Have you ever felt like you were working hard and doing the best you could, but you were still not without making any progress? Imagine you are in a sail boat that is stuck in the middle of a lake. The only way to get the boat to move forward to your intended destination is to WAIT for the wind to blow the sail.
A few months ago, God gave JoAnna and I a powerful word that has been guiding much of what we have been doing in the past few months. He told us we were like that ship that was not moving and was stuck in the middle of the lake. We were trying hard to get our lives moving, but He was not bringing the wind yet. He told us that we needed to press into Him and refocus on prayer before He would bring the wind. He needed us to depend on him in a greater way BEFORE we would see any progress.
For us, extended prayer and fasting was exactly what we needed. The supernatural power of the Holy Spirit was what we needed before God would propel our ship forward. Spending time in prayer and fasting allowed us to realize how we were nothing without HIS power. There were situations we needed to free ourselves from so we could start the next season with a new reset. Sometimes before charging forward, you must dig deep into Jesus and let him do a deep work in your life.
Finally in June, God said, “You’re ready. Throw up your sail. Move forward!" Now, we are moving at full speed ahead with the power of the wind of the Holy Spirit. We are moving into new places that we have never gone before and we are seeing God do incredible things with the new church He has called us to plant. We often remember what God did in that extended season of sitting and waiting for Him and how much we realize that He is the one who is pushing us forward.
There are times to move forward with the wind at your back. However, there are many times where God is purposefully not bringing the wind so He can do a work in our hearts and bring us to a new level of dependency. You have the ability to experience the power of the Holy Spirit in both times.
“It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.”
- Zechariah 4:6
