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Moving from Fear to Love
A few months ago, I was sitting in the airport in Kelowna, BC after a fruitful trip to British Columbia. I had met with many pastors to strengthen and encourage them in their efforts, equipped believers in the love of God, and ministered prophetically on several different occasions.
The Air Canada gate attendant was looking for people to check their carry-on bags. The appeal had been made a couple of times. The flight was full and they were offering a free baggage check at the gate. The announcement went something like this:
“Hello everyone. Since this flight is full, we are offering to check your carry-on to your final destination for free. If you are interested in helping to free up room please see the gate attendant to check your carry-on bag.”
Nothing out of the ordinary, this happens on about 90% of flights. I had already checked my bags at the initial check-in counter, so I was only half paying attention.
After the announcement had been made a few times, the tone made an abrupt change. Not enough people had volunteered their bag. Now, instead of an appeal to the kindness of humanity, the announcement went something like this:
"Ok everyone, this flight is very full, there is not an empty seat. The overhead bins are small and will fill up quickly. We need more people to check their bags. If you don't check your bag, we will be stuck on the runway and the gate agent will have to check your bags. Check your bags now so we don't get delayed.”
The appeal had moved from the goodness of humanity to fear. It must have worked because our flight was not delayed.
Fear is an interesting thing. It can provide us with the necessary energy to get things done, as in the case with the Air Canada flight:
““Fear is explosive motivating fuel…Joy is a far less explosive fuel than fear but more powerful still. With fear as a motivator we get predators. With joy as a motivating fuel we get protectors. Changing fuels is a key to transformation.” ”
Fear burns itself out quickly, it is a short-lived dose of fuel for motivation. Once the object of fear is no longer directly present the reason for motivation is lost. Joy is far more sustainable in the long run, but it must be cultivated.
A child raised in a fear-filled environment will never lose a hunger for joy. Their capacity to reach for joy may be greatly inhibited, but joy can never be removed from human experience. Fear, however, is more learned than intrinsic. Consider the case of Adam in the garden. He had no reason to fear anything. If a twig snapped behind him, he would have been curious and excited rather than afraid. Fear is what happens to us when our autonomic nervous system does not know what we are responding to or how it should respond. Fear is learned, joy is intrinsic.
Getting back to the Air Canada announcement, what struck me in that moment was just how easy it was for the gate attendant to turn to fear as a motivating factor. This is perfectly acceptable when Air Canada does it, but it is not okay when we do it in the church.
Christ came and declared the ineffable and infinite love of God and mankind has been drawing lines around it ever since.
We say things in our church cultures like:
God only helps those who help themselves
God will not bless you unless you tithe
God will not forgive you unless you forgive others
We even turn invitations like “abide in me and I in you (John 15:4)” into threats like “You aren’t praying enough and God will not abide with you if you don’t.” The radical invitation to enter the Father’s heart becomes a tool to create fear that you won’t live up to an idealized standard (that is in itself impossible to live up to).
The motivation for what we do is that the Father has gripped our hearts. It's not a question of what we should do, or what we want to do. What we do we do because it is a response to how the Father has gripped our hearts. This is what Paul meant when he said, "It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me."
Your Support
Your support made a huge difference in the past year. Each contribution gave us the freedom to continue to fulfill the call of God on our lives. With it, we were able to accomplish:
Published our first full length book
Published a set of 5 devotionals based upon the Desert Mothers
Launched a new course "Healing the Wounded Heart"
Entered the final stages of launching an inner healing component of Wind Ministries
Check out some of the fantastic events we hosted that are available on the Wind Training Academy.
Here is a snapshot of what we are planning for the next year:
We are planning a return to international travel, as well as a potential return to Singapore. Now that international travel is re-opening there are many opportunities before us.
We plan on publishing a book on prophecy later in the year that we hope will help the church re-frame and re-orient how she sees the nature of prophecy.
We have many more plans from book studies and podcasts to more resources based upon the lives of the early Christian monastics. Stay tuned for more announcements to come!
Final Thoughts
Today there are many voices for God, but it seems there are few friends of God. We are endeavoring to continue helping people to engage the love of God in a deep and profound way. The Father desires our affection. Our hope is that many are awakened to the abiding love of Christ, that there will arise more friends of God, sharing the depths of his tender heart with a hurting world.
Would you prayerfully consider a year end donation to aid us in accomplishing all the Father has laid on our heart? We are grateful for every gift. Everything that is sown truly humbles us. There is much work to be done, thank you so much for taking part in declaring the Father’s heart to this world.
May the Lord come to you and share his heart in this Christmas season.
Joshua and Erin Hoffert
FREE GIFT!
Our small gift from us to you: Ten Days with the Church Fathers – our prayer is that these thoughts on the Incarnation of Christ will warm you to his abiding presence.
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NEW RESOURCES for the New Year!
Desert Mothers Devotionals Are Here!
Launched November 2022
Have you been inspired by the Desert Fathers? Well, be inspired again with our new collection of 7 Day Devotionals from the Desert Mothers.
This book set contains the wisdom of five of our favourite and most influential early Christian Desert Mothers. These spiritual giants were not only women who found deep joy in the desert, but also women who profoundly impacted Christian spirituality and theological teaching. To help you immerse yourself in their experience, we've brought together a selection of their most powerful prayers and reflections, which we believe will change your life too.
Transformation Book
Let the groaning of the prisoner come before you. Psalm 79:11a
Prisoners that are content with their chains find others in shackles to convince themselves that their chains are natural and should not be removed. In the face of another's struggle they find a commonality that attempts to erase the disease. But when we throw off the shackles of what has bound us, we find a freedom to become the very thing our hearts long to become. And that freedom will become infectious. That is a freedom that will transform you.
Combining theological insight and historical wisdom, Joshua Hoffert offers insight into the journey towards the heart of God. It all begins with a bit of beauty.
