"... You are like a Lion in the ocean..." These were the words Glenn, my office partner, said to me following a conversation we had about following desire and fulfillment. The phrase stuck to me like glue. In just a few words Glenn managed to describe what I was feeling inside. I feel much like a lion in the ocean.
An ocean is a great place for a fish, a Dolphin, a Shark, a Whale... That is their source of life. A Lion, however, finds life in an open field, a jungle. A shark, who may be king of the ocean, would not find life in an open field, but a lion... He is the King of the jungle!
"A lion would get weighed down in the water...." Brooke later added. Yeah, that pretty much describes why I am so warn out. How much longer must I doggy paddle in this vast ocean? Fortunately I have learned to swim, but that doesn't mean it brings life to wade in the ocean water.
I remember being in Wyoming on a family trip, and as we took the boat to a private island the boat captain informed us that there are Elk, Bears etc on this tiny island. "How did they get there?" I asked curiously. "They swim..."
Could you imagine taking a canoe ride over to the island, casually paddling, and all of a sudden seeing an Elk swim by? Or worse, a Bear! That is not where I would expect to see a bear!
Yet, as a means of getting from one island to another, I guess I could see the value in such an effort. Glenn humorously added, "There must have been something pretty great on that island..." Why else would a bear take such a radical plunge?
That pretty much describes things... I thought I was only temporally "swimming in the ocean" to get to something much greater. Many years later, I still find myself doggy (or Lion) paddling in the ocean. Did I get lost along the way?
How does a Lion find his way back to the open field?
Yesterday, I was talking to an old friend/father figure in my life who had some very pointed and impacting things to say. One of which was a simple truth I had heard many times before but it seemed to have deeper impact coming from him: "You need to follow passion...take a leap of faith..."
In a discussion at dinner this past week, someone I respect asked Brooke and I pointedly, "So what is your passion...?" When we tried to answer, he added, "So what are you disillusioned about?" The question pierced my heart. Perhaps the many "Leaps of faith", where we felt like we fell flat on our face after risking all to pursue our dreams, may have something to do with it.
So what do you do? Not dream again? Bury your heart in order to survive an ordinary life?
A Lion was not created to swim the ocean! A Lion was created to rule the open field majestically. A lion in the ocean is a weakened foe, overburdened by the weighty water upon his coat. A lion may find a way to survive the ocean, but he will never thrive there.
A lion belongs in the open field where he can rule as King of the jungle!
So, what about you? Are you a fish swimming in your intended ocean? Or are you too a Lion trying to find life in an ocean you were not created to paddle?
So, what can we do about it now? Anything?
This one thing I know, I am searching desperately for my "open field" to thrive in.
As well known speaker Lance Wallnau likes to say, "We were all created to have our own sandbox to rule?" (something to that effect anyway)...
What is your "sandbox"? What is your "ocean" or "open field"?
What are we willing to do to get there?
I for one am tired of swimming in an ocean when I was created to rule in the open field.
Perhaps it is time to find the open field we were created to thrive in!
Enjoy The journey!
Bart
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Bart, just a thought from the other side. Your friend Practical Peter. Maybe God has you in the ocean because he wants you to stop paddling in your own flesh and die. Maybe Gods trying to kill that lion in you and raise you up as a killer whale to rule to ocean. I've learned in life that when I pray for help and direction God usually never changes my circumstances, instead he changes my perspective, and my attitude toward my circumstances. When this happens, you, your environment and the people around you change. God didn't put you in the ocean for you to try to get out, instead he put you in the ocean to change it. Oh how I wish God would just pick us up and put us in a situations that we want to be in but he usually doesn't. Bart, my prayer for you is that you will stop paddling and let God take you in the direction that he wants. If that means death in the ocean (death on the alter) I know he'll raise you up in greatness.
ReplyDeleteThanks Pete. I know I can count on you to be practical. I can also count on you to trust and obey God in what He calls you to become. I hope you will trust me to do the same. I appreciate your friendship. I also apprecaite your intentions. Yes, "He who holds onto His life will lose it and he who loses His life for Christ sake will find it." So, yes, we are to die so that Christ will live. So I agree with your general point. That understood, Christ never calls us to die to who He created us to be.
ReplyDeleteIf He called us to be a Killer Whale then yes, the Ocean is the place to be. However, If He created us to be a lion, then it would be foolish to counsel a lion to remain in the ocean. God did not call us to die to who He created us to be. He called us to die to our flesh and sin nature, and live in Christ.
Settling for less than God's call and purpose for our life brings glory to no one but the enemy of our soul.
It is not more honorable to remain the same and live a life of less. It is more consistent with the ways of God to obey, trust and risk in order to live for all that God has for our lives. I pray that we all have the courage to obey God and become all that He has created us to become. I for one am glad that the Father of our faith, Abraham did...
It is not better to risk little and stay the same. It is more honorable to trust God and became all that He has created us to be!
When counseling a fish, then it is right to encourage him to remain in the ocean. If counsleing a Lion it would be falling short of destiny to encourage him to make the most of the sea.
We are not to die to who God created us to be but rather do what it takes to become all that God created us to become.
My prayer is that we will all have enough courage to be all that God created us to be! Where He wants us to be is always the wisest place to be. Whatever He wants us to become is the only wise choice to submit to.
I pray that you and I (and others reading) will always do so, and I apprecaite your friendship that desires God's best for my life as defined by Him.
Blessings,
Bart
Bart,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your heart on your blog. It is encouraging to see that you are willing to step out in faith and take a risk even when people may call you crazy or foolish. It is helping other people to do the same.
Thank you, also, for teaching me to hear God's voice. You hear from Him so clearly, and it is even more of a gift that you listen and follow what He is saying to do.
Finally, what a treasure it is for you to really know and understand WHO God has called you to be. For me, I am still trying to come to grips with who God has called me to be. Through spending time with your family, I have learned to value my giftings instead of compare them with other people's. We have all been created specially and uniquely for a specific purpose, and I have come to find HOPE in that, much through the encouragement of you and your family. You are confident in WHO God has called you to be, WHAT He has called you to do, and WHERE He has called you to go. You see, through coming to understand my giftings in relation to the rest of the body of Christ, I see that we are NOT all called to live where the lion does, NOR are we all called to live where the killer whale does. Where do I fit? I don't know yet. BUT, I do know that you are teaching others to have courage and confidence in who you are in Christ.
Thank you so much for all you have shown me and taught me. We are so excited for what God is going to do through you and your family.
Love,
Melissa
Hey Bart, after reading your blog and the comments posted, I just have a few thoughts. I think that it is amazing that God has opened your eyes and given you direction that you have patient and persistent in chasing after. You and your family have helped me grow so much in trusting God; you’re continually pushing and pressing into God searching for his heart to raise the people up around who want more of God. With that said I am excited that the Lion is on Journey back to where to he can run free and restore the pride lands! As for the other I would ask this question “Should a lion stay in the ocean and try to grow gills to adapt to the environment around him? I think no. I believe that God brings us into places that are sometimes scary and totally out of comfort zone to bring growth to challenge our trust, our character, and our faith. I believe you have passed those tests time and time again, so now God can give you the inheritance - the dreams and desires of your heart. During the time in the ocean your heart and God's heart aligned and now your heart is his heart and out of a place of pure love for his Kingdom and people you are helping people find their hearts!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your vulnerability in your blogs I enjoy them immensely.
Thank you, Josh and Mel. I appreciate your encouragement. My hope is that we will all come into all that God has called and created us to be with honor, dignity, faith, trust and love.
ReplyDeleteTo God be the glory!
Blessings,
Bart
Hey Bart,
ReplyDeleteThis was wonderful! I love the analogy of the lion in the ocean and your ability to share so vulnerably about what that feels like. I was just reading an excerpt from John Eldridge's Sacred Romance that I thought pertained to your struggle. Here it is:
"It’s better to stay in the safety of the camp than venture forth on a wing and a prayer. Who knows what dangers lie ahead? This was the counsel of the ten faithless spies sent in to have a look at the Promised Land when the Jews came out of Egypt. Only two of the twelve, Joshua and Caleb, saw things differently. Their hearts were captured by a vision of what might be and they urged the people to press on. But their voices were drowned by the fears of the other ten spies and Israel wandered for another forty years. Without the anticipation of better things ahead, we will have no heart for the journey.
One of the most poisonous of all Satan’s whispers is simply, “Things will never change.” That lie kills expectation, trapping our heart forever in the present. To keep desire alive and flourishing, we must renew our vision for what lies ahead. Things will not always be like this. Jesus has promised to “make all things new.” Eye has not seen, ear has not heard all that God has in store for his lovers, which does not mean “we have no clue so don’t even try to imagine,” but rather, you cannot outdream God. Desire is kept alive by imagination, the antidote to resignation. We will need imagination, which is to say, we will need hope.
Julia Gatta describes impatience, discouragement, and despair as the “noonday demons” most apt to beset the seasoned traveler. As the road grows long we grow weary; impatience and discouragement tempt us to forsake the way for some easier path. These shortcuts never work, and the guilt we feel for having chosen them only compounds our feelings of despair."
The sense that I get is that the ocean in your dessert. The Isrealites were not meant to wander, nor are you meant to paddle. There is hope. I speak in holy boldness when I say that you are called to great things here on earth.
My prayers are with you!
Love, Carrie
Carrie, Thank you. Very well said, and great excerpt. I do believe it is fear that limits us from our destiny. Courage and bold obedience to God is what Joshua and Caleb demonstrated in the midst of fearful men. Unfortunatly tht fear kept the children of Isreal bound to the monotony of the desert.
ReplyDeleteI believe we have done our time in the desert, it is time to live!
Thanks,
Carrie
I meant to say, thank you Cariie,
ReplyDeleteBart