I was just thinking about the last few sermons I've heard from Pastor Brian Houston, at Hillsong. He's been preaching about the end of a season or time in your life & how the end is not really the end, but a beginning of something new. He told this hilarious story about a woman at the airport who seemed to have never seen one of those moving sidewalks. He said she very cautiously stepped onto it, and was doing really well, until she saw the end of it. She wasn't sure how to get off of it (and there were a lot of people behind her). She took one little step and just stopped completely. He said the place was a mess! Luggage was flying everywhere, people were trying to run backwards to avoid the wreck. I thought it was a perfect example of his point-- just because you come to an end of something, doesn't mean you need to stop your life altogether. "There's a major difference between the ending of an era or season and the completion of your destiny."
When Jesus breathed His last and said, "It is finished," His job was finished, but HE was not finished! The Word says that He is the Beginning AND the End. Your ending could be a beautiful beginning that God has been planning for you. Keep going!
I've had to deal with a lot of emotions about that very subject. Feeling that age-old lie of "God doesn't really want me to be happy," or "God is holding out on me." Those sound pretty lame, but when you find yourself in a time of not having any direction whatsoever, they come up pretty fast. Now I feel like a dunce for even thinking that! God has given me so many opportunities for here and now, which is what I should be focused on anyway. Lesson learned. I'm reminded of the verse that says, "Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the One who shapes it, saying, 'Stop, you're doing it wrong!'" Needless to say, I have been that silly clay. When I should be asking, "Who am I that You are mindful of me, Lord?!" He really is too great to us. And yet we still find the time and attitude to bombard Him with our ridiculous rants, raves, and questions. I guess He's used to it by now :)
One of the "new" things I've started is a Bible Study called Lies Young Women Believe. I'm so ready to take that plunge into my own heart (and the hearts of the beautiful ladies I'm studying with!) and let God continue to heal & free me. I've been down this road before, and He did such a work in me. I can't wait to see the new things He shows us and to experience even more freedom. Please, please, please don't ever think that He is done with you! Not only is that pride, but you are missing out on so much. He will never be finished with us while we're here on earth.
(I am found, again, so intrigued by His plans for us, the Church. I've learned much about this subject, so He is allowing me to help others in their journey. At the same time, He is positioning friends, leaders, pastors, teachers, all around me to challenge me and speak to me. Ephesians 4:16 says, "He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love." Ah-mazing!)
Man, what would the Church look like if we all took the time to understand what gifts we have been given and how we can use those gifts to strengthen and bless others? And if we could see that the way we manage our own households & lives truly does affect the entire body, not just ourselves? What if we took our eyes off our own faces and turned them to God who has promised not to just get us to heaven, but make our faith perfect, lacking in nothing? How could that change us and the world around us? I know that some believers are living that, and I pray that He would take me there, too. Did you know that change is your choice? I want to keep reading and praying and studying, not because those things are "right" or "helpful," but because I do not want to get to the place where I think everything is ok in me or around me. There's major work to be done here! Jesus said that it starts IN the church. Let's take a good look at ourselves today and choose to welcome His Spirit. My prayer lately has been, "Jesus make Yourself at home in me!" I don't want to just be a good person, I want to be holy just as He is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16)
At the close of the Bible lies one of my favorite passages. When faced with the wonder of God's judgement & the completion of His plan, John writes this:
"The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come.' Let anyone who hears this say, 'Come.' Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of Life... He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, 'Yes, I am coming soon!' Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!"
I hope I will forever say yes to Him. To wherever, or come whatever, Yes! Come Lord Jesus. Have Your way in me. Let me be a vessel from which Your gifts & Spirit flow. And let my heart be a comfy place for You, in all of Your holiness, to live.
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