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Expectant Prayers ®

Jennifer Jo Weiss

Switcheroo

Well, I was too busy to post anything yesterday, but I can say with confidence that the Lord is really moving!  We have so much changing in my house at the moment that my everyday demands took over yesterday.  I felt like I had a tiger by the tail!   It seems like everything that can be named right now is doing the old "switcheroo".  Amid all the chaos, there is still an abiding peace and knowledge that God's Spirit is moving in our personal lives and we see it across the body of Christ as well.   I was reminded on the radio today this morning that God is beginning to pour out His Spirit in these last days... and I know He is because I feel the soaking in my Spirit.


Flair by Sharon @ A Hoosier Family

Our weekend was fabulous.  Our services on Sunday were wonderful.  There seems to be a hunger right now and expectancy as we seek God's will for our individual lives, the church, and the nation.    I had several times on Sunday where I felt a rumbling in my own Spirit and trembled before Him!   We live in exciting times friends!  His Spirit is being poured out on all flesh and we need to tune our ears to hear Him, our eyes to see Him, and our hearts to love and depend on Him fully in these final days.

Also this weekend - my husband celebrated his 38th birthday and also started a new position at work, which is very challenging at the moment.  He is having to learn, absorb, and apply a great deal of information in a short amount of time - plus accomplish tasks when they arise!  In the meantime, he is having to think outside the box and consider how he is going to restructure the department.  In my personal opinion, it can be a bit overwhelming (I'm so glad it's not MY job).  He said it's like having to live in a house while you remodel it - pray for him if you think about it.    He is able to handle it and I am so proud of him.  I am especially thankful that now he will have more "normal" hours with weekends and holidays off.  It's been many, many years since he has not worked midnights with crazy shifts and your-guess-would-be-as-good-as mine holidays.  We're all looking forward to this much needed change.

Although there are times in life that feel a bit overwhelming, we know that God is stretching us and expanding our horizons beyond what our own minds can reason. 

In my early morning prayer time, God reminded me of a post from my blogs that I thought I would revisit today.  It's all about change... and notice the date is nearly 5 months ago!  It really spoke to me today as we are in CHANGE mode.  I pray that it ministers to you as well.


Snippets from my blog archives; Change You Really Can Believe In,  June 25, 2008 -

If there's one thing I have learned in my 30+  years on this planet is that change is a constant.  You get used to something one way only to have it morph before your eyes.  We need to get used to  change along life's journey.  In my home it seems to happen everyday.  I'm constantly juggling schedules, routines, parenting strategies, you name it; all the while tweaking and shaping things into more convenient methods.

Change is hard, especially as you get older.   Know the phrase, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks"? As we get older, we like to say (or at least think) that "We have roots", but that should not keep us from embracing change when it comes our way.   Often, we have roots in things that we shouldn't anyway.  We SHOULD be rooted and grounded in the only thing that IS stable in life:  GOD. 

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."  Colossians 2:6-7

He is the only true CONSTANT.  The Word tells us:  "I the Lord do not change"  Malachi 3.   

There are no verses however that state that we (including our situations in life) will not change.  Just the contrary!   Isaiah 64:8 says, "O LORD, you are our Father.  We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand."  Clay is constantly being shaped until it is made into what God sees fit!   There's pushing and pulling involved.  Sometimes we get off center and got has to pick us up and place us back into the center of His wheel (will). 

Proverbs 10:30 tells us, "The righteous will never be uprooted".  When our root system is based solely (soul-y) on God, we will not be uprooted from Him...ever!

We SHOULD NOT be rooted in other things like in our money (and false hope of financial security), our material homes,  political figures, ideologies, or other "things" that have the potential of taking the place of the Lord in our lives.  All these things will eventually disappoint given enough time because they are not a solid foundation.  The verse in Colossians continues with insight:

"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."  Colossians 2:8

Philosophies, human traditions, and principles of this world are areas where we tend to grow roots, but we might as well be growing our roots on rocky terrain.  Roots like that won't last!

I BELIEVE THAT CHANGE IS A GOOD WAY TO GROW.  It forces you to revisit habits, examine relationships, evaluate work, overhaul your finances.    Sometimes change is the only catalyst that takes us from the mundane of the monotonous to the place we are supposed to be.

Not all change seems good at the time, in fact sometimes change makes us very uncomfortable because we are not in control.  Other times,  change can mean a loss of something we have become rooted to and we just don't want to let go.  We get angry with God because we can't possibly see the good.  We never get out of our "pit".  We stay there and sulk rather than take the hand of the Lord, allow Him to lift us up, and take the first step toward the path of His perfect will.
But let me encourage you today:  if God is bringing change your way, perhaps you are on a journey like others have been on that will reap a future hope that you haven't even dreamed of.  Joseph is one prime Biblical example!  From the pit into slavery, he eventually found favor with man (and God) and became elevated to a position he had literally dreamed of as a boy.

Over the past week, I have been mulling this thought of change over in my mind and heart.  It started with a church sign that said "If you don't like who you are, change it!"   Then a devotional talked about the same idea of invoking change into your life if you were unhappy with your job, a situation, or anything else that was making you unhappy.    Then when we were doing our family Bible study, some verses in Proverbs added to the thought of flowing with change.  Chapters 11-24 in Proverbs contrast righteousness with wickedness over and over again, saying things like "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid"   or "A wise son heeds his father's instruction, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke".  Of course, these are changes that come through the discipline of the Lord, but they DO lead us toward righteousness!

Final thoughts:   Several of you out there are faced with change today or at least the desire to change.  Only you know what area this is speaking to you in your own life.  
Some of you are seeking direction in "who you are supposed to be".  Others are not happy with work and lift up their hands and say, "There's got to be more for me than this!".   Maybe you're one who lacks patience at home; yelling, arguing.  You don't like who you are when you lack control. You want to change.
 Maybe it's a relationship that needs the Lord touch in order to even remain in- you know something has got to change!  
Perhaps it's even your relationship with God.  You want to grow... you want to be excited about going to church and changing spiritually, but it's just not happening.
Many of you are frustrated because you feel like the Lord has given you a vision toward a future goal/hope and now you are simply "waiting" to see the fulfillment of that promise.  You embrace the change and want the change, but you just haven't seen any glimpses of hope and you're getting tired.  You want change to happen NOW!

The word today is that change is about to happen!  Trust God, rely on Him to lead the way and make your paths straight.  Don't forget that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  Begin to pray that God will instill the change in your life that is necessary.  Ask Him to illuminate your spirit and mind to be conscious of what He's doing and allowing in your life.  Pray for markers that will help you realize where you are along the path and to see how far you've progressed.   Also, be yielding to the Holy Spirit to let go of those things that you need to.   

Change is a daily process in your life whether you know it or not.  Occasionally those big changes come along that are life defining.  Those life defining moments are on the horizon.  We can all spare some change!  Change, when initiated and executed by our loving Lord and Savior IS change we truly can believe in.

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