God's Classroom

Jesus is always deeply involved in every area of our lives. As we grow in intimacy and communion with Him, we become more aware of His Presence in and through us. Jesus holds the cosmic order together in His hands (Colossians 1:17). As we meditate on this, our fear vanishes because we realize that Jesus is everywhere and in everything. There is no distance between Him and us.

Fear holds many believers back from stepping out to share their faith, give prophetic words or pray for miracles, especially when strangers are involved. How do we disempower this fear and gain confidence to act when we hear from the Lord? The key is trust: understanding that Jesus answers all prayers in accordance with His will (Matthew 6:9). He will always respond when we act in faith.

Hebrews tells us the following:

Hebrews 11:6 (NASB) “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

Seeking God is active, not passive. It is not a merely an intellectual pursuit - it must be accompanied with a thirst to gain experiential awareness of His ways. I more fully understand God’s ways when I do what He has asked me to do: advance the kingdom by spreading the message of the gospel with accompanying signs and wonders. When I step out and talk to someone about God, pray for healing, or prophesy over them, I am setting myself up for reward from my Father. God always rewards this kind of behavior because it is done in love, requires faith, and stands on the belief that God is who He says He is. What is heaven’s reward? It is knowing His ways more fully.

The Lord’s idea of reward is different than ours. Advancing the kingdom and seeing people saved, healed, and delivered is incredible and paramount, but I believe the Lord is just as much interested in our “failures” as our successes.

Jesus is our teacher, our rabbi. In fact, He is THE teacher. He is more eager to see people saved and healed than we are, but He is also interested in watching His children grow into mature, confident, and complete sons of God. Rather than get discouraged when I step out in risk and don’t see the outcome I want, I must go to Him and ask “why?” This question, when asked in humility, invites Him to respond with clarification and encouragement. The questions not only invite answers, but relationship.

When we shift the focus off ourselves, we realize it is impossible to fail. God will either immediately respond to our faith and manifest the miracle, or will invite us back to the drawing board with Him. I will learn something every single time, no matter what, when I get my eyes off of what I want to see and on to what Jesus is trying to personally teach me. Growth requires failure. The more I can tolerate failure, the faster I will grow. We need to understand failure is not an enemy, but a great friend.

Months ago, I was reminded of these truths in a very interesting way. I had been seeking the Lord’s heart about lucid dreams (dreams in which we can consciously control our thoughts and actions) for several weeks. I had been in a season of fairly regular prophetic dreaming, but was praying to experience a more tangible sense of His Presence in my dreams.

One night, I fell asleep and opened my eyes to find myself in a classroom. As I looked around, I realized I was alone. I could see desks, a chalkboard, textbooks, and a hallway leading out of the room. I suddenly became aware of the fact that I was controlling my movements. My body felt like I was there- seated in a desk and ready for class. I was having my first lucid dream! I noticed dust along the counter-top beside me. I reached my finger down (consciously) and ran it through the dust. I could feel the dust on my finger and watched it float into the air! Fear overcame me for a moment. The excitement of experiencing something new like this had my head spinning. Realizing that the Lord was answering my prayer, I became excited and rushed to get out of the classroom to explore this new spiritual world. I walked down the hallway and put my hand on the doorknob. Blinding light filled my vision and I felt my body slam back into reality. Immediately I was back in my bedroom.

When it had ended, I heard the Lord say, “the next time you are there. I want you to stay there.” Confused, I asked for more details. He said, “I am your teacher. Become dust. Become ready to blow wherever my Spirit wants you to blow.” In my hurry to get out of the classroom and control the dream the way I wanted to, I had missed the whole point of it. His instruction is a process, and will lead us into greater freedom as we remain obedient, humble, and yielded to His voice. This is the reward for those who seek Him. At that moment, I realized the risks I had been taking in obedience to His voice were producing growth in my inner man.

The crucible of trial and error is where we grow the most in understanding God’s ways. Good theology is important as a springboard, but religious platitudes can never lead us deeper into a transformative experience with God’s Presence. Loving God is doing the things He has asked me to do - not just talking about them. Love is the force which brings the Kingdom of Heaven to earth (1 Corinthians 13:11-13). Love is the channel of the Holy Spirit because God is love (1 John 4:8).

Embracing every opportunity to step out in faith allows us to experience the Teacher heart of God. With the Creator of the universe on our side, it is impossible to fail. Fear loses any power in the light of this truth. Renew your mind to the reality that He is a consistent rewarder of those who seek Him. Be bold.