Stelzl Family

“Lord, I just want to trust you…fully, completely, in every area!” Does this sound familiar to you???  It’s easy to trust God when there’s bread on the table and money in the bank; it’s no task to smile when the sun is shining, or flowers are blooming, and the whole world seems to love you just the way you are… but what about those simply challenging moments when the last thing you want to do is humble yourself to repent, or take up another difficult assignment that has gone maybe just a little too far? What about the times of spiritual drought and famine in your Christian walk, and the opposition you encounter from even those dearest and closest to you???

For me, Journey to the Heart has been a time of spiritual refreshment; a breath of the freshest, cleanest air on this earth! It’s not about a method but my  relationship with Him! It draws me to the very heart of God and forces me to just unload all my cares and burdens at the feet of Jesus. In the midst of an intense week of self examination away from all the other normal distractions of life, I can get away with shedding a few buckets of tears over what seems like something incredibly small. No, it’s not always practical to unload

in such an unladylike and awkward manner; but that’s what an encounter with Jesus Christ is like…right? EVERYBODY knows when I’ve gotten straight down to business with God  Yet emotional or not, I’ve discovered that there is no such thing as tearing off on a journey and coming back just the same…in fact, more than likely I’ll end up worn out, empty, and a little broken down. Nevertheless, I’ve seen some sights so beautiful and breathtaking that I’ll surely do it ten times over. That’s the best thing that can happen – because that’s when Jesus finds me and fills me back up! He gives me rest and shows me new breathtaking images of what He plans to do in and through me.

My Journey began 9 years ago when I became a child of King Jesus! Every day draws me closer to His side and I am SO overwhelmed in His love! My daily prayer is that I could be emersed and simply drowning in the presence of His Holy Spirit. Yet my Journey has only just begun and will continue until that day when I see His glorious face with my eyes! Perhaps my most difficult issue lies in throwing aside every last scrap of intellect, self-reliance, comfort, reason, and all competing affections to simply… TRUST JESUS! This was my prayer as I headed off to Journey for the third time in March. “Lord, show me how to trust you completely, fully, totally with all of my being…no matter what it takes!” That “matter” was going to be a whole lot more than I would have voluntarily bargained for! I had no idea what great unexpected challenges God was going to bring my way, nor did I foresee the unimaginable ways that He would give me great joy and peace - by abiding in Him.

I had a perfect picture of what to expect on this Journey - one accord prayer, major breakthroughs… I had expectations that I was sure God would fulfill – but He had a better plan! Tuesday morning I woke up around 3:00AM and lost my previous meal – all over the room! Unfortinately, I was not the only girl who had been affected by the “stomach flu”. The day seemed to drag by, a constant struggle to focus on our heart examination assignments. It was then that I felt the Lord telling me, “Sarah, do you trust that I have a perfect plan in this? Do you trust me because I love you and want only what’s best for you?” I was deeply convicted as I realized that my efforts to have a joyful heart rather than murmuring had been futile. Even if I did control my mouth, I still felt annoyed inside. I wanted to complain! God brought to mind the Hiding Place which we had been listening to on audio the day before. I remembered Corrie and Betsie Ten Boom  – how in the midst of sickness, death, starvation, nakedness, weariness, and limited living space - under the control of an angry, domineering, hateful Nazi woman… had stopped to thank God for the fleas! As if I had been slapped in the face, I stopped writing in my

notebook. “Sarah, you need to do more than just NOT complain, you need TO THANK ME for this sickness and the PERFECT plan that I have in it,” God seemed to say. It was then that I went to a whole new level! I learned to thank God for the blessings that He HAD bestowed on me that I had so selfishly overlooked – like being with likeminded sisters in the Lord who would encourage me and comfort me in any way they could,  having a family at home to love and pray for me, and knowing that I was a child of God…Throughout the rest of the day, I was continually reminded that the joy of the Lord was my strength! Despite the physical pain I had to endure, my strength was renewed so that I was able to get up and serve others who were still sick in bed! Being joyful DID affect the wayI felt, lived, and acted!!!

One of my greatest desires has always been to encourage other young ladies in the Lord, and to make disciples! On this Journey I discovered that God loves surprise witnessing opportunities, and He’s really good at doing ALL the work if you’ll just be a channel! So, naturally I was sharing with a team member how the Lord gave me freedom from 30 lies, 20 painful memories, and 5 major fears that had completely taken over my life. We were walking around the lake up in Michigan and the trail was 3.7 miles. We had plenty of time to talk! I discovered that we had much in common – only she was still in bondage. As she shared her story with me,  I began to understand how deep the pain inside her heart had become – pain of rejection, verbal abuse, and lies that destroyed her perspective of her identity in Christ. I asked her if she had been able to thank God for what He had allowed, and if she had had the opportunity to bless and forgive her offenders.  I continued asking other thought-provoking questions as I felt led of the Lord, despite the discouragement of her answers. Around 2 hours later,

we arrived back at the lodge. As we headed toward the door, I asked her if she had made any wrong vows?” She exclaimed “Yes!” and started listing several - a vow to prove to the world that she was someone worth loving, to go to college and prove her intelligence to her dad, to grow up and kill all Christians, and the list went on. I asked her if she would pray and ask God to break those vows. She grabbed my hand and opened her mouth to speak, but the words wouldn’t come! Later she said, “My tongue went numb and I couldn’t speak!” I saw the fear in her eyes, and heard her scream as she fell into my arms crying, “I feel it, oh I feel it.” (the power of Satan). She shared with me later that she felt the evil presence of a demonic power and could not get freedom. I began binding and rebuking

Satan in the name of Jesus and crying out to God. This gave her freedom to ask God to break the wrong vows. She was able to bless her offenders, and thank God for her past! I then asked her to state aloud with her mouth who she was in Christ. At first she thought that was silly, but when I insisted, she agreed. I asked her to verbally repeat after me, “In Christ I am beautiful, in Christ I am victorious…” she stopped in mid sentence  and told me that all kinds of evil thoughts were running through her head – she WASN’T victorious and DIDN’T have the power or authority to say speak the truth. I asked her to pray against Satan in the name of Jesus and claim the freedom from her Heavenly Father, and she did!!! She found freedom and joy and was able to share with our team, with her parents who adopted her, and with the group back at HQ later on in the week. God was SOOOO good, and in the midst of drawing another precious lamb back to Himself, He showed me that I never needed to be any more than a channel through which He could flow as Living Water, as Precious Love, and as Light in the darkness. He taught me how to trust Him, fully, totally, completely!

Tags: ATI, IBLP, Journey to the Heart

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 at 10:56 am and is filed under Exhortation & Encouragement, Student Expeditions, Testimonies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.