“MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHERE ARE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

I remember being 8 years old desperately walking around Wal-Mart looking for my parents, lost in the sea of brown faces, the crowded aisles, Rudolph the red nosed reindeer playing in the background, sweat pouring down my face and my heart beating right out of my chest. It had only been about 10 minutes, but it felt like an eternity. The distraction of the newest pink Huffy Bike with the cutest white basket in the front caught my eye and it was as if all of my 5 senses were drawn to this marvelous shiny desire of mine. My eyes started getting watery and I stopped running and suddenly came to a stand still. What is it that causes a child who is loved and taken care of to have such thoughts, these reactions of abandonment and fear? Fear literally gripped my heart and the beautiful pink bike was now nowhere to be found in my mind. The very thing that had captivated me to the degree that I forgot about my father and mother and the direction we were headed no longer existed or had control of my 5 senses. All that mattered now was finding them. The ones that my eyes were searching for and praying I would get a glimpse of. Just one glimpse of their hair or their shirt, their shoe … anything … and it would all go back to perfect again.

Then all of a sudden there it was … a distant 2-tone whistle that brought peace and joy instantly. I still hadn’t seen him (my dad), but the whistle put me at ease and made me realize he was looking for me and I would soon be with them again. I tried to whistle back and followed the sound. Every 10 seconds I would here it again until he was right in front of me. Hugs and a few more tears followed by a little rant of, “I was scared and why did they leave me?” then it was all okay again.

All of us have been through similar situations as a child, but as adults our moments of disorientation have intensified a bit. However, very similar in that most of the time we feel abandoned, far from God, distant from His presence, lost, insecure, etc. It’s those moments I can recall in life that I looked away from His stare and His gaze … that I got distracted with shiny worldly affections. These were momentary satisfactions that pleased my insecurities and opened wounds that were not fully healed. Not because God didn’t want to heal them, but because I sadistically chose to hold close those comfort wounds. Even as “born again”, “fired up”, “anointed”, “suburbs-living” “soccer-mom”, and “evangelistic warriors” with a nice warm bed to lay in nightly, we give ourselves the awful privilege to panic and rant and rave in moments of unsteadiness. Don’t get me wrong, we are earthen vessels and God has not called us to be super humans that have a solution for everything and never miss a step. (Even though some of us do like to think that we are.) He is Strong where we are weak. But by far, it is the revelation of His deep love and the life that comes from His very breath that sustains these bones and flesh in place.
There’s a beautiful scripture I would like to share that is found in Zechariah where God does exactly what my dad did at Wally world. He whistles. Not only does He whistle to show us direction but to show us we are His people, His beloved bride and we are equipped for not only moments of distress but for the very purpose of knowing who we are in Him and bringing change wherever we are. The battle belongs to Him! I love the part that talks about trampling over our enemies and how even the enemy’s horsemen will be overthrown. In my personal life, I have trampled over anger but those horsemen of pride and insecurity sometimes whinny my way.

Check this out:

Zechariah 10: 5-12

They will be like mighty warriors in battle,
trampling their enemies in the mud under their feet.

Since the Lord is with them as they fight,
they will overthrow even the enemy’s horsemen.

I will restore them because of my compassion.
It will be as though I had never rejected them,
for I am the Lord their God, who will hear their cries.

… they will become like mighty warriors,
and their hearts will be made happy as if by wine.

Their children, too, will see it and be glad;
their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.

When I whistle to them, they will
come running, for I have redeemed them.

They will pass safely through the sea of distress,
for the waves of the sea will be held back,
and the waters of the Nile will dry up.
The pride of Assyria will be crushed,
and the rule of Egypt will end.

By my I will make my people strong, and by my authority
they will go wherever they wish. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Yes you have Lord! You have spoken. I can hear your distinct whistle that only your children know and I will run to you. You are greater than my sin! You have the primary place in my heart! I am satisfied in You alone!

And rejoice because our human weakness provides the ideal opportunity to experience God’s life-changing power. We’re all sinners (Romans 3:23), and the penalty for our sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). But God doesn’t leave us condemned. He loves us too much for that, so He reveals Jesus to us, the champion whistler who is sounding his song over our lives. As we run closer to Him, by His power we can overcome anything in this life on earth!
What an elementary lesson for this complex world we live in but it’s the elementary, the simple that reveals the heart of God

As I was writing this blog I felt led by the Holy Spirit to encourage some of you. Specifically a woman in her early 40′s that has struggled with letting go of a specific word that was spoken over her as a child:

You gripped your fingers into it (this word) because it was safer to believe that about yourself than to truly challenge your limits. It’s in the area of a talent you have that is actually a gift from the Lord. It’s in the times that this gift is no longer in a cocoon state in your life that it blossoms its wings. It’s the perfect time to use it actually. God has put you in a place of ministry and leadership where if you choose to step out in this gift and trust that it’s from Him you will see broken hearts mended instantly, relationships restored and addictions broken off of peoples lives all because He is going to use you and this gift. Let it soar and fly, no longer captive and bound. You are Free!

I pray Blessings over each of you and leave you with one of my favorite songs to sing to the Lord. Written by Keith Green, it sets things into the right perspective of how when we gaze into His eyes and see the beauty of His Holiness, it’s easier to believe what He says about us and His great love. My favorite line is the last one that says, “And when I’m doing well, help me to never seek a crown, for my Reward is giving Glory to You.”

Keith Green – Oh Lord, You’re Beautiful

Oh lord, you’re beautiful,

Your face is all I see,

For when your eyes are on this child,

Your grace abounds to me.

-Oh lord, please light the fire,

That once burned bright and clean.

Replace the lamp of my first love,

That burns with holy fear.

-I want to take your word and shine it all around.

But first help me to just, live it lord.

And when I’m doing well, help me to never seek a crown.

For my reward is giving glory to you.

Yvonne Munoz