February 2015 – The Word In My Life

“And provide for those who grieve in Zion– to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.” Isaiah 61:3 NIV

It’s Lenten season. It occurred to me that Jesus was the Messiah, even as a babe, long before his earthly ministry began. He didn’t suddenly become the Christ at thirty years of age. Similarly, Joseph the dreamer was sold into slavery, then falsely accused and sat in prison right up until he became second in command over all the land of Egypt. David was anointed king as a young man, but he lived as a fugitive and encountered many trials and indignities before he actually sat in that office some ten plus years later. Abraham was named father of many nations but he was one hundred years old before he had a child with his wife, Sarah. The kernel of who you are, once planted by God, becomes imbed in your DNA and cannot be erased. A delay in the realization of that potential doesn’t mean it can be denied.

Your low beginnings or present humble station in life are not an indicator or foreshadow of God’s plan for your life. Your promise of greatness lives within you. You take it with you wherever you go, no matter your circumstance. Greatness rides with you. It abides in you. It is active in you all along. Sometimes God allows us to see flashes of its brilliance and we think, “YES! My time has come!” But too often, we soon afterwards find ourselves in situations that hamper our ability to take off. We suffer setbacks. I am convinced that this changes NOTHING. A diamond ring dropped in the mud is still a diamond ring. You are a star wherever you are. Whatever’s going on in your life does not change that. Wherever you find yourself in your life’s journey cannot change that. And one day, you will walk into the fullness of your calling, in all its glory, your destiny fulfilled. An acorn planted by the Lord, fully grown into the mighty oak tree that God planned you to be from before you were even born, for the display of His splendor.

For the aforementioned heroes of the Bible, at the end of their life it was said that they died, full of old age, surrounded by their loved ones, and able to recount the promises of God. With their final breath, they were able to testify that God did just what he said he would do. For me, that would be the real test. The proof in the pudding. Where the rubber meets the road. Looking back, what would be my testimony? When I get to the end of my life, what would I be able to say? It’s the end of a thing that declares it. And God proclaims the end from the beginning. He’s already got your happy ending planned out. I believe that. It other words, it ain’t over til that fat lady sings! Things may seem dismal at times. The end may appear to be near. Doom may be at hand. To paraphrase Jesus when he was asked about signs concerning the end of the world, “see that you don’t be troubled, for the end is not near.” This is also true of our lives – as bad as it may look, the end is not here. This is why we must press; this is why we must strive to achieve our goals and get beyond how it looks right now. We are all born full of potential that we have yet to reach, and that is no lie.

Be blessed,

Loria

Lord take the wheel — “Lord, take the wheel!” Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns

“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” Psalm 143:10

I was taking my customary route, driving down Cicero Avenue, on my way to visit with my mom and sister when I saw a sign outside of a tire shop that read: WILL ALIGNMENT. Wow. I thought to myself, someone was definitely asleep at the “will” on that one. I smiled at the thought of someone making such a mistake or not even knowing that it was a mistake. Maybe the sign maker or shop owner didn’t know that there was a difference between will and wheel. I mean, you could surely have an alignment of either, but the latter would produce a change in how you drive, the former, in how you think. Funny how I never noticed that sign before, of all the times I’ve driven down that road.

It occurred to me then, that perhaps this was no mistake but a wakeup call. I recalled God (in the person of Morgan Freeman) posting cryptic messages while disguised as the homeless man in Bruce Almighty. Honestly, some of the signs I didn’t get right away, but after a while I caught on and I found there was usually a meaning behind his poor spelling or word usage. Bruce was able to decode the messages and held up his own sign (pointing to the homeless fella) that read, “Whatever HE said!” One of the signs that God held up was, “R ewe blind?” Yep, I was. At least, up until now. How had I had not seen what was right before my eyes? Too busy, I guess. But now I see. It was simple, really. This sign stirred up something in me. It made me think.

I paused to consider what it could mean if that sign were correct. I could use a will alignment. My will and God’s will, lined right up, side by side, running parallel to each other. That could be great!! I’m so tired of getting it wrong, lol! When it happens enough times, you begin to realize, maybe I’m pursuing the wrong things. I’ve somehow gotten off course, again. But what would it mean for me to live God’s perfect will for my life, versus living in his permissive will? In other words, choosing to live a life according to what He would want for me, His best and highest usage or purpose for my life and gifts, instead of living in the way He permits or allows me to get away with until I get it together and figure out that His way IS the best way. Experience has taught me that I’ll eventually get to the point (after I’ve stumbled, gone my own way and made mistakes) where I’ll arrive at the conclusion that His way is the only way. It only makes sense to give it over to God from the beginning. Unfortunately, though, I still struggle with trying to wrest control of my own life out of His hands.

Then I thought about how my car performs after a wheel alignment. It usually allows for more control of my car, even when I’m not consciously controlling it. Before my steering was adjusted, I had to be mindful to keep control of the car as it would pull to one side. I drove with my hand on the wheel, slightly turned in the opposite direction to counter act the pulling and to keep the car straight on the road before me. But perfect alignment meant that I could actually relax my grip on the wheel and trust my unseen navigation system to kick in and keep the car straight on a level road, rather than curving off to the side and going in a ditch. I see now, to have a wheel alignment and a will alignment are not so different after all.

Thank you, Father, for the reminder. I hereby give up my will for your will and trust in your perfect navigation. And I’ll try to stop straining to control the situations in my life to make it go in the direction I think it should. I may not always know what you’re doing but I know you have a plan for my life. Your Holy Spirit is better than any GPS and is able to get me where I need to be, and where you want me to be, at exactly the right moment in time. In this way, I would not be able to boast that I achieved anything in my own power but by submitting to your design and perfect timing. So Jesus, take my will.

Be blessed,

Loria

Month: February 2015

Untapped

Jesus, Take the Wheel … er… uhm, Will?