Shifting Seasons

I truly love the natural rhythm of changing life around me. The freshness that each day brings as articulated by nature’s vast array of color and form, continually points me heavenward regardless of my personal circumstances. Whether the start of new life in the Spring, or the growing dormancy in preparation for Winter during the Fall, each transition portrays a vivid portrait of our own lives.

Like nature’s seasonal changes, the shifting of life seasons can be filled with much unknown. We first experience upheaveal when what we came to experience yesterday no longer matches what we may encounter today. Expectations become confounded, and our bearings for what is “normal” go awry. Suddenly, we find ourselves “inbetween” two distinct worlds…that which once was, and that which can be.

Looking back, Jesus steps forwards from our circumstances to highlight the faithfulness of how He traveled with us. Doing so brings a peaceful relief to our hearts and many “Aha” moments where our eyes are opened to His intimate compassions and involvements that before remained unperceived.

Looking ahead, Jesus again stands before us, beckoning us to follow. Usually, the scene around him is not overly clear, while His presence is. I suspect that’s point. Our going forward remains more about being with him than it does about the particulars of what we will be doing together.

But want about the “inbetween” stage? Where is Jesus then? In truth, He remains by our side as before, encouraging us to lean into Him even more. He knows that shifting life circumstances can be unsettling, especially when it comes unexpectedly. In moments like this, He speaks to us with abiding encouragement to bring an enduring peace that empowers our heart to keep pressing on with His input.

“Help me Jesus to reach more for you than for the clarity of my circumstances when I experience the shifting seasons in my journey. Thank you that you remain faithful to me even when I wander away in search of the answers myself.”

The Call to “Come”

Dusk has come in all its glorious transition. Light fades and colors the western sky, as distant sparkles begin appearing. Soon, the darkening ceiling upon the earth is etched with stars of every kind. The moon slowly rises in the far distance, its own light contesting the growing darkness in the absence of the sun.

I step outside for a brief moment, looking for something I’m missing from inside. My attention fixed upon my search, suddenly something inside me stops. My heart awakens and that familiar hush envelops me. Forgetting why I was standing there, I move away from the house to take in the unfolding scene. Awed and filled with wonder, I wait.

Moments like these captivate me. I continually long for more of them as they represent those times of God calling my name. “Come”, He says, and at once, my heart is hooked. I usually wait for more instructions, and rarely it comes. Early on, this would frustrate me. But over time, I came to understand. The way I came to Him was not the point. Rather, He just wanted me to come.

Life for most of us leaves little to no room for responding to God calls. We practice over and over how to “react” to the shifting circumstances we encounter in life, most of which we would never desire. Yet, into the midst of these and other instances of our harried life, the Father likes to step in and extend His beckoning hand.

“Come”, He says.

“Now?” we respond, shocked.

“But I’ve got so much to do!”, we think to ourselves as conflict fills our hearts.

God’s call in these moments are intentional. Our lives are less about what we accomplish, and more about the journey we walk with Him together. Does He want us to accomplish and succeed? Absolutely. However, coming into His presence, especially in those unique moments of personal invitation, trumps the daily grind of normal living. Being with Him brings life as Heaven intends where relationship reigns supreme.

Watch for these moments each day and be prepared to act, regardless of what you face. In doing so regardless of what it will require, we will touch the Father’s heart as only we can. We each mean that much to Him.

Our Living Sacrifice

The altar of God. All kinds of images flood my mind, from bloodied cut up animals, to Isaac lying there white-faced, wondering what was going on.  The whole sacrificial offering thing seems mysterious, violent, and severely demanding, yet still a draw upon my heart.  I find myself wrestling between wanting to offer God the best I have, but knowing that most of what I have to offer is brokenness, weakness, and a realization that I have far to go.

I know that the time for actually putting flesh and blood on an altar has passed. Jesus, my blessed substitute, paid the ultimate price of His life and became THE sacrifice for my life. What could have been required of me He did. In the midst of this death, He gives me new life. The wonder of it all overwhelms me.

Still, the altar remains between me and God. The new instructions remain unchanged since Jesus left this earth – “Come with your living sacrifice.”  No longer does God want a sacrifice of death, but rather a “living sacrifice” of my life. Really?

A living sacrifice. The mere thought of a sacrifice that lives on seems strange. How does this work? One explanation can be summed up this way…

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life – and place it before God as an offering.” (Romans 12:1, The Message)

My everyday, ordinary life. How unimpressive that is. How could this represent the best sacrifice for the God-King of all the universe? Then it hits me. I’m viewing this all wrong. I’m trying to offer what I want to be a finished product, imagining the offering itself becomes the end action. But that’s not it.

God’s present altar between me and Him represents something different from that of old. Before Jesus, God’s altar served as the temporary fix to keep the door open for relationship with God. But since Jesus, not only has the door been removed so that access remains always open, but the altar has transformed. Once a place for life to be drained away for another, God’s altar now becomes that place where temporary, weak life can be transformed into eternal, strong life.  As such, the best I can now offer is in fact the fullness of my heart, both what I deem as good, AND especially that which I may want to hide of my weaknesses, failures and sin.

God smiles when I come to His altar bearing the reality of my present life in all its unimpressive glory. He awaits our coming, eagerly desiring to receive our living sacrifice so that He can unleash the transforming power of His grace. What I am when I come is not what I am when I leave. In the midst of my amazement, Jesus Himself awakens my heart with His joy that knows no end.

Don’t be afraid. Bring all that you own – your strengths AND weaknesses. God stands ready to embrace and change your life beyond anything that you can imagine.