Rise Above the Clouds
It was definitely a summer of storms for our journey, but I found that the storms were a hidden blessing to rise higher. I started the storm season with tension and stress, but after each elevation that came, I started to enjoy the time of ‘soaring’ above the clouds.
Over the summer we endured many tornado warnings. At least 3 times we had to take shelter in the hotels that we stayed in, as the sirens screamed outside. By the third time, we had a routine for how to vacate during a storm.
After we received the car rescue that I shared about in the last update, we ventured to a familiar hotel that we have stayed at before. It was like we were buckling down to prepare for a storm.
The hotel we were at was a little sketchy in how they did billing, and all of my ‘red flag’ radars were going off. However, at that moment I decided to trust in God’s plans, and expect Him to turn everything into blessings.
About midway through our stay, the tumultuous winds of warfare struck. The hotel decided to start overcharging my card, and I found myself in a situation that I couldn’t get out of.
With no other choice, we ended up having to vacate the hotel before our reservation was over. It felt in that moment like we were fleeing from a burning building, or escaping from a whirlwind of trouble.
The Lord used the winds that rose against us in a way that blessed us, and we traveled to a different hotel. So many of the hotels were either booked out or over priced, so we followed the trail to a new land.
This hotel was so far north that we were almost in Wisconsin. It was a beautiful place, and we were right next to Six Flags Great America. We could see the roller coasters from towering above the tree tops, which made for a very thrilling moment.
We only were able to book for 6 nights, and where we waited for a rescue for room money and an open door of where to go. To be honest, I was so exhausted from moving by this point.
We had spent from the end of May to September moving around from hotel to hotel. Every hotel that we visited was really nice, but the constant moving around was making me dizzy and craving some stillness.
While we were at the 6 day hotel up north, I prayed to God and I asked Him to open the door to an Airbnb. He had been showing me promises for weeks of going back to the glittering city, and I decided that I needed to rise into that relief right now…no more waiting.
There was stress in the atmosphere because of some situations that were happening financially. It didn’t look possible for us to get back to a luxurious apartments anytime soon, but I decided to put my trust in God’s Sovereign power to do what only He could do.
The contrast of facing the fears of having nowhere to go, and no money, and the beauty of what God promised to do were so strong. I spent those 6 days applying my faith to what God promised to do and to seeing the fulfillment of my prayers, all while pouring out all of my tears and fears.
I found that the more pressure and need that there is, the easier it was to engage my emotions into full faith. Emotions can be a very powerful tool or they can be a terrible downfall. It all depends on the direction that we point them.
Over and over again, I would pour my fears into God’s care, and then I would turn my tears of need into tears of relief. Suddenly I would find myself rising from the agony of need, and into the JOY of comfort and relief.
I was believing that God had fulfilled my prayers before it happened. It was like I was an eagle shifting the wind beneath my wings, so that the negative energy of those fears would lift me into how I hoped things would be.
In the midst of those anxious 6 days at the roller coaster hotel, the Lord burst through with the fulfillment of exactly what I prayed and what He promised to do.
Like being rescued from the ground level fires that were starting to burn, we were lifted up into a high rise apartment downtown for a month. We’ve already been here for a week and everything looks better than I imagined it would.
Normally, when we stay at the apartments downtown, we end up on the 20th floor. But this time we were taken up higher than we’ve ever known, towering to the 47th floor!
It was raining a lot during the move, and full of storms. One of the most fascinating things that came from being so high off of the ground is that we were often in the clouds.
When we were in the clouds, we couldn’t even see out of the windows. It was amazing to see and experience. The picture I am sharing is hardly visible, but you can subtly see the outline of the towering skyscrapers outside of the wind of rain soaked clouds.
Before we were rescued and lifted up in the shelter of God’s almighty wings, I was clinging to the promise of Psalms 55:22,
Cast your burden on the Lord [release it] and He will sustain and uphold you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken (slip, fall, fail).
When we roll our worries and needs into God’s hands, and then elevate our thoughts and emotions into heightened feelings of joy and faith, then we become like eagles using the low energy and pressure of the storm to elevate us above the clouds.
The troubles, needs and storms that we face are a blessing in disguise, because they are a source of power that we can harness into faith, causing us to rise to extraordinary heights.
An eagle does not fear the storm, but the eagle delights in the storm because she knows that the storm is an open door….an opportunity. The negative low energy can become the power that causes us to rise above, when harnessed into faith and trust in God’s Sovereign love.
Our emotions are also a powerful tool that we should embrace. When we are feeling a low energy emotion, such as fear or worry, we can flip those negative feelings into faith, causing sudden miracles to be experienced.
We we turn the negative feelings into the positive of feeling like we have the fulfillment before we do, then we have harnessed the power of bad into good, to see the fruition of our faith, just like in Philippians 4 (The Message):
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Peace and joy are a super power during a storm. When we abide in the promise or prayer as already done, then we are abiding and resting in a position of LOVE. And love will never fail to deliver the fulfillment of promise.
When you see the dark clouds gathering overhead, and things start to feel unstable from the strong winds of warfare, that is the moment of opportunity that only a few move into. That is the open door of a miracle fulfillment….
So the next time you are facing a crisis, or have a burden that brings you to tears. Just turn those tears of fear into tears of joy, as you harness your faith into power.
The very storm that was sent to afflict you will raise you up, and before you know it you’ll find yourself in the plush wonderful comforts of the clouds.
I love you,
Dannette
