Have you been running from uncertainty? Have you been trying to force yourself to stay in a womb to stay protected and safe, yet you feel like a fish out of water? Something just isn't quite right... day after day.
God is a moving God. God is a shaker.
Emerge into the next place God has for you!
Labor is necessary to give birth!
Growth is always disruptive!
It will usually cause pain.
It'll hurt somebody, somewhere, when you are moving to the next dimension. And sometimes that somebody is you.
To be in God's will, to grow, to push out of the womb I'm in, I must be willing to put my feelings and emotions aside and press on to the great calling the Lord has on my families life. You must be willing to do the same if you want to grow! A child must leave it's mothers womb to grow.
That will mean saying no. That will mean saying yes. That will mean staying and sometimes it'll mean you gotta go. That means somebody is going to be upset, somebody will be angry and yes, somebody is going to talk about you. Somebody is not going to believe in you or support you.
As a great preacher once said "it is not your job to manage people's feelings and emotions."
God didn't place you in a womb to keep you there. Sure, it's a season, but you gotta go if you wanna grow. You can't stay on the milk forever. You can't stay worried about people misunderstanding you and gossiping about you. I used to be there, but in Jesus name, I never will be again. I'm growing!
You must be willing to lay down your desires and your wants and your will. Cast them into the sea. Allow God to start revival in your soul today! Stop being so concerned with what is going on at a church, family, or business across town or across the country that you miss what God has set right in front of you.
Put the phone down (after you finish reading this) and find your toddler and read them a book. Cuddle and tickle and kiss them. Stop scrolling through Facebook and open up THE Book. I told someone a couple months ago who was constantly seeing negative things on their Facebook to delete it for a month. Just 30 days. I have no idea if they did it or not, but I am confident if they would, they would have a new perspective on some things. What you dwell on, is what you'll become. You dwell on the past, you'll live there. You dwell on God's promises and what He claimed over your future and you'll live it!
Since we've been married, we've had to be pushed out of multiple wombs. We are learning what it means to lean on God. Friends will forsake, but the Lord, He will stick closer than a brother.
A wise woman told me that we were called to have God's approval, not everyone else's. Wow. That's a thought, isn't it? How often do you dress for people's approval, we go to a certain place and put filters on our photos. We buy houses and cars and feel we need to have our kid at the top of their class, wearing the best outfit in the room. What's even more sad, is this has subtlety crept into our church. Our youth. Our young children. I was shocked when Raylea, our oldest, came in contact with her first clique at the young age of four. My Uncle Zane preached this Sunday morning an amazing message on brotherly love. What I got out of it was, if we can't love others, forgive others and say we are sorry to others, we aren't even really saved. I agree 100%.
Jesus said in the book of John, that we are to love one another as He loves us. And that by us loving each other, all men will know that we are followers of Christ, if we have love for each other.
(John 13:34&35)
How more straight do you need it? If you really want your lost son to come home, why won't you make peace with those around you? If you really want your husband to be born again, stop holding a grudge about something he did 20 years ago. If you struggle with unforgiveness, I beg you to study the Bible today and see how serious it is that we forgive each other. Not just forgive, but truly truly humbly forgive them. Over and over again.
I have messed up so many times. I have said hurtful things. And in turn, I have had hurtful things said to me. But, I know if I want my heart to stay pure and right, I must daily ask for forgiveness to the Lord and to anyone who comes in contact with me who I offend even the slightest. I pray for my heart to be tender, even when other's are calloused.
Offer a hug even if you'll be rejected.
Pray for your enemies.
Wonders will take place in your heart when you can pray for those who hurt you.
Wonders will take place when you stop dwelling on the pain and start hoping for peace.
Sometimes, people don't want peace, so you'll have to be okay with that. I have been down that road, and it's a tough, lonely place to be when you are begging for someone to love you and they push you away the harder you try. You will eventually believe the lie that nobody cares for you, that you must do more to win over their love and acceptance and ultimately you'll believe that you will never be enough. Do not go there.
Do not allow yourself to believe the lie that you are forever in this dark storm and everyone has forgotten you. Because, the truth is, people may have forgot you. Remember, people come in your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. People may have decided they don't need you in their life anymore. People may simply be too busy or distracted by their own problems, blessings and life to remember that you were once there for them. It is hard to accept change, but to grow, to mature, to push on to the next level in your walk with God, you have to go through these types of change, rejection, and disruption.
Stop what you're doing and ask the Lord to soften your heart. Is there someone you need to go to and apologize to? Maybe it was something said years ago, or maybe it is something only you know about. When you say sorry, you do it unto the Lord. Is there someone you stopped talking to because their life took a different direction, and so you stopped putting forth the effort? Call them. Shoot them a text and ask how life is. It always amazes me how special someone feels when I simply pick up the phone, take two minutes to call them and ask how they are and if there is anything I can pray for them about. Give your spouse a big ole kiss when you see them next. Call your adult child and tell them you want to take them on a weekend trip, just the two of ya. Call your friend and just tell them you appreciate them being a friend, in the good and the bad. Make peace with people. Do your part, even if it isn't well accepted. God will deal with their heart and just pray for them to be convicted by the Lord as you were. Remember... COVER. Cover their sin. Cover their wrong doings. Whether you receive an apology or not, it is the CHRISTIAN thing to do, to cover their sin with love.
Lastly, I want to quickly share a moving moment in my life. Last month we were on a family vacation with our friends and headed to Dixie Stampede in Branson, Missouri. As we pulled past the Ride the Ducks attraction, we saw the two boats fixing to head out for their tour. I thought to myself how I'd honestly rather go do that, but we already had tickets and plans with our friends to eat dinner and watch Dixie. About an hour and half later we started receiving texts from people who knew we were in Branson, asking if we were okay, that a boat had capsized. We got online and saw the tragedy unfolding on the news before our eyes. National headlines for the days to follow, an event that took place just a couple miles away from us. A quick nasty storm came in and one of the boats, sank. 17 people lost their lives. Many more people's lives were forever changed. One woman lost her kids, her husband and multiple other family members. She said in an interview that when they found her husband, he was holding her babies. One of the babies was the same age as our daughter, Arrow. Arrow loves water. She will climb into a pool when given the opportunity. We have to keep a very close eye on her. She has zero fear of anything. She is strong and brave. But, this little baby died in her daddies arms on their family vacation. Never to experience her second birthday, which we will celebrate for Arrow in a few months. The next morning we were headed to a gospel singing and we passed the parking lot and saw all the cars left. The owners never made it back. They were in eternity that whole night before. I lost it. I buried my face in my hands and I wept. I went into the florist shop in the grocery store and bought two sets of roses and our older two kids placed them on a van. That changed our family. No, I'm not a perfect wife. Grant's not a perfect husband. But we have purposed in our hearts to remember that day and it has changed us as people. It has changed us as Christians. We no longer seem to worry so much about the little stuff. I don't get so frustrated when Arrow dumps out the entire box of cereal, right after she took her diaper off and peed all over the floor and pulled all of my jewelry out of the cabinet. No. I smiled. I got a rag and started to clean up the mess. I sit and play with my kids more. I asked Grant last night as he was falling asleep if he wanted a back rub and Jack said, "rub my back" as he laid on his belly next to his dad. So, I rubbed my boys' backs and thoroughly enjoyed it. I planned more hands on things for our school year instead of making them do so much paper work. We will cook and bake and make a big mess. We will write letters to people and go see the old folks at the nursing home. Grant is the most giving person I have met, and I have seen him become even more generous with his time and money. We will be different because we realized how short time is. We realized that could have been us.
I pray you allow the Lord to soften your heart today and to realize you are loved by the Maker of this world. Stop trying to figure it all out on your own. God has unbelievable plans for you and no force of hell can come against them. You are God's! Start loving, forgiving and growing like it!
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