The old is familiar and comfortable; it feels safe and certain. We know what to expect and we like it. But the new, while unfamiliar, uncomfortable, and uncertain, brings about the ripest atmosphere for change and transformation. And this is the place where big things happen.
God is doing a new thing, and it will look and feel unfamiliar because we've never gone this way before. It will require shaking off complacency and stagnancy. It will require courage and action. And it will require resting and trusting in Him.
I hear The Father saying, "Are you willing to leave the safety and comfort of familiar in order to step into and embrace the risky and uncomfortable of My unfamiliar yet new thing? For great things lie ahead within the new thing, but you must be willing to let go of what you know and allow Me to take you into what you do not know. This is the place where we will labor together and accomplish things you never dreamt of. This is the place where the impossible becomes possible."
So, are we willing?
We'll never truly learn, grow, or advance beyond what we already know and understand if we stay in our safety zones. We'll never accomplish anything greater. To only be stretched and challenged isn't enough. Like Leonard Ravenhill said, "The question isn't were you challenged. The question is were you changed?"
He stretches us and challenges us in order to prepare us for change and advancement. However, we can be challenged all day long and still remain unmoved by it. The challenge must translate into actual change. And this requires some work on our part.
He stretches us and challenges us in order to prepare us for change and advancement. However, we can be challenged all day long and still remain unmoved by it. The challenge must translate into actual change. And this requires some work on our part.
God's ultimate intention in challenging and stretching us is to generate the true change He wants and sees is needed in our lives. This is always tied to His purpose. And while this is often a process through which He refines us, the end result brings about His desired shift. But, He doesn't just drop it all in our laps. Again, there is usually something required of us - a co-laboring with Him, and perhaps with certain people or a particular person.
Change is a verb that means to make or become different; to undergo modification; to give a different position, course, or direction to. This all implies taking action and/or being in motion. So to act on what He wants us to do or move in the direction He wants us to go is very important; even when we don't fully understand. He will always do His part, but so must we do ours. And that can mean taking a leap of faith into the unknown.
This can feel rather intimidating and beyond our abilities. Anytime we enter into anything new and unfamiliar, it often feels iffy. However, we aren't going this alone; God is with us. We just need to trust Him and walk out what He shows us. In other words, choose to be obedient and trust He knows what He's doing.
If He is going to use us to help birth great change in a particular area, we must first step into great change and breakthrough ourselves. We must embrace and pursue the transformative process He designs to bring us into the new thing He is doing.
The Father has long been setting the stage in preparation for this very thing. It is very exciting, but it also requires our acting on what He reveals. It requires leaving our safe, comfortable, familiar place and following Him into this marvelous new thing He is doing. It also requires our dependence on the Holy Spirit. He's our GPS, so to speak. The more we rely on Him, and not our own understanding, the easier this will go.
This can feel rather intimidating and beyond our abilities. Anytime we enter into anything new and unfamiliar, it often feels iffy. However, we aren't going this alone; God is with us. We just need to trust Him and walk out what He shows us. In other words, choose to be obedient and trust He knows what He's doing.
If He is going to use us to help birth great change in a particular area, we must first step into great change and breakthrough ourselves. We must embrace and pursue the transformative process He designs to bring us into the new thing He is doing.
The Father has long been setting the stage in preparation for this very thing. It is very exciting, but it also requires our acting on what He reveals. It requires leaving our safe, comfortable, familiar place and following Him into this marvelous new thing He is doing. It also requires our dependence on the Holy Spirit. He's our GPS, so to speak. The more we rely on Him, and not our own understanding, the easier this will go.
The resources we need will be in place, but we must take action on our end to do whatever He shows us and apply the insight He gives us as well. This will position us in the place He wants us to be in order to do the things He's called and commissioned us to do.
All throughout Scripture we see The Father creating and doing new things, and none more significant and life-changing than establishing a new eternal blood covenant through Jesus. It is His nature to create and do something brand new. He truly is the God of, "Behold, I am doing a new thing" (Isaiah 43:19).
And so He is.
Great change is upon us both collectively and individually. We are going where we've never been before. And how we respond is what will be the difference.
~ Michelle
Michelle Holderman
Copyright © 2016
Michelle Holderman
Copyright © 2016
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