SUDDENLY! For someone who is expectantly waiting for something to happen or something to change in their life, the word "suddenly" has to be one of the sweetest words that one could hear. This year has been quite the ride for myself in terms of things happening suddenly. Doors have started to open very quickly to be able to share the gospel, speak into the lives of people on social media, and serve more in depth at
my church. It has been a wonderful year filled with new challenges and new opportunities to be a laborer in God's Kingdom. 2013 was preceded by years in a desert of training, heartache, tests, and disappointments. There were times that I thought that I should just give up on the vision. I felt that maybe God was done with me from time to time or that I had "missed it". But, let me tell you friend, the bible says that the gifts and callings of God are without repentence. He does not change His mind about you, so don't give up on what God has for you! Seasons change and your "suddenly" could be right around the corner. Let's examine this concept in light of scripture.
If there is a scripture that could describe the last seven years of my life it would be Habakkuk 2:2 which says, "Then the Lord answered me and said: 'Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, it will not tarry." What God has given you is for an appointed time. Though it seems like a long wait sometimes, there is still something happening. The manifestation of it may seem sudden, but there has been a process of being grown, shaped, pruned, and matured until you are ready to bear fruit. When any tree is planted in the ground, it is planted as a small seed. Seeing the massive redwood forests in the west, where the trees can reach 100 feet or more in height, it's hard to imagine that those trees started as something that you can literally hold in your hand. That is often times how a vision starts though. We are usually given just a certain amount to go off of and then we have to plant that vision somewhere that God can use to grow it until it's ready. Unless we take our hands off of it, and let God have it, that seed cannot grow and mature into a tree.
Don't ever think that you are expendable. You are of great value to God and His kingdom and He wants you to play a big part in His vision. He wants the church to bring His creation back to Him and to bring the principles of His Kingdom into this earth in order to prepare the way for His coming. God cares about the things that are growing inside of you. The dreams, visions, and aspirations all matter to Him because He is likely the one who has planted that on the inside of you. It is so important to Him that He wants to take the time to create something out of you with long lasting impact and significance. I will leave you with this analogy from an update on my
facebook from earlier today.
"Trying to get to the fullness of what God for us without submitting to the process is like leaving out a few essential ingredients in a cake and putting it in the oven. It will come out a mess with no form. It's uncomfortable sometimes and the wait may seem long, but enjoy your journey and remember that it takes many ingredients and preparation to make a masterpiece that everyone will enjoy and benefit from." Your delvelopment is crucial to the fulfillment of the vision. A book that really helped me to enjoy the process was
Enjoying Where You Are On the Way To Where You Are Going by Joyce Meyer . May you be blessed and encouraged to find your God given destiny and follow that path to an exciting adventure that only the hand of God can write for you.
