"The Joy of Remaining"
by Jennifer Toledo
"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself;
it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."
-- John 15:4 NIV
I
have often read this verse and repeatedly asked the Lord to teach me how to "remain."
Without fail, it seems as though "remaining" has been one of the greatest challenges
in my busy life. The swirl of daily life often finds me squirming rather than remaining.
In my pursuit of learning to remain, I have become so hungry to see true spiritual
fruit manifested in my life. In this hour it seems to be the cry of the church as
well, especially in the west, that we would come out of our barrenness and begin
to manifest the rich, powerful, beautiful fruit that we are called to bear.
Our cries have been to go beyond all our talk and begin to demonstrate the transforming
kingdom of power (see I Corinthians 4:20). But the only way to bearing such desperately
needed fruit is through remaining.
Partnership With Heaven
In I Peter 2:9 we are reminded that we are a "chosen people, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him
who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." This is our inheritance.
We are citizens of heaven, royalty, children of the kingdom, chosen by God to bear
fruit on the earth. The church is called to demonstrate supernatural love, healing,
provision, council, wisdom, etc. to a desperately needy world. We live in an hour
where partnership with heaven is absolutely necessary so that the gospel of power
can be demonstrated on the earth.
It is the very heart of the Father to see His children walking in the fullness of
Christ -- so that we can "declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness
into His wonderful light." Signs and wonders are one type of fruit that we have
the joyful privilege of bearing as we remain in Him. "And these signs will accompany
those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new
tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison
it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they
will get well." -- Mark 16:17, 18
As we remain in intimacy with Christ and stand in the faith of who He is --this
type of fruit should naturally flow from our lives. The supernatural becomes natural
for those who are hidden and remaining in the Source of all power.
A Vision of Hope
I want to share a vision that the Lord gave me because I believe it is an invitation
for us all: In the vision I saw myself standing next to a beautiful lake. It was
in the early hours of the morning -- the sun had not yet come up and a hazy mist
glided over the water.
I could see the Lord standing on the other side of the lake. He was so pleasant
and full of peace. I asked him why He was here at the lake so early in the morning,
and He responded by saying that it was at this time that all the deer came to the
drinking hole. I felt such peace there. I knew in my spirit that the water represented
the word, and it was in the early hours that the Lord loves to feed his precious
flock.
I knelt down at the waters edge and cupped my hands, scooping the sweet water to
my mouth. I could feel the water seep deep into every part of my being and I felt
so refreshed. Next, I began to splash water on my face and as I washed my face,
I felt cleansed and renewed. The Lord smiled at me from across the lake, and then
to my amazement He began to walk on the water.
He walked all the way until he reached the middle of the lake. From that place,
He began to speak to me -- He said, "You know, there are many who have faith that
if they drink My water (word) they will be refreshed and their thirst will be satisfied.
Also, there are many who have faith that if they wash themselves with My water (My
word) they will be cleansed and renewed. But, there are only a very few who actually
have faith . . . to walk on the water."
As He spoke of walking on the water, I immediately understood that by standing on
the word (the water), the supernatural becomes possible. He then beckoned me to
come my half of the way and meet Him in the middle of the lake. I laughed a little
bit as I tapped my bare foot in the water. I said, "Lord . . . I don't know how
to walk on the water . . . look . . . my foot is all wet."
He told me to forget about my circumstances and to just focus on Him. In obedience,
I locked my eyes onto His eyes and began to look deeply into who He is. He then
asked me, "What do you see?" I was overwhelmed with waves of His kindness and beauty.
Within an instant, it was as though I became totally lost in the attributes of His
character. As I focused on Him, I forgot about myself and began to speak out what
I saw in this man so beautiful and holy.
Full of passion, I began to declare -- "You are holy!" "You are beautiful!" You
are faithful!" "You are merciful!" "You are sovereign!" "You are not a God that
you would lie!" "You are righteous!" etc . . . Each declaration I made was full
of confidence, because as I gazed into His eyes I was overwhelmed with such perfect
assurance in His divine nature.
The more I saw of Him, the more I forgot about myself and all my fears and doubts
and inabilities. I became absolutely lost in His perfect nature and my heart was
filled with love and peace. Every time I declared something of His character, I
took a step closer to Him.
The first few steps were a little tricky and it was tempting to look down at my
feet -- but I knew the slightest distraction would have me sinking. As I got closer
to Him, I could feel faith arising in my heart and each step became easier. My heart
was so yearning to be near Him, that I could have cared less that I was walking
on water.
Once I reached him I threw my arms around Him and just embraced Him. As I did this,
we instantly began to sink. Shocked and unsure of what was happening, I began to
flail around in the water. Jesus was so full of peace. He said, "Just hold on to
me, we're going under."
I had no desire to go under the water, but I trusted Him and wanted to be near Him.
We slowly began to sink deeper, deeper, deeper -- to a very deep place. It was so
quiet and His presence was so strong. Although the water saturated every part of
me, I was amazed that I could breathe under the water. I felt like I was hidden
in the depths of His heart --consumed with peace and the fear of the Lord. It was
in this place that He spoke to me and told me that this is the place where revelation
is birthed.
I then understood that for those who are willing to get out of the way and lose
themselves in who He is, for those who are willing to meet Him in the middle of
the lake on His terms, for those who want nothing more than to just be near Him,
for those there awaits an invitation into the depths of His heart -- the place of
intimacy and revelation. This is where we remain; this is where fruit is cultivated
in our lives.
You see, as believers, we are all called to walk on the water. Walking on the water
represents doing supernatural acts that are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Signs
and wonders are part of our inheritance as Kingdom children. "For the Kingdom
of God is not a matter of talk, but of power." -- I Corinthians 4:20
If we focus on the supernatural act, we'll fall short every time. But when our focus
is Jesus alone, we can never fall short and the impossible becomes accomplished.
We are living in a day where the church will no longer be shamed with her bareness
of power. Our generation will truly see a demonstration of power from on high. Signs
and wonders will follow those who believe, and it is the very desire of God to see
His Kingdom manifested on the earth. As the floodgates of heaven are bulging --
ready to be poured out -- we are left to make a choice.
Will we be content with just drinking and washing in the word, or will we be ones
who walk on the water? For if we are to walk on the water -- we must lose ourselves
in the beauty of who He is. This is where we are to remain -- we remain in Him,
in His character, in His nature, in His promises and in His glorious beauty; where
the focus is not on us, our gifting, our callings, or our inadequacies -- but simply
and wholly on Him.
We must be ones who choose Him -- ones who are more impressed with who He is, than
in the signs and wonders He will perform. As we fix our eyes and hearts on the absoluteness
of His character -- we will see even greater miracles than Jesus saw. Our joy is
in the remaining, that is what we were created for. The supernatural fruit that
follows is for the joy and glory of the Father. As He is lifted up in this fashion,
all men will be drawn unto Him.