Before the sun comes to the day (to bring forth day-light), it must rise. There are bursts of light, prisms of hues, and beams of glory – a projected image that is breathtaking!
The sun causes so much to occur. Evaporation, for instance. Energy from the sun, draws water from the earth, and into the sky. From there, the water vapors in the sky become clouds. It rains and thus repeats the cycle. A fascinating skill for sure! There are many benefactors to this process as well. Plants need to absorb solar rays, to grow giant and green. Human existence would not exist without the earth being 93 million miles (nasa.gov.) away from the sun. An exact number for a good reason. The sun is so intensely hot! I am no scientific professor, and this is all very basic information, but it is important for me to provide these common sense details for an overall message here.
Other planets are floating around in our solar system, and they do not have any life on them. Okay, maybe you are a theorist in UFOs. But may I just use the fact that our solar system is way bigger than we are! As of today, there are no humanly-known planets that contain life, besides earth.
A day when the sunrises (every day) is a beautiful thing. Night owls and nocturnal beings may never take the chance to admire it, they may just sleep on past it most mornings. Yet, even those early birds, may just see it each day, and it becomes a repetitive event in the motions. Well, surely, anyone is likely to be guilty in the area of not paying attention. Seriously, think if/when you have truly admired a sunrise. It is the most exquisite sight to see! Before our eyes, it may not last longer than an hour but it brings forth this brilliant sunshine! Which, as I mentioned in the first paragraph, it has been proven to have a purpose even greater than tanning and vitamin-D! The glory of the sunrise, gives a preview of the great ball of light that is to come in our day. We go to bed at night, to anticipate that the sun will rise up in the sky with a new day ahead. There is no doubt it will happen.
Just as the sun gives us a sneak peak, before it reveals it's full self, we too are given glimpses of our true glory. And we can expect our glory to come to be. Say, (a much less logical comparison) a child setting milk and cookies out Christmas Eve. Does a child wonder if the milk will spoil when they awake in the morning? Goodness, no! For Santa comes in the night. And he will drink the milk. When the child wakes up, crumbs and an empty glass is left behind. The child is excited – not surprised, expectant.
Expectancy – the knowledge of something that you know will come to past.
God is in every part of our life, even the parts we don't have labels for. Ah, it's so amazing. Moments when “coincidences” occur; when all the pieces “randomly” fall into place. Those particular times are coincidence and random to our practical minds, but only because we do not intend those things to happen. We didn't plan it out. God planned it out. Those moments are not mere chance. They were destined. We have been given freewill, but the Lord takes each and every choice we make and turns it for His glory.
When we are in a season of discovery (such as the one I am in), we build upon and/or find more of our true passions, and desires. Perhaps it's a career that we know, know, know we will go into one day. Or a hobby that we pursue, we may not hold famous talent right away or be “rewarded” in the full sense of accomplishment, but we'll get there at some point. It is those little beams of light that come before the sun hits it's peak at noon. Preview of what is to come. When we receive those moments, it is beautiful. And lovely.
Often times, we want to grasp them right when we see them, but we're not there yet, so we cannot – It is a journey, a long one in our minds, for sure. And that, my friend, is the beauty of it all! The patience and wait. For in the midst of watching the rays of sunlight, our hearts are embraced by the glory. Our minds try to soak up understanding. Yet, it is still good to remember: we are not sitting ducks!
About four weeks ago, I was riding home from school on the bus, dreading the fact: I was on it. Wishing I had my license, so I could steer my own ride home. Steer my whole life in my direction. I said in my thoughts to Daddy-God, “Ugh, I'm so stuck in a process.” Unexpectedly, I received an answer, right then. Haha, come to find out, I haven't been going through a process for nothing! I am not sitting still. That's part of the process. I am being prepared for so much. Prepared for whatever it is HE is guiding me toward. And when one prepares for something, one must practice patience and equip oneself for what is next. It's peculiar how our minds can so often forget the first steps we must go through. Lately, there are times when I feel like I am back tracking. Constantly going back to the basics. Yet, again, that is the process.
I had a growing form of willingness in my heart to dig deeper this past weekend. I singled out a chunk of time to remove myself from distractions and just focus. I had no clue where to strike my shovel first, nor what sediments would be best to start with. Reflecting on it all, I don't even know what it was that I began with. All I know is I am so much more fuller, than when I started.
Our little-lifetime-preparation-moments can occur at anytime. Maybe a weekend, or a moment in the flow of the day. Processing things out, then processing things in again.
Ironically, last week led me up to Easter Sunday. The whole message in my mind has been basic: a Son who sacrificed, so we may walk in freedom. It is the glory of Christianity. A lot of the time the though, the story can become very redundant. And for a long time, I have been chained to an idea; a conclusion that I was expected to be totally sinless as a Christian. I had to do more good than bad; if I could just focus my thoughts on good things, then my bad thoughts wouldn't be revealed.
Yet, somehow, I've always known the Truth. The goal here is to expect in a new way, not be chained to any expectancy of the old covenant. The key fact and what has been my desire for this blog to be about is....WALKING IT OUT. I really need to stop trying to repay all the gifts and blessings I have been given. I also must end striving to earn some credit for the future, so my heart's desires “might” be satisfied. I am not perfect right now, as long as I am in my human flesh, I never will be. Yet, grace is the deal that seals it all!
Something that used to seem like a tall-tale, now seems like reality. It's the Glory Place. Both here on the earth, and in heaven. I know I will one day be made fully perfect. But, for now, it is good to know, He is taking my burdens away when I lay them out it His hands EACH day. Through Christ I am accepted, and given a new heart.
The core of my foundation should not be my attempts to be perfect, creative and talented. Rather, I ought to be grounded in the story of the good news shared through the Gospel. Christ went through every pain the world has felt – FOR us. He was captured, tortured, and crucified . I can't even put it all into detail, because only He knows how it all went down. Humans put the Son of God on a cross. I mean, there are horrible things that humans done to other people, but this is the Messiah! The King of Kings, allowed His own creation to beat Him, to His death. Why? Why would He go through all that? One of Jesus' accusers even said, “come down from the cross, and save yourself.” If He is the King, why doesn't He just avoid the cross all together? Why didn't He demand to be respected?
Questions are mind boggling for sure! It's so backwards and upside-down, but that is the Kingdom!
Jesus was also resurrected. He arose again! God went through the pain for this whole event! He LOVES us passionately!!! Jesus Christ took the place of the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. When He revealed Himself before His people again, He told everyone to make it known to all the world that it is through Him, we receive the gift of grace. Therefore, we do not, in ANY way, earn it! And I'm not so sure a lot of people actually grasp that. I know, most of the time, I don't.
My expectations must be found settling on His unfailing character, not my own imperfections. The part that has been missing from my view, is the FACT that I am not clean and justified by my works alone, but by HIS and only His doings! It sounds so redundant in the Christian walk, but when I/we stop and absorb what this means, it becomes a powerfully firm rock for faith!
To tie everything to a conclusion, I will make known that my prayers held a lot of questions last week. I was a little worrisome too, that maybe I wasn't being a “good Christian” for doubting God. I fear sometimes that one day I will just deny Him and walk away all together. But I know that everything I debate or ask of Him, I am simply questioning my faith. The result has been priceless! It has always been so beyond any value. I think now though, I am truly embracing it all. Each and every day, I learn that we can never truly be fulfilled until we begin to accept the fashioning of our hearts in the now for the day we enter into the glorious bridal celebration with our Beloved.
I found the following passage to be rather eye catching, a beam of light so to speak, to hold onto in our preparation. I'm looking with much anticipation to His final glory....
Revelation 21:2
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
….talk about expectation!
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