“This is How I Fight My Battles…”

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Written by Mike Verkaik

For the past month I have had the same song going through my mind. I first heard it with Tim at the conference we attended in Redding, CA. Music has always had a significant influence on my life and as the worship team sang the lyrics of Surrounded, the words resonated with my heart. The verses are as follows:

There’s a table that You’ve prepared for me

In the presence of my enemies

It’s the body and the blood you shed for me

This is how I fight my battles

 

In the valley I know that You’re with me

And surely your goodness and mercy follow me

So my weapons are praise and thanksgiving

This is how I fight my battles

 

It may look like I’m surrounded

But I’m surrounded by you

After Tim and I sang Surrounded for the first time we headed back to our room, both humming and singing the chorus. As we discussed the impact of the worship in our room, it was discovered we were blessed by a different section of the song.

The song was birthed out of Psalm 23. Tim’s heart was moved by the thought of the table that our Abba Father has prepared for us, while I was impacted by Biblical truth that we fight our battles with weapons of praise and thanksgiving.

This past weekend the song Surrounded was the focus of our meditation at the Thanksgiving Celebration Oceans hosted for the residents at our motel ministry in Holland, MI.

As we set the tables and prepared the formal dinner/worship time, we experienced many challenges and difficulties. It was brought out in the meditation, that we did it, because we loved them and desired for them to have a special night with each other. Likewise, our Father has prepared a table for us, one that is full of goodness, mercy, grace and love that He lavishes on us. He does this in the middle of our challenges and difficulties. In the midst of our messes, sins, doubts and fears. It is in that setting that He longs for us to sit at His table and converse with Him, to taste and see that He is a good, good Father.

We finished our evening with a time of thanksgiving. Each person shared at least one thing they were thankful for. It was a beautiful moment, sitting at the table with our friends and hearing in the midst of their difficulties how they experienced the blessings of their Father. After all remembering and giving praise and thanksgiving to our Abba Father is the way to fight our battles against an enemy that wants our thoughts to be on our past and present failures.

Abba Father’s Play House – A Standing Stone to the Goodness of the Father

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What a blessing to share that in October Oceans Ministries celebrated its 4th Birthday! As the board reflected over the past four years we were overwhelmed by the Father’s faithfulness and the countless ministry opportunities provided.

Beautiful Gate Care Center in Lesotho Africa is near and dear to our hearts and Oceans was recently asked to provide funding to erect a new building that would house a space specifically as a playroom for the children. If you have volunteered at Beautiful Gate you likely recall that the soft play room for the babies as well the toddler room in one of the houses is woefully over crowded and challenging for staff.

Oceans Ministries’ board felt the Father strongly calling us to provide the funds as a way to give Him Praise and Thanksgiving for His faithfulness. The building would stand as a testimony to the Goodness of the Father and a way to say thank you to all of you who have prayed for and supported our call to Make the Love of the Father Known to Physical and Spiritual Orphans around the World.

Abba’s Play Room represents a physical picture of the spiritual reality of the Kingdom of God. Paul states in Romans 14:17:

“For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” 

Each of us is an orphan who has been adopted into the family of God by the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And because of that amazing love we have become the Father’s beloved children and brought into His playroom that is filled with perfect peace and joy through the Holy Spirit.

We believe Abba’s Play Room will be a living testimony to what it means to live as joy-filled children in His Kingdom.

This Thanksgiving season we want to give praise and thanks for all of you who have joined Oceans Ministry on the Journey to Make the Love of the Father Known. You have been part of a miracle from the Father’s hand that shouts aloud His praise over our world. We pray Abba’s Play Room will serve as a symbol of our deepest gratitude to both God and to you for partnering with us in the Gospel.

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea,” Habakkuk 2:14.

With sincere thanksgiving,

Steve Dykstra, Ken & Danell Czarnecki, Mike Verkaik, Tim Spykstra

 

 

 

 

Living in the Cloud – Love

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Since last week’s blog on Hope I have received several cards, a coffee mug, and engaged in several conversations about Hope! Even on Monday morning as I sat down to write this entry I opened my journal and Romans 5:5 jumped off the page.

 

Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

 

After multiple encounters with hope this past week I am intentionally tuning into what the Spirit wants me to hear. Romans 5:5 is a perfect scripture to describe why I believe our Good Father places us in the Cloud of Unknowing.

 

Take a moment to read the four verses that precede Romans 5:5, notice the words faith and hope are used to describe moving within the cloud journey and experiencing the amazing overwhelming love of the Father.

 

Faith in the work of Jesus brings us into a right relationship with the Father and keeps us in a secure place of hope-even in the midst of trials His love will never let us go.

 

Faith + Hope = the Love of the Father

 

Last week I talked with a good friend who has been experiencing a cloud for quite sometime. In the midst of deep pain the Holy Spirit met him as he was watching his granddaughter peacefully sleep. It was during this time that his heart was overwhelmed by this precious, innocent, helpless infant. The Spirit reminded my friend, “this is how I love you my son.” He was brought to tears as he shared this holy moment with me.

 

God speaks to us though the Holy Spirit in different ways to remind each of us that the greatest gift of learning to live in the cloud is by faith and hope; these truths lead us to remember that, we are not orphans but we belong to a loving Father.

 

I’m convinced the Father uses the Cloud of Unknowing to bring us to the greatest of truths poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit: We are not orphans, but beloved son’s and daughter’s. This priceless gift of love transforms us from the inside out and gives us a deeper desire for the will of our Heavenly Father and His glory!

 

If you are experiencing a cloud, keep walking forward in faith and hope in His promises. Go forth with relentless trust that the Father’s love IS in the midst of the cloud with you, and an even greater measure through His Spirit is coming for your good and His glory.

 

And now these three things remain: Faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Cor. 13:13

Learning to Live in the Cloud – Hope

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A big hand came down into the room and lifted me up with a secure loving grip and I heard a voice say, “It is going to happen.”

 

Several years ago I had this vision/dream above that brought me an incredible amount of hope and peace in the midst of an overwhelming season of life. I remember shortly after this encounter I went to my Bible and looked up all the texts that highlighted the hand of God in the Bible. One passage in particular which sunk deep into my soul was Isaiah 41:10:

 

“So do not fear, for I am with you do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

 

I shared these events with my sister Cindy, who sent me the picture above, which has been a focal point in my office for several years now. The mystical hand coming out of the cloud serves to continually remind me of the promised HOPE found in the verse of Isaiah 41:10.

 

As I learn to live in the cloud by FAITH, I hold on to the HOPE that my Father holds on to me with a secure grip that will never let me go. The Hand of the Father is best seen in the physical hands of Jesus stretched out on the cross to rescue us from our sin and secure a forever relationship of love (John 10:28-29).

 

Looking back over the years since that dream/vision of “the hand” and the confirmation found in the promises of Isaiah 41:10 I can testify to how my Father has strengthened me and upheld me by His righteous right hand. As I live into the mystery of the cloud and move forward in FAITH, I do so with a SECURE HOPE that His Hand of love is bringing me into His perfect purposes, “It will happen!”

 

Today as you live in your own cloud, hold on IN HOPE that your Good Father upholds you and is carrying you forward to His perfect plan for your life (Jer. 29:11).

 

“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love,” 1 Corinthians 13:13.

 

Learning to Live in the Cloud – Faith!

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One of the things I love about living in Colorado is the brilliant bright sun surrounded by the deep blue sky at altitude. Since I was born under this magnificent canopy, persistent cloudy days have an adverse effect on my mood.

 

Spiritually, I anticipated the longer I walked in faith things would become clearer like the Rocky Mountain sky on a sunny day. But truth be told, some days things seem cloudy and mysterious. When I started out in seminary I thought I had most of the answers to life’s most difficult problems, but today many times I find myself at a loss for words.

 

For example Patty and I went with our friend Steve last week to his vacation home on the panhandle of Florida, about 40 miles from Panama City. When we planned this trip a few months ago we both were looking forward to some rest from a busy summer and fall. We would have never dreamt that Hurricane Michael with a 155 mile an hour winds would be visiting just a few days before us.

When we drove through Panama City and saw the horrific destruction to homes and businesses our words became few and an overwhelming sense of helplessness griped us. Again, it was like a cloud surrounded my spirit and it was hard to make sense of it. I lacked answers for the devastation this powerful storm caused; my only conclusion was to simply go forward with a surrendered faith in with this any many other mysteries of life.

 

This cloud of unknowing that has moved into my life over the past years has been teaching me to learn to live in the moment by faith. To trust that my Father holds on to me in the cloud and to cling to Him alone, knowing that His love demonstrated through the gift of His Son Jesus is all the security I need in the cloud. Without the cloud I can easily walk away and seek to be god of my own destiny, which never ends well.

 

The journey of faith my family and I began four years ago parallels what the cloud has been teaching me. These important truths have carried me forward as I seek to live: A Surrendered Faith, a Secured Hope, and a Life Saturated by Love. (1 Corinthians 13:13 highlights these dynamic truths).

 

I’m learning that if I look with His eyes and listen for His voice I will find the Father in the Cloud. He was right there in the midst of all the pain and rubble from Hurricane Michael. His heart was revealed to us in a lady named Christine, a friend of Steve’s whose tears showed the Father’s compassion for the victims of Michael.

 

Christine’s church was launching out to meet the needs of those hardest hit and we heard the Father’s voice calling us be His love. I called the Oceans Board and they graciously agreed to partner with her church and what a blessings it was to hand over a stack of $25 gift cards from the Father to His needy children.

Developing a Surrendered Faith is truly realizing that God is God and I am not. It is admitting and surrendering to His sovereign plan. The losses encountered through Hurricane Michael will last for many years, but I thank God and thank you for all who team up with Oceans Ministries to be His loving hands and feet in the midst of the clouds.

 

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” I Corinthians 13:13