Last week I read an entry which has helped me tremendously:
"At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, 'Once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.' The words 'once more' indicate the removing of what can be shaken - that is, created things - so that what cannot be shaken may remain." Hebrews 12: 26-27
Mrs Smith goes on to explain:
'It may seem to those who do not understand the deepest ways of love that neither trials not hardness could ever come into the lives of God's children. But if we look deeply into the matter, we will see that often love itself must bring the hardness. "The Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone he accepts as a son." (Hebrews 12: 6)
If love sees those it loves going wrong, it must, because of this very love do what it can to save them; and the love that fails to do this is only selfishness. Therefore, the God of love, when He sees his children resting their souls on things that can be shaken, must necessarily remove those things from their lives in order that they may be driven to rest only on the things that cannot be shaken; and this process of removing is sometimes very hard.'
God has been shaking me these past years. I can see that now. And this shaking process is hard. Very hard.
Years ago, decades ago, God spoke to me about my life and I feel, gave me certain promises certain dreams. I got very excited, and things seemed to progress at one point. But instead of those wonderful promises it feels as though He has slowly dismantled me. Taken me apart, piece by piece. I have been tested, and tried and broken.
But now, at last, I feel I am growing to know Him better. He had to dismantle me, to shake me, to get rid of the rubbish.
'Clear away the clutter ... ' one word said to me, 'then you'll soar like a jet.'
'The crux of the matter is you have to learn to stop relying on your own strength.'
Now I feel He is slowly putting the building blocks in place.
We are about to embark on major home renovations here, to give my four children their own bedrooms for the first time ever. It's a stretch in every way: time, health, strength, finances. But we're getting rid of so much we no longer need or use. And it's paving the way for a better, clutter free future, where we can really start to enjoy our home and I can start to move forward in the calling upon my life.
Gosh, if anyone had ever said how hard this Christian lark would be, I'd have said, no thank you, you can keep that! But I know it'll be worth it. Like at home in the work we're doing: you have to tear down to rebuild. At least now I understand that the tearing down has been done out of love, so I can rely on Him, not on me, for what is ahead. I'm believing that in faith. I'm walking forward in faith. I believe, in faith that He loves Me. And I finally understand that I can accomplish NOTHING without Him.
He is my rock, my life, my all. And in that surrender all that He is comes flooding through.
May you know His strength, His love in your lives, and may the clutter be removed so you can soar. Be blessed : )
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