It seems as if I see myself coming and going in so many different directions lately. I can't seem to wrap my head around what needs to happen today, much less all that happened yesterday or needs to happen tomorrow.
I don't know about you, but I'm over it. OVER. IT...DONE. There has GOT to be a better way.
For the past few years The Lord has given me an area of my life that He wants me to focus very intently on. Apparently I'm a slow learner, because there have been a couple of times that one area has spilled over into the next year. I am also realizing that although He gives me one area to focus on, He is only using that area to build upon the next. Just follow me here for a little bit and I'll explain myself.
For a couple of years my focus was REST. There were areas of my life and continue to be areas that The Lord has shown me that I need to focus on when it comes to REST. First and foremost, I needed to learn to REST in who I am in Christ. As I learned and continue to learn this, it has helped me so much when it comes to resting my thoughts, emotions, fears as well as just allowing myself to slow down physically and give myself permission to rest. Why do we as women have such a hard time with this area of our lives?
Isaiah 30:15 (emphasis mine)
This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says, "Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it."
For the last two years (remember I'm a slow learner) the word The Lord gave me was HOPE. Thank goodness He quickly led me to the book by Renee Swope, A Confident Heart. I wasn't quite sure where He was going with this one. Why is this so important? HOPE...what He continued to teach me was that hope is holding on....holding on when things around you begin to feel like they are slipping away. Hope is praying expectantly when it seems as if there are no answers or you might not even know how you need to pray. I read where HOPE motivates when discouragement comes in quickly. HOPE energizes when your mind, soul, body and spirit are just plum worn out. HOPE endures, it smiles confidently, it presses on.
January 1, 2014 I came across Ann Voskamp's blog, A Holy Experience. It was definitely a life-changer for me. She shared how there would be new resolutions, new words for the year, new plans...but that maybe, just maybe, the one word we needed to focus on was Jesus. Just Jesus. Change in Him, Become like Him, Hope in Him, Rest in Him.
So as 2015 comes barreling in without invitation (I'm still trying to work on my to-do lists from 2014), The Lord put a few thoughts on my heart...thoughts I'm still trying to process through, pray through.
Shannon....what would it look like if you intentionally woke up each day and just lived life in Jesus...Just Jesus...instead of letting life live you?
Trust me, I'm still pondering this question, so I'm not quite ready for 2015 yet and it's already January 2. If I'm honest, thoughts of fear and overwhelment have already crept in. What if I can't figure this one out?? (Dang Satan) But then I also have thoughts of hope....what if I really could do this?? What if I allowed myself to REST my soul, HOPE in the Lord and INTENTIONALLY live life in Jesus...Just Jesus.
