When we're seeking God's guidance, sometimes we ask for confirmations. Well, at least I know I do. It's one of those things I think, as a human, that when you're inching toward a limb, you want to know that you should walk out onto it before you actually do.
However, sometimes confirmation comes in the form of an ouch. Especially if you've ignored a previous urging that was placed in your spirit. Then not only can confirmations be uncomfortable, so can the promptings to move forward.
I know I have been known to get comfortable in a situation that I knew was only supposed to be temporary. And when that happens it takes a certain level of discomfort to propel me forward. And I do believe that we have seasons in our lives and that things happen the way they do for a reason. But change is part of growth and really just part of life. Change is good. Resisting change and clinging to what we've become familiar with can be detrimental.
But back to confirmation...
Sometimes we ask for confirmation and in our minds what we mean is we want like some awesome thing to happen and that can be our confirmation. Confirmations don't always appear like that - sometimes they hurt. Maybe because it's unexpected? I'm not sure.
Slightly painful or not, I think it is important (once your emotions die down - and make no mistake, that can take some time) to take a deep breath and just say "Okay God. I knew this is what you were telling me and you have confirmed it for me. Thank you."
Just a thought.
-Lisa
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Let it Go
There are some days when you get up and in the deepest part of your being you know it's going to be a rough one. You have no idea what lies ahead of you, but something in your spirit is telling you to pause and consider calling in. Every time I ignore that tug, I regret it. So you would think by now I would have learned not to ignore it.
But sometimes the real challenge in that moment (I believe) is to acknowledge that urging and to step forward into your day anyway.
Now because of my personal beliefs, I feel it is in the midst of that uneasy feeling that God is whispering "Trust me. I will not let you go."
As human beings it can be really easy in those moments when everything starts to go down hill at top speed, to beat ourselves up.
"Why didn't I stay home?" "How could I have made such a stupid mistake?" "Why can't I seem to get it together?" "What did I ever do to land myself here?" Because nothing is going "the way that it's supposed to."
But we live in a broken world. One that will never be perfect, no matter how hard we push for what's "supposed" to be. That ended with Adam & Eve in the Garden and until the end of time as we know it, this is the struggle we will face.
I think about it a lot actually. How we so easily get caught up in the way we know things should be. And I believe there's a very good reason for that. I think the way it was "supposed to be" is encoded in our DNA and if it wasn't, we might not understand the truth of our imperfection. For we are imperfect creatures.
But we are also beautiful to God - even with our imperfections - so much so that He gave us Jesus. The ultimate example of grace (getting what we do not deserve) and mercy (not getting what we do deserve). And we are supposed to strive to be like Him. To love like Him.
Which is of course impossible for us to ever reach that while we are in this flesh. But it does not mean we don't try. Because we should try to love like Him.
But back to "supposed to"...
In my own life I am at least three different kinds of NOT where I am "supposed to be". And it drives me crazy. I hate it. In part because I spend a lot of time and energy futilely trying to fix it quickly. But I am learning...
In the last three months I have begun to slow down. To breathe in the space I am in. And to attempt to move at a reasonable pace to where I would like to be. Sometimes the only road ahead takes us back to a place where we don't want to be. A place that feels like a step backwards. But (at least in my case) once I stopped for a minute and considered that it's not a step backwards because it's not exactly the same. I am not the same.
And that is important because it is a step toward understanding how to let go of "supposed to" and to move on to what "is". Which lends value to the world around us; helps us appreciate the blessings in our lives today. And that is a very good thing.
Just a thought.
-Lisa
But sometimes the real challenge in that moment (I believe) is to acknowledge that urging and to step forward into your day anyway.
Now because of my personal beliefs, I feel it is in the midst of that uneasy feeling that God is whispering "Trust me. I will not let you go."
As human beings it can be really easy in those moments when everything starts to go down hill at top speed, to beat ourselves up.
"Why didn't I stay home?" "How could I have made such a stupid mistake?" "Why can't I seem to get it together?" "What did I ever do to land myself here?" Because nothing is going "the way that it's supposed to."
But we live in a broken world. One that will never be perfect, no matter how hard we push for what's "supposed" to be. That ended with Adam & Eve in the Garden and until the end of time as we know it, this is the struggle we will face.
I think about it a lot actually. How we so easily get caught up in the way we know things should be. And I believe there's a very good reason for that. I think the way it was "supposed to be" is encoded in our DNA and if it wasn't, we might not understand the truth of our imperfection. For we are imperfect creatures.
But we are also beautiful to God - even with our imperfections - so much so that He gave us Jesus. The ultimate example of grace (getting what we do not deserve) and mercy (not getting what we do deserve). And we are supposed to strive to be like Him. To love like Him.
Which is of course impossible for us to ever reach that while we are in this flesh. But it does not mean we don't try. Because we should try to love like Him.
But back to "supposed to"...
In my own life I am at least three different kinds of NOT where I am "supposed to be". And it drives me crazy. I hate it. In part because I spend a lot of time and energy futilely trying to fix it quickly. But I am learning...
In the last three months I have begun to slow down. To breathe in the space I am in. And to attempt to move at a reasonable pace to where I would like to be. Sometimes the only road ahead takes us back to a place where we don't want to be. A place that feels like a step backwards. But (at least in my case) once I stopped for a minute and considered that it's not a step backwards because it's not exactly the same. I am not the same.
And that is important because it is a step toward understanding how to let go of "supposed to" and to move on to what "is". Which lends value to the world around us; helps us appreciate the blessings in our lives today. And that is a very good thing.
Just a thought.
-Lisa
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