YOU'RE DOING GREAT!
You were born for greatness! When you were woven together in your mother’s womb, the ingredients for existence were poured into you and the plans and the purposes for your life were written into being.[1] You are not an accident. You are on this planet to do something that only you can do. But it takes time. Greatness is not an overnight thing. We have many things to contend with–in this thing called life–to help refine us, so we can contain the greatness we’ve been called to.
Recently I started reading through the Bible chronologically and have been struck by how many times the early biblical heroes messed up–and I’m only up to Jacob! They made some rookie mistakes–and then some of them, even made them again! But God kept His promises to His people and more than that, sometimes He even let them benefit from their sin[2]. I don’t pretend to understand that (and I’m definitely not condoning sin), but I realised (again!) God is God. I won’t always understand His ways; why certain things happen or what is to come in the future. But I do know He is El Shaddai, the God Almighty.
Like Abraham and Jacob, sometimes we make mistakes. Sometimes we do the best we can in a moment and in any other moment we might do better. People can throw us curveballs, life can rock us and what we thought we understood can be turned completely on it’s head in an instant. Continuing to wait for something–whether it be circumstances in health, relationships or finances–to turn around, can wear us down.
It’s when we’re tired and confused that it’s easy to let the guard down around our heart and our mind. We can start to believe things that just aren’t true. When we’re tired, the battle is always harder.
So to everyone who is feeling tired, a bit worn out or unsure about where you’re at, I want to tell you that you’re doing great. Father God has seen your struggle, He’s right there in the midst of it with you, though you may not have been able to feel His Presence. I see Him gifting you a bouquet of flowers. The flowers are significant of what you need right now. To some I see Him whispering tender words of love in your ear, letting you know how special you are to Him. To others, He's releasing additional angels to protect you and your loved ones. To some, He’s calling out, drawing you in so you’ll pour out your heart to Him[3]; He’s longing to come to you as the Comforter. In all of this, you are not alone in your circumstances.
Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “How enduring is God’s loyal love; the Eternal has inexhaustible compassion. Here they are, every morning, new! Your faithfulness, God, is as broad [large from one side to the other][4]as the day.”[5] Every day we’re given the opportunity to start afresh; we are able to keep the dark clouds of yesterday from spoiling our blues skies of today. Walk in truth today, you’re doing great! Keep going!
[1] Psalm 139:13-16
[2] Abraham gaining flocks from lying about Sarah being his sister (Gen 12:16 & 13:2, Gen 14:20); Jacob deceiving his father and gaining the blessing over Esau (Gen 27:1-29); Jacob gaining large flocks from Laban by his deceptive breeding practices (Gen 30:25-40).
[3] Psalm 62:8
[4] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/broad
[5] The Voice translation
