Oceans in the Desert

by Kathi Pelton

Recently I had begun noticing people in the body of Christ that had taken on a posture that has the tendency to be “fiercely on guard” and somewhat “territorial” in nature. They are continually looking for an intruder or a breach to come into the atmosphere or room. I know that there are certain people that God has “wired” to guard and protect but I what I saw were people becoming more acquainted with the presence of darkness then the ability to release the light that dispels darkness.

A watchdog is always on guard! It is trained to ward off and attack any intruder that breaches the place or person that it has been stationed to guard. Again, this is not a negative thing but the Spirit of the Lord began speaking to me about the difference between a watchdog spirit and the spirit of a watchman.

A watchman sits in a high place to observe from the “above” advantage. They see the whole picture, the whole city and signal a corporate people regarding what needs to happen. A watchdog views what is in front of him, what doesn’t smell right and then goes after the threat one on one to defend its territory. Unfortunately, not seeing the whole picture has created victims with bite wounds that could have been avoided if the perspective was viewed from above.

Often this kind of “watchdog” mentality in the church has often missed the mark. It’s created suspicion, an attack mode, a defensive posture and a focus on intruders. Often it merely focuses on getting rid of the threat. But a watchmen is set above to see what God is doing! Though they will see the enemy but they will also see the Captain of the Lord of Hosts and His great army. The watchmen will see what both are doing and how they are to move and align God’s people to be in unity with the army of light. They are those who dispel darkness rather than wrestles darkness in a one on one territorial battle.

Recently a friend had a dream where she was in her house trying to sleep and her dog was near her front door. She looked and realized that the door was open and that there could be an intruder in the house. But her dog didn’t bark or rouse from his place of rest. She was confused at why he was sleeping while the door was ajar and the presence of something dark could be nearby. When she awoke she immediately remembered the story in Matthew 8:23-27 when Jesus slept on the boat during the storm that caused his disciples to believe that their lives were threatened. The Lord spoke to her and reminded her that we must learn to rest in the presence of darkness in the days ahead. Sometime rest is the weapon of warfare.

This dream reminded me of the time (many years ago) when the Lord asked me a very specific question. The question was,

“Kathi, what would you say that the main source of the warfare is in your life?”

I have since that time learned that often when God asks you a question, rarely is He looking for you to answer it but is merely getting your attention to listen for His answer. After hours of pondering and attempts at answers (which received no response), I finally realized that I was to answer the question with a question,

“Lord, what is the main source of the warfare in my life?”

He answered immediately by saying,

“Daughter, it is lack of peace. If you had My peace in every situation in your life you would not have warfare. There is no warfare where there is peace.”

From that day on I began a journey to see the peace of God established in my everyday life (this journey was the source of my book, 30 Days to Breakthrough: Stepping Into Peace). As the peace of God became a constant presence in my life, rest was added to my soul. I use to deal with insomnia due to stress, worry and fear but now I have been able to sleep in the storm.

This rest took me from the posture of being a watchdog to being a watchman that can see from above and know when I need to move and when I need to “sleep in the storm.” Yet, even when I move or need to “sound an alarm” it is not from a place of “fierce attack mode” but from intentional trust and alignment with what God is doing. It is from a place of releasing light rather than wrestling darkness.

One more example happened just this week. Our church has a weekly prayer team that walks the streets of Portland to “prayer walk” the city. We have a few very discerning people who faithfully walk with our team. They are the type who can see where the enemy is and what he is doing. This week we were preparing to do a worship night in downtown Portland when one of these “discerning the darkness” people went out to prayer walk where we’d be having our worship night. Within two minutes of leaving the building he returned. He walked straight up to me and said, “As soon as I left the building the Lord asked me what I was doing. I realized that I had gone to see what the enemy was up to but the Lord wanted me to see what He was doing and told me to go back to where the worship was happening and focus on His presence.” That night we had the most profound worship we’d ever had without any battle to break through darkness. As each one focused on Him and what He was doing it brought in light that pushed back the darkness. We became watchmen rather than watchdogs. We aligned with Heaven and became soldiers of light.

God is calling for His watchmen to arise. To move and live according to the light and movement of heaven. This movement may “at times” look like sleeping in a storm because sometimes the enemy is stirring up a storm to exhaust us, engage us in a unnecessary battle and to create fear. We need to discern the light so that we can release the light that breaks the power of darkness.

Now, please know that I am well versed in the scriptures regarding “watchmen” such as Isaiah 62:6

“On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest…”

There are many scriptures that call us to be alert, awake and to “sound the alarm” but the shift is that we can do that from His peace and spiritual rest rather than from reaction and fear. We can warn a brother, call a city to alert or sound an alarm from a place that does not create chaos but rather brings the army of God into divine order and alignment with the strategies of Heaven. His watchmen bring a oneness and unification of the angel armies and God’s army on earth. It discerns what the Father is doing and aligns us with the movement of heaven rather than the reactions of earth.

God is balancing and aligning His sons and daughters to respond to the wisdom from above so that the activities of earth do not have us in reactive chaos. This is the offensive posture that ushers in victory so that we are not beating at the wind and waves. Peace be still is our sound!

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