A Whole New Wardrobe!

Its MAY! So hard to believe how fast this year is whizzing by. It’s time to start switching our wardrobes and preparing for warmer weather…MUCH warmer weather. But I’m ready. Its odd how the season’s change NEVER comes too early. I’m always just as ready for spring as I was winter, and so on. In fact, I’ve noticed that I tend to dress in anticipation of the new season. At the first hint of weather change, I start putting on the appropriate attire. And it happens exactly how God orders it…WHEN God orders it. He knows just the right time for the season to change so that life as we know it continues and thrives. -- You can probably see where I’m heading with this (it actually just came to me as I started typing).

The seasons in our life are just that…”seasons”… and they are MEANT for change. And they change exactly as God orders them and WHEN God orders them. How often have we been in the middle of a difficult situation and wondered WHAT God was thinking or WHERE He was. And yet, when we get through it we realize that He knew all along EXACTLY what He was doing. And how many times do we need to repeat that process before we stop stressing and start realizing that HE REALLY IS IN CONTROL??? We humans are so ---human.

It’s in that awareness of the sovereignty of God when I realize that I really should CHOOSE joy…CHOOSE peace…CHOOSE hope; that I really should put on the garment of praise for my heavy heart. I am not rejoicing in my pain, sorrow, fear, disappointment, stress, etc... I am slipping into a new wardrobe in anticipation of the change of weather. And in that moment, I am wearing Christ. I am showing Christ to everyone around me. I am “preaching the good news”. I love the verses of scripture in Isaiah 61 that say:

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed
me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

When we put on beauty and gladness and praise we are a “display of His splendor”….that’s what His word says. What an AMAZING thought! WE are a display of HIS splendor!!!! When we choose to trust that the purpose of God is being worked out in our lives, and we look back at God’s “faithfulness track record” as I call it….we CANNOT HELP but rejoice! Recently, while enduring a difficult season, a good friend said to me, “faith in purpose means that there will be the ‘substance of things hoped for’ while as yet there is no evidence of its existence”. So for those of you struggling through times of despair….PUT ON CHRIST and become a display of His splendor!!! Have faith in His purpose….the season will change….and just exactly when and how He orders it!

Peace,
Cristie

Starting Again...

So...wow...I can't really believe I'm actually doing this. After all these years, I've finally figured out that the calling of God on my life is TRULY irrevocable, or as The Message puts it:

"God's gifts and God's call are under full warranty - never canceled, never rescinded." ~Romans 11:29~

It doesn't just leave....it NEVER leaves. No matter how much you try to ignore it or minimize it or pretend you're too old, or not "relevant" enough - whatever that means - it just sticks with you. Tommy Barnett said in a sermon I watched recently (thank you Kari Jobe) "A delay [in your ministry] is not a denial". I believe that for my ministry…it’s time to get to the DOING.

And at the close of this VERY difficult weekend when someone I loved very much but not nearly enough (Vanessa Whitwell) went home to be with Jesus, I've learned a little something new about myself. The truth is that I REALLY love people and genuinely hurt for them when they are sad. I was reminded thru this tragedy that all sorts of people need Jesus – Christians and Non-Christians alike. And as many different ways as we can present the good news that Jesus loves them and wants to bring them peace and calm their hurting hearts, the better off we all will be. It’s not that I didn’t think I loved people before, I just didn’t realize to what extent. But God has a way of allowing His purpose for our lives to shine forth even in the midst of chaos and confusion. As the song says - "He is sovereign still" (None But Jesus - Brooke Frasier)

And so I come to this new chapter of my life armed with an irrefutable calling and a tender reminder of how much God loves us. He really does love us you know...deeper and more perfectly than we could EVER imagine. And how much more reason do we need to WORSHIP Him with everything we’ve got…after all it’s what we were created to do!

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