Embrace Fresh Life and a Fresh Perspective
Posted Thu, 12/16/2010 - 1:00am by Susie Larson
Many years ago, the Lord spoke to my heart about a promise He wanted to fulfill in my life. It seemed unlikely. Impossible, even. But as Jesus promised we would: I knew my Shepherd's voice and I knew He intended to keep His word to me (See John 10:27). And yet, in the years that followed, it seemed that He was leading me farther away from my promise, not nearer to it. I spent lots of time studying the life of Joseph in the Old Testament during that time. Love that story. And it's so often true among God's people. He makes a promise to take you west and then He leads you east.
After the initial realization that our dream or promise is still a ways off, it's all too easy to settle into the task He has put before us. We live life in accordance with our surroundings, we get into the groove of our 'in between' season, and we forget all about the promise God made to us.
Recently someone unknowingly said something to me as if to assume that what God had promised me was already true in my life. Under my breath I chuckled as if to say, "As if." And just as quickly, the Lord brought Abraham's wife Sarah to mind. God had promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations; and that Sarah would give birth to a son. But there she was, along in years and still infertile. She had clearly settled into that in between season. When the reminder of the promise reached her ears she laughed in unbelief. I remembered her story and the Lord whispered this across my heart: "When I put a mighty dream in your heart, do not laugh in unbelief like Sarah did; instead, humbly bow and pray 'be it unto me' like Mary did."
I was instantly confronted and convicted. I had allowed my dream to balance on the edges of my fingertips. But at that moment the Lord spoke to my heart, "Grab hold of it again! Bring it close to your heart where there's warmth and life-blood flowing through your veins."
By settling into my daily routine, I had subtly but clearly lost a firm hold on something God had taken the time to reveal to me. Has this happened to you? Has God put something in your heart that you've long since forgotten?
So how do we embrace our 'now circumstances' while expectantly believing for the things He has promised us? I think the answer is found in this wonderful verse: 1 Timothy 6 ~ Godliness with contentment is great gain.
Contentment speaks of wrapping our arms around our present circumstances and knowing that God is with us right where we live. We embrace a heart of gratitude in the midst of the heartache, pain, struggle, or even the monotony of life. Contentment means we've learned how to thrive and even grow in those in-between seasons.
Godliness speaks to looking up with expectancy; refusing to allow our circumstances to define us; and holding close the things God has promised us. And while we walk through the every-day-in-between seasons, we don't lose sight of the promise. Like a treasure under our pillow, we look at the promise, we pray over the promise, we cup it in our hands and breathe on it to keep it warm. We thank God by faith that He is a keeper of His Word and that in due time, He will deliver what He has promised.
If the Lord has put something in your heart, bring it back to Him and ask to confirm His word to you. Maybe the vision needs refining. Maybe it needs reviving. Maybe you've got a ways yet to go in that in-between season. No matter. Cling to His promise; hold loosely your circumstances. You will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
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