The Lord has been speaking to me these past few weeks saying, “TODAY EVERYTHING CHANGES”. The first day I heard this, just so happened to be the day my son Noah went for his learners licence. I thought, “well, yes Lord, today everything does change”! But since that morning, every day I have been waking up and hearing these words “today everything changes.”
As I have been leaning into God about what He is saying, He started to speak to me regarding my complacency and self-doubts, the feeling that I am not qualified, not ready and not able to do what God is asking me to do.
Then He spoke to me about the journey my son has been on to get his Learners licence. Noah has never driven a car on the roads before and never understood road rules. But for Noah to get his Learners licence, he had to be prepared to take the first steps. Then with no experience, with only the limited knowledge he had read about, and by passing a simple paper test, he now can to get in the car and learn to drive! He is NOT a qualified driver, but that doesn’t stop him from learning.
Then the Lord said to me “Helen, people are sitting and waiting because they don’t feel qualified to do what I am asking them to do! They are filled with self-doubt and complacency in the waiting. If you sit around waiting, without being prepared to take the first steps and then sit in the drivers seat with your L plates on, you will not learn! You will never be ready and you will never feel qualified to do what I am asking you to do!”
GET USED TO YOUR L PLATES! I AM YOUR INSTRUCTOR Then the Lord said “I am your instructor! And it’s time to get used to your L Plates! Don’t become complacent! You must never stop being prepared to learn and grow! This is how you move forward into the fullness I have planned for you! The VEHICLE REPRESENTS YOUR GIFTINGS AND THE MINISTRIES I HAVE GIVEN YOU. Just like a learner driver must have an instructor always sitting beside them to qualify them to learn to drive on the roads, I am your instructor. I am the one who qualifies you, teaches you and guides you as you move forward in your giftings and the ministry I have for you!"
“We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. ‘For the journey I have ahead for you is great. We will travel the roads together, I will never leave you.” 2Cor 3:4-6 NLT
Then the Lord showed me in a vision, a person sitting in a vehicle in their driveway. They were sitting idle, not going anywhere, gripped with self-doubt and fear believing they were unable to drive the vehicle. Then the Lord opened the door, He was the instructor and He sat in next to them. He gave instructions about the vehicle and about what they needed to do to get moving. He handed them an L Plate and said “today everything changes...IF you will trust me! The person took hold of the L Plates, put them on the vehicle, listened to the instructor and started to move. The instructor was teaching them and showing them where to go and what to do. They were learning, growing in confidence and covering great ground as they went.
DON'T GO IT ALONE Then the Lord showed me another vision. I saw some people driving very confidently with their L Plates on. Then they stopped and opened the passenger door and told the instructor that he can hop out, they can drive on their own now. They threw off the L plates and started driving the roads without the instructor. Most of these people just stuck to the familiar roads, backwards and forwards, round and round, never venturing into new territory and only travelling the roads they have already been down. When these people came to a new road or a crossroad, it was unfamiliar to them! They would ask themselves, where do I go now? What do I do here? Most would just turn around and go back to the old familiar road, but some chose to venture down this unfamiliar road. As they travelled it, they missed important signs, they missed directions.
They became tunnel visioned and ultimately got completely off track and lost. They eventually pulled over to the side of the road and sat idle, gripped by fear and completely lost. They realised to travel these new roads and new territory, they are not meant to do this alone! They need their instructor back in the vehicle to show them where to go and what to do! They need to be willing to put their L Plates back on and learn!
God spoke to me and said “If My people are waiting to be fully qualified, they will be waiting for a very long time! They will sit idle, with the engine running, going no-where. Or if My people are wanting to go it alone, they will not be able to move forward into new territory and will miss what I have planned for them."
He continued to say "The path I have planned for you is far greater than you know! But we MUST travel it together! Today I am calling you to be willing to put on your L Plates and to stop sitting idle. Stop listening to the lies of the enemy that you are not good enough or not qualified enough! Put aside self-doubt, fears, complacency and distractions. Have faith in Me! For I qualify you! I will show you which way to go and I will never leave you or forsake you. Will you trust me and listen to my instruction? We will travel a great distance together, we will go places you never thought possible. IF you are willing to never stop learning and growing, you will be able to move forward with confidence into all I have called you to be."