I’ve been active at Lake Avenue for decades and saw Rooted as a key element that had been missing for some time: discipleship and what it means to follow Jesus.
I was involved in the planning and implementation of Rooted. While it covered many of the basics of discipleship, the one area where I had to learn new lessons was in Chapter 5 There Is an Enemy, Spiritual Warfare and Strongholds.
I’d had a history of detached retinas in my life. But during the six months of the planning and roll-out of Rooted, I experienced two detached retinas that effectively sidelined me as I had reduced vision during recovery. What I experienced “up close and personal” was a spiritual attack on my physical “weak point”—my eyes. During that recovery, the “walls of your life” essentially collapsed in as I had to curtail most of my daily routine and activities.
What I learned is that if this was a spiritual attack, what the Enemy intended for harm, God used for good. It provided me a huge amount of time somewhat isolated in recovery. But that also provided a time for me to draw close to God.
My sense of worship and closeness to God expanded greatly even as my physical situation was confined. My prayer life shifted away from my health situation and praying for healing to being aware of needs of others and interceding for them. The presence and peace of God provided comfort and assurance to me. I could hold on to what God spoke to me: “I will be glorified.”