"When we step into faith with Him, God shatters everything, not just our Saturday night plans. He changes every relationship, how we spend our time, our motives, our passions, how we live and how we die. He strips us of performing and pretending and lays us bare, fully aware of our need for Him. While it is costly and even threatening, it is what we are designed for."
Jennie Allen
I am looking out the window of my camper on this dark, rainy Monday. I realize the people across from me are pulling their camper out today. My body is achy, my ears feel full, definitely fighting off something. I can't be sick. This is the week we pack and close up the camper, the place I've called home since May.
Another transition lies ahead of me.
On her DVD "Stuck" Jennie says that there is one thing God wants from us. He wants us to need him. Not in the way that He can crush us, but so that He can break our chains.
The problem lies in the pain.
I recall a quote by someone once.
"When the pain of change becomes less than that of staying the same, we will change."
That's when we say, "Anything, Lord. I just can't stay the same."
In The Lord of the Rings, Galadriel tells Frodo that he is the one chosen to be the ring bearer, only he can carry this burden and play a key part in bringing freedom to the world of men.
Frodo suffers.
The world is changing.
He is never the same after this journey.
Oh, how he longs to return to his beloved Shire, but there is a bigger picture, a call on his life.
He would not turn back.
Our world is changing.
Your personal world may be changing and shifting, even shattering. Or it may be the daily mundane sameness that tries you. Loneliness, fear, finances, illness. Fill in the blank.
Even though it seems overwhelming, this is what we are designed for.
The kingdom of God lives within us.
Frodo never knew what he was capable of. Neither do we, until we have to lean upon God.
Over a year ago now, I heard Him whisper, "lean hard."
Lean hard on his grace today. He will hold up. You will hold up and if you don't, he will carry you. Chains will be broken. Shattered pieces will be mended.
It's been a mere week since I was asking the question, "Does God live in me?"
Yes, the answer lies in believing his word and not my feelings or circumstantial evidence. But it's more than that. His word is proven in the fire, tested in real life. Does He live in me? Does He live in you?
Let's test that out together, shall we? Lean hard today.
