spiritual journey

By Brandon Jackel

I have been alive on the earth for thirty-two years.  The last fifteen of those years I have been on a faith walk.  When  I was seventeen, I had an encounter with God that marked my life.  Since that time I have been on a spiritual journey, trekking through life, learning valuable principles.  During this time, some of the most valuable principles I have learned, are to delight in God, travel to be refreshed, and give generously. This post is only about my journey in delighting in God, while I will share later on the other two ideas.

I remember a time, shortly after I graduated from high school, when I had a strong desire to be social.  Every weekend I would meet up with friends and I would smoke, drink, and party.  It was fun initially, but later it seemed like it began to take over my life.  What started off as a social outlet turned into an unhealthy lifestyle.  I went from partying on the weekends to almost every day.  I was out of control. 

            One weekend my friend was having a house party.  His parents were out of town, and the party was huge.  It was fun at first, but then it got out of control.  People began to engage in inappropriate behavior.  Too much alcohol was consumed.  Illegal drugs were used, and many of my friend’s personal belongings were either broken or stolen.  When the party ended the next morning I had nowhere to go.  My breath smelled like alcohol, and my pupils were dilated.  I needed somewhere to go, so I decided to go to church. 

            I arrived, I walked in, and took a seat in the front row. (I didn't think much about it at the time.) The people who surrounded me were friendly.  They greeted me and welcomed me to the service.  As soon as the worship team began to lead in music, the presence of God came upon me.  All of a sudden, I was filled with sobriety as tears of joy streamed down my face.  In that moment, I was able to think clearly.  For the first time I was able to make sense of my life, and I was able to recognize the reasons behind the bad choices I had made. 

            As I reflected on what had happened to me, I felt liberated.  I felt like a thousand pounds had been lifted off my shoulders.  All my fears, worries, and anxieties disappeared.  It felt like I had received a new heart, and I had been transformed into a new person.  I had never in my life experienced anything like this.  The emotions I experienced in that moment were joy and peace.  As tears came down my face, all the negative emotions I had harbored over the years were lifted.  It appeared that my perspective in life had changed, and I was viewing myself and others through a new lens. 

            “Is this really happening?” I asked myself.  “Is this a dream?” I wondered.  What I experienced felt like a dream; it all happened so fast, and so unexpectedly.  I never experienced anything like this before.  It was so uplifting and so refreshing.  I could experience the love and pleasure of God over my life, and it sent chills down my spine.   I knew from that moment on my life would be forever changed.  I then realized I had been searching for this type of pleasure all my life, but I was looking for it in the wrong places.  I realized I had a desire in my heart for God and I could delight in Him, where I had previously only delighted in  parties and drugs.  My delight now became taking pleasure in Him, rather than in temporal gratifications.

            We are all on a spiritual journey. Someone else's walk may look different than mine, but this still remains- There is nothing more pleasurable than delighting in God and who He is.  It’s good for us to delight in Him.  People are created for pleasure.  When people don’t delight themselves in Him, we may find ourselves delighting in other things (drugs, alcohol, sex, food, pornography, gambling, forms of entertainment, etc.), things that do not last.  When people don’t take pleasure in the presence of God, people find pleasure in worldly desires.  Worldly desires are things that bring pleasure to our soul, but not necessarily to our spirits. Eternal pleasures touch both the soul and spirit. , and create lasting fruit and manifesting goodness in our lives.  We all want to find pleasure in something and we have the power to choose what that will be.

            However, when we delight ourselves in God, we experience heavenly pleasures.  These pleasures include emotions such as love, joy, and peace.  Pleasures from heaven may also consist of dreams, visions, and angelic visitations.  These experiences happen to encourage, exhort, and affirm who you are as a person with purpose.  Pleasure from God instills courage, builds confidence, and ignites passion.  Desiring God also develops faith, deepens hope, and stirs love towards others.  If people delight themselves in the Lord, they will be more prone to accomplish goals, fulfill their destinies, and live full, satisfied lives.

            There is a passage of scripture that states, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desire of your heart.  Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass.” (Psalms 37:4-5, NKJ) This is a promise in the scriptures stating if we take pleasure in God, then He will fulfill the dreams within our hearts.  People are able to fulfill the dreams within their hearts because the pleasure of God is enabling.  This enablement comes when people delight themselves in God, receiving all the good things He has prepared for those who desire Him. There are many pleasures in life, the ones that last forever are those of the spirit. I have learned if I am only feeding the desires of the heart, and not feeding the hunger of the spirit, I would be spiritually dead. In turn this makes me feel unsatisfied in life. We all are on a spiritual journey waiting to feed on that which eternally satisfies both the body, soul and spirit. This is a need only God can meet.

           My life has been a roller coaster of things, all which I found great pleasure in since God was my delight in it all.  I received fresh vision for my life.  I had more clarity pertaining to my purpose in life, and I had more definition of how to fulfill that purpose.  I felt purpose in going to Bible school, where I also met my wife.  I have been very blessed in life. He gave me a beautiful bride and five incredible children. 

            As I continued to delight in God, I had dreams in my heart to learn different skill sets and travel the world.  He opened up opportunities for me to travel domestically and abroad.  I traveled to Israel, India, Ireland, and Guatemala.  I have fulfilled several desires of my heart and I truly believe its because my delight and pleasure is in Him. There is a Proverb that says, "man makes the plan, but He orders his steps." Delighting in the goodness of God, and all that is wonderful around you, gives us the ability to see beyond human means to dream big. We can dream and he can put those dreams to flight.
              This is just one man's story. We each have a story being written of our lives. The pleasures of God are innumerable. What does your heart delight in?

Living Full

This past year has been full! Full of good things, yet, I find myself sweetly anticipating this much needed break from the rest of the world. You see, every year I sit and evaluate my past year: the decisions I've made, the dreams I put to motion, the responsibilities I carried, my walk as wife, mother, and daughter of God. Did I live well? Did I live full? Did I live in constant joy and peace? What was challenging in 2015? What was empowering? I take a time of reflection before entering the new year so that I can set new goals, continuing to move forward in my dreams, and to find grace in what this next year may hold for me. It's a time of planning, but its also a time of vulnerability - because I must zero in on my own heart and the challenges it faces (in the life I have chosen to live) and to choose to live according to the Spirit. This requires me to shut off the rest of the world (and the voice of reason) so I can really be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Often times this incorporates some sort of fast, so that I can practice the habit of surrender and humility. Fasting always puts my heart in a place where I'm inclined to lean, listen, and trust just a bit more. But this year I felt led to fast differently. As a mother to 5 (all under the age of 8), homeschooling and being a home-maker, while caring for the needs of my husband, and those whom I am in relationship with, along with the desires that are in my own heart to tackle, I realize that Grace comes with a name, and His name is Jesus. And if I am to move forward in all He has for me, living full (this means without complaining, without bitterness and without anxiety) in the joy, the love, and the richness of His goodness, I must be willing to lay down some things. Why do we fight so hard to give up control when our hearts ache so long to do so? I ask myself this often. I KNOW He is the SOURCE of every good and great thing, yet I can struggle so hard to release control over my own life. So as I enter 2016, I am fasting every external voice that has the [POTENTIAL] to influence my life negatively. This sounds simple right? But its not as simple as I thought. I began to explore all the external things that could potentially influence my thoughts negatively. And I realized that the potential for that is happening everywhere. I have to give up facebook, Instagram (what if there' a picture that causes jealousy, envy, or coveting???), Netflix, movies, alcohol. I don't think any of these are bad or wrong! So hear my heart. But they do have the "power of influence" and for principle alone, I knew it was something God was calling me to in this next season. I'm giving him 40 days. My hope and desire is that God will give me strategy, fresh breath on all these areas that play a role in my life, including how to live day to day with my family and how to make sure they are getting the best "Me" they could get. The best Me comes from the Holy Spirit and the joy, passion, and love that He gives me to live life with them.

This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. [So if we want to know the thoughts, heart and wisdom of the Holy Spirit, we must activate Him within us. In order to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, we must also silence its opposing voice, the voice of the world, the voice of reason.] Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, [all that we desire, every good gift, everything we need is free. It is a gift given to us by the Spirit of God. Don't we want to know the things given freely to us by the Holy Spirit?]  But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual evaluates all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:13-16

I am actually excited to fast from all media. I am in great anticipation to know, see, and understand the gift of God on my life. We all have been given the gift of life - and we are meant to enjoy it! The curse has been broken. No more sweat. No more striving. No more stress or worry. No more living oppressed by the responsibilities of life. Life doesn't have to steal from us. Rather it's there to be a blessing. It can bring us overwhelming joy, peace that transcends our own human reason, fulfillment and happiness that money can not provide. Jesus has a gift for us if we make ourselves available to receive it. I want it.

I'm not too keen on making New Years resolutions. But I'm all about dreaming big and setting goals to get to where you want to be. Dreams come with a cost. Every year is a step closer to living my dreams out fully. So what I am committed to in 2016, is a year living full - full of grace, full of peace, full of contentment, full of love, full of every good thing, full of blessing upon blessing, and being able to recognize it all, always being filled with thankfulness. We must protect our hearts from anything less. It is God's pleasure to see us blessed, and to know it.

The best things in life can not be bought. They are simply lived.

Live full for 2016!

Am I called to the earth?

I was recently "googling" whether Jell-O was gluten-free, when I had a storm of thoughts pertaining to "sub-duing and taken dominion over the earth" as believers. I know, not quite your typical thought process happening here, but I can explain. It really all started when I saw someone comment about Jello-O being made from the bones and cartilage of animal matter. The person pretty much said eating Jell-O was disgusting and now that we know better we should make better decisions about what part of the animal we are eating. I found this ignorant statement somewhat embarrassing, as the person continued to talk about the savaging in Native American (better as "First Nations" people) customs, who used every part of the animal for something. "We should know better now...." she said.

 

I do have a point in all this. I recently have been very intrigued by Native American beliefs and customs and have been fascinated with their love for life. I have also been deeply inspired by their respect for the earth and every living thing in it. I'm NOT saying I embrace all their practices and ways of worship (all first nations tribes can be vastly different from one another). But what I am saying, is I found that they have tapped into a way of life, that is a very instinctly way of living, that we have exited out of a society as a whole - especially in the church. Native American beliefs are deeply rooted in their culture. They believe EVERYTHING is sacred, from the largest mountain to the smallest plant and animal. A lesson can be found in all experiences and everything has a purpose. To sum up Native spirituality: it is about HONOR, LOVE, and RESPECT. Not only do they love, honor, and respect our Creator and our "Mother Earth", but also every living thing. It is about being in touch with ourselves and everything around us. It is about knowing and understanding that we are part of everything, and everything is a part of us, believing we are all One. In fact, the reason why a native man would use every part of the animal was not because he was a "savage" but because he lived in harmony with creation. He wanted the living thing to only die with [full] purpose. It doesn't make sense to a native American to waste anything, because it goes against his code of honor. If it has to die, then it must be utilized in every possible way. This became their way of survival. I feel as a culture as a whole we could learn a lot from this. I have personally seen a lot of people (even in the church) mock this "organic" was of living that is starting to trend now, as if it's a new thing. But guess what? Going green, or being "crunchy" or a little "granola", or even a bit "natural" isn't AT ALL a new thing - it's a divine thing, and he's put the instinct in us from the beginning.

My question to many believers who preach and teach on subduing the earth, taking dominion, establishing His Kingdom, and bringing heaven on earth is this - what are you eating everyday? You see its really not only about getting healthy (although that's an incentive). But the bigger picture is this - how are we living in harmony with the earth? And how are we stewarding this power that we have in the earth? Are we eating and living as if we really do believe we are called to steward the earth? Isn't this how the garden scene starts in Genesis? Its amazing to me the interactions Adam has with the animals as he names each one. And, here, you have the most "humane" scene ever - everything the earth was created to produce was there, that Adam could enjoy without any striving. And the beauty of it all was beheld by him and he took dominion over this portion of earth and living beings with respect and trust. I sometimes wonder if Adam could understand what the animals were saying at this time - I wonder what they would speak to one another about. It seems to me that we were meant to be in-tune to what nature was speaking, what it was producing, and what its purpose was. "Sub-due the earth" means to "till it, to keep it" and it was one of the first things God ask of us after creating us. Seems to me that if God restored us to our original design through the second adam, Jesus, that this would hold true to us today.  “...be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion” (Gen 1:28)

 

Humanity has more than just our nutritive/vegetative and animalistic/reproductive elements. We stand above plants and animals as rational creatures toward which they are ordered. So, I'm not saying we should go and worship creation. But I do believe in honoring creation, we worship the Creator. In our cultural crisis, some people overreact to our separation from nature and make nature an end in itself. Nature is not a regular part of most of our lives and (some) of the environmental movement is actually another symptom of this isolation. Rather than recognizing the purpose of nature, some environmentalists hold it up as something for its own sake. Producing works of culture, on the other hand, clearly reminds us that the rest of creation is subordinate to us and is meant for us. Agriculturally speaking, planting seeds, tending plant and animal life, and harvesting give us a glimpse of God’s creation being cultivated in order to sustain and uphold us.

So what am I saying in all this? Maybe.....just maybe its not a trend, but a divine movement of us getting back to what we were created for? Is it too beyond our faith to think so? Are we called to not just love one another, but to also live in harmony with all God has put here for us?

What do you think?