BY ISAAC WOODWICK
Since I started walking with Jesus, about 7 years ago, there has been a burning desire to see God move deeply in my life and in others. The more that I chase after that desire I realize more and more that I can’t do anything without Him.
Before coming to San Francisco, walking with God looked like plateaus and mountains. I grew up going to church camps and God would always show up in miraculous ways. Those radical times would set me on fire for the Lord but when I went home I became stagnant and would fall further away from Him. Ultimately I grew closer to God during those mountain-top experiences, but I knew God was calling me into something more.
When I got to San Francisco to do my DTS (Discipleship Training School) my expectations were thrown out the window, and the Lord had something different in mind for me. Very early on I was asking God if I was “still” supposed to be here and He said, “I want a relationship between just you and Me.” Since then He has been encouraging me to seek after Him, and spend every day in His presence.
Recently God gave me deeper understanding of the relationship that He is calling all of us into. A couple weeks ago the enemy was distracting me with thoughts of lust. This has been a battle for a while, so I went to one of the staff here and he prayed for me saying, “a lot of times the battle isn’t this constant denying of everything bad, but rather a love for God that pushes everything else aside.” So it’s not just this struggle to remain pure before God, it is knowing that He calls you child and makes you pure! That is your identity!
The following day I was reading Romans 8:15 which says,
“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him, we cry “Abba, Father.”
Our focus is not trying to avoid what’s wrong, our focus is now fixed on our Father and because we love Him we don’t want anything else! That Spirit we receive lets us know our true identity as His Children.
Throughout this season of my life with DTS God has done so much in me and through me. But all those experiences are nothing compared to the relationship I have with Him. It isn’t forced or fabricated, but it gives me life and a purpose.