Joshua Swanson: Welcome to the Walk; a devotionals podcast for worshipers. We’ve been on a break as we’ve moved our podcast over to the LifeAudio platform. Thanks to all of you for sticking with us during this transition. Our weekly episodes will start coming out again on Mondays.
Meredith Andrews is our guest on this episode, and she talks about God inviting us to meet him in the unseen realm. It’s a fantastic episode to restart our worship filled devotional journey together. Here we go.
Meredith Andrews: Hey everybody, this is Meredith Andrews and I’m so honored to be here with you today and even just to share, um, a little bit of my own journey and where God has taken me, where he’s brought me through. The last few years of my life, were disrupted and interrupted in all the ways. Some good, some bad, some hard.
But isn’t it true that God doesn’t waste anything? Isn’t it true that, even in those difficult moments where, um, we’re walking through impossible situations and we can’t see the light at the, the end of the tunnel, we still have a hope that anchors us? And that’s where faith comes in, where we get to choose to walk by faith and not by sight.
Joshua Swanson: When we come back, Meredith covers the out of control nature of the last few years.
Meredith Andrews: I know for so many of us in 2020, we were asking questions. What’s happening in the world? Um, I don’t know if you felt this way, but I definitely felt like, um, obviously out of control. You know, it wasn’t, nothing was in my control anymore and I think, uh, that highlighted the fact that I do like to have my thumb on things a little bit, you know, kind of being able to, um, determine which way an outcome is gonna go.
But in 2020 I was very quickly reminded and, um, and just brought to this reality that nothing is really within my, uh, ability to control and it, and it just brought me back to this place with the Lord where I just had to completely yield to him and surrender to him and be okay with not being in control.
As I was just asking these questions and wrestling with what was happening in the world, he was highlighting the things that were happening in my own heart and uncovering fractures and, um, woundedness and things that maybe I wouldn’t have been able to see if it had not been for, you know, the abrupt halt to all of what we knew as normal life.
But all of a sudden it was like these things in my own heart, in my own, um, context and experience, just came to the surface, and what I found in that is that anytime God brings something to the surface, it’s not to bring a shame. It’s not to point it out in a way where he, you know, says that he’s disappointed because he’s not.
Anytime you bring something into the light, it’s because he wants to bring it into fullness of healing and wholeness. And I had been operating at this pace, essentially, where I was just stuffing all that stuff down. You know, I wasn’t aware of maybe the corners of my heart that just needed to have the light turned on or some repair.
And, so for me, it, it was, it was very much this time of God bringing things into the light, refining and purifying and healing, and integrating and just making me whole in a, in a way that I didn’t necessarily know that I needed to be.
And I remember one day I was sitting on my living room floor, spending time with the Lord, and I was actually listening to the song Make Room, um, that was kind of my anthem for 2020 and I later recorded it just because it was a song that was so just in every fiber of my being. What I wanted to say to the Lord, you know, clearing space, not just time, but also mental space and heart space for him to just move in however he wanted to.
But in that process, you know, it wasn’t always, it was never honestly easy. I think I got to the place where I felt so stripped bare. I felt so exposed and weak, and I said that to the Lord one day as I was listening to this song, and I was just on my living room floor, just crying out to him, just went, God, I don’t even know how to pray. I don’t even know fully what you’re doing. I know that you’re bringing all these things into the light and you’re wanting to bring healing to my heart, but you know, it feels so vulnerable and it scares me, and I’ve never felt so weak and unqualified.
And as I’m just expressing this all to the Lord in frustration and also, you know, a bit of confusion and just kind of like, I don’t like it, I remember God just saying so clearly to my heart, this is the place where I’ve brought you. You know, as I’m saying, God, I’ve never felt so vulnerable or weak or exposed, and God’s like, good, that’s where I want you. I was like, but this is not fun, you know? But what the Lord was communicating to me was, I’ve brought you to the end of yourself because you’ve been really good at operating in your own strength, but that will only take you so far. And what I’m trying to get you to understand is that when you embrace your weakness and when you see yourself as my daughter and not as all these other roles or positions, then everything else is gonna flow out of that place.
And I think it’s true of all of us, especially those, those of us who are in ministry, we, we know what we’re good at and we’ve spent a lot of hours. In ministry and we know how to, you know, if I can even say this, we know how to get a response, but maybe God in what he’s doing in the earth and maybe what he’s doing all around us that started in 2020, maybe he’s getting us to the end of ourselves so that we then begin to operate only in his strength and only in his power.
Where we no longer clinging to our traditions and the way we’ve always done things, but we actually begin to move by the spirit and only by the spirit, not by my, not by our own power, but by the Spirit of the Lord. Because that’s what breaks the yoke and that’s what brings people into freedom.
And I had to experience that in my own life. God had to bring me into my own freedom. Freedom from religion, freedom from, you know, uh, the opinions of people, freedom from numbers or, you know, streams on Spotify, like God had to set me free from all of that. God had to set me free from my identity being found in as a traveling worship leader. And now I just wanna be known as a worshiper.
I wanna be found at his feet. Offering all that I am to him, making room for him to move and do whatever he wants to do in my life and through my life. Even if it’s never on a platform, even if nobody ever sees it, you know? But that day was such a significant day, it, it really marked me. And I’ve had to then repent when I’ve settled back into operating on my own strength, because you know, it can come naturally when you’ve done it for so many years, but I’m just saying to the Lord, God, I’m not satisfied with that. I don’t have anything to offer apart from you, and I believe that what God is moving us into in these days as we’re seeing revival break out all over the country, all over the world, I believe what God is moving us into is this complete and total dependence upon him and this hunger for his presence.
Where it’s not about a name, it’s not about, you know, a platform. There’s no celebrity culture anywhere to be seen. It really is just people who are desperate and hungry for the power and presence of God. Because the Bible says the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power.
Joshua Swanson: We’re gonna take another, quick break. When we come back, Meredith dives into 2 Corinthians 4. We wanted to give a shout out to Sennheiser for providing us with the microphone I’m using today. It’s called the Profile Microphone, and it’s a cardioid USB mic that retails at only $129, and it comes with all the quality that Sennheiser is known for, as you can hopefully hear based on the sound of this recording, it’s a great deal. So, check it out and check out our full review at wwwworshipleader.com.
Okay, back to Meredith to close us out.
Back in those days in 2020, God brought me to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. I will always love that chapter, but the end of that chapter, it says, “Outwardly, we are wasting away yet inwardly, we are being renewed day by day, and these light and momentary afflictions are achieving for us an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs them all. So then we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. Because what is seen as temporary. What is unseen as eternal and God is inviting us into the unseen realm.”
He’s inviting us into this uncomfortable place where we just let him be God, and we don’t try to put it in a box and we don’t try to define it or him, you know, we we’re just, we’re just going, God, whatever you wanna do, honestly. Don’t let us get in the way, but let us be conduits because he wants to come through us.
It, we get to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth. That is the mandate on our lives. When we understand we, we we’re living for something bigger than ourselves. We’re living for this unseen realm that is the greatest reality. And if we can just catch a glimpse of what he’s doing in the unseen, it will fully transform the way that we live our lives, the way that we talk to people at the grocery store, because we understand that everywhere we set our foot, because the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, we are taking ground for the kingdom of God.
We are pushing back the darkness with our very presence, because the very presence of God lives inside of us. And when we get a revelation of that, it really does change everything. And we understand it’s not about us and yet God has invited us in to partner with him to see him move in the earth, and yeah, that fires me up so much.
And I just want to every day say, God, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We are meant to see the kingdom of heaven on display in the earth. We don’t have to wait for heaven. We are meant to bring heaven. That’s what Jesus came for. He talked about the kingdom more than he talked about his death. He didn’t even talk about his death until a few weeks before he went to the cross. He came to establish the kingdom of God on the earth and he wants to use his people to do so. And, so, we just have to get out of the way and we have to fix our eyes on the unseen, on the eternal, on Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith because he wants to do something in you.
And you may think, well, but I’m just insignificant. I don’t really have any giftings. I don’t have a platform. You don’t need one. You have the Holy Spirit inside of you, and he has created you and designed you, and commissioned you. He’s given you an assignment, and don’t let the world define what your assignment is and don’t let the world’s definition of success paint this picture for you that you are insignificant, because God has placed you where you are for a reason, and it’s not insignificant.
It’s powerful. What he has commissioned you to do, and you are the only one with the assignment on your life that you have. You are the only with your name, you are the only one with your DNA. You’re the only one with your fingerprint. And it’s, and God designed it that way because when we all come together as the body of Christ and we operate in the fullness of our calling, when we operate in the fullness of our identity as son and daughters, and we again just have this revelation of who he is, who he is for us, who he is in us and through us, then we get to move in authority and we get to push back the, the darkness, and we get to see people saved and healed and delivered.
We get to bring the gospel of the kingdom everywhere we go. It’s not just the gospel of salvation, it’s the gospel of the kingdom. Because Jesus came to give us life to the full. Salvation is just the beginning. But he is still healer. He is still deliverer. He is still the one who sets us free. He’s the one who breaks our, our bondages. He, he’s the one that gives us purpose, and he’s calling you into that greater purpose.
So just say yes. Before you even know the question. Just say yes to him, because I promise you, it is the greatest adventure you’ll ever go on. It’s an adventure with God. And you won’t be disappointed when you just say, yes, Lord, I’m giving you my yes, I’m giving you my surrender. I’m laying down my life. I just wanna be part of what you’re doing in the earth. I wanna be part of bringing your kingdom, advancing your kingdom in the earth. It’s nothing greater than that.
So Lord, we just thank you that you’ve invited us as your kids to partner with you. To bring this gospel of the kingdom, this good news that transforms and sets people free, that changes everything. Thank you that we get to be a part of what you’re doing, and we just say yes to you, Lord. We say, God, would you let our lives be an upper room?
Let the whole earth be your upper room, where we continue to see little sparks and fires burning and blazing. Hunger, people who are hungry for your presence, God. Let the purity of revival spread where it’s not about a name or a platform other than the name of Jesus and no other platform than the kingdom of heaven. Lord, thank you, that you want to pour out your spirit on the earth. Thank you that all the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
And so, Lord, we choose today to set our eyes not on what is seen, not on the temporary, but we fix our eyes on the unseen realm. We set our eyes in your face and we say, Lord, lead us Holy Spirit, guide us, counsel us.
Take us wherever you wanna take us, God. We are your surrendered people. We wanna be your pure and spotless bride. Thank you so much for every person that’s listening to this today. God, would you encourage their hearts and would you remind them that what we see in the natural, it’s, it’s not all there is, but we get to affect the natural.
We get to change what happens in the natural because we bring heaven to earth. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Jesus, that you have invited us in, that you have set your seal of ownership upon us. That you have called us your kids. That our, that is our identity.
Now, may we walk in that identity and may we walk in that authority and may we see as you promise, God, no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind can conceive what God has in store for those who love him. And we love you, and so we’re expected to see you move. We’re expected to see you move in our families, in your church, in our communities, in our nation, and in the world. Show us your glory, Lord. In Jesus name. Amen.
Joshua Swanson: Thank you Meredith, for sharing your heart with us. We’re gonna play out this episode with a song by Meredith called Carry The World. The lyrics of the song felt appropriate for this episode. I know my God is able, he’s always able, to do great things. I can’t carry the world, but I know you can. Amen.
As always, special thanks to Matt McCartie for producing and editing today’s episode. Jacob Fairclough produced our theme song. The Walk is brought to you by Worship Leader. I also want to thank the team at LifeAudio for their partnership. If you head over to LifeAudio.com you’ll find dozens of other faith-centered podcasts. They’ve got shows about prayer, Bible Study, parenting and more. So, again, check them out at LifeAudio.com. I’m Joshua Swanson. Here’s Carry the World.
