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Hello! It’s been awhile. I do apologize for the sudden way the posts and devotions ended. It was for a season, one that I had to sit still in for multiple purposes.
One of those reasons was to provide myself the opportunity to finish my book. It will likely be published some time in February. I am more than excited about it. There is this nail-biting, antsy-pantsy, I-can’t-believe-this-is-happening kind of wait. God has taught me so much during these past three years. I feel both giddy and overwhelmed with the weight of it all.
When my book was finally completed (I am still working with the publisher on some minor edits and the cover design), I was all too ready to sit back and relax. I was positioned mentally and emotionally to shut down the laptop, can up the creative juices, and end the late hours.
God had other plans. During one of my prayers this past month, He made something clear. It was time.
“Time for what?” I asked with hesitation because I already knew the answer. I just didn’t want to hear it.
It was time to start writing again. God, as Gardener, started planting more ideas, titles, and devotions into my stubbornly resistant brain. It’s not that I don’t enjoy writing. It’s that I now feel the full responsibility of what I am doing. Since my last devotional writing season, I have come to learn a few things that make this divine request all the more daunting.
I have learned that words hold so much more power than I realized.
I have learned editors are just as important (if not more important) than the authors.
I have learned that stripping a verse from its surrounding Scripture can sometimes mean transforming the original message itself. This sounds dangerous to me.
So, when I felt prompted to continue writing, God and I had a long chat about crucial traits such as courage and obedience. Funny. In December 2013, I chose the word “courage” as my word of the year. As you may know, every year, I prayerfully choose one word to live out the year as the basis of my focus and decision-making efforts. Words like peace, joy, and courage have helped me shape the last several years of my life around certain priorities. Each time I have done this, God has proven faithful in providing the opportunities to lean on my words, these keystone concepts, in order to find Him. I have grown spiritually with each passing word.
Words do hold power.
It took every ounce of courage I could muster to send my manuscript, cover design, money, and release forms to a publisher. So, as I prayed about my word for 2015, I waited for what God may have in store for this New Year.
My word for 2015 is obedience. It’s another scary word if you really desire to live it out. Often times, with obedience comes sacrifice, humility, and service. However, obedience also brings blessings, abundance, joy, and adventure. God typically calls us outside our comfort zones. To live obediently outside the cultural box of expectations and standards allows me to focus on what is really important: God’s work, Jesus’ love, and my purpose.
God has promised to take care of those who walk in obedience to His commands and guidance. Since I have watched His promises unfold time and time again, I can trust Him. His Word has never failed. Therefore, I will go where He asks, serve in ways He has requested, and love others like Jesus does. Hopefully, a little more each day. That is the point, right?
As I welcome 2015, I pray I am obedient to God’s call. I am sure He will take me to places I never would have dreamed!
Prayer: Father God, we trust You with a limitless amount of confidence. We do this because of Your character, Your promises, and Your favor. We ask for Your continued blessings as we enter 2015, blessings that we will use to glorify You and bring the Good News of Your Great Joy to those who may not know You. Help us hear Your call and act on it rather than run the other direction in fear or selfishness. Give us courage to be obedient in the hard areas, the ones that go against the grain of how society may normally function. Father, we love You more and more each day that we see Your awesome power at work. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Influenced by Leviticus 26:1-13 (NIV)
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