Waiting for the next season to come.

I’ve been pondering the milestones of life recently, and how knitted into society it is to reach certain goals. Next year I turn 20, and although it is commonly said that ‘age is just a number’, there seems to be many underlying goals that come along with this new number I’m going to adopt. Whether we like to admit it or not, there are certain age brackets that link to certain achievements as we pass through the years. I feel they’re kind of like little fires that burn away unnoticed until a friend ties the knot with their partner, or scores their dream job, and we suddenly catch sight of them and are burned with the feeling of failure.

As I ponder these achievements I see myself reaching one day, questions start to bubble up about when I will find the eyes of my husband, or the job offer that fits, when will I feel content with my figure, or travel to a new place?
I often present these questions to God, and he gently tells me to have patience, and that things will come in their due time when I am ready for them. Now patience isn’t something we hold to dearly in the society we live in, with fast food and speedy technology, we find ourselves expectant that God will deliver at the same rate, right?

It’s a harsh reality I’ve only been coming to grips with recently, and it may not be something you’ve come to think about. As I look back on the decisions I made and the paths I’ve taken I’ve come to notice that where I’ve seen the most fruit, is where I’ve patiently waited on God. One thing I’d like to address it that often waiting doesn’t mean literally sitting by your bedside in hope that God will magically give you the ability to run a company and you’ll be rich within the following month.
The same goes for women, in that waiting for a husband doesn't often mean sitting in your room digging into song of songs in hope that one day God will bring a man who’ll recite verses such as 'You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you.' (Song of Songs 4:7) 



I feel like when God instructs you to be patient, he wants you to work within the parameters he has currently allowed you to work in, and hold faith that in his timing he will extend those parameters and you’ll be able to step into the new season he has for you. 

Whether this be faithfully serving in your worship team, until you are able to step into leading, or involving yourself in social circles that will allow you to mingle with people until God anoints a time of particular growth in friendship with one person. I’d encourage you to cast off the worries you once held, the burdens from the past, and don’t become anxious or impatient about the future plans God has for you either, but instead direct all or your energy into the present season God has placed you in. Begin working really hard in your workplace, your school, you friendship circles, and God will honour this and bring blessing upon you. You’re in this particular season for a reason; I’d challenge you to ask God how he can use you in it. What skills has he given you to impact the people around you? Are pushing too hard to move onto the next stage, or are you becoming sluggish because of your fear of the future? Seek God in your current season and have faith that you are there for a reason, how is God wanting to use you?

‘For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

² a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
³ a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
⁴ a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
⁵ a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
⁷ a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
⁸ a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

                         (Ecclesiastes 3:1-22)

A City On A Hill

Geographically speaking, Christchurch is far from being situated on a hill. We lay in more of a valley with surrounding hills and mountains that tower over us, but yet I felt God speak this phrase to me very clearly yesterday evening. I quickly hopped on the web and searched the passage of scripture that this came from.
In Matthew 5:14 it says

‘You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.’ (NIV)

February the 22nd marks the four year anniversary of the earthquake that destroyed this city, but it also marks a time where we became the most malleable form in which God can use us- I will touch in this more in a moment.  We were suddenly in the public eye, news channels jumped on this disaster and it spread like wildfire. I feel this is what really placed us as a city on a hill. This scripture will continue to ring true as we rebuild, slowly building up fresh infrastructure, birthed from minds that suddenly had a whole canvas of a city to work on. Community projects have blossomed like pop up dance-o-mats, poetry walls, and outside movie screenings have adorned this city with hope during this ongoing restoration project. This rebuild will not be a quiet task, it will draw attention no only nationally but internationally and it is pushing me to continue prayerfully that God’s hand is upon this whole process. If we are a city on a hill that cannot be hidden, I want to be a city that shines the light of Christ from every rubble ruined street corner, and every sleek new office building. I desire to be a part of something that has Christ as the centre, and know that if God can speak the stars into existence, he can take the brokenness of this city and make it whole again.

This leads me onto something I touched on before, being malleable in God’s hands. After the quake we became our weakest, as we mourned over loves ones and watched bricks that built up our homes and buildings, tumble around us. The city became a mess of road cones and tears, and we watched as we became very different versions of ourselves than we once knew. But not only did God speak to me about being a city on a hill, the thing that hit me the most this evening was two verses a few above that read,

³You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
⁴ You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. (THE MSG)

How incredible is it that God loves our brokenness? A person who is willing to become completely undone for the sake of being put back together to become more like him is someone who is treasured in God’s eyes. This evening I began to see God’s heart in the way I view this city. I see how I am intrigued by the fading shop signs and smashed bookcases behind windows. I look upon broken dollhouse-like buildings, and I am reminded of my own brokenness and how lovingly God looks upon my every fault, knowing he has work to do in me. I see how when this city and it’s people are at the end of their rope, there is far more God can do because we are willing for him to take the reins. I see how when we have lost what is most important to us, the embrace of our father is that much more comforting and needed. But most of all, I see myself in these broken city streets and hear my Dad call me his child and let me know the passion I have for this broken city is the passion he has for me. He wants me to run into his arms when I reach the end of my tether, or when I feel I am crumbling in the way this city did, because in times like these he will grow me the most.
I encourage you to be attentive to what God is speaking to you about, and don’t ever feel discounted because of your faults of weaknesses. For when we are at our weakest, it is at this place we are most able to be used by our Father- and he can use you in incredible ways.

Always?

'Twas battered and scarred,
And the auctioneer thought it
hardly worth his while
To waste his time on the old violin,
but he held it up with a smile.

"What am I bid, good people", he cried,
"Who starts the bidding for me?"
"One dollar, one dollar, Do I hear two?"
"Two dollars, who makes it three?"
"Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three,"
But, No,

From the room far back a gray bearded man
Came forward and picked up the bow,
Then wiping the dust from the old violin
And tightening up the strings,
He played a melody, pure and sweet
As sweet as the angel sings.

The music ceased and the auctioneer
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said "What now am I bid for this old violin?"
As he held it aloft with its' bow.
"One thousand, one thousand, Do I hear two?"
"Two thousand, Who makes it three?"
"Three thousand once, three thousand twice,
Going and gone", said he.

The audience cheered,
But some of them cried,
"We just don't understand."
"What changed its' worth?"
Swift came the reply.
"The Touch of the Masters Hand."

And many a man with life out of tune
All battered with bourbon and gin
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd
Much like that old violin
A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,
A game and he travels on. 

He is going once, he is going twice,
He is going and almost gone.
But the Master comes,
And the foolish crowd never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By the Touch of the Masters' Hand.
~Myra Brooks Welch

I read this poem the other night when I was just messing around on the internet and it really brought out and revealed to me God's unfailing love for us and God's mind blowing grace. If we think about the violin, it is like us. We were worth pretty much nothing, we were battered, far from God and full of sin, going for merely a dollar. But then God came along into our lives and told society and ourselves that we were worth so much more. That he is our master and he has designed us perfectly. With the touch of his hand on our lives, we were transformed. We were transformed into sons and daughters of God, forgiven for the state we'd let ourselves get into and just like the violin we where tuned again to make a beautiful sound. And that sound in our lives is the sweet sound of the father's presence in our hearts. It is the sweet sound of what God did and continues to do for us.




Ephesians 2:8-10
 For it is by Grace that you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from your selves, it is the gift of God- not by works so that no-one can boast. For we are God's handy work, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.'



If you just sit for a while and think about how despite all our sins, God's love for us is so vast and so deep and so wide, it is never ending. It's pretty incredible that he loves us so much that he was willing to send his only, beloved son to die a death on a cross that really should be our death. This alone is mind blowing, because we live in a world where we are surrounded by revenge and the idea of Grace is rarely present and that is why it is so mind blowing and incredible that God loved us, broken and full of sin. He loved us so much that he was willing to sacrifice his only son. Willing to spend the time to re-tune us so we could sing a new song.

And then I think about how God shows us Grace in our daily goings on. When we feel like we fall short of God, God goes 'Hey I forgive you, I'm not going to love you anymore or any less. My love for you is like an overflowing cup it just keeps pouring out on to you, nothing you do will gain any more love and nothing you do will make me love you any less.'

Ephesians 3 v 19

'And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.'

Even though we know of Gods great everlasting love, I think you'll agree with me here, that when we are faced with trials and are walking in what may feel like the deep valley, sometimes we find ourselves question God's love.

'If God loves me why would he put me through this?'

But when we are faced with trials I think we should take things right back to the truths that God has gifted to us and what he did for us, because he loves us. And to remember that it is in these trials that God tests us, teaches us and prepares us to be who he wants us to be to complete his will.

Ephesians 10
'For we are God's handy work, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.'

We are trialed because if we were always on the mountain top then how would we reach the next destination, the next thing God has in store for us? We can't just fly to the next mountain peak,  though sometimes I do wish I could fly - that would be insanely cool, but then again if I could fly I would miss out on the depths of the valley, the moments where God prepares me for the next thing he has in store for me. I think this is brilliantly described in an excerpt  from the 'Tramp for the Lord - by Corrie ten Boom'

"Think with me here...everybody wants to be on the mountaintop, but if you'll remember, mountaintops are rocky and cold. There is no growth on the top of a mountain. Sure, the view is great, but what's a view for? A view just gives us a glimpse of our next destination-our next target. But to hit that target, we must come off the mountain, go through the valley, and begin to climb the next slope. It is in the valley that we slog through the lush grass and rich soil, learning and becoming what enables us to summit life's next peak.'

If you think about when you're at the top of a mountain and you look out at everything below you, there is a joy that forms because you are thankful that, firstly you actually made it to the top with out dying - congratulations haha - but also the fact that there is a deep joy within your soul because it is then that you realize that all the struggle it took to get up to the top was definitely worth it. Because well, the view is simply beautiful. But we do not learn anything, we just gain joy from reaching the top.

I think we should remember that joy we feel at the top when we find ourselves in the valley. That excitement when we view how beautiful the next mountain is, how glorious and promising it looks with the sun reflecting on the snow and all that it has to offer. And if we remember that God is never going to put us through anything that is going to harm us.


In Jeremiah 29:11 it states,
'For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'

And this is true, so shouldn't we have faith in God's plans? That he has everything aced? Everything aced from the highest mountain top to the deepest valley and to the darkest shadows we find ourselves in.

In Thessalonians 5 v 16 it says,

'Rejoice always, Pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for it is God's will for you in Christ Jesus'

Rejoice always... pretty challenging ae, challenging because always means..

- at all times, at any rate,  in any event.

So this means that I should rejoice even when I find my self in the struggle? In the times where  I honestly feel like I am in the deepest valley? Because God is putting me through these things and his plan is to... 'prosper me and not to harm me' he is preparing me to complete his will.. his next mountain top.


"God has a perfect plan for our lives, but he cannot move us to the next step until we joyfully accept our present situation as part of that plan." - Anonymous

'You can go on thinking that the situation is controlled by the devil - and by your lack of faith in God’s supreme power make it difficult for Him to work out His perfect plan, or you can believe that God is at work, thanking Him for everything and thereby release His power to work in your life.'

It's like Ken was talking about on Sunday, about having faith. As soon as we doubt we seem to lose the faith we have in God's plan on our life, faith that he has everything aced and when we doubt, we miss out on so many opportunities God has in store for us.

'Try to accept with your understanding that God does love you and has allowed those circumstances because he knows they are good for you. Praise Him for what He has brought into your life; do it deliberately and with your understanding.' -Anonymous

This is still something I'm still learning and God is teaching me and revealing to me, because it is something we, you, I,  have to daily remind ourselves of, to be thankful in everything. Wow.

Because it is challenging. It's so different from society and the way the world portrays to live, where the world says to feel sorry for the hardship you are going through God says  'Praise, thank me and be joyful in everything thing I put you through. Where the world says to show revenge and pay back; 'God's Grace is present and it blows our minds that despite everything we've done God still loves us unconditionally and for eternity'. Where love is uncertain amongst people; 'God's love is forever and will never end.' It is amazing to have these things to focus on. When the world says one thing and we find that the trials are pulling us away from God, we can look towards what God says to us and we can rejoice because we have a father who cares for us and who will never leave us. That is an incredible thought.

And so I shall leave you with the wise words of Martin Luther,

“Blessed is he who submits to the will of God; he can never be unhappy. Men may deal with him as they will…he is without care; he knows ‘all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.” ~ Martin Luther

Hit With Joy

I often wonder what people would see in me, notice or what they would think when passing me in the streets or as I clamber onto a bus. I generally guess people would see me for who I am. I often hope though that they see something different in me, shown through my actions or my words. Something of God being revealed.

But recently I discovered that though I try to do this, it is not always the case. It is often harder than easier.
It was a day last term whilst walking home that I got hit. Not by a car but by a realization. Let me further explain.

It had been a long day and I plundered along, minding my own thoughts and business unaware, most definitely, how miserable I looked until a man walked past me and literally yelled....

 







and that was all he said.



It was then that I got hit, like a smack in the face, but deep in my heart. And I laughed because I knew instantly it was God reminding me of the truths I bought back with me from New Day.

'With God there is no fear. Only joy in his presence'

And I realized then that I had somewhat forgotten this. I'd grown blind to the very precious presents God had given me. And that after fully trusting in God to take away my fear about this year at New Day, I was still falling short of the whole 'joyful' side.

In those following weeks God kept slipping little messages at me from above. When I opened up my bible and in songs I was listening to, God was reminding me to be joyful. I find it is often the hardest thing to do, but once doing it, it is the thing that reveals something different about yourself, that little twinkle in your eye that can only be put down to the presence of God in your life. But this can only happen when I am fully in one with God. Fully breathing and living in his presence.

I fall short daily of this but I try and when I am joyful I've discovered it's easier to relate to people, easier to be who God wants me to be and it is definitely easier to talk to peers and people about God. God still reminds me daily to be joyful. It is in these passages that I am reminded of this quote and these verses that will never leave my soul.

'With God there is no fear only joy in his presence.'

Phillipians 4v4 -

'Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, REJOICE! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything but in every situation by prayer and petition with thanks giving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.'

John 14v27-

'Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid!' 



And In these I am reminded, hit, well not literally but yes hit so suddenly in my heart by the fact that God does take away all our fears and replaces it with joy, but it is up to us as Christians to fully give our fears over to God and let him then work in us. God often reminds me to be joyful on the days when I am far from joyful.

So today are you prepared to be hit by God's joy? Shall we turn and be a generation where something is different within us? Something that draws people in and can only be put down to something greater and more powerful than us? Something that will attract our peers and completely change their lives?

And so I will leave you with the words that have forever changed me,

'With God there is no fear, only joy in his presence'