Abide in Me.

I first need to start by saying that I count myself among the most blessed of people.  I am connected to the best people in the best church and we are covered by the BEST Pastor.  Our last 3 services have been so strategic and so encouraging and so freeing (maybe that's not a word, but you got me..)  Last night we had the opportunity to "be as free as we want to be" and it was great to just hear so much of the Father's love and encouragement flow through the mouth of the father of the house. 

It's funny because I've started this new thing in my quiet times where I have been writing down my prayers just to be able to go back and see what I had been praying about earlier in the week, and it's been amazing to see how faithful the Lord has been in working things out, even in a matter of hours and days.  I've said it a million times and I'll say it a million more, HE'S FAITHFUL!  But last night as I was taking notes during service in my journal, I noticed that that morning's prayer had a lot of the same things written in it.  Things like "re-evaluate relationships the right way" and "humility and wisdom during this season of transition" and it was so amazing to see how the Lord really heard what I had to say and then the entire service was about it.  It really blew my mind. 

I've been in a transitional period for a little while now and it's interesting how adamate we are about holding on to what we want to work out in the natural versus just letting GO and letting the Lord move in our relationships and life the way that He wants to and needs to.  This morning, during both my personal time and the time that we had in devotions at work, I was reminded of three small words that really shifted things in a huge way:  Abide in me.  That's all.  Just abide in me and I will be in you.  The realization that I had in all of the alignment between my time with the Lord and corporate time with the Lord in the past couple of days is that I can't do it on my own.  I don't get to choose what's covenant and what's seasonal, and the more effort I put forth in trying to figure it out on my own, the more exhausted and frustrated I am when things aren't working out the way I planned.  Then there's those three words:  Abide in me.  If I abide in Him and let Him handle all the details, He'll work through me.

I'm so candid this morning with you all beacuse I think it's important that you hear this.  Be encouraged today knowing that if you'll really just surrender it all and stop trying to function through your clouded vision and frustration, the Lord will abide also in you and provide all the wisdom that you need to be where you need to be.  The Lord will only use what you'll give him, and although being in a season of transition has me very vulnerable, I know that in order to move higher where He wants me, I've got to let it go and let Him move. 

Oh and know this, the things that the Lord ordains as sacred, He protects.  He has designed your covenant relationships to carry an element of protection.  Just keep that in mind as you remember to abide in Him.

Have a great day friends!