For most of my life, as much as I hate to admit it, many of my dreams were shaped by what I saw around me.
Children have spectacular imaginations!! They think about things differently because they haven’t learned limitations yet… Although I could imagine and make-believe all sorts of fun worlds with my sister in our play, when it came to what I wanted from life, what I aspired for, that creativity seemed to fall a little short.
As I continued to grow up my dreams for myself began to shrink into a tiny box called “Just Fit In”.
Just blend in. Don’t stand out. Don’t be weird. Stop being different!! Be like everyone else!!
When we attempt to dream about our future from the place of our wounds and pain, our perspective becomes limited and distorted. I felt out-of-place most of the time and that led me to strive for normal.
Unfortunately for young Laura, who just wanted to fit in, following Jesus and saying yes to what God asked of me very often led me to make some pretty different decisions. Decisions that did not lead to me being like everyone else… but did lead me into becoming who I was actually created to be!!
As we listen for what God is speaking to us, He will often lead us to do some pretty unexpected things. Whether they’re things we simply would never choose to do on our own, like waking up at 5 am to go for a prayer walk, or whether they’re especially bizarre, like, not cutting your hair for seven years… I have learned that even doing the wildest things with God, in obedience to God, is better than trying to slide under the radar and maintaining the status quo.
In 1 Samuel 12, Samuel the prophet needs to extend correction to a king who had seriously lost his way. Saul had even rationalized his disobedience as being holy, explaining how what he had taken for himself was going to be sacrificed and given to the Lord!
“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
he has also rejected you from being king.”
[Isaiah 12:22-23]
When children learn how to speak, not understanding limitations kinda works against them. When they learn that ‘horse’ is a big, brown four-legged creature with a tail, everything that fits that description for a while is called ‘horse’… even the neighbour’s dog.
How many of us can relate to the fact that ‘good’ no longer applies to quite as much stuff as it used to?
Today is the final day of January… I’m sure some of us are very aware of that already though, aren’t we? 😉
Fasting can be really hard! It is exhausting as our stomachs and minds learn to cope with challenges in new ways without depending on _____________ the way we used to.
As a church we answered the call to fast… and I wonder what it will look like for each of us to continue posturing ourselves in complete surrender and submission to that which God is calling us to.
I’d like to challenge you to pay attention to what the Holy Spirit might be leading you into for next month, or maybe even for an undetermined amount of time! Maybe there is a new (or continued) fast. Maybe there is a new habit that has been coming to mind a lot. Maybe there is a change that needs to be made or a return to something you’ve been putting off…
Wearing jewelry and having short hair are not bad or sinful things!
…Unless God has specifically told you not to do them.
As we set aside things that used to be good, and maybe still are good for others, we choose to walk in obedience to God and enter into a new place of consecration to Him.
May we choose obedience. May we choose to dream bigger than maintaining the status quo and press in for what God is really asking of us…
P R A Y E R
God, we know that You have called Your people to be different; that we are set apart.
We long to bring glory to You through the way we live our lives.
Holy Spirit, would you please show us what that looks like?
If we’re uncertain would You bring clarity?
If we’re afraid would You bring us peace?
If we’re reluctant would You give us the strength to say yes?
Thank You for Your invitation to follow You, Jesus.
We love you and we DO want to partner with you in Your redemptive work on this earth.
Amen