Friday, October 19, 2012

Jesus: Our strong anchor in the midst of change

There is a time and season for everything under the sun. You might be familiar with this verse from Ecc 3:1 but are you able to discern the times and seasons in your life? Know that the Lord wants us to understand the times and seasons we are living in because if we don't, we cannot apply our hearts to wisdom. 1 Chron 12:32 says 'the men of Issachar (prophets) were called upon because they knew what the people of God should do.' Now there is no need to run to the prophets of our day to ask for wisdom because the Holy Spirit is dwelling in our hearts in the New Covenant. He is constantly guiding us in the paths we should take.

All we need to do is to ask the Lord to show us what He is doing in our lives and when He tells us to go this way or that, then we cooperate with Him. Sometimes God will do a 'suddenly' and you will find that your season has shifted very quickly. But most times, there are signs of upcoming changes or ripples in your life. The Lord likes to show us things to come so that we can be prepared beforehand, not caught like fish in the nets. Even if you cannot be very sure you heard Him, your spirit will prompt you and cause you to discern the things happening around you. Oftentimes, the ripples will cause you to feel that you are shaken out of your comfort zone.

Be sure that the Lord will direct your steps and guide you one day at a time. Yet for some of us, we cannot rest and have a peace of mind until He shows us the entire plan. Usually when He gives you a vision for your life, He will not show you how it will come to pass. That's because He doesn't want you to worry. He has all the details worked out even if we cannot see anything happening on the surface. But I am sure that when your due season or your appointed time is nearing, God will reveal His plan bit by bit.

So what happens in the waiting period, the time between the vision and its manifestation? Our human minds like to figure everything out or it would not rest. Yet this does not benefit us at all. Waiting like this will tire us out as it will frustrate us till no end. The waiting will be full of toilsome labour and worry. You will find that such times are so unbearable and it seemed to take forever to see the manifestation come to pass.

Well this happened to me while waiting for God's only promise in this season to come to pass. All the other promises that God showed me, the vision He gave me years ago all came to pass. Why then am I fretting whether this promise will come to pass or when will it come to pass or how it will happen? It's my flesh that needs to be satisfied. My spirit is at rest with the Lord but my flesh still wars within me, demanding to know how things will turn out and exactly when.

The Lord is merciful. He wants me to rest in Him while waiting. He tells me that if I fellowship with Him, talk to Him and share my concerns and joys with Him, the journey becomes much more enjoyable. Just like how time flies when you are in the company of a few good friends. Indeed I learnt to slowly let go of my need to know, constantly learning how to cast my cares unto Him and taking every thought captive to Him. In doing so, I am crucifying my flesh and walking in the Spirit. When I did that, the waiting turned from long and unbearable to short and enjoyable. What a change!

I have found that Jesus is my strong anchor in the midst of change, the shifting of the seasons. Instead of keeping my eyes on the surrounding circumstances, I focus on Jesus. I rest in His love for me. I tell myself because Jesus loves me, all shall be well for me. Even if I cannot see how all things will fall into place or when the open door will manifest, I continue to trust that He is good and His mercies endure forever. I think about all the blessings in my life, all the breakthroughs and I thank God for them.

In fact, Jesus is not only my anchor, He is my sanity. Without Him, I cannot have a peace of mind or even the courage to face all the changes in my new season. But with Christ, I traverse the different seasons safely. Often times, I will look back and marvel at the things He has done in past seasons as He has brought me to a much higher level when the seasons shift. God is really a progressive God!

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