"Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, he is a
new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
II
Corinthians 5:17
The
fall of 2012 was a time of transition in my life. I met Leslie at that time and then we were
married in June of 2013. The season of transition
was not just in the sense of going from the single life to the married life,
but also of receiving a promotion from the Lord. During that time, the Lord spoke to me
several times, communicating His heart towards me and confirming His will for
my life. One of the things I believe the
Lord told me was that I’d been through a long test, I passed the test, and I’d
been promoted. He also showed me that I
was coming out of sorrow and into the Promised Land. It was, in many ways, like transitioning from
an old life to a new life, or at least God cleansing me and setting me free from
things of the past.
Prior
to that time, I had gone through a season of real disappointment and
discouragement, even, at times, depression and despair. During that difficult season, I became angry
and bitter towards the Lord. It seemed
like His promises for my life were not coming to pass. I was definitely questioning God’s
faithfulness. But then everything
started to change.
Psalm 105:19, referring to Joseph, says, “Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the Lord tested him.” I lived that Scripture. I waited many years on a promise I believed God has given me. Part of that promise was marriage. At age 33, and not seeing God move on my behalf in this area of my life, was disappointing and discouraging. There were other disappointments too. The Scripture says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick…” (Proverbs 13:12). That’s how I felt, sick in my heart.
Nevertheless, and regardless of my feelings, God was faithful to His Word. That said, moving forward from the old things of my life and into the new things has not been easy. The enemy puts up a fight; he does not give up easily.
God’s word has, in many ways, come to pass in my life, yet, I have still struggled, and I still struggle today. God may say, in essence, “It’s time to enter into your Promised Land,” but we don’t enter into it in one day. In my experience, it is a process.
Satan certainly does not want to see us move into all that God has for us. Some of the enemies in my life, such as anger, disappointment, bitterness, do not want to let go. Even while entering into my “Promised Land,” I’m still struggling to overcome in these, and other, areas of my life. Moving past these feelings is not easy. Also, perhaps because of the depth of past disappointments, I have not obeyed, or I’ve at least struggled to obey, instructions from the Lord. Nevertheless, despite the struggles, God keeps moving me forward into His plan and purpose.
Last November (2013), after getting married in June of 2013, I was cleaning out my old apartment. Unfortunately I had to keep paying the rent on my old apartment because of the lease, even though Leslie and I were not living there. So, there I was cleaning out my old apartment. When I threw out the trash, I threw out the entire wastebasket, not just the trash bag. I realized that was the last place I would live as a single man, and I believe God was showing me that it was time to get rid of old stuff in my life. There are things I used as a single man that served a purpose, but God was showing me that it was now time to get new things, things that are not just mine, but things that are ours (Leslie's and mine).
There are some things in our lives that are precious and we'll never get rid of them. Other things need to be discarded. It's time to be clean and free from all of the old things of the past.
As I write this, it’s August of 2014, and there are still struggles. It’s still a process. There are still these old things I want to be free from. I wonder how much farther along I might be if I had fully obeyed all God has told me to do. Yet, God keeps moving us forward into His plan and purpose.
Now that we’re in Virginia, we have our own place (our own apartment), and Leslie is working on decorating the walls with pictures from our wedding. We were able to spend the gifts cards we received from the wedding on new things for our new place. We have a new mattress set, with new sheets, a new comforter, and new pillow and pillowcases. Leslie has lots of new stuff, like pots and pans and knives, to use in the kitchen. We have a new coffee maker that I picked out.
After living in Texas for almost 14 years and working for the same employer for most of that time, we are now in a new place (Virginia) on a new adventure (law school) and we believe there are new doors God is going to open to allow us have a part in building His kingdom.
We can appreciate and hold on to things from the past that are good. Hopefully you have many things for which to be thankful. But there are also some old things that we need to get rid of. We may have collected junk and garbage in our hearts and spirits. God wants to cleanse us from those things, and make us new. He wants to wash away these things in our lives and fill us up afresh and anew with the things of His Spirit.
According to the note in my Bible*, the word for new means, “..unused, fresh, novel… new in regard to form or quality, rather than new in reference to time...” Through Christ, God makes ALL THINGS new. We are in the process of being revitalized, restored, healed, delivered, set free, and becoming more like Christ. As we walk in the New Man of the Spirit, we can be renewed more and more every day.
*New Spirit Filled Life Bible
Psalm 105:19, referring to Joseph, says, “Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the Lord tested him.” I lived that Scripture. I waited many years on a promise I believed God has given me. Part of that promise was marriage. At age 33, and not seeing God move on my behalf in this area of my life, was disappointing and discouraging. There were other disappointments too. The Scripture says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick…” (Proverbs 13:12). That’s how I felt, sick in my heart.
Nevertheless, and regardless of my feelings, God was faithful to His Word. That said, moving forward from the old things of my life and into the new things has not been easy. The enemy puts up a fight; he does not give up easily.
God’s word has, in many ways, come to pass in my life, yet, I have still struggled, and I still struggle today. God may say, in essence, “It’s time to enter into your Promised Land,” but we don’t enter into it in one day. In my experience, it is a process.
Satan certainly does not want to see us move into all that God has for us. Some of the enemies in my life, such as anger, disappointment, bitterness, do not want to let go. Even while entering into my “Promised Land,” I’m still struggling to overcome in these, and other, areas of my life. Moving past these feelings is not easy. Also, perhaps because of the depth of past disappointments, I have not obeyed, or I’ve at least struggled to obey, instructions from the Lord. Nevertheless, despite the struggles, God keeps moving me forward into His plan and purpose.
Last November (2013), after getting married in June of 2013, I was cleaning out my old apartment. Unfortunately I had to keep paying the rent on my old apartment because of the lease, even though Leslie and I were not living there. So, there I was cleaning out my old apartment. When I threw out the trash, I threw out the entire wastebasket, not just the trash bag. I realized that was the last place I would live as a single man, and I believe God was showing me that it was time to get rid of old stuff in my life. There are things I used as a single man that served a purpose, but God was showing me that it was now time to get new things, things that are not just mine, but things that are ours (Leslie's and mine).
There are some things in our lives that are precious and we'll never get rid of them. Other things need to be discarded. It's time to be clean and free from all of the old things of the past.
As I write this, it’s August of 2014, and there are still struggles. It’s still a process. There are still these old things I want to be free from. I wonder how much farther along I might be if I had fully obeyed all God has told me to do. Yet, God keeps moving us forward into His plan and purpose.
Now that we’re in Virginia, we have our own place (our own apartment), and Leslie is working on decorating the walls with pictures from our wedding. We were able to spend the gifts cards we received from the wedding on new things for our new place. We have a new mattress set, with new sheets, a new comforter, and new pillow and pillowcases. Leslie has lots of new stuff, like pots and pans and knives, to use in the kitchen. We have a new coffee maker that I picked out.
After living in Texas for almost 14 years and working for the same employer for most of that time, we are now in a new place (Virginia) on a new adventure (law school) and we believe there are new doors God is going to open to allow us have a part in building His kingdom.
We can appreciate and hold on to things from the past that are good. Hopefully you have many things for which to be thankful. But there are also some old things that we need to get rid of. We may have collected junk and garbage in our hearts and spirits. God wants to cleanse us from those things, and make us new. He wants to wash away these things in our lives and fill us up afresh and anew with the things of His Spirit.
According to the note in my Bible*, the word for new means, “..unused, fresh, novel… new in regard to form or quality, rather than new in reference to time...” Through Christ, God makes ALL THINGS new. We are in the process of being revitalized, restored, healed, delivered, set free, and becoming more like Christ. As we walk in the New Man of the Spirit, we can be renewed more and more every day.
“Therefore we do not
lose heart. Even though our outward man is
perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.”
II Corinthians 4:16
II Corinthians 4:16
*New Spirit Filled Life Bible
No comments:
Post a Comment