Along the road of your single years, you will face times that will test your loyalty to God. Leaving you feeling tired and empty. In these times, you have a choice to make- "How will I respond to my circumstance?" A dream relationship that became a nightmare, the desired ministry or job slot given to a coworker, cancelled trips, cancelled friendships, moments of sickness, moments of loneliness: whether crisis or inconvenience, acceptance is the only answer.
I'm not referring to a public display of martyrtom that shares with everyone online what I have lost or gone through. It's a private decision that can be expressed in a variety of ways: a quiet sigh, an upturned glancee, a tear stained pillow. In those moments a heart decision is made, "You, God, know better than I". Beauty follows a storm. A rainbow, fresh air, and sweet fragrances are seen and sensed only after a storm. In the same way, a test will bring out the beauty in you.
Now if you have been reading carefully you have noticed that the phrase is "acceptance with joy". Joy doesn't come before the acceptance, nor is it always felt in the moment of surrender. When you have had to give up something that you really want, it is a battle- at times a fierce one. Personally, saying "no" to myself has never been easy. Yet by letting go I free myself to cling to Christ. A heart that says, "Not my will..." puts down what it wants and takes His hand. This is when the "with joy" begins to bloom. At that moment, it's only a seed, but it's there, growing. The pain of disappointment is replaced with a balm. the irritation is soothed, the anxiety is squelched, the panic of letting go is replace by relief- relief in knowing my God is big enough.
Your decision to "let go and let God" will open your eyes, not to the reason why, but to the reason for--God. You will see God, not in the flesh, but with your heart. You will see who He is- a great, powerful, loving, just God, who can and will control the situation so much better than you. With your eyes now readjusted and vision cleared, a sense of security cultivates your "joy plant". The length of time it takes to grow depends on many factors- the kind of circumstance, the complexity of the circumstance, the involvement of the circumstance, but most importantly, your timely acceptance of the circumstance.
You may wonder if you will ever feel happy again. May I remind you that happiness is a choice and not a feeling. I know that may sound a little harsh, but I, being a young woman too, have had to realize "joy forgotten is not joy lost". It only needs to be remembered. In what do I place my joy- My friends, my facebook social status, my health, ,what I have, what I've lost, the condition of my clothes, the condition of my car, my job, my ministry, the weather? When I remember my joy is in what never changes, then my joy returns. My joy plant blooms, and spreads its roots deep, and like an ivy plant tendrils to develop the other plants like"overwhelming peace", "quiet beauty", "love of life and people". and the rest of what we refer to as "the fruits of the Spirit". My desolate heart becomes a garden of hope and beauty, all because of surrender and an "acceptance with joy."
No comments:
Post a Comment