Rest Archives - Fathering Leadership

Fathers Love Transparency Secret for Freedom and Rest

April 7, 2014 by Robert Hartzell

Fathers Love Transparency Secret Brings easy freedom over darkness

We live in a world that values strength and belittles weakness. These are opposite values from the Father’s Love.

We idolize characters such as Rambo, John Wayne, and Jason Bourne. It is easy to feel that there is no way to advance in life if people see our weaknesses, our personal struggles. So we tend to be drawn toward hiding these things about ourselves. We want to put them in the dark where no one can see them. Yet, if we can’t even acknowledge we have struggles, how can we ever hope to overcome them?

So how do you live in Fathers love transparency?

Understanding what is darkness and what is light is step one and puts a huge tool in your hands for growth.

Blatant sin, of course, is darkness; however, there can be smaller, less noticeable ways where we might be living in the dark. 1 John 1:6 says,”… if we say we have fellowship with God, but we continue living in darkness, we lie and do not follow the truth.” So what exactly does this “living in darkness” mean? Simply put, anything that is hidden and not exposed. To paraphrase Andrew Murray’s definition of humility, darkness is not being willing to be known for who we really are.

If we are humble – being known for who we really are – then we find no reason to hide our past, our present struggles, or our future dreams. But being open and transparent like this involves risk. If we were to divulge certain things about ourselves, people may reject us or make fun of us, or even worse, they may not love and accept us. And it’s possible they may abandon us.

It’s much easier to stay in the dark than to take the chance of living in openness and transparency, but unfortunately, there are “friends” that tend to hang around us there. Fear, worry, anxiety, shame, guilt – all of these can be our ‘best friends’ when we’re in darkness. And there’s no peace or rest there. Only by embracing light do we position ourselves to experience growth and live ever deeper in Father Gods rest.

We can be free from our past and live emotionally present in all our relationships today! By facing the hidden darkness in our lives, we can find freedom to be who we really are, unashamedly. You begin living in the Fathers Love transparency.

Light is the place where we have the actual experience of feeling secure in our Father’s arms and live open-hearted to the world.

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Making Memorials — Testifying Fathers Love

June 20, 2013 by Cyndi Hartzell

Making Memorials Testifying Fathers Love

Many times in the Old Testament people would place stones as a memorial for posterity. When the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground as the priests stood holding the ark, a man from each tribe picked up a stone to be placed on the other side as an altar to the Lord. It would serve as a remembrance to them and those who came after them. “That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying , ‘What mean ye by these stones?’ Then ye shall answer them…” — Joshua 4:6,7 We also see Jacob creating Bethel, an altar he built after wrestling with the Lord in Genesis 28.

These “piles of rocks,” or memorial stones, are extremely valuable in our lives. Now, of course, I’m not talking about real physical stones. I’m referring to those times when you have personally been touched by God or encountered Him in an amazing way.

It is normal to experience times of discouragement or difficulty and need some sort of stronghold or high place to run to. Creating such monuments along your life journey are very powerful. The Israelites did this a lot as they were wandering between Egypt and the Promised Land. They built memorials whenever they would have a close encounter with God. It reminded them that God had met them in the past, so He will meet them again in the present and the future.

I would suggest you keep a journal, with a list of these monuments. It is so easy to forget His goodness and all the things God has done for us when we are closed in by darkness and despair. Present trials and tribulations can keep us from living as overcomers.

One of my largest memorial stones is from the day before we were forced to leave the mission field. Every day I would go for a morning walk and I knew that this was possibly the very last walk I would ever take in the Dominican Republic. The following morning we would be leaving this country and everything with it behind and coming back to the States with no idea what the future held – no house, no job, no plans. As I walked, I was pouring out my heart to the Lord. I happened to look over towards the mountains and saw it was raining near the tops. Then I saw it — a double rainbow, a sign of His promises. I knew right then and there God had created it just for me. A solid firm “knowing” that He would be with me through this difficult season enveloped me and I was at peace.

You may be in a season right now that is hard, where you feel God is distant and His hand and blessings are so far away. Look back. Remember. Find those times where you know God was there, where He rescued you, where He upheld you with His mighty arm. Use these as memorial stones to encourage yourself — to know He has been faithful before and will do it again. And if you are in a good season and God is awesome today, pile up some rocks. You’ll need to remember this later on.

Rest and Living Spirit Led

May 9, 2013 by Robert Hartzell

Christian Devotions is where you can cooperate with God to come into rest and living spirit led.

There is a victorious life in the Spirit that comes in a more practical way than we might have imagined.

There are two ways to train a horse. The traditional method is to put the animal in small pen, strap on a saddle, climb aboard and ride it out until he quits rearing up and bucking. He eventually wears himself out and breaks down. Methods such as these are called “breaking” a horse. The title says it all.

In natural horsemanship, colloquially known as horse whispering, the trainer slowly builds trust with the horse until the animal allows himself to be ridden.

I asked a friend who has worked with horses in these ways what differences she sees in them. She related that he horses that are trained through “whispering” are very different in maturity than those broken through force. They are willing and genuinely wanting to be with the rider, even having joy and anticipation to work with them. The “broken” horses may have a respect for the rider, but it is totally fear based.

This is a great picture of the deeper Christian life. God’s gentleness makes us great (Ps.18:35), not his severity. Jesus shows us who Father God is in the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. The father gave the inheritance even though the prodigal son was in rebellion. In the story, the father truly wanted heart relationship, not fear-based conformity.

Often we hear teachings about casting down wrong thoughts, denying emotions, and exercising faith, and these approaches are good when they work. However, when they don’t, we frequently move into struggling. If we would simply hold our hearts open before the Lord, He would help us see the deeper issues that are causing the triggering thoughts and emotions. As we find the root of our triggers and allow God to touch that, the wrong thoughts and emotions just go away.

Think of golf. You have to have good form, but then your swings success only happens if you are relaxed. Struggling gets you nowhere! In the Christian life, our form is knowing we are loved by God and that it is normal to need ministry and work through issues. Having “issues” is part of being human; these things do not affect our identity.

There is a place of such sensitivity to the Spirit that we can be in any situation, be aware of all the behaviors and corresponding emotions at hand, and respond with agape love. In the midst of traffic, heavy workloads, strong-willed children, or people that act controlling toward us, we can tap into God’s love. This happens, not because we’ve have resisted enough or fasted enough, it happens because we have allowed God to work deep in our hearts. This is what brings us to a victorious Spirit-led life.

Prayer Ministry Rest and Objectivity for Forward Movement

December 11, 2012 by Robert Hartzell

Prayer Ministry Rest and Objectivity is Key to Overcoming Emotional Triggers

Triggered and Blocked
Abby was stuck! She was really upset that a friend called her “childish” in front of a group of peers. She forgave the friend repeatedly, kept casting out negative thoughts, yet remained in emotional pain.

I ministered prayer ministry her to calmly face this event to better understand why it bothered her, thus empowering her to lift the root issue to God. She kept locking onto rehearsing the incident. I asked her about focusing in on what happened step by step, more objectively. I reminded her of the goal, to understand that people can only hurt us if we let them. So where had this broken down? Could she look at her heart for why this friend hit such a pain pocket? Abby replied that it just felt overwhelming; this type of event had happened to her so many times throughout her life.

Restful Processing
Abby was struggling to face her issue from a place of rest. Think of it in terms of the Father’s love. The essence of the message is: My Father loves me unconditionally and even in my greatest failures I can run into His arms.

The principle of rest in the Bible is tied into faith, Hebrews 3 & 4. In Greek, rest means “a causing to cease.” If Abby could cease rehearsing the incident and being so stirred in her emotions, she could find the root of what hurt.

Core Biblical theology says that my identity is that I’m a new creation in Christ; old things have passed away… (2 Cor.5:17). However, in actual application, I find this identity breaks down a lot for people. Their faith falters and resting evaporates.

Objectivity
Neurobiology describes rest as “objectivity,” referring to how our minds successfully handle emotional pain. This means resting in my identity as a new creature in Christ Jesus, calmly able to discern when my heart has gone offline and connecting to God to make an adjustment.

Objectivity is the ability to have thoughts, feel emotions, and look at hurtful events without being swept away by them. It comes out of a sense of accepting that I can face my failure and know that my thoughts and emotions don’t define my identity. This security of identity comes from the Father’s love.

Christians processing the issues that arise in their lives is crucial to their growth and destiny and yet so many struggle with this. Statistics like the divorce rate in the church being the same as that of the world is just one example that reflects this breakdown. To have rest and peace in the midst of “hurtful” occurrences in life is a powerful tool to get us moving forward in God.

Prayer Ministry – Joy Development

June 17, 2012 by Robert Hartzell

Prayer Ministry – Joy Development Is An Important Foundation to Living As an Overcomer

Introduction
Prayer Ministry Joy Development gives us a foundation for life to live restfully from love rather than striving from a base of shame wherein mistakes and corrections are not tolerable. Our family life, our work projects and relationships, school and studying, learning new skills, can all be done joyfully rather than dreadfully with the right foundation.

Shame
Consider George. He went to a conference and learned about the power of combining fasting with waiting in God’s presence. The promises given were many, everything from intimacy with God to greater rest in the midst of circumstances to greater discipline to accomplish. George set out with great “intensity” to fast and wait on God, dreaming of finally feeling successful. When his wife didn’t share his enthusiasm, he was disappointed and became short with her. His fervor faltered and a fear of failure extinguished his determination to be spiritually significant. George ended up feeling defeated and condemned.

When we set out with a vision for something with “intensity,” that usually means we are trying to be good enough to be loved and acceptable.

Love
Consider a loving father’s joy on the day his child is born. The child has yet to accomplish a single thing and yet there’s a joyful rejoicing and elation just because the child is there. Experientially knowing that God has deep joy over you just because you exist is an important aspect of experiencing His love for you and coming into rest and living from a place of joy.

1 John 4:18 indicates to us that fear is the absence of love. Joy expresses the opposite of this in a deep way. If God feels joy over me then my making a mistake and getting berated is not a part of the equation.

Zephaniah 3:17 – The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. God exults over you, He is at rest in His love toward you, your mistakes don’t rattle Him. He is so excited about you He shouts for joy!

Conclusion
Living from a base of love takes away our striving and fear of failure. It empowers us to face the vulnerability of learning – even with all the setbacks that are an inevitable part of the process – with joy rather than frustration.