How Far I've Come, and How much Further I Need to Go

It's amazing how powerful the presence of God can be. This weekend was one of the most intense times I've had in a long time. I have come to the last night of my trip here in LA after a week of intense prayer, solitude, training and good eating. The excitement started the night I arrived in the LAX airport in LA, my first destination was of course to the famous IN & OUT burger joint (if you haven't tried it, you have yet to taste the food we'll be getting in heaven).

I then went to the start of a 24hr Prayer gathering in a friends home near the UCLA campus. The room was filled with students so desiring the presence of God. It was a murmer of sincere, genuine prayer like I haven't heard in a long time, a place of little to non self-glorification or attention seeking. It's rare to find such places of worship.

That night God revealed to me a passage in 1 Corinthians which talks about the freedom we have when the Spirit of the Lord is manifest in our life. God revealed to me that his hand of discipline comes with conviction not condemnation, with all love and no fear. That difference between conviction and condemnation is a difficult distinction to make for it creates a similar reaction within our mind. The difference is that conviction, although it still stings, brings hope, while condemnation leaves you trapped in a web of negativity. Condemnation sucks the essence out of life, extingusihes the flame, the passion burning in our heart. Conviction contributes a wider perspective, a larger tank to swim in, a higher mountain to climb. Conviction acknowledges how far you've come while pointing out how much further you need to go. Condemnation shows how far you are from where you need to be without acknowledging how far you've come. It seems so easy to ignore the journey that brought me where I am today while focusing all my attention on the long hard road ahead of me. Considering both the past and the future all at once can be a difficult task, but it is a necessary perspective when it comes to moving forward in life.

This was the first revelation I received on this trip which paved the way for more as the week continued.