Hello, friend!
Have you ever heard God speak a word of instruction to you that was downright frightening?
Me, too! In fact, that is why I am writing to you today.
About a year ago, God spoke a word into my heart…a word that would become my OneWord for 2016. At the time I knew it would be a word that required much from me. What I did not realize was how very much it would require in the area of obedience….AND how very rebellious I would be about the whole thing.
That word was REST…something the Lord and I knew that I do not do well.
God was serious about that word. I was forced into physical rest by a back injury early in the year, and by a diagnosis of severe hypoglycemia more recently. Still, I feel weary, spent, confused, and fearful.
For the entirety of 2016 I have sensed that God wanted me to pull back from writing on my blog and my newsletter. That scared the patootie out of me! In 10 years of blogging, I’ve never taken an extended blogging break. I argued mightily with God.
What if I am not hearing you correctly, Lord?
I cannot take a break. I have a new Bible study out that I need to promote.
What if I lose all of my readers?
I’m in the middle of a blog series on the book of The Revelation. I cannot stop writing.
The sins of fear and pride and control kept me bound up in the ‘what ifs’ and prevented me from being fully obedient to what the Lord was speaking into my heart. The whole thing is ugly and prideful and embarrassing to admit, but I sinned. I rebelled against what the Lord was CLEARLY telling me to do.
God opened my eyes on Sunday using some verses from Isaiah 40….familiar verses that suddenly took on very new and personal meaning for me as if a heavenly light was shining on them for the first time.
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-29, 31 (ESV) emphasis, mine
The Holy Spirit opened my eyes to the truth that my strength comes only from God, but in order for Him to renew my strength, I must wait on Him. And it my case, that waiting might just look like resting in obedience to what He instructed me to do, lo, 10 months ago!
I feel very much like King David in Psalm 51 when he acknowledged that his bones were wasting away as a result of his sin. I am the only one who can change that.
So, friend, I confess my sins of pride and rebellion to Him and to you. Repentance means a changing of direction, and beginning today, I will do that. I will bend my knee to His instruction to rest and wait on Him in regard to writing and blogging. There are several ways this might impact you.
- If you receive my weekly newsletter, this will likely be the last one you will receive until the beginning of the year. I’m sorry if that disappoints you, but I must do what God is calling me to do. Please feel free to unsubscribe. I will not be offended.
- If you receive my thrice weekly blog posts, you will receive a few over the course of the next couple of months. There are several that I have already written and scheduled. But, by and large, my blog will be silent, except for guest posts in the Sharing Life series that are already scheduled.
- If you are part of The Loft Link-Up, I will likely be taking a break until the first of the year. You will still be able to link to The Loft via Jerralea’s and Chris’s blogs.
Does this step of obedience scare me? You bet it does, but I also know that God never asks us to do anything for which He has not already established a plan and purpose. So, I step out in obedience. I go forward expectantly, seeking a renewal of my strength and focus. I open my clenched fists and hold loosely the writing and blogging portions of my ministry. I trust God’s heart of love for me.
Thank you for your support, understanding, and care.
Shalom, friend.
