Today was one of those strange days, for me, where I woke up in a funk… and just couldn’t seem to shake it! Usually, I can simply start praising the Lord and by the time I’ve got my cup of coffee and I’ve been in the Word for a few minutes, the funk has melted away… but not today! Thankfully though, by force of long-standing habit, I pushed on through, and as I followed my regular morning routine, I FINALLY got some relief after thirty minutes or more of study time in my Bible!
I’ve always
been a “get-up-and-go” sort of person… of which I couldn’t say
the same for my wife. I still
remember the first time I saw her, first thing in the morning… We were at a
snow retreat with her high school youth group in the Tahoe area of California. The leadership had rented a somewhat small
cabin where a whole bunch of us youth stuffed ourselves and our belongings for
the weekend.
At night we
were told to throw our sleeping bags wherever you could find a spot… and
somehow… my bag just happened to locate one open place… right next
to my high school sweetheart and future bride, Piper. Well, as you might imagine, I woke up all “bright-eyed
and bushy-tailed,” rolled over to cheerfully address my girl… when one
look at her sleepy eyes and the expression on her face made it clear… that I
needed to “cool my jets” and allow her the space to wake up on her own!
I have always
been thankful to Piper’s college dorm roommate who was also an “up and
Adam” energetic in the morning type of person, who somehow… miraculously,
I might even say… turned Piper into a much more enthusiastic morning riser!
But I
digress, this morning’s
funk finally began to evaporate as I deepened my almost, weeklong Bible study
into James 1:17-18 where the Pastor of the church in Jerusalem stated:
“Every good gift and every
perfect boon, is from above, and comes down from the Father, who is the source
of all Light. In Him there is (absolutely) no variation nor the slightest
suggestion of change. (For) God decided to give us life through the word
of truth so that we would fulfill his chosen destiny for us and become the
favorite ones out of all his creation!”*
This particular
portion of scripture contains a large and varied cornucopia of “teachable
moments.” For me today, the “teachable
moment” was focused on my need to grab hold (and hang on tight)
to the truth, that with God,
“there is
absolutely NO variation NOR the slightest suggestion of change.”
And what
triggered it all was an event that happened at church yesterday. It was pretty evident from about midway
through the first Praise and Worship song that God was wanting to do something
special at that service. The anointing
of God in the atmosphere of the large auditorium was thick and the enthusiasm
and expectation amongst the congregation was contagious.
When the Pastor
came to the podium, encouraged the people to continue worshipping the Lord and
then asked the church Pastoral staff to come to the front of the auditorium,
you just knew that God was going to show forth His glory… and that He did,
as the Pastor spoke to the congregation and declared if there was anyone with
any kind of pain in their bodies to come forward.
Within a few
moments the front of the auditorium was literally packed with people and the
Lord began to move with astonishing results.
I couldn’t help but to stand in awe, laugh and even shed a tear or two
as I watched the power of God in action and recalled… the great
multiplicity of times that Piper and I, as part of the church leadership
team, had been in the thick of identical kinds of experiences at many of
the church services that we were apart of over the years.
What saddened
me was that this type of event was an exciting part of Piper’s and my past and
had also been a vivid vision of our life plan together, following our
graduation from Bible College… but then, with the onset of the Alzheimer’s that
attacked Piper… all that changed!
But then again…
had it? Had it ALL changed?
That funk that
had tried to attach itself to me this morning began to go up in a puff of smoke
when I realized that while my personal plans and circumstances had painfully
and drastically changed… God hadn’t changed… in
point of fact,
“In Him there is absolutely NO variation NOR the slightest
suggestion of change.”
I began to
realize this morning… and it has taken me six years to come to this
realization… that while the love of my life, my closet friend and partner
in the call to ministry has left this world and gone home to “greener
pastures” sort-of-speak… God hasn’t changed… and in reality… either
have I!
For even
without Piper at my side… I am still the same individual that I was
before. I still carry the same giftings,
talents, anointings, experiences and the calling that God has given
me over the years. And you know… it was
actually kind of fun to see that the same awesome moves of God, as well as the
everyday work of the ministry, still stirs up the excitement of my soul!
It would seem
that God’s “chosen destiny for me” is still very much alive and just
waiting for me to re-connect with it. My
personal circumstances may have changed and the original characters in God’s
plan for my life may also have changed… but God in His nature,
in His ability to make the seemingly impossible possible in my life, and
in and with the power of His anointings… are still the
same… and…
“there is absolutely NO
variation NOR the slightest suggestion of change.”
How about
with you? Are there things that have seemingly disrupted
and/or changed the plan and/or direction of your life? Well… let me just say that you are NOT
alone and while your life may look and feel a little (or maybe a lot) upside
down… God in His LOVE for you and in the POWER of His infallible
Word hasn’t changed one bit! He
still has His destiny for your life and only needs for you to throw your care
upon Him… so that He can lead and empower you into best of life that He still
has for you!
WOW!
I’m gonna take advantage of all the favor that God says I have with Him…
How about you do the same…
I can’t wait to
hear all your good reports! Have a
fantastic week and keep asking yourself… “What
am I EXPECTING today?”
*My
personalization of James 1:17-18, by combining portions of the King James,
Weymouth, God’s Word © and The Passion translations.
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