If you missed the last two weeks posts, this is part three of a reflection upon my journey with the Lord this year and to show you my “journal”, so to speak. This is not my usual practice, but I am doing this so that you, my reader, can see how the Lord has guided me and HOW the Lord will light YOUR path.
It is my sincere hope that you have been and will be encouraged in your personal walk and that the Lord has reminded you of lessons you and I need to remember.
Upon reflection (See “Affectionately Yours”), I realised that I had much to be thankful for, even though I am in a season of change. There was much to worship the Lord for if I considered what had taken my place in my life so far. When I thought how far the Lord had led me already and been faithful to me, I was thankful for where I was. I have seen the Lord do amazing things in my life, and I can testify to His goodness, mercy, and grace demonstrated in my life. There have been some dark valleys and challenging times, but we came through.
Now, despite the winds of change blowing and warning about a new season (See ”Moving into a New Season”), I am still aware of great contentment and thankfulness. The Lord has promised a new season for me; I am “Standing still” waiting for His instruction.
At this point of my journey into the unknown, the Lord started whispering something different into my heart. He was telling me that there is MORE. Just in case I was entertaining thoughts (and I was) that the Lord was finished with me and that I was forgotten, He reminded me that I ain’t seen nothin’ yet of what He has planned for me!
However, as it is written:
‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived’ –
the things God has prepared for those who love him –these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. (1 Corinthians 1:9-10)
Yet this promise from the Lord of so much more than you can imagine is for everybody, not just me.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)
Reminding me of John 10:10 and the “full” life He had promised, the Lord was asking me to have an expectant heart for the future. It meant that I had to take Him at His word and start trusting this promise, not just in my mind but also in my heart. It had to become a lifestyle where I have in faith an expectation of more in life.
C.S.Lewis once wrote, “We are all half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink, sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us. Like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
I asked myself: Are you far too easily pleased with the life God has given you? Do you have an expectation of even greater adventures with the Lord? Are you aware of just how much more is available to you?
There is More!
More of the experience of Jesus in my life. More revelation from scripture. More understanding. More empowerment from the Holy Spirit. More blessing. More grace. More blood that covers sin. More victory over sin. More joy. More purpose. More work. More peace. More rejoicing. I make a mistake when I think that this life that I have now is the limit of what God has in store for us. I was not to think of my life as having had the best part already; I was to think of my life as the best is yet to come!
Dear friend, my heart rejoices and shouts out, there is more for you and me.
“Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us, that we may be called the sons of God.”
That is why! Consider it, look at it, perceive the love of God for us; that is what 1 John 3:1 KJV is telling us to do. (See “Know His Love”). The NIV says: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us…” calling us to consider the immensity of love on us but goes on to use the word “lavished” which is to bestow something in generous or extravagant quantities. The Lord holds us in love and desires the affection to be returned.
If there is one aspect of a relationship with God that is challenged by our enemy again, it is our complete conviction and knowledge of how much God loves us.
Paul longs for us to know this love that exceeds all reason and surpasses knowledge so that we can be “filled with the measure of all the fullness of God.” It is not just an emotional feeling, but a unity in fellowship with God, a union that the Spirit empowers. Then through the Spirit, all the fullness is available to us (Col 2:9). It is being totally satisfied in Him – body, mind, emotions and spirit. This fullness is available to us through prayer and faith as we bring it into our daily lives and live to the fullest, in full knowledge of the love of God. As John declares in 1 John 4:16:
“And so, we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”
We are to KNOW and RELY on the love God has for us.
I don’t know about you, but I question whether God loves me every now and then. I have to meditate on it for a while to bring about a new conviction in my heart of His love for me. It is one thing to know His love, but quite a different story to live relying on that love.
It follows that receiving the nourishment and love from Jesus is equivalent to being attached to the vine. (See “The Declared Purpose of God’s Love) Jesus Himself lived in the love of God the Father and now tells us that to go forward, we are to remain in His love, as He has remained in the Fathers love. Why?
The declared purpose of God’s love and care is for the branch to bear much fruit.
Living in the vine means we are open to the timing, the life and the agenda of the vine.
We have God the Father, the gardener to rely on to produce fruit in us, not ourselves. And to the co-operative fruit-bearing child, they can count on being pruned in love to bear fruit, more fruit and much fruit.
Psalm 143:8 “ Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.
So this is where we are now, and for the first time in this year, a change event has actually happened. There has been more a process of change in my heart and mind in preparation for change than an actual change in all this time.
I have heard that saying: “Old ways won’t open new doors,” and realised that the old person at the beginning of the year could not make changes and open new doors to new lands. I had to change first, and at God’s appointed time, which is always the best time, the change would happen. (See “Uncertainty and Waiting” and “Make the Season Count”)
I hope my personal journey has been enlightening for you.
I have a deep sense that the new season has started, and with change beginning to happen, I am more ready for it than before. But I am sure the Lord will have more to instruct my heart!
Lord, thank you for Your faithfulness. Your love means that I live secure and safe in Your hand, and yet that does not mean living with You is a limited adventure. There is more to experience in the knowledge and experience of Your love, and You promise to continue the work You have started in each and every one of us. Your name is blessed. Oh Lord; You are a Faithful and Good Father.
Part 1: The Lord Will Be Your Lamp
Part 2: The Lord Will Light Your Path
Leave A Comment