Hindsight

Sixty years of age is not the most practical time in life to launch out on an adventure requiring an ability yet to be learned. However, Abraham was not a spring chicken when he left Ur of the Chaldees to follow the voice of God. I have had many and varied promises and words from the Father over the years but am almost always surprised by how He fulfills them. I have erringly obsessed over figuring out how it would look when the promise was fulfilled. However, the expectations that I built from my own understanding were recipes for disaster.

Living with expectation is natural for man, but expectations will inevitably lead to an offense if those expectations are not met in the way we envision them. Living with expectancy, however, is how the spiritual man lives. The more I become content to live with a God of mystery, the more I flourish. If I really believe that God is good, then I can live in the expectancy of His path for me. Each promise from my Father will be fulfilled in the best way possible for my ultimate good.

Natural reasoning vs. waiting in faith

When Jesus came in the flesh, He came to a people that were obsessed with knowing the signs of Messiah’s appearing. Many boys studied to become a rabbi in order to spend their life searching out the scriptures. It was an honored calling. That was the culture. They endlessly debated and studied so that they would know the plans that God had for His people.

In the fullness of time, God brought His son to His people. Even with the Magi coming, the signs in the heavens, and the testimony of the shepherds; they failed to see or understand who He was. The two that ‘saw’ were those who lived worshiping in the temple and praying, namely Anna and Simeon. They were waiting with expectancy for the Messiah. They recognized Him because they were waiting in humility with no preconceived notions. They saw because they were not caught up in their own natural thinking about how it would look. Did Jesus’ birth and life fulfill the vast amount of prophecy about His coming? Absolutely, but no one knew all those details at the time. It was all discovered with hindsight. Those who, in their pride, had it all figured out missed every sign that they had studied!

Hindsight

As I look with hindsight on our journey through God’s wilderness, I continue to discover all the threads that have woven the tapestry to bring His word to fullness. By learning to leave the promise in the hands of the One who holds the plans, and seek Him instead of my expectations of Him, I have been able to celebrate with Him the fulfillment. In expectancy of good things, most of the time, I follow Him every day and allow Him to pick the threads He wants to use. After all, it is His word. If I stay centered in Him it will come to pass. His word always does. Remember, it is in the journey from the promise to the fulfillment that trains us in His ways.

God’s wilderness stripped us of many things. Things that hampered our growth in the ways of the Father. We learned to trust in His unseen hand and to better discern the ways of the Spirit. It was an extremely humbling path. After all, who in America would choose to walk a path that looks so very out of control? Hey, we wondered that ourselves a number of times, but the beauty of God’s wilderness is that without all the trees (distractions of life) it’s easier to see a greater distance (have better perspective).

From independent to dependence on God

My dad made a comment to me after he read my book, Zion‘s Dawn. He told me that his problem with the story was that no one is able to walk with God that way. That was an interesting comment from someone who has followed God for most of his life, having been instrumental in the release of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in Central California. However, that was a time when God was restoring the power of His Spirit to our lives. We are now in a season where God is releasing the understanding of how to walk fully dependent on His Spirit. What seems too fantastic to believe for those who have come before us, will become the normal walk for those who would step into the journey. There is very little in the book that I have not experienced in my own life in varying ways. Those experiences were woven into a parable. It was written from having learned to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. It represents the first steps in an adventure that God has for everyone who would choose the journey.

For Gideon (the main character in the book), it began with being stripped of all his own plans and misconceptions in order to see that He had a good Father. A Father who had something far better for him than he could obtain on his own. Where are you on your journey? Are you in the throes of a crisis so large that you can’t see a way out? Have you set your face towards the Father to seek His plans and purposes for how He designed you? Or are you somewhere in between just trying to figure out what is going on? The journey can start today. God has amazing things planned for those who would seek His Word, Jesus, to follow in His path. The Father once told me that His ‘way’ is our spiritual journey and His ‘path’ is our soul journey. To follow His path we must first know His Way. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. It is all wrapped up in Him. Embracing the fullness of His life in us becomes the challenge that will take us on a journey of a lifetime.

From expectation to expectancy

This is a journey lived in expectancy and no other way. I have no idea what tomorrow will look like. Many days pass with mundane tasks that are required to live in this world, but sown among the responsibilities of the natural are the jewels and nuggets of a life I am only just discovering. The possibilities are as endless as the Father who bids me come. Overcoming the challenges to stand in the fullness of what Jesus purchased for us is a journey of great worth. That journey is opening up like never before in history. The grace to undertake the adventure has never been greater. It is time to be strong and courageous in the things of the Spirit and step into the birthright you were given by your Heavenly Father.

I bless you today to have the courage to trust the One who designed you for the path He is asking you to travel. I bless you to plant His word deep in the good soil of your heart so that it might manifest in the proper time and way. I bless you to learn all He is teaching you in the process so that His promise, when it is fulfilled, will cause you to see Him more clearly; instead of becoming a rock of offense that obscures His face from your vision because the fulfillment was not as you expected.

Comments

  1. Carol Thiesen says:

    Excellent article! The statement, “What seems too fantastic to believe by those who came before us will become the normal walk for those who would step into the journey, ” is such a profound statement! This invitation to begin the journey is gentle yet compelling.
    Our tender, loving Father (Papa) invites you to embark on your own personal journey with Zion’s Chronicles, promising to not leave you one step of the way! The books have had a huge impact on my own journey! They have taught, mentored and challenged me. Thank you, Bruce, for being obedient to the Father.

  2. Debra Penner 10/31/2023 says:

    I am so impressed with your books that I have read them twice and will read them again because of the depth. I have given them to my sons and cousins. I will be giving them to my co-workers and friends. There is treasure in the pages.

    • Bruce Jacobsen says:

      Thank you, Debra. the books have been a joy to write as well as to read and re-read. In many instances God wrote past me to add wisdom and truth that is in some cases still beyond me. Each time I read one, I find new insight for where I am in my walk right now. It is such a blessing when others are encouraged by them as well. Thank you for the kind words and encouragement.

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