There are so many things I want to say right now. The words are swarming in my mind. Let me start with an example, a simple and quick example.
There are days when we do things to that don't make us comfortable, right? Okay, so this was one of those days. Just wasn't comfortable. Not that it was a 'bad' situation or I was doing something wrong. Just a feeling of not fitting. :) So I was uneasy or maybe on edge. (I'm sure that is what my family would say that was an understatement.) So, when I am in uncomfortable situations, whatever they are, I long for change. My easy change usually is to change something easy such as redecorating, rearranging furniture, change my hair or my personal style... you get the point. I try and make changes that make me smile or feel better, even for just a moment. So, tonight during dinner I glanced over at a wall in my house that had a chalkboard in a place that was just 'ok', but I wasn't sure where to put it to make it better or what to put in it's place.
A little background, my vision for months for this wall was this work of art from the local Craft/Decorating store that I had actually been dreaming about! When I finally bought the piece, I was so excited and was just waiting on getting rid of a piece of furniture to place it right where this chalkboard is now. But, we soon were remodeling the powder bath and it fit perfectly there. Not what I wanted, but yes it was absolutely perfect there. So now what. So I placed the chalkboard in it's place with our last name and our anniversary. Since we are a blended family, it didn't bring such peace for everyone in the household to see something that states "Our family began on such and such date". My children don't share the same last name so in a way it left them feeling like they weren't apart and that is not okay. So I have been trying to figure out what to do with the wall and the chalkboard next.
So backing up where I left off...at dinner, I glanced over at the chalkboard and heard a small whisper that said, "Rise and Shine". I heard it in a sing song voice, kind of like the what I sing to my children sometimes when I'm being silly. So I thought I could move the chalkboard to the wall at the base of the stairs, oh and I can look up a verse that goes with it! I did just that, moved a clock in it's place, moved around my mantle (even thought, I need to add my fall decorations when I finally get them out of the attic), and temporarily hung a shelf I got from a garage shelf to see if I like it there. :) and then I started looking for the verse that I wanted to use.
Isaiah 60:1 "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you."
This was awesome. What a great verse for them to see every morning! I spent the next hour uneasy, but just processing everything. I finally had the thought, I really needed to read a devotional. Maybe it would give me some answers or encouragement. I opened it up to today and read the title, "Get that Bulldog, Never-Let-Go Kind of Faith". Now isn't that intriguing!! Of course I want that kind of faith. If you only knew what we have been facing and how my Faith has been tested. I have heard that the way you handle attacks speaks volumes about your Faith. I can tell you, it seems to scream that I have very little faith. That can't be further from the truth. I believe that God has healed me physically, I know exactly how the enemy attacks me and my family, God gives me so much insight into so many things that I don't know where they come from... none of this is by accident. So I of course went on to read the devotional. It talks about having a faith that continues on even during the most extreme circumstances. That only comes through training, such as at the Air Force academy. When they are training, they train them to look past the most extreme circumstances a plane crash, the death of a friend, and more. They are training to move through it, to get their duty done first. Basically, the writer was suggesting that we are going through training, a training to build our faith. A faith that will withstand a war. We are at war, a constant war. We are blindsided by the attacks of the enemy, not people-- they are just his tools to try and breakdown our faith. If we learn to walk by faith, we will win this war. Here's where I am going... listen to what is said next, "If you'll keep your faith strong and your spirit activated through the Word of God, when the devil takes a punch at you, you can rise up." It goes on to say, "... when you hammer away at the devil with faith and refuse to let up, the Annointing of God will come on you. Your spirit will be activated. You'll get bigger on the inside than you are on the outside. Instead of whimpering in the corner, you'll begin to roar like the Lion of the tribe of Judah!"
So my first point is, in my day today, I was NOT roaring like a lion. I was wilting like a flower. I did not rise up to feel His glory in me. I was not walking by faith in the least, other than showing up. The second, is that God is trying to reach all of us. Our purpose in whole is to love God, love the way He loves us and to tell others of His love.
So my friend.... here is my challenge to us both..... 2 Corinthians 5:7 "I refuse to walk by sight. I will walk by faith!"
