I’m Back!
Admit it. When you read the title of this blog, the voice in your head sounded like the Terminator. Oh, it is good to be back.
In early August, God placed on my heart that I need to take some time off to reflect and refresh. God always knows what we need.
I tend to live my life at 100 MPH going in 50 different directions. I am juggling so many balls, mostly with other people’s needs and wants written on them. I have never been good at making time for myself – guilt free. Add to that my emotional disposition and sometimes the weight of doing life can feel heavy.
But God always knows what we need. I wish I could say that I meandered through August with not a care in the world. But that wouldn’t be true. In fact, unexpected challenges and circumstances snuck in and hit me upside the head. Out of nowhere. Shattering the plans for uninterrupted, quiet reflection. Pulling my attention from what I wanted to do to what I needed to do. And before I knew it, August was behind me.
So, you might think I am disappointed. Frustrated. Even angry perhaps? But you’d be wrong.
Because during the unexpected, God used the time I had set aside to draw me to Him. I wanted refection and refreshing. He provided both in creating circumstances where my dependence on Him was tested. Would I lean into Him, or would I do – as I so often do – try to fix things myself first? Would I trust in the plan that looked different than mine? Would I open my heart to learn from the unexpected or would I harden it with the lies of the enemy?
You know the lies. “This is so unfair!” “I don’t’ deserve this!” “Why do I even try?” “Why isn’t God helping?” “When will I get a break?”
God showed up as He always does. I didn’t have the month I envisioned. But what I received was greater than what I could imagine. A renewed and stronger reliance on the One who loves me unconditionally. The One who knows what I need even when I only see what I want. The One who loves me enough to say, “No.” The One who cherishes this broken daughter so much He allows me to walk a path to healing. Even when I don’t recognize that healing is needed.
August had some trials. But it also had gifts. So many gifts. Family bonds were strengthened. Transitions were smoothed. Professional blessings were received. A hunger to connect more deeply with my Lord that led to enrolling in a Bible university. That wasn’t on my list for August; but it was on God’s. Attending a Healing Summit where I felt the power of Holy Spirit surround us and bring miracles.
In Matthew 3:12, John the Baptist is preaching, “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” John is speaking of the Messiah. A winnowing fork was used to toss freshly harvested wheat into the air, where the useless chaff could be blown clear by the wind. The heavier wheat would fall back to the ground and be gathered up. The wheat, in this verse, represents those who repent and follow the Christ, while the chaff symbolizes those who reject Him. John declares the unbelievers will burn with unquenchable fire, referring to the eternal judgment of God’s wrath.
September transitions us to autumn. Harvest time. The crops were planted. They were tended. The August lessons prepare me for the coming tests. The August blessings prepare me for the coming opportunities. The seeds were planted and watered. And with the love and faithfulness of God, I will steward them wisely.
Yes, August has moved on. But what it left is a deeper love and understanding for my Savior. A growing knowledge of the power of Holy Spirit that lives in me. And in you when you accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. A deepening trust in a turbulent world. A fierce desire to fan the flame of revival in my life and the lives of those around me. Believing on the truth of the Word knowing the lies of the enemy are powerless to act without my permission.
I’m back. Refreshed and ready. Because God always knows just what I need.
This week’s prayer can be found at https://simplyjoy.online/prayers/scatter-me/