Virtual Reality: When you’re fighting and feel stuck (Get up!)
Last week I went to the young adult service at my church (@rlyamacon / shameless plug 18-35 year olds in the Middle GA area, this is the place) and he talked about Fresh Faith. It was a really powerful word, where he gave an analogy about our spiritual lives being like milk. If you let milk sit out then it’ll get old and go bad, especially if you let the heat get to it—it curdles and sours. He talked about our faith being the same way—1 Peter 2:2 says, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.”—we have to crave pure spiritual milk, fresh milk like babies. We can’t let our faith sit, especially when the heat of life gets to it, you have to stir it, have to keep it moving so it doesn’t curdle in the heat. We need fresh milk, fresh faith to move into the new year, or the new season that you’re in.
There were a few points he made but the one that stuck out to me was his fifth one—Get Up. He referenced John 5:8 which says,
(John 5:1-9) After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, [a]Bethesda, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, [b]paralyzed, [c]waiting for the moving of the water. 4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. 5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”
7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” 9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.
This was powerful because there have been moments in my life where I have felt helpless, crying out for help and feeling defeated. This verse paired with a vision God gave me shed some light on what really was going on.
Recently I had been struggling with some things I had already conquered but instead of waving them off immediately, I let it linger and whisper, until eventually it had me convinced that I was back where I was and nothing had really changed. I felt stuck. On Tuesday night, The Lord gave me an image of myself wearing a virtual reality headset (VR) in a dry place—no vegetation, no fertile ground, nothing for miles. At first all I could focus on was the surroundings in the image. My mind immediately started brainstorming how to attack whatever I felt like was attacking me, keeping me from growing and thriving. Then I paused—I realized I still had the VR headset on in the dry place. If you have ever been in any good VR set, you know it feels like reality. All you see is exactly what that headset is showing. This is how the enemy attacks sometimes. He convinces you you are in a place you are actually not. This can get exhausting, because you are fighting against something that is not real. Still stuck in your old ways. Still stuck in your old mindset. Still battling an old though pattern. For me personally, the enemy had been convincing me that I was in a dry place, which meant that I was fighting to be fruitful, believing that I wasn’t growing or thriving in any way. In the bible, dryness symbolizes spiritual death, an emptiness, and the opposite of that is fruitfulness and refreshment which is only found in Jesus. The thing with VR is, it really feels real so I was doing all these things— fasting, reading my bible for longer, everything trying to “get back” to a fruitful place again to no avail.
This is the enemy’s tactic. His goal is to make you feel hopeless and stuck. You may be doing all the work, everything you need to be doing, but he will try to convince you of every lie to discourage you. You are not making any progress. You haven’t changed. That struggle still has some power over you (when trust me baby it doesn’t—Who the Son sets free is free indeed). The enemy will try to convince you that you aren’t doing enough, it’s never going to work, you’re doing the wrong thing, nothing is working. This begins the cycle. After doing all you can do and still hitting walls, eventually you’re going to get tired. He wants you to give up, He wants you to believe that you can’t conquer this, that this is your identity, your future. You’ll start doubting God and start feeling as if something is wrong with you, an uncorrectable problem. This is where the enemy wants you, feeling hopeless, without hope in Jesus.
We know that our hope in Christ is the most precious thing we have. We rejoice in him because he is our Savior, who promises to deliver us from our enemies, from trouble! He promises to always be with us, to never leave or abandon us. His word says nothing can separate us from the love of God, nothing (Romans 8:38-39). Let me remind you of this—The enemy would love to convince you that God is tired of you, that he can’t help you, or that you should know better by now, so you need to figure it out on your own. There is no shame in Christ; He runs to you with open arms. Trust in what the Lord says, about himself and about you.
Let me remind you as you move forward of some foundational truths.
God’s love does not change for you no matter what—Romans 8:38-39 (TPT) says,
So now I live with the confidence that there is nothing in the universe with the power to separate us from God’s love. I’m convinced that his love will triumph over death, life’s troubles, fallen angels, or dark rulers in the heavens. There is nothing in our present or future circumstances that can weaken his love. There is no power above us or beneath us—no power that could ever be found in the universe that can distance us from God’s passionate love, which is lavished upon us through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One!
One thing God constantly reminded me of throughout this process was his love for me. Once I understood it, everything I was dealing with fell away. God reminded me of this verse yesterday morning before I did anything else. I meditated on this and realized why this had to be first. If I did not embrace this fully, that nothing could separate me from God’s love—not anything I went through, not my worst moments, not anything I did or felt—then it would leave room for me to accept lies about who I was and how God saw me. When you know someone is crazy about you, you know they are there for you. You believe that they'll fight for you--when you believe in God's love, you know that you are on the side of victory and that every attack is futile because the Lord promises to defend his people. He is faithful and I can trust him to have my back. Paul says it like this, “If God is for us, then who can be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else?" (Romans 8:31-32) meaning He will stop at nothing for us.
God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. (1 Corinthians 14:33) —-
As you walk through the process of healing or deliverance, know that the Jesus will guide you. In his word he promises to guide you, Psalms 32:8, says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you [who are willing to learn] with My eyes upon you.” He sees you even when you feel as if you are in the dark. He has the same goal, to free you from bondage, whatever that may look like in your life—heartbreak, depression, condemnation, addiction, negative thoughts, suicidal thoughts, any type of darkness you feel—He is the light to guide you through. As you continue to move forward through this process, (and trust me you are because every yes to God has purpose), know that Jesus is not the author of confusion. God does not torment. He loves you and provides clarity, so if at any point in your process, you feel as if you’re going in circles, pull back, breathe and ask God to clear your vision again so you can be confident in his leading!
God will never leave nor forsake you — (Deuteronomy 31:6)
No matter where you are, how dark or how lost, Jesus is always with you. You have someone on your side, defending you, fighting for you, warring for you. AND HE IS VICTORIOUS. Not in the distance, He is right there, closer than the air you’re breathing in and he knows what he’s doing. You may can’t see in the dark, but he can—He is the light that shines in the darkness (John 1:5) and He is good. If the Lord is in the midst, everything better be scared lol—it’s already done.
These reminders shined lights so bright that it broke through the mirage, and all of a sudden I could see clearly again. I write this to encourage someone who has been stuck lately. If you are doing everything you know to do, or there are some old things just sort of consuming you—ask God to show you your reality. You might be wrestling with a lion that’s already dead. Fighting in VR seems hopeless and exhausting because it is not real— Take God’s word for it instead!
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Lord, we thank you for your vision. We thank you that you can always see clearly even when we can’t, that you are outside of us and sovereign over all things. Everything bows to you. Lord some of us have been struggling and fighting against air, stuck and discouraged in a place you have not called us. Lord I pray that you open our spiritual eyes that we may see the reality of what’s actually going on. Lord, illuminate what and why the enemy wanted to distract us. I pray that VR glasses fall off all over the world, and your children start to see themselves and their callings the way you’ve made them—free, joyful, full of peace, bold, humble, pure, innocent, loved, forgiven, kind, CHOSEN. Have your way and lead us boldly and fiercely into whatever you have next for us.
In Jesus name,
Amen
