The Level Place: When Jesus Meets You Eye to Eye
“Jesus went down with them and stood on a level place”
Luke 6:17
Hi Kingdom Family! I hope you’re doing well!
The other day I was on a prayer walk with the Lord when I had a vision of Jesus speaking to me at eye level. He leaned down like a loving Father talking to His child, gentle and patient, and I could see great compassion in His eyes.
In that moment, I felt protected, seen, and deeply known.
It reminded me of Psalm 103:13, which says, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.”
This morning, that vision came rushing back as I opened my Bible to Luke 6.
One verse in particular stopped me mid-sentence:
“[Jesus] went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples were there and a great number of people...” (v. 17).
That phrase, “He went down with them and stood on a level place,” stirred my heart.
I could feel the Holy Spirit revealing something deeper for all of us.
God wants to meet you eye to eye.
WHEN GOD GETS ON OUR LEVEL
To understand this moment in Scripture, we first have to look at what came before. Jesus had just spent the entire night in prayer on the mountain.
Out of that deep communion with the Father, He descended to the plain and chose twelve apostles.
There is something powerful about that scene. The Son of God, fresh from the presence of Heaven, now stands eye to eye with humanity.
Mark 3:14 tells us, “He appointed twelve that they might be with Him….”
Isn’t that beautiful? Before Jesus ever sent them out to preach, He invited them to have a relationship. That order matters. His first call was not to ministry but to intimacy.
Even the Son of God desired closeness. He wanted companions, people who would know His heart before they carried His message.
That same invitation still stands today. King Jesus is calling us back into close fellowship with Him, just like in the early days of our faith journeys.
The word disciple means “learner,” and the word apostle means “one who is sent out.” It describes someone commissioned with authority to carry a message, much like an ambassador sent on behalf of a king. Jesus chose fishermen, tax collectors, and ordinary men with rough edges to walk in extraordinary relationship with Him. He was also accompanied by several women who supported His ministry and funded His mission.
Their power came not from proximity to crowds, but from proximity to Christ.
PROPHETIC ENCOURAGEMENT: We serve a Savior who walks in our midst. He is still the same Jesus who steps down onto level ground to meet us face to face. He comes close, not because He lowers His divinity, but because He loves us enough to bridge the distance.
The Lord is calling you to go deeper with Him in this season. Every true leader must first learn to be a servant, and this is especially true in the Kingdom of God. After Jesus appointed the Twelve, their first lesson was how to follow. They walked closely with Him, learned to depend on His voice, and served others with humility. As Jesus said in Mark 9:35, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” To rise higher in the Kingdom, we must first go lower in surrender.
The Lord is saying to many in this season, “I am drawing you closer, not to busy you with more work, but to deepen your roots in Me. I am training your heart in secret so that when I send you out, you will move with My heart and not your own agenda.”
God is teaching His people how to lead with purity and speak from intimacy rather than performance.
Remember this always: “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10). True prophecy doesn’t merely reveal hidden knowledge; it reveals the heart and nature of God. Every prophetic word should point back to Jesus and reflect His love, truth, and character. As Scripture reminds us, “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, but do not have love, I am nothing” (1 Cor. 13:2).
In this season, prepare for divine appointments. Expect fresh encounters with your Heavenly Father. His love is breaking through barriers of pride, fear, and self-reliance. The Lord is drawing near again, not shouting from Heaven, but standing beside you.
When you find yourself weary or unsure, remember the importance of the level place. The same Savior who once stood among them still stands among us. He is meeting you eye to eye and inviting you to simply be with Him. For many of you, this will be a season of intentional quietness because Jesus wants intimate time together.
WHEN JESUS LOOKED AT HIS DISCIPLES
Later in verse 6:20, Luke writes, “Jesus looked at His disciples and said: Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.”
Luke makes a point to tell us that Jesus looked directly at His disciples. On that day, there were a few distinct groups present: the twelve apostles He had just appointed, the larger group of disciples who were following Him, and the great multitude of people who had come from all over the region.
Jesus, however, fixed His gaze on His disciples. He was not addressing the crowd at large; He was speaking to those who had already chosen to follow Him. He was not sharing a theory; He was preparing their hearts for the cost of obedience.
Jesus was essentially saying, “You are blessed even when your life doesn’t look like success. You are blessed when obedience costs you something. You are blessed when the world rejects you because of Me. You are blessed when people insult, exclude, and slander you for My name’s sake.”
Jesus wanted them to understand that His Kingdom operates differently from the world’s system. The blessing of God often comes wrapped in hardship. In His Kingdom, the poor inherit the Kingdom. The hungry are filled. The weeping find laughter. And those rejected on earth are honored in Heaven.
WHEN GOD GETS EYE LEVEL
MY STORY: GOD’S GLORY
The other day on my prayer walk, I was reminded of just how personal our relationship with Christ really is. Recently, I’ve been telling Jesus thank you for everything, and it’s opened a new level of love I haven’t felt in a long time.
I’m especially grateful for closed doors. I’m thankful that God said no to my dreams so I could say yes to His.
This month marks two years since I left everything behind to follow Jesus into the unknown. I left my corporate career, my comfort zone, and my city. I had no idea what I was saying yes to, but I knew His voice was calling.
Looking back, these two years have been the greatest classroom of my life.
At the time, my decision made no sense. By the world’s standards, my old life was full of success and checked all the boxes of what most call the “American dream.”
Yet deep down, I was suffocating under the weight of living like the world. Everything around me revolved around status, materialism, vanity and validation. I knew there had to be more.
In American culture, from childhood, we’re asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” instead of, “Who has God created you to become?” That simple distinction shapes our entire view of success. It teaches us to chase identity through people and performance rather than through purpose. Learning to break free from that mindset is hard, but little by little, God has been teaching me how to release a performance-based mindset.
When Jesus said, “Follow Me,” He wasn’t just calling me to leave a job. He was calling me out of a system the world created.
God showed me that our Father is a Creator, and His children carry that same creative DNA. Every one of us has something unique to bring to the world. We’re not meant to live stuck in routines that drain the life out of us. We’re meant to create, build, and dream with Him. For some, that might happen in boardrooms, classrooms, or small businesses. For others, it may unfold in homes and ministries where new ideas are born.
We all have a unique call on our life.
Since leaving my career, God helped me launch a new business that was birthed out of His voice, not my striving. It’s been so neat to watch it all unfold. I never saw myself as a business owner, but God’s thoughts and ways are so much higher than ours!
I’ve learned that when you surrender your plans, God releases His. When you stop working for validation, you start working from PURPOSE.
Now I know that true success isn’t climbing higher - it’s walking closer with my Heavenly Father.
THE WILDERNESS CLASSROOM
Since leaving my old life, I’ve traveled from country to country on solo missionary journeys, learning how to depend on God for everything. Over the past two years, I’ve navigated major tropical storms (like right now), power outages, and language barriers. Last month, I endured extreme heat without air conditioning and slept only a couple of hours each night. However, I also watched God birth a new book I co-wrote with a major corporation. The Lord continues to help me in the most practical ways.
I’ve crossed borders and lived among people whose words I couldn’t always understand, but whose spirits radiated the love of Christ.
This season has been filled with humility and holy lessons. I’ve watched God provide in situations that seemed impossible. I’ve witnessed quiet miracles in hidden moments.
And yes, there’s been lots of tears, but there’s also been loads of laughter - real, healing laughter that I haven’t felt since losing my mother. Just the other day, I spent the entire afternoon with my new friends here in the Dominican Republic. We didn’t share the same language, but somehow, we still understood each other. They led me to a hidden lagoon tucked away in the trees, and as I dropped from a high swing into the clear blue water, I couldn’t help but laugh. I felt free….the kind of freedom that rises up from the soul when you realize you’re exactly where you’re meant to be.
When I climbed out of the water, one of them looked at me with a big grin and asked in broken English, “Tamara, were you scared?” I laughed and said, “Yes, I was scared - but I did it anyway.”
THE BLESSING OF BEING MISUNDERSTOOD
One of the greatest revelations from this two-year journey is that being misunderstood is often confirmation that you are right where God wants you.
When others can’t see what God is doing in your life, it frees you from the need for approval. Obedience doesn’t need explanation. Jesus reminded us of this when He said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15:18).
Opposition is not a sign of failure, but rather a reflection of alignment with Christ.
Some have celebrated my journey and seen the beauty in it. Others have questioned it, unable to understand why anyone would walk away from stability to follow something unseen. But I’ve learned that God’s approval is all that matters.
My life experiences have also shaped how I view this short walk on earth. I was diagnosed with advanced cancer at just 29 years old. I also watched my grandmother and mother die in their 50s. Those losses taught me one thing: no one is promised tomorrow. So while I’m here, I intend to make every moment count. I want to go all in for Jesus!
These days, I often find myself repeating Ruth’s words to Naomi: “Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay” (Ruth 1:16).
That’s how I feel about Jesus. Wherever He leads, I’ll follow.
PROPHETIC ENCOURAGEMENT
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is quieting the noise of performance in this season and lifting the weight of striving. He is teaching you to hear Him in the stillness and to find rest in His approval. The world measures success by visibility, applause, and validation from others. It celebrates finances, recognition, and the size of platforms. But in the Kingdom of God, fruit looks completely different.
True fruit is not produced through effort or ambition but through abiding in Him.
Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Fruit in the Kingdom is born in intimacy, in the quiet spaces where your roots grow deep in His love.
The Spirit of God is emphasizing that this is a season of recalibration. He is fine-tuning your hearing so that you can recognize His whisper even when the world grows loud. He is reminding His people that proximity to Him matters more than productivity for Him.
Heaven is not impressed by outward success; Heaven is moved by surrender.
This is a time when Jesus is bringing healing to hearts that have been striving to be loved. He is removing the belief that affection must be earned and is replacing it with the revelation that His love is already yours. God is a Father who sees and knows you; His love is not based on conditions.
The Lord is sending a fresh wind in this hour. You will begin to sense new movement in areas that once felt stagnant. Dreams that seemed dormant will stir again. Relationships that were strained will begin to reconcile. Creative ideas will flow with clarity. Provision will come from unexpected places, and the presence of the Lord will settle in your home like peace after a storm.
God is calling His people to meet Him again face to face. He is reminding you that humility is the doorway to glory. You are not behind; you are exactly where He wants you to be. In the level place, King Jesus is teaching you that success is not what you accomplish but who you become when you remain close to Him. This is the heart of God right now.
The wind of His Spirit is blowing gently but powerfully, awakening His people to live again from a place of rest, reverence, and relationship. Those who quiet themselves to listen will hear Him clearly. Those who surrender will be strengthened.
Those who abide will bear much fruit. 🤍
