Accessing Bold Faith

Allusive. Beautiful. Bold. Free.

She brings the sky down with her quiet authority.

Suddenly, silently, she captures her hearts desire.

This is the story of the barred owl. Let me explain....

Barred Owls are very territorial creatures, especially the females during nesting season. They do the majority of their hunting at dawn and dusk and are amazingly efficient. They have a remarkable ability to focus, as well as keen eye sight and hearing.

In literature they are seen to hold the attributes of wisdom, generosity, display beautiful creative ability, stand for vivaciousness and keep strong territorial boundaries.

On a spiritual level I see the story of the owl as a picture of how we can find our God-given territory and pursue what He has for us personally. Believing and receiving is the story I see.

The path of trust!

Somewhere along the way of learning to trust our Abba Father we begin to know that we can ask Him for specific things that we need. Faith is the confidence of things hoped for, all the evidence we need that God will keep his word, for he cannot lie. And that he wants to provide for us because his nature is love, and He has compassion on all He has made!

These two truths are unsakeable. He is truth, he is love.

"God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?"

Numbers 23:19

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness (no darkness at all), neither shadow of turning."

James 1:17

The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. Psalm 145:8,9

See the picture!

Putting faith in action starts with learning a promise from God, as picture of hope must first be awaken in our heart, and this picture emerges as we learn the truth. Abraham the father faith was shown the 'stars in the sky' and the 'sand on the seashore' as a picture of how many descendants God would bless him with. This told him two things, the realities of the goodness of God can be experienced, its abundant blessing.

Hope comes first. Then faith takes a step forward once our heart is full of his promise.

Sense the hope being painted on your heart as you hear these stories?

What's in your hands!

Knowing his creative goodness that all blessings flow from Him, we learn a surprising truth! What we need may already be in our hands or in our fields.

This can shift our focus off our lack or the adverse outside circumstances (a first step out of poverty mindset) and we begin to realise we are being empowered from within by the Spirit of the living God. He breathed into us his breath of life. This is the law of the Spirit of Life that is flowing through everything, the waterfall, the sunlight, the air, through music, through every creature, through you.

If it's in me, then what do I have! Good question, you have agency and the capacity to fulfil your calling.

He helps us develop capacity and personal agency through:

1. A new great idea! He will give you divine wisdom, a new strategy, a strong vision

2. Ability, through applied effort and an attitude of diligence He will strengthen you to be more and do more

3. Learning to stay on the path of faith by walking in integrity, we learn his ways which protect what we create

What started as a promise in the spiritual realm, as hope is brought into the physical realm. It transfers. And we lift!

So Get Creative!

Sometimes this clarity is enough for us to go create in practical ways, other times provision may need to come through other means, such as God-ordained connections or by His miraclous providencial hand. He hears our prayers. He directs our path. The method of delivery may vary but at the heart level we become open to the blessings that flow down through the light of our soul as we sit in truth and develop an attitude of thankfulness. For some of us this can take our souls a long time to settle, for truth to be established, for renovations of our mind to happen and for the renewing of our inner being. Extensive past trauma and adverse life conditioning may be what we are overcoming and that's ok. That's why we need to learn to 'keep' the promise.

Just as the barred owl protects its territory from intruders, especially during nesting, we need to protect the promise of truth. We should remember that our process of faith at times is fragile.

For an artist, it may be wise to protect your creations, allowing things to remain hidden until the right time. Stepping out to show the world our gifts and talents too soon may not be productive if you are still nurturing something that needs to be developed first. Your gift may need time and space and nourishment.

In practise what can we do to develop our gifts?

Life as an apprentice!

Humility allows us to take the seat of a student and opens us up to new posibilities that we couldn't know without it. Pride and arrogance have no place in the process of faith building (although we all stumble at times), as its counterproductive.

Learn through truth telling. Sometimes we need to recognise the most important thing we can be is truthful, even to ourselves. We forsake the lie, the fantasy and the foolish delusions the world offers us. We no longer lift our soul up to vanity. This too is bold believing. We can only be what God created us to be, nothing more, nothing less. We acknowledge the source of truth, we walk into more light. It's ok to not know everything or how to do things. Humility is a strength nor a weakness, as it allows us to learn and it increases our capacity.

Taking a step toward positive growth requires us to hold our emotions in check long enough to receive what we have been promised. Being bold may cause us to hit resistance and obstacles may suddenly present themselves. Or we may have to overcome personal weakness and self sabotage. This is an opportunity to grow and develop. What we are asking for may be beyond our abilities 'right now'.

Take Heart!

Discouragement can quickly blow through our lives like a storm of doubt, so where we thought we had faith, now we start to waver. If we continue on the right path, we will stand bold again, especially if we keep the picture of hope vivid as we trust our Father in heaven to bring about the things that are beyond our control. Instead of despair, take heart! Replace discouragement with courage. We can own our space, our desires and have our needs met, his good parenting allows this to happen.

Take responsibility!

One of the most impacting things I've ever been told is this,

"In any situation, if you take responsibility, then you hold the power."

I've found this to be true. Owning your decisions, your habits, your struggles, your attitudes in check will develop resilience and that strength will be rewarded.

So in hope, I see the picture and the wisdom of the barred owl and say, "these are my golden fields", the Lord has given me a good inheritance.

Proverbs for meditation:

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.

Psalms 16:6

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Prov 3:5-6

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalms 37:4

Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?"

John 11:40

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