The Good Shepherd

Have you ever been through one of those seasons where everything just feels hard? Those seasons of pressing, of crushing, where everything feels outside of your comfort zone and outside of your control? You may just become numb or want to run away. It can feel incredibly lonely and incredibly confusing. Yet those seasons aren’t marked by God’s absence or lack of concern. It’s quite the opposite actually- they are especially marked by His faithful and steadfast character. If we let Him, He uses those times to draw us in, to refine and to mold us. 

He is a Good Shepherd who takes care of everything and what we need to learn is how to be a good sheep. We need to learn how to trust, how to rest, how to receive His loving care and affection, rather than relying on ourselves or our own control.  He wants to meet our every need, yet sometimes we kick and flail and make wild efforts to get in the way of that. Don’t run along to other pastures on your own accord, assuming you know best. Taking charge, striving to control the outcome, and working to create something for yourself has a way of backfiring, trust me. Well, trust God on this one. I’m learning how to be that little sheep, who can lie down and rest, even in the face of uncertainty. While I can’t see what is next, I can see the one who sees it all. I’m learning to look to Him. I’m learning how to wait and trust as He goes ahead and prepares a place of abundance for me. He truly is the Good Shepherd, and He is worthy of all our trust and confidence. He has never failed, and He won’t start now. 

Dear little sheep, rest, be still. For the Greatest Shepherd who laid down His life for you, is taking care of it all.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.”

— John 10:27

God is Not Afraid of Our Questions: How the BCC Transformed My Life

God is not afraid of our questions.

My season of studying the Bible in the Chronological Biblical Core Course was incredibly challenging and life transformational all at the same time. I went into this school terrified that I was going to get overwhelmed with the amount of work it was going to require of me, but while it was challenging it was absolutely worth it. I walked out of the school overwhelmed, not with the workload but with the incredible love of God. I grew to know Him so much deeper throughout those three months studying the Bible.

Prior to my BCC-C my knowledge of the Bible was surface level. I have been a believer all my life, following Jesus since way back, when I was a kid growing up on a YWAM base. But through those 20 years of following Christ I never found the time or motivation to dive deep into the Bible until I did my BCC-C. During the school I read through the whole Bible for the first time. My mind was opened to so much I had never understood before.

I like to explain it like this… Imagine you meet a new friend and never hear about their past life experiences or life story. All you do know of them is the information you learn about them from then on and the experiences you share with this person. Your relationship would be so shallow and not built on any kind of foundation. But the moment you share with each other your history, the way you grew up, what high school was like for you, or the incredible ways God has worked in your life, that is when depth is brought into your relationship. This is what it would be like having a relationship with Jesus without knowing the scripture. It would lack depth and foundation. Your relationship would be shallow, but once you choose to open that door to learning and wrestling with what the Bible has to say about who Jesus is, you can see this massive shift in the way you know Jesus. Throughout the process of the BCC-C, my relationship with Christ was finally built on a foundation of truth.

One of the biggest lessons I learned while studying the Bible was the importance of questioning and discovering truth for myself. I had been so afraid to question things I learned or beliefs that I had. God is God why would I dare to question who He is? I felt that it wasn’t my place. I was also scared of not liking the answers to questions, but the truth is He wants us to wrestle and question, that way we know why we believe what we believe. God met me in all of my questions and I got to know Him so much more through these discoveries.

I encourage you to dive in deep and discover what the Bible has to offer. The BCC-C was only the kickstarter for my continual study of the Bible, a foundation for a future of growing and discovering more of who God is. Allow yourself to question, don’t be afraid of finding new ways of thinking. God is not afraid of our questions, he meets us there and brings transformation.

For more information about the Chronological Biblical Core Course and the link to apply- click HERE.

The author Mikah is an alumni of our BCC-C and is currently on staff at our Ensenada campus.

Come Up To Me On This Mountain

Over the last year, I’ve written “I trust you” in my journal more times than I can count. It’s funny how I need to write it over and over again. Somehow the act of writing it etches it into my soul. It takes it deeper. “Jesus, I trust you.” There’s so many things I don’t understand yet I feel this inexplicable peace that beckons me, “be still, you can trust Jesus”.

It’s so easy to make our relationship with God less of a relationship and more of a transaction. I find myself wanting to have the what, when, where + why before I’ll settle into God’s presence. There’s too much to do, too much to understand, yet God is ever patient with me in my messiness. He waits there for me on the mountain. Waiting for me to put down my list and just rest in Him. Waiting for me to receive His love and His relationship that He gave everything to have. He waits there for me to simply be with Him.

You see, God is faithful and worthy of my trust. He is ever working for me, going before me and staying so near, intentionally pursuing my heart. We were never meant to be robots, mindlessly following a God shouting out instructions to us. From the very beginning of creation, it was always about relationship. We cannot miss this part!

Being able to trust God with my everything, my hopes, my dreams, my futures, my days and my finances, doesn’t happen on accident, it all comes out of relationship. We can’t spend so much time searching for the will of God for our lives, for our calling, that we miss out on knowing Him. While I press in to knowing Him, to being with Him- there comes the breakthrough of my trust beyond circumstance.

So I will spend my days, waking up and pursuing the heart of God. I will learn to trust slowly but surely, as I discover more about Him and His character. The greatest adventure we have at our fingertips is walking in intimacy with God. He’s asking us to come up on the mountain to meet with him. So I’m embracing this adventure with everything I have. I will meet with you there my God.

JESUS, I TRUST YOU.

“COME UP TO ME ON THIS MOUNTAIN…”

EXODUS 24:1

WORDS + PHOTOS BY TIFFANY LAMBERT.

TIFFANY IS FULL TIME WITH YWAM SAN DIEGO/BAJA AND LEADS THE PHOTO-STORYTELLING DTS. 

In the Waiting

Does a delayed response or fulfillment of a promise from the Lord signify a closed door? The well meaning and often used expression rings loudly “If God closes a door, he will open a window.” This can be true, but not all the time. God truly does know best, and sometimes His best for us looks different then the door we attempt to go through at first. Other times this is not the case. Often, God will wait until circumstances look impossible to do the impossible and prove His sovereignty. He works for His glory and our good. He doesn’t speak things in advance to mess with us or discourage us. He speaks in advance to build up our faith, to refine our trust and to prove to us that He really is who He says He is and His word does not come back void. He does not delay and He is not impatient, but rather He is so specific when he implements things, not just in the scriptures but also in the lives of all those who believe in him in faith.  Just because things look unlikely or unrealistic, does not mean that God is not going to move. Out of intimacy and knowing God, we can navigate when a door closed means move on or when it means keep knocking.  That is the nature of walking with God. He is the Good Shepherd, gently guiding us even when we fear or don’t understand. He is cultivating our faith and our trust. 

25 years after God promised Abraham descendants as many as the stars, Isaac, the child of promise, was born. It had seemed impossible. Sarah’s womb was dry + barren. There was no hope for an heir, yet God had a miracle in mind. Sarah and Abraham were able to rejoice in the fulfillment of the promise and God working in their lives in miraculous ways. God had done as he promised and in her old age, Sarah nursed her very own son. Abraham’s faith had grown  as he discovered more of who God was in the waiting. At the perfect time, as Abraham’s character had developed and he had come to have fear of the Lord, the promise was fulfilled. Years later, when the testing came and God asked for Abraham to sacrifice his only heir, the fulfillment of his promise and the source of great joy and redemption, he did not hesitate to sacrifice. He trusted in His God, because He had gotten to know him in the mean time.

The question is not so much about when the fulfillment of things will come but what are God’s purposes in the waiting. God’s timing is different than ours and His ways are above our ways. He is not casual or unconcerned with timing, rather He moves in intentionality and sovereignty over His people. We may not always understand but we have the beautiful opportunity to have a response of faith in the waiting. 

What are the things God is asking you to believe for? What will you do in the waiting? 

“So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11 

Words + Photos by TIFFANY LAMBERT.

TIFFANY IS FULL TIME WITH YWAM SAN DIEGO/BAJA AND LEADS THE PHOTO-STORYTELLING DTS. 

Fear Not.

Fear, for each of us, it has a different face, a different name. It is a darkness, that creeps up on us. It ties us up with ropes and before we know it, it starts to dictate our decisions. It laughs in the face of our dreams. It dims the light of our future.

Fear is real and how much power it has in our lives is determined by how much power we give it. We are not meant to live captive to this fear and there is hope. You see, we have already been set free. We are adopted as sons & daughters, washed & purified by the blood of Jesus. We have an authority over fear and a God who moves beyond it. God intended us to live fully in freedom, but if we are not careful- captives are exactly what we become. We simply cannot afford to allow fear to cripple us, to keep us sitting, to keep us stationary, to keep us out of the game. All God is wanting is for us to run to Him & fear hinders that.                                                                      

IN ORDER TO OVERCOME FEAR: WE MUST RISK.

Lately more & more, I feel God beckoning me: to stand in the face of my fears, to face them head on, to run towards Him with all I have and all I am, risking it all and holding nothing back. When we face our fears there will be uncertainty, but I can promise you, you can be certain about this one thing: God is faithful.             

FAITHFUL:

LOYAL, CONSTANT, STEADFAST.

That is who God is. God's perspective is bigger than ours. He sees you, He knows your heart. Outside of time & unhindered by circumstances-He works for your good. To have fear in itself is not wrong, but letting it constrain you, letting it chain & contain you-that is wrong. In the end it is really not about the fear itself-it is about who you are facing the fear with. 

 

 

Are you willing to face fear and risk for more or are you content with staying captive? Dear one, do not fear, for God has overcome the world. 

 

 

WORDS + PHOTOS by Tiffany Lambert. 

Tiffany is full time staff with YWAM San Diego/Baja and leads the Photo-Storytelling DTS.

Just Say Yes: 3 Reasons to Say Yes to a YWAM DTS

JUST SAY YES

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  I absolutely love leading a Discipleship Training School with YWAM. The more I work with this program, the more I fall in love with it because I see the way the students and staff are impacted and transformed each and every time.  As I talk with students who are interested in applying and doing the school I have noticed a common theme- so many are deeply stirred by the idea of signing up for this adventure, but the voice they hear the loudest is the one telling them all the reasons why they should say no. 

Fear, Finances, Future plans and everything in between causes them to take a step back before ever taking the leap of faith.

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1. Fear Turns to Faith. 

It can be so scary to give up all the comforts and convenience of home, to move to a new city or even a new country. Thinking about doing DTS often brings up all the feels, fears and anxieties within us. Is it worth it? What will happen? How will things be?  While fear is real, stepping out of our norm, however, gives us a chance to encounter God in a new way. God uses the process of us stepping out in Faith to show us more of who He is. 

Fear may be a reality that we face, but it was never meant to be in the driver seat.

Too often we allow it to hinder us from walking towards our calling and our destiny, but once we strip away our comforts and finally face our fears, we get down to the core of really trusting God. This is exactly what God was doing with the Israelites in the wilderness. After bringing them up out of Egypt, He wasn’t keeping them wandering to mess with them or to cause them to suffer.  He was stripping away their fear and slavery mentality. One step at a time, God is introducing himself as a good Father and replacing fear with faith and the identity of slavery with the identity of a chosen son or daughter. In the process of going to DTS, God reshapes our fears into faith and draws us into deeper relationship as we take his hand and take the leap. 

“With unfailing love you will lead this people whom you have ransomed. You will guide them in your strength to the place where your holiness dwells. ”

— Exodus 15:13

2. Financial Worry Turns to Intimate Dependence. 

Tuition costs, flights, supplies- it all adds up and I totally get it. The thoughts flood in- Where will all that money come from? I can’t afford this. I don’t want to look lazy and ask people for money. What will people think of me? It’s dangerously easy to find ourselves looking full force towards the need rather than at the One who meets any and every need we could ever have.

We are created to walk not in independence but in intimate dependence on God.

Thinking about foregoing a job and stable income to do DTS seems counterintuitive and even foolish to the wisdom of the world. In the wilderness, God was intentionally stripping away the Israelite’s ability to control and crafting trust within them. Each day they were to gather only as much manna as their household needed-nothing more, nothing less. They had to learn to trust that their only source of provision was God. The middle of the desert is a great place to learn this because they didn’t have anything else to fall back on or put their trust in. Where do you you look to as a source of provision? There’s a temptation to look towards other things beside God as our source of provision, like a job or a specific person or donor, but ultimately God is our source. Not only when doing fundraising, but in the area of all financial provision- our hopes should always be in our God. It is He who provides. When fundraising He brings us into connection with people to partner with what He wants to do. It is up to Him to touch people’s hearts. The pressure is off, all we need to do is lean in and trust. He really is faithful. 

“In the evening you will have meat to eat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.”

— Exodus 16:12

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3. An Unknown Future Turns to Fulfilling Adventure.

Is stressing about career and working towards success keeping you from doing a DTS? I promise you, you are not wasting your time or being frivolous by doing a DTS, even if you feel pressure to be investing in your future and your career now. DTS is the greatest investment you can make because you are not only investing in yourself, you are investing in your relationship with God and the future impact you’ll have on others. 

By overcoming fear and doubt and doing a DTS, you unlock a fulfilling adventure of discovering more about who God is, what His purposes are for you and how you can partner with God to bring heaven on earth.

The DTS is an amazing foundation for the future and a beautiful season of pressing into intimacy with God like never before. Transitioning the Israelites from slavery to the wilderness was not just about the destination of the Promised Land. It was about the process. God is deeply intentional to bring us into the process of healing, of heart transformation and of shifting our perspective and worldview into alignment with Him and who He is. God met with them there, revealed himself and brought transformation to His people. DTS is all about transitioning us towards the Promised Land of walking in our true identity, authority and calling here on earth.  Taking this risk is absolutely worth it. It is trusting the unknown future to a known God and it's the most thrilling adventure. 

“And He has brought us to this place and given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. ”

— Deuteronomy 26:9

Join us for a DTS!  YWAM San Diego/ Baja offers a variety of Discipleship Training Schools with focuses so you can grow in your passions while going deeper with God.

 

The author, Tiffany Lambert, is full time with YWAM San Diego/Baja and leads the Photo-Storytelling DTS. 

Hope Continues

David and Daisy (front and center) celebrating with the children and families that take part in their feeding center. 

At the dedication ceremony of a Homes of Hope house, the families are encouraged to find ways to bless others with what they’ve been given. David and Daisy Ortiz received their home in 2016. Since then, they’ve done just that. 

Three mornings a week, the Ortiz family opens the front door of their home, transforming it into a feeding center for neighborhood children. Around 50 children receive meals in their home each week. Local vendors partner with the Ortiz Family to provide supplies and food. 

As David and Daisy began to interact with these children each week, they realized that there was more to the equation. The parents of these young ones needed help, too. So they partnered with another Homes of Hope recipient, named Felipe, to run a six-week marriage enrichment course. Felipe hosted the classes in his home and David and Daisy developed the curriculum and taught each week. 

The graduation celebration was recently held at the YWAM San Antonio del Mar campus for the families who completed the marriage course. Claudia, one of the participants, came forward to share her story. No one was prepared for what happened next. 

“Pablo and I were discussing separation,” she began. “We didn’t want to live together any longer. We knew it would be difficult for the children but we couldn’t continue on. When David and Daisy came to our house to invite us to the marriage study, we reluctantly went.” She shared how the course transformed their relationship, and how their hearts turned towards each other once again. 

“And I want to surprise Pablo with something here at this graduation. Something that Pablo has always wanted but I have refused.” Claudia paused, emotion filling her voice. 

"Pablo, will you marry me?"

Gasps of surprise and joy were heard around the room. While common-law marriages are a prevailing custom in many developing nations, Claudia knew that she and Pablo needed to take the next step. 

She didn’t have to wait long for an answer. Pablo responded with “YES!” and the room erupted in celebration! Then, once the excitement died down, two more couples declared their commitment to marriage by getting engaged, too. 

The influence of Homes of Hope goes far beyond boundaries of four walls and a roof. When families like the Ortizes open their doors to those around them, the impact can reach to the next generation and beyond. 

Are you interested in bringing a team to do a Home of Hope build? Click HERE for more info! 

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Look Again.

We have faith. With God, the impossible is possible. We got this. We got this... and then the storm hits and we are back at it again with all the feels, our fears and our scrambling for control. 

In reality, there is a fine line between faith and doubt and I’ve faltered between the two more than I care to admit. 

When we fix our eyes on Jesus- We can conquer anything.  But when our eyes are diverted, we sink. It is a pretty simple formula. One minute confidently walking on water, the next- a terror filled, spiral out of control. It’s funny how life is like that. 

When will we learn to remember?

When will we learn, that we were never the ones in control?

We will, when we learn to look again. 

Peter confidently cried out to Jesus to call him out on the water. At this point, the storm and the depth of the sea were inconsequential, they were nothing compared to the glory of looking Jesus in the face. He was on a faith high, ready to face anything, until the wind and the waves, began to beckon, picking up speed and dragging his attention away from the gaze of Jesus and onto the danger. He immediately begins to sink.

Did you catch that? When we focus on the circumstances, we sink. When we look at the storm instead of Jesus, we sink. When we look anywhere but Jesus, you guessed it- we sink. 

It only takes a split second, but it has dire consequences. 

Praise Jesus, we aren’t doomed to our sinking. Praise Jesus, we aren’t doomed to our circumstances or our sadness or even our unraveling. For even though we are a fickle people and we look away- we can look again. The minute we do, that storm doesn’t seem so intense any more.  It’s about focus. It's about perspective. It's about our gaze.  

Where are you looking to- your circumstances, or your Savior? 

Are you interested in taking a season to go deeper in your faith? Check out the DTS and Secondary Course options offered at YWAM San Diego/ Baja. 

words + photos by Tiffany Lambert.
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Tiffany is full time staff with YWAM SDB and leads our Photo-Storytelling DTS.