Have you ever watched the amazing feat that sea turtles face in order to make it from the nest to the ocean?  

It is a journey of faith, relentless perseverance, and stellar determination.  No doubt, no looking back, and all in!  

To walk with Christ is no different.  It’s a journey of faith requiring that same kind of relentless perseverance, and stellar determination.  There is no room for doubt.  Looking back will only cause stumbling and weakness.  You have to be all in and committed to the journey of faith, or you won’t finish the race.

In his song, “That’s What Faith Must Be”, Michael Card, a favorite musician and author of mine, writes these lyrics which have resonated deeply in my mind for over three decades:

      To hear with my heart, 

      to see with my soul,

      to be guided by a hand

      I cannot hold.

      To trust and believe 

      that in time I’d see, 

      that’s what faith must be.

There are a few very amazing differences between turtles and Christ followers.  We are designed with free will and turtles act on instinct.  They just know when and where to go and act accordingly.  We are designed to connect with His Spirit. Through His Spirit, we are made to thrive, heal, touch, affirm, and hold one another accountable.  Instead of living by instinct, we live by free will.  We have the choice to allow the Holy Spirit to be our life compass and live by faith in Christ. 

There is a group of women who I meet with regularly to spur one another on to live life to the fullest.  We greet each other with hugs, hold hands to affirm, and share the struggles of our hearts and minds.  We have chosen not to live this life alone, but in community where we will thrive.

I recently did an activity with these gals where we were challenged to identify a motto for living… mine was this:

I was made to T.H.R.I.V.E.

T – thoughts

H – harnessed

R – regenerate

I – invigorate

V – victorious

E – existence

The visual in my head was the picture of a baby sea turtle faithfully pressing on toward the ocean where it will thrive once it is carried out to sea.  Getting there requires perseverance and endurance from the time it hatches until the time it begins swimming.  The turtle faces many challenges along the way.  The journey it makes is strictly a race against the course of nature.  The turtle makes the journey in life alone with its shell being its only protection.

We, on the other hand, are gifted with the protection of our Savior, the Ultimate Protector.  In our pursuit to thrive, we have been given the armor of God!  One piece of that armor is the shield of faith.  I recently learned that when the shield of faith was used in war, the Roman soldiers would gather collectively into groups and raise their shields up together creating a “turtle shell effect.”  The shields would connect and lock, repelling and extinguishing the fiery arrows of their enemy!  The same is true for us today when we lock arms in prayer with one another.  There is nothing more powerful than praying in the Name of Jesus, with fellow believers, wearing that figurative shield of faith, and coming expectantly before the throne of the King of kings.

I am so grateful for this prayer warrior team of women who have changed my life forever.  We have bonded and connected under our shields in a turtle shell formation.   We endure and persevere for the purpose of finishing the race.  Thriving does not mean we go without trials and difficulties; quite the contrary, we are promised persecution.  The difference between going through life alone and doing it with a team is the clear direction provided by faithfully trusting the Holy Spirit.

It is my prayer that you thrive in your journey of faith as you “lock shells” with fellow believers in prayer!

Joyfully Healing from the Inside Out,