Sp*rit Lead Me

Turkey is ROCKING MY WORLD. I am falling in love with a country that G0d has so much love for. It is a beautiful place with a rich history, filled with the most kind and hospitable people I have ever met. While in Turkey, Firefall is doing “ATL” ministry, or “Ask the L0rd.” Our Father is our host this month- He is the one setting up ministry, telling us where to go and what to do. Every decision we make is preceded by prayer and recieving from the L0rd: what to do, where to stay, when to leave, how to get from one place to another, etc. As we continue to practice receiving from Him, rooted in faith, we receive names, dates, and visions. The team is the perfect place to share for it to be tested and confirmed or corrected (it’s sometimes hard to interpret what we receive on our own!). 

The transition to Turkey and to the 10/40 window was absolutely jarring. The spiritual atmosphere is very different- it took a minute to adjust to the darkness and oppression here. I began to understand the Father’s love and heartbreak for his people and started to feel and experience the same. I wanted Him to give me his eyes and his heart, and He did. It was entirely overwhelming for me. In this transition, He has been my lifeline. My feelings and my convictions often seem reliable and trustworthy, but they aren’t. Following myself and working with my own reason and strength is exhausting and unfulfilling. Following the Sp*rit isn’t an option- it’s the only way. As I was wrestling with these things, my teammate Karis received a word from the Father for me, and it was not what I was expecting. It was a playlist on Spotify, full of songs that He wanted to sing over me. This one has been my constant prayer. 

The Sp*rit’s way is so absolutely opposite from my own way. Learning to discern and adopting a posture of obedience has been a process marked by mistakes and victories. G0d’s ways are so much higher than my own, and his plans sometimes don’t make sense to me. He repeatedly says, “trust me.” What does this look like? Take this story for example: 

As we approached the end of our first week in Istanbul, the team had decided that we were supposed to stay a few more days, until the 15th to be exact. Though it made sense to stay at our hostel until then, we felt strongly that G0d was leading us to the Asian side of the city (plus the hostel was fully booked and we weren’t able to extend our stay). We made a reservation at a hostel on the other side, packed up, and made the trek over. When we arrived at our hostel, it seemed to be closed, and we came to find out that the hostel was completely out of business. We officially don’t have a place to stay. To make matters worse, this fell on the weekly “COVID lockdown day,” and very few businesses were open. With our stuff piled on the side of the road, we took to frantically searching for another option- looking at other hostels and hotels and calling anyone we could. Nothing was really working out. It just didn’t make sense that G0d would call us over here so distinctly without giving us a place to stay. But G0d doesn’t work with our “making sense.” He says, “trust me.” Someone suggested we take a minute to pray about it. 

While I was praying, I got something really weird. I felt that we were supposed to stay with someone. More than that, it was like in my spirit, I just knew. But that’s completely crazy! We don’t know anyone here, and everyone in the city is locked down in their homes. I was hesitant to share this with the group. 

As we were chatting, a couple walked past us and noticed us speaking English. We exchanged stories, and they went on their way. I felt these were the people who were going to help us but there’s no way I was going to ask them directly. I prayed, “Father if this is really what you want, you need to tell them to turn around and come back. You need to bring them back.” About 5 minutes later, they were back! This is what he said: “I don’t usually do this, so I don’t really know what made me come back. But we have an AirB&B tonight, but we are flying out around 11, so no one is actually going to be staying there. Would you guys like to stay there? It’s already been paid for.” 

We found another option- a hotel that was willing to give us a discount- but we decided to eat the heaven-sent manna instead. Long story short, we were able to stay at this AirB&B for free. Even better, we were able to share our story with our friends, Dan and Daniella. We were able to pray radical prayers of healing and Holy Sp*rit infillings. I am very confident that G0d organized the whole thing.  

This stuff doesn’t just happen on the race. The Sp*rit is always moving, and G0d regularly speaks. What is the Sp*rit telling you? Is He telling you to be still and rest? Is He telling you to release and give over control? Maybe He’s telling you to dive in and start something exciting! He’s going to take us further than we expect, further than we are comfortable with. It probably won’t make sense. But He’s in it with us!

–Sp*rit Lead Me ;Michael Ketterer & Influence Music

vvv when we were homeless and lowkey despairing