On Earth...
Written by Amanda Bowen
“I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven. I have given you authority…to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” Luke 10:18-19
Wednesday evening, Feb. 7, I was asking the Lord (like Hannah maybe), a little out loud but under my breath, what He wants for us to accomplish this week in the Kansas City area. In the course of a bible study/class at our church, I went to one of my “go to” verse references in Luke to remember how it is we are supposed to bless those who host us.
As we have gone out over the past three or four years, we are often hosted by a family or church, sometimes spontaneously, with housing and/or food for a family of four or a team of five or six for up to a week. The Lord has blessed us indeed with generous and gracious hosts from Kansas City, Illinois, Kentucky, New York, Alabama, and a number of other places. To say we have been abundantly blessed is an understatement. Because of these hosts, we have been able to extend our resources to travel further and extend the bounds of territory covered in these travels. Last year, the Lord began to challenge us to consider how we bless those who have opened their homes to bless us.
In our going this week, we are called to serve the message of reconciliation with my husband as a lighting designer in Kansas City, MO. He has been a part of this production for more than 10 years and we have repeatedly spent more than we are paid in order to walk out a greater story than our own…but even in that, we could not have made this trip without the hospitality of a church and a couple of families who will feed us a meal or two as we go. So, in considering all of this, this verse caught my spirit and I felt as though I had been shot. It gripped my heart with the depth of the purpose we carry wherever we go.
It reminded me of a dream I had once:
“I opened my eyes to see a large cardboard box coming down from the ceiling.
It set down over me, completely covering my whole body. I heard the word “authority” in a deep voice echoing inside the box…in my ears…vibrating my body.
Almost immediately, I thought, this is the authority of the Lord. I felt an awesome sense of awe and ability to accomplish anything. “If this is what the authority of Jesus is…then there is nothing I could not ask for right now that I would not see happen.” My mind was flooded with the texts of Jesus saying, “I do what the Father does…” It was like a continual flashing of words spoken out and written texts flashing all around me. I was overwhelmed with the number of references of authority, of how He submitted, called upon, sought after, and spoke to the authority of the Lord.
More than anything, I felt a great sense of responsibility.
We often put the Lord in a box, especially in our discussions referencing His authority: who He gives it to, how He gives it, etc. But, the thing is, when the Lord put me in that box, my mind was blown at the freedom I felt to walk out His will and His way in every aspect of my life. I realized even those who walk under the authority of the wicked want to honor the one who gave them the authority.
My choice was already made to be under the Lord's authority...I just did not (and still struggle to) understand the depths of freedom that should bring in how I walk that out. In that dream and again Wednesday night, I was reminded that we represent and honor the one who gave us the authority (or ability) to be here, to go and do in His name. As soon as we submit to His authority, we give Him room to work out whatever needs to happen for His will to be done...it becomes a part of who we are.
Today, we want you to be inspired and encouraged even as we take courage to declare, “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” With this, we mean that as much as it is up to us, Father God’s love, authority and presence will be recognized and displayed; because, when it comes down to the bare bones, when all is said and done, we want to be able to answer, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?”, “No, rather I indeed come now as representative of the Lord.” This is the way of reconciliation.