Guest post from Grace Klein's Melissa Womack.
Friends,
Ever felt like God has you in some weird place you don't understand? I once heard a pastor speak about this. He explained how God can have us oriented in a way that is uncomfortable, foreign, confusing. He was holding his baby daughter as he was thinking about this. He turned her upside-down and backwards where she couldn't see him. She had a little hesitation and then started laughing. Her childlike faith knew that her daddy had her and would not drop her. She trusted that although it felt weird, Daddy was still in control. So, why don't we feel that type of giddy trust with our Daddy?
I have felt upside-down and backwards lately. I know without a doubt that God has me in his hands, but I still get frustrated that things aren't what they used to be. He has me doing things that feel uncomfortable, unfamiliar. I want to know why. I want to know when it will stop feeling this way. So, DO I fully trust him? Maybe not......
We don't serve like we used to. We don't spend time with friends like we used to. We don't host people in our home like we used to. We don't spend time with extended family like we used to. God has directed us to different things. Sometimes I feel like I am just surviving and not really living. I want true life, and I want it to the full. My prayers lately have been for God to show me what He does have us doing that matters for His kingdom. He offers me full, abundant life right where I am. It doesn't have to look and feel like it once did. He is doing a new work.
The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy;
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
~ John 10:10
The enemy would have me believe that what I am doing doesn't matter, that I am not as effective for God as I once was. God wants me to trust that He has me right where I need to be. They enemy would have me believe that struggling through parenting and caring the elderly and helping pay our bills doesn't mean much compared to some of the things I used to spend my time doing. The enemy wants me to compare myself to others and what they are doing that is effective for the Kingdom. Because it's all so hard, it feels like I'm not doing anything well. And, maybe that's just the point. I am incapable of doing any of this without God directing my every step and without the Spirit giving me what I need for each and every task. He has me doing things that don't come naturally, things that are my "giftings." Upside-down and backwards. Do I trust Him?
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| Photo Credit: Grace Klein's Cover Photo |
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
~ Isaiah 43:18-19
Just like Israel, I am unfaithful. I forget the great things God has done. He has to remind me to keep my focus on Him and the present path He has for me. Don't look back and hope for old things. Be grateful for the new things. Don't we want new things? Don't we want to grow and change and be more and more different from our old selves?
God has shown me over the past couple of weeks that the stripping of pride is a crucial part of growing to be more like Christ. This has to happen periodically so that we are put back in our rightful place ~ submissive, humble, and broken before the Father. When life becomes too comfortable, when we are doing the things we have done for a long time and those things become routing and easy, sometimes God shakes us up to show us that we are not, were not, will never be in control. Upside-down and backwards reminds us that comfortable and familiar and easy are not part of the grand palm, at least not while we are here in fallen creation. Like a baby girl held in a strange way by her Daddy, we need to just trust and be giddy what He has us.
Trust with me ~
Melissa Womack....
Oh how my soul needed this tonight...
This is exactly where Jamie and I are. We treasure the friendship God is growing between The Forgotten Initiative and Grace Klein Community. We cherish our partnership in the Gospel, in the gift of living this beautifully uncomfortable life.
Also, remember...Pray. Share. Advocate for Jasmine, our Heart Gallery of Alabama child of the week!
Looking ever to Jesus,
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