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

A VALLEY OF DRY BONES

“Son of man, can these bones live?”[1]

How often do we travel through life when it feels dry and uninspiring?  Maybe it’s not our whole life but areas of it.  These areas lack freshness and instead of making us feel alive we drag our feet through each day hoping for change but not knowing how to bring it about.

God shows Ezekiel a valley of dry bones and asks him, “Can these bones live?”  If I asked you about the dry areas of your life, can you see them coming to life?  Do you have hope or is it best to bury the bones and move through the valley to greener pasture elsewhere?

This is what God says about those areas, “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord...I will put breath in you, and you will come to life.”[2]

Our lives are designed to be lived fully alive in the Spirit of God.  It is a lifelong journey of discovery and learning.  Billy Corgan says, “I think a spiritual journey is not so much a journey of discovery.  It’s a journey of recovery.  It’s a journey of uncovering your own inner nature.  It’s already there.” 

I fully agree with this statement; I think it is very insightful.  We are all made by design and throughout our life we learn more about our own design, the purpose we were designed for, our Creator and how it all fits together.  It is not something that can be done in one moment of time; it is something to journey through for a lifetime.

As a recovering perfectionist and a lifetime learner of patience, I want my life to be inspiring and fruitful NOW!  The expectations I have placed on myself in the past have been excruciating and too heavy to carry; I have been crushed under the weight of them.   When I read verses like the ones above I thought it should be done instantaneously otherwise I am failing God and/or there is something wrong with me.

I am learning that yes, God has done the supernaturally fast work in my life but that doesn't necessarily make it a pattern for the future.  Instead, I need to adjust the mind-set with which I approach my life.  Can the dry parts of my life come to life with the breath of God?  Yes!  I know God can do it and wants to do it so I will continue to speak life into the dry areas so they might flourish.

Do you think God can breathe life into your dry areas?

[1] These words are taken from Ezekiel 37:3 in the Bible (New International Version)
[2] Ezekiel 37:4&6c