it never seems to manifest in the now, right now. My life’s design, that place of flow in my being, always appears elusive and distant, like I am fighting to get to a place that I already know I am at. How do I cross this great divide?

Echoes rise up from the canyon. These echoes are the sounds from the deep – accusations that remind me of the futility of even believing I can cross over. Accusations, over and over of what was and what is keep me from what can be on the other side.

Standing there, I am continually reminded what was – wasted time, fears, failures, regrets – all the necessary stuff that keeps me grounded in the past while standing in the present on the edge of this canyon of impossibility.

This is not just a story for me. During a time of worship and prayer yesterday, I received this as a vision. Throughout the day, I continually kept asking myself, “How do I get across to the other side?” Instead of bringing a sense of peace, this vision frustrated me.

I picked up ‘The Artisan Soul’ by Erwin McManus to continue reading where I left off, not knowing that I would receive revelation about my vision. Have you ever been reading and the words leap off the page into your soul? Then, they expand into a knowing, a deep knowing that changes your life in a moment. God brings the light of truth into the situation. He coordinated all these points of process for me – the vision, the book, the words. He combined them in creative ways to reveal Himself to me, right in the middle of my frustration and my relationship with Him is strengthened. I know that He loves me and deeply cares about my life. These words opened up a door of revelation for me.

“Scripture is permeated with the intention of God. Humanity is God’s culminating act of creativity, designed with the highest intention to reflect most personally the likeness of God. Intention precedes creation and essence informs intention.”

This is just a small quote from a glorious book. God loves details. Look at Scripture – the creation story, the building of the tabernacle, etc. etc. God is intentional before He creates and He creates for love of His creation (that being us) and for relationship with His creation (that being us). His intention forms His creation. What is in His heart and in His mind is formed and created through His intentional act of love for us.

All day I kept thinking of these words, “Intention precedes creation.” Standing on the edge of the canyon kept me in close proximity to the echoes of my past –its fears and failures. I am called to be creative yet I am not intentional in actually believing His creative design for my life, more often considering myself a fraud because of past mistakes. I am fearful of being intentional, of actually walking by faith into what I know to be true deep inside myself. Without intention, all this creativity just lays dormant inside of me, bound up in fears, wrapped in regret. This places me on the edge of the canyon. Intention requires risk, bravery and courage on my part. Intention requires BEING me. Intention requires focus and faith.

For the creative to flow in and through me, I must be intentional in that which I want to create in sync with God, Christ in me. All that flows under the surface, in the corners of my heart, in the depths of my soul, within my dreams and ideas right now deep inside me, must come forth with intention, trusting in God. Intention brings it out of me, amidst all the fear and trepidation. Intention is to trust God, trust Christ in me.

Intention = design, meaning, forethought, an aim or plan.

I quickly realized that despite everything, inside, deep inside, I am not intentional because I don’t truly believe God will flow through me and fulfill His design in me. That is why God gave me the vision. He wants me to start being intentional about why I am in time for such a time as this. Intention precedes creativity flowing through my life. He knows me.

Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you….

God intentionally breathed life in me through Christ, creating me as His masterpiece. I, in turn, am to be intentional in creating life as I live, move, and have my being in him.

My words for 2015: Be intentional.

This blog for 2015 is on ongoing journey, one step at a time, one day at a time. Be intentional – that forms my bridge to the other side. At some point, one has to start living in faith, not fear.

This is a great quote:

“The past will be our future until we have the courage to create a new one. To make our lives a creative act is to marry ourselves to risk and failure.”

In 2015, each blog post is a journey. I won’t reach a resolution in each blog or give anyone a 10-step program to freedom or even how to be creative. I journey with words, ideas, dreams, pictures, and revelation into a new place. Enjoy the journey with me!

What’s keeping you from living and moving in what God has formed in you before you were even born? How can you move across your own great divide?

In Christ,
Debra

I would love to speak at your conference, gathering, church or home group. Contact me here or on Twitter. Enjoy reading about Rivers of Eden and the Timeline of our Life!

Hidden? Prepare To Be Provoked

When I am hidden (and it is for a season) I must discern the times. Discern = to separate, to perceive, to recognize. To discern the times, I look at this season through the eyes of eternity. I perceive its purpose in my life. I separate the truth from the lie.

Eternity’s sound: I am hidden in plain sight to prepare me.

Earth resounds with a lie: I am disqualified, hidden forever in obscurity because, let’s face it, I can’t cut it.

Hiddenness is a good thing. It’s a place to breathe, to rest and to gain a clear perspective. All around us, there is a tension between what heaven says and what the earth realm says. In the earth, tension is rewarded, busyness, business, and moving, constantly moving. In the eternal, rest is the greatest commodity. Resting and hearing the heavenly directive to move as Holy Spirit opens up the path. I choose the latter way, even if it hurts at times.

Discernment is critical in the season at hand. How do I perceive all of this? Being hidden in plain sight. Is what I am going through from God’s hand or someplace else? Is it a time of preparation or provocation from the enemy? Well it’s both.

I am reading Steven Pressfield: Do The Work. He talks about ‘resistance’. The resistance that comes from the universe itself each time we undertake to live a creative life: it’s all around us. I prefer to call this resistance by a name: the devil. Do what you like with the term or concept. Many may laugh at this or discount it but that does not negate the reality of evil to try to subvert and destroy our destiny in Christ. To a Christian, the enemy is real. His purpose: to steal, kill, and to destroy.

The enemy ALWAYS seeks to get you out of God’s timing.

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10 NKJVS)

Jesus knew this and discerned this. He stayed in sync with God and in the timing of heaven. Yet, the enemy was ALWAYS, in some form, attempting to pull Him out of His eternal path. Jesus often said, “My timing has not yet come.” Stay in time with the sound of eternity and we will reach our destination.

Hiddenness move into our time to prepare us. This preparation runs side by side with the provocation of the enemy, which I blogged about in the last post.

Don’t give in to the accusations, which only serve to hinder your forward movement in time. In the midst of being hidden, while being prepared for a moment of breakthrough into greater responsibility and authority, remember we have to focus on the big picture that is before us. We then take steps, day by day, one at a time, to get to that place in the Spirit that is ordained for us to walk out in the earthly realm. How many get out of sync because they want to break out, come out prematurely? Not a good thing.

There is much preparation being done for breakthrough before breakthrough. That is why I can declare breakthrough and not yet see it. Behind the scenes is where so much is going on. I have to believe that. I do believe that for my God is faithful.

That is why I must discern the time, the right NOW that is leading me away from the past into the next step, the future. It is not a good thing to get bogged down in what happened in the past. I can look at the reality of what happened in the past and take it personally as an indictment against me and the reason as to why I am standing in this hidden place. I place condemnation upon my life because I am being chastised for what I did or did not do in the past.

Hiddenness in plain sight is a promotional time for me, even if I do not quite get it or see it. It is. Even when the accusations hit strong and hard, even when I am at the edge of not being able to take being passed over one more time. What keeps me going? It is Jesus and my love and passion for Him and His plan for my life. I submit to His restraining hand…totally blind and perhaps in the dark in my own understanding about the time. I submit out of love. No other reason. I love Him and I know He loves me. It is in the hiddenness that His love reveals itself to me, strong and sure. His love. Not as I understand love to be, but a love that is sure and real. A love that prepares the way in front of me (even in the darkness) in the midst of provocation and says, “Keep on walking.”

Thanks for following me in this blog. I am writing as I am walking and seeing, one step at a time. I don’t know where this is heading but I trust Him. Will I look like a fool if nothing works out and yet, I am writing all of this? Well, that may be one way to look at it but I can’t look at it that way. I know it will work out and this testimony will build all of our faith.

Question? Comments? I would love to hear from you. Are you hidden in plain sight? In your job, ministry, day-to-day life? How does it make you feel? Do you see it as a time of preparation or a time of disqualification? Comments?

In Christ,
Debra

Rivers of Eden Ministry would love to speak at your next conference, home group of gathering. Contact me on our Contact Page. Get to know me on Twitter, and by going to Our Timeline of Life.

 

Some Great Quotes

Here are some great quotes challenging my growth in Christ. They comfort and assure me, challenge and confront me, and most of all let me know God is in control, even if I don’t understand it all at this time.

“You can’t have authority over what you don’t love.” Shawn Bolz

“Become a safe place for the supernatural to happen in people’s lives.” Shawn Bolz

“2014 – Restoration of the method, the message and the messenger.” James Goll

“Prophecy is high-tech love.” Shawn Bolz

“Faith and hope work together. Hope is the seed bed that faith grows in.”  Kris Vallotton

“Hope feels, faith sees.” Kris Vallotton

And here’s mine:

In Christ, Debra Westbrook

Please pray and consider having Rivers of Eden minister in your gathering, home group, conference or church in 2014. This is our year of release wherever and whenever God opens His doors bringing His grace and His glory through us to those to whom we are called in this season. Feel Free to contact us on Facebook, Twitter.

Creative Expression – Prophecy….. Flowing From His Grace and Goodness!

I prophesied a lot over the past years – over people, churches, nations, situations. One night many years ago, I awoke at 2 am in the morning to a divine encounter with Jesus, calling me to a prophetic life in Him. There is a hunger in me for Holy Spirit, His gifts, His flow, and His creativity. My Christian life is an adventure – walking in the supernatural is my normal.

We are all called to prophesy. It is part of our Christian life. This is not a teaching. This is my heart in the prophetic – how I grew, how I changed, and how I still love Holy Spirit and adventure. It is for you. It is for me.

Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. (1 Corinthians 14:1 NKJV)

As grace awakened my life in 2013, the lens over my eyes shifted to prophesying with one focus, and only one focus in my heart. Jesus Christ, His finished work, the glories of His unconditional love and acceptance in the beloved, is the source of all prophecy that flows over my lips and from my heart. There is no other way.

Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Revelation 19:10 NKJV)

The testimony of Jesus Christ, flowing through my life, is the spirit by which I prophesy. Yet, that was not always evident in the Charismatic movement in which I immersed myself as a Christian. Over the years, I saw a lot and heard a lot. I was part of it all. Sometimes the bulk of the prophecy, at times, seemed to have its focus on everything but Jesus Christ. As I said, in my life, grace shifted my focus.

Grace has not eliminated the desire to prophesy. It has only clarified my intent and purpose in the gifts of prophecy and other gifts of the Spirit. It has ‘rounded me out’, if I can say it that way. To prophesy from the life of Christ flowing through me and not some other focus or agenda.

Now, I want to add some observations if I may. On my Facebook wall, I read a lot from grace teachers. In their posts, I don’t read a lot about prophecy or the gifts of the Spirit or the manifest presence of God. I don’t read anything about five-fold ministry of apostles, prophets, etc. yet, Paul specifically talks about this in the epistles. Sometimes, I find some things lacking in these posts.

I do read a lot of words about the finished work of the cross, theological debates and discussions. It’s excellent but often I still find it lacking. Kind of like, running with some great revelation, but how long do you keep running with it? I want to ask this question “What now?” How often do you keep saying, “God loves you unconditionally? You are forgiven.” What movement for me is beyond this revelation? To walk in grace in the fullness of the Spirit flowing through my life.

What happens with the revelation of grace? With me, it fits in and adds fulfillment to many of the other teachings in my Christian life that may have been a bit off but now are full in grace. Grace keeps me centered on the fact that I BE in Christ and He flows through me. Yet, I still hunger for the gifts of the Spirit to add that creative element to my Christian life.

I also wonder how one flows as eyes open to grace if you are considered to be a Baptist or a Charismatic or an Evangelical. Do you maintain your positions of belief to some extent even in grace? Does a grace revelation flow from your foundation in that particular denomination. Let me explain. I have not been in many Baptist churches where Holy Spirit is flowing in tongues or in the gifts with spontaneity. From what little I know, many Evangelicals can also hesitate to take the Charismatic seriously. And, Charismatics can be so experience minded, that they could seem a bit ‘out there’ to others.

Many coming into grace from denominational backgrounds. What now? Grace is the great equalizer to accept the truths in Scripture that the lens of our vision may have disregarded in other seasons of our life. In other words, grace opens the door to the fullness of Scripture, not just an add-on to our belief system.

Grace does not negate the five-fold ministry or the gifts of the Spirit in Christ. It beautifully gives these color and creativity. Grace has moved me into a greater measure of His glory by faith in Christ and His unconditional love for me.

Just some thoughts and way more are coming.

In Christ, Debra Westbrook

Rivers of Eden – our ministry in Christ. Please pray and consider having Rivers of Eden minister in your gathering, home group, conference or church in 2014. This is our year of release wherever and whenever God opens His doors bringing His grace and His glory through us to those to whom we are called in this season.

You can contact us on Facebook, Twitter, our Rivers of Eden Contact Page, or right here in the comments.

Some Great Posts To Read

Mirror, Mirror

Be Intentional

The Voice, The Vision