Germination

Who says God doesn’t have a sense of humour! As many of you know we are in Germany right now, staying with friends; finding ourselves, temporarily at least, part of a church; and doing life as best we can in a land where we can’t speak a word of the language! But that’s not the funny bit! Soon after we arrived here we had a clear word from God that we were undergoing a process of germination... germination in the German nation! Boom boom tish!

So what is germination and what does it mean for us? Well, here’s a literal definition:

ger·mi·nate [jur-muh-neyt] verb, -nat·ed, -nat·ing.

verb (used without object)

1. to begin to grow or develop.

Botany.

    a. to develop into a plant or individual, as a seed, spore, or bulb.

    b. to put forth shoots; sprout; pullulate.

3. to come into existence; begin.

verb (used with object)

4. to cause to develop; produce.

to cause to come into existence; create.

In the process that is germination, seeds begin to grow or develop when they are hidden away, buried in the darkness of the soil. It’s a place where the seed can’t see or be seen. If you have read our previous blogs, this confirms earlier words from God about entering the darkness, the hidden place. In our experience, it’s not an easy place to be, but we know it’s where Papa wants us and we continually have to bring ourselves back to a place of rest, and trust in the process... of germination.

We have been encouraged too, by a something Graham Cooke said in a series of talks on The Process of Maturity: “Unless you spend time in the hidden place, you are not going to see the things that are hidden.”

So germination happens in the hidden place, in the darkness, but it is only here where the right environment for growth exists - the temperature is just right, and God has certainly been turning up the heat!; moisture is required, and we continue to feed from the River of Life; finally oxygen, the breath of the Holy Spirit. These elements are what’s needed to grow and bring forth the life that is inherent in the seed.

The process of germination is also when roots are established as a seed establishes itself. For us, it’s about going deeper - deeper into Papa, as Moses says in Exodus 33, ‘To know You more’. Anna Rowntree, in her incredible book Heaven Awaits The Bride, detailing two visits to Heaven, puts it so well: “We are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, we can’t go any higher. But we can go deeper.”

When it’s ready, like the birth of a baby after nine months hidden in the darkness of it’s mother’s womb, the seed bursts from it’s shell into life. For us, I believe that the revelation which God gives us, of Him and of who we are in Him, bursts the shell of our current understanding and thinking, renewing our mind with the truth. The old mind can no longer contain the new understanding as new life emerges, in the same way that Jesus tells us that we can’t put new wine in old wineskins, we have to be made new, by the renewing of our minds.

Finally the plant emerges from the soil, from where it can’t be seen, into the light, to reveal the fullness of the glory for which it was created. The potential for that glory was in the seed all along, but now it’s revealed, bringing its beauty into the world and glory to its Creator. This too reminds me of the familiar words of Song of Songs 2 which resonate with us so clearly at this time:

“See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.” v.11 & 12

So as we germinate in Germany, hidden from so many of those we know and love, we are believing that God is at work in us, though much of that transformation is hidden from us too, and with creation, we wait ‘in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed’ (Romans 8:19). Roll on spring!

As a parting thought, when considering what to write in this blog, I was reminded that every word is a seed, it carries with it the promise of something (Isaiah 55) and we have a choice as to which type of seeds we plant. The power of life and death we are told is in the tongue, so let’s choose to plant seeds of hope instead of fear, seeds of faith instead of doubt, and seeds of love instead of judgement. Then we will see those seeds grow into the full potential for which they were created.

In the darkness

Well, this journey is nothing if not exciting! As many of you will know, before Christmas we had been planning to go to Sri Lanka then on to New Zealand. You may also know that this didn’t happen! We didn’t get the provision we needed to make the trip and so we found ourselves traveling back to Devon to spend Christmas near to family and friends. It wasn’t that we ever had clear direction or a direct promise from God for this particular trip, however we do know that our travels are not over, that we have more connections to make and things to learn on our journey.

And so we stepped out, following our heart's desire to be with friends in Sri Lanka, believing that the door would open, but also totally prepared for God to direct our path and change the direction in which we were setting out. We also wanted to speak, think and act from a place of faith regarding this desire, so we traveled to London without money for flights but believing that, if Sri Lanka was where God wanted us, He would get us there even though it looked impossible. Ultimately the door remained closed, and we don’t profess to understand why, nor do we expect others to understand, but we do know He has used the journey to forge faith and trust in us yet again!

One thing this experience has taught us is that it’s easy to think that when circumstances line up and things seem to fall into place, God must be in it. Equally, it can be tempting to think that when things don’t go the way we expect or plan, when things look messy, that God is not in it. To us, and to many people looking on, these last few weeks have seemed very messy, but we believe that God has been in it and He continues to use our outward circumstances to transform us within.

 As the door closed to Sri Lanka, another door opened to Germany - so we are going to walk through it! Last April we connected with some lovely people at a great church in Duisburg, near Dusseldorf, and have kept in touch with them since. They have graciously opened their hearts and their homes to us and we know a warm welcome awaits. However we leave not knowing where this will ultimately lead, or for how long we might be there, but simply holding Papa's hand and trusting Him to make the path clear with each step.

It's been quite a journey since we arrived back in England at the beginning of November. Before we left America we had both had visions of Papa leading us deeper into the darkness, not into a place of fear or danger, but into a place that would require more trust and dependency upon Him. We had words from others too which echoed the visions we had, as Holy Spirit was gently and graciously preparing us for this tough and challenging time.

During this time not only have we continued to feel a deep sense of loss of things past and things we have given up, the cost of following Him, but we also recognise that we have given up belonging. We find ourselves without the security, comfort, acceptance, worth, fellowship and sense of belonging that emerges as lives intersect within the context of a local community. We feel a sense of 'rootlessness' and not fitting. For us right now our community is made up of people dotted all over the globe, not found in one place. It’s an odd feeling and drives us deeper into intimacy with God, to find our place of belonging, our home in Him above all else.

As we enter this new year we remain largely in the dark, sometimes to our own frustration and the perplexity of many of those looking in. We don't know why it’s like this, but we have given up any right to understanding, instead choosing to trust and believe. We abide in the ‘nowhere’ (now and here) of the moment, a place of believing without seeing, of loss without gain, of stepping out without seeing the road stretched out ahead of us. It looks to the world like foolishness, and somedays it can feel like foolishness to us too, but we cannot turn back and nor would we want to.

We trust this pilgrims way and the One we follow, the One who forges the path ahead of us. We are incredibly grateful for those we meet along the way, and to those who journey with us in friendship, support, encouragement and love. We rest in confident expectation of His kindness and goodness as we learn to embrace all things, knowing that He is working in them for good and that He carries us close to His heart. Most of all we are grateful that we are loved by Him and that all our tomorrows are written in Papa's book.

Thank you to those of you who remember us in your prayers, our desire is that you would echo Paul’s words in Colossians 1:9-12 in your own prayers for us, as this is also our prayer for you:

“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.”

Happy New Year to you all. May you know His love and presence wherever the year takes you and may it be a wild and glorious adventure!

Mike & Nicky
xxx

Step by step

I'm not enjoying this part of the journey. With Christmas around the corner, I want to be in the home I don't have, decorating a tree with the children I don't have, listening to Christmas carols and getting excited about the season. I want to have been able to do Christmas shopping and wrap gifts for friends and family. I miss being part of a community. Instead we leave for London tomorrow, stepping out in faith believing it's what Holy Spirit is leading us to do. We hope 'against all human odds' for tickets to take us to Sri Lanka in time for Christmas, but only He knows where this step will lead us. My heart aches and I feel the cost of the narrow path again.

Yet, I always come back to love, hanging upon a tree, and to the fact that I am a new creation, that I have been given a new life and that I am loved beyond all measure. In His incredible love and divine wisdom, this is the best path for me, right now, today, and that here on this path there is treasure in the darkness. This part of the journey, even the pain, is transforming me and preparing me for what is ahead. I need to yield to this, to be on this step because this step leads to the next one and is vital. I trust my Beloved Jesus, I know Him to be wholly good and overflowing with loving kindness towards me, so I know that this momentary affliction will pass, will do it's work and the darkness will turn to light again.

“We seldom get to choose our circumstances, but we always get to choose our responses. Men and women of God understand that nothing is coincidental, they take advantage of everything in order to discover God and find themselves.”

Graham Cooke

I am also comforted in remembering that life on earth is just a whisper of time compared to an eternity of living every day in heaven, face to face with Him. I only have one opportunity here on earth to choose Him, to yield even when it hurts and to say yes. I know that all loss will be great gain whether in this world or in Heaven. I also know that I am storing up a weight of glory in these circumstances for eternity.
 

"For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison." 

2 Corinthians 4:17 NASB

If your path is dark and stormy, take heart that 'this too shall pass', that He is with you in it and using every circumstance to produce a greater weight of glory for you. He is already leading you to the next step, which will be different to this one. He already has victory in mind. He keeps you close to his heart and He knows and sees the end from the beginning. He sees the full picture and knows that it is good. Remember His kindness, be confident in His love, keep going and expect good things. 

"I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. That Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." 

Ephesians 3:17-20. NLT