Midway through a decade! A decade that began with Exodus 20:20….“Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.”” A decade of reverence and awe!
As I sit here and type, I am in awe of what God has done and continues to do in me. Keeping me, hemming me in and continuing to draw me to Himself even when I seem to fail or fall and when I actually do. His desire for all of me is more than my desire for all of Him. It will always be that way. I am not God. I cannot be God. God is so much more than! When I come to a place of more revelation of Him, there will always be more….for He is God!! My heart’s desire is for Him and to be fully yielded. This lifelong process of yielding…of crucifying the flesh, dying to self and cleansing the soul.
Reflecting back on the last half of a decade with more change than I could have ever begun to imagine, I see Him. I see Him leading and guiding me. Guiding me through the valleys and over the mountain tops. Some times He is so tangibly close and others I have had to wonder if I had gone astray, only to realize He is always there. ALWAYS! Always faithful. Trustworthy and true.
July 2022, God had given me a vision. A vision of an eagle, bald eagle to be exact, caught in a snare trap. The trap, however, was being cut free. At the same time, there was this steady rhythm that I heard. When I asked the Lord what that sound was, the word “cadence” dropped into my spirit. Like that of a marching band. Obviously, there is a quick correlation to freedom or liberty regarding the bald eagle. But what was the meaning of this vision and sound? As I did some research I found that during the Civil War there was a specific drum used called an eagle snare drum by the Union army of the North. This drum was used to make a sound…..a cadence! It was used to inform the soldiers of how and when to maneuver, as well as to keep the unit together. A very significant victory during the Civil War for the Union using this technique was at the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862.
Our true ‘north’, like the north star used for navigation, is God Himself. We need to seek to be in union with Him alone and in rhythm with Him. Like the sound of heaven. Eyes on Him and then freedom from the things that have kept you bound will be loosed.
In the beginning of 2023, I began to see eagle’s….bald eagles. I had only ever seen them decades ago in Alaska, and then it was only a few. These sightings lasted into 2024 and I started to loose count after 16. Most were soaring. Some were in trees. I even caught a couple on the ground, where it appeared as though they had been teaching young to fly. Some sights were at a distance, while others was close up. It was my first sighting that was the closest. I was driving home from the store when a notice a pair. One was up higher and the other came so low and flew directly over my car. I could see it’s yellow beak and feet. It was an incredible sight. I was seeing them all over the eastern part of the US, as we traveled throughout the states.
The first sighting lead me to the Scriptures of eagles…..
Psalm 103:4-5, “Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption, Who beautifies, dignifies and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercy; Who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle.”
Isaiah 40:27-31, “Who do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my just claim is passed over by my God?” Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; Thy shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
Deuteronomy 32:10-12, “He found him in a desert land and in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye. As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings, so the Lord alone led him, and there was no foreign god with him.”
Knowing from Scripture that one of the four creatures in the Throne Room has a face of an eagle, I decided to study some of the characteristics of an eagle. So much to learn, but one thing really stood out to me, the sight of an eagle. Most humans have 20/20 vision, eagles have 20/5 vision. Therefore, what we can see clearly at 5 feet, an eagle can see just as clearly at 20 feet. Have you ever considered why the Lord would encourage us to come up higher? Or grow up in Him? What could we see with eagle like vision at a higher perspective? His perspective. A perspective that is high above all the chaos, confusion and darkness. Less distraction. Personally, I don’t think I can accomplish that without the secret place with Him. Could this vision or clarity be associated with this year, if we are willing to develop our secret place more? I don’t know for sure, but a few things just recently happened to me personally that have reminded me of the eagle and brought me back to all this.
The last few years have been somewhat of a wilderness for me, for sure. Would I change it if I could? No way. The Lord allowed it for me to learn to lean into Him more. To rest in Him. To cease striving and to be still and know that He is God! To seek Him first in that secret place. To love the Truth. To stand….stand firm. He is my firm foundation. He is trustworthy. He allows things to come that will help refine. I do not want to be who I once was. I want to continue to grow and change to become more like Him. May I look at every situation and circumstance as something to learn from. These last few years I have gained more. Gained more wisdom, understanding, knowledge and fear of the Lord. Yet, I certainly have not ‘arrived’, never will. There will always be more to gain. The greatest gain is coming to know God more and allowing Him to search me and know me more.
It is now 2025. On the Hebraic calendar, it is 5785, which began in October. One thing, I have learned in the last 5 years is the significance of numbers in Hebrew. Since it was a year being bookended in 5’s, I wanted to consider how important that may be. When considering the meaning of numbers, there is a belief that 5 represents grace. It is written that this is seen throughout the Scriptures referring to God clothing Adam and Eve, to the five stone used by David to slew Goliath, etc. Here, I just kind of said, “okay, I don’t quite see it but I will go with it.” Why? Because as soon as I learned that 5 represented grace, I heard in my spirit, “grace upon grace.” That led me directly to John 1:15-16, “John witnessed concerning Him when he cried out, “This is the man I was talking about when I said, ‘The One coming after me has come to rank ahead of me, because he existed before me.'” We all receive from His fullness, yes grace upon grace.” Immediately, I had sense that this year would be a year of grace upon grace. I find it interesting that if you add up 5+7+8+5, it equals 25. And 5X5 also equals 25…..grace upon grace or grace X grace = greater grace.
However, I have struggled for quite some time with the definition of grace by man. So, I set out to do some digging. Recall my suggestion to dig like you were searching for treasure because God does not hide things to keep them hidden, but for us to seek them like hidden treasures? Yeah, that’s what I set out to do. Actually, I began the dig back in late August, early September 2024. A month prior to 5785 arriving. First, I learned that October was a significant month in that all four Hebrew Fall Feasts occurred. Due to the Hebraic calendar differing from the one we all follow, the Gregorian calendar, this is not a common occurrence. I believe this year will be uncommon or unusual. I have been asking myself some of the following question. Why would it need to be a year with greater grace or a year of grace upon grace? Either way, I am grateful. To be aware of this will definitely aid in navigating the year ahead. Is the why has important as the Who is the giver of that grace?
5785 in the Strong’s concordance is owr (ore); skin (as naked); by implication, hide as in leather. I read that and thought, John the Baptist, who was quoted in John 1:15. Now, I reminded myself 80 (the decade) is the Hebrew letter pey/pei, which is represented in the ancient Hebrew pictograph as an open ‘mouth.’ It is the 17th letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has the numerical value of 80. Okay, so what is the 5th letter of the Hebrew alphabet or do any letters hold 5 as it’s numerical value? Yes, hey/hei, which is represented by a pictograph of a stick figure with arms raised, meaning ‘behold’. In Hebrew, the year 5785 is written from right to left as 5, 80, 300, 400, and an understood 5000. the letters would be Tav, shin, pey, hey. In pictographs it would be a cross, a crown or teeth, open mouth, and behold. Just let that sink in awhile.
Now, the Hebrew word for grace is CHEN made up of the letters chet and nun. The pictograph for the letter chet is a fence and it means to surround and/or protect. The letter nun is a pictograph of a fish meaning to sustain or life. Another Hebrew word for grace is CHANNAH written with the letters chet, nun, hey. Since the nun appears in the middle of the word, it is “bent.” I perceive this as being humble. So, fence surrounding and protecting life while beholding. Thinking through this I believe grace to be a place where we are surrounded and protected (fenced in) as His children, provided for or sustained for life, as we behold Him….being in awe and reverence of Him and thus empowered. A significant verse about grace is found in Lamentations 3:22, “The grace of the Lord has not ceased; His compassion does not fail.” From the passage, many greet others by saying, “May the grace of God be with you.” Such an incredibly powerful greeting! It is like saying, “May the place where God provides and protects for life surround you and be a fence of protection that does not cease or fail.”
The image I get is an encampment, similar to the wagon trains going across the wild west of America or even the encampment of the Israelites while in their wilderness journey. The tents or wagons would form a tight circle with no gaps so there was no exposed entry to foreigners or outsiders. Literally using their tents as a fence in order to protect life. Then, I am reminded of the specific layout of the encampment of the twelve tribes of Israel. What was at the center? The Tabernacle of Moses. The Tent of Meeting. The place where God would “pitch His tent” and abide with them. It sounds like a sanctuary or a refuge.
ABIDING INTIMACY……the secret place. May the grace for the wilderness, which some of us are coming out of, now be the grace for the fulfillment of the promise. Grace upon grace. The wilderness that prepares also empowers you for the promise. May the grace of God be with you throughout 2025!
Anchored 