Step in Faith

Happy Wednesday! 

It’s the night before our moving day. Tomorrow the movers will pull up and take everything out of the house. The beds, the elliptical, my desk, my bookcase, the TV. Everything. It’ll all be packed up and brought to our new home. This is my last night here in the house I’ve been in for almost ten years and I find myself thinking about the goodness of God. I’ve been thinking about it all week. About how He prepares us for what we don’t see coming. God wasn’t surprised by this year. He knew it was coming. And guess what? You may not see it yet or know how He prepared you or why, but He did. It’s there inside you. 

He saw the global pandemic that would alter my life and everyone else’s lives forever. He saw the eye opening and very hard truths I would be faced with about this world we live in. He saw all the hard conversations I would have to have this year. The loneliness I would feel. All the tears I would shed. He saw what needed to happen, no matter how hard and painful it is, to get me to where I am today. 

There’s a lot of bad, hard things on that list, but when I write those words and read over them, all I think is our God is so good to all of us. I’ve never experienced his preparation the way I have this year and the tail end of 2019. It’s something He’s been pressing into me this year I think. One of the many things. We don’t have to worry about what the next season will bring because we know that our God is already doing a work on our hearts and our lives and our minds to prepare us and equipped us for that season. He has given you and is giving you the tools you need to not just survive, but to thrive in this season of your life, no matter how hard it may be. Before you even knew this next journey of your life was starting, God knew and He was preparing you for it.

God knew that this year was coming. He knows all things, so of course he knew what a disaster 2020 would be, but I think it's still undecided, at least to me on whether he considers 2020 a disaster or a holy opportunity to do His amazing work and shine such a bright light through His followers. Light is the brightest in the darkest room and I don't know about you, but I'd definitely consider a lot of 2020 a very dark room. I'm reminded that He never leaves us. He's always there whether we feel his presence or not and He's always working, always preparing even when we can't see it. He's always equipping us for the steps ahead and no matter how much 2020 seems to come out of nowhere to you, He's working on your next steps for the last four months of 2020 whether you see it or not. 

God doesn’t just throw us into the deep end. It may not seem like it at the time, but He’s preparing you, your life, your heart and mind and body for your next season of life you can’t see yet. He does see it though and He’s slowly constructing floaties for you and strengthening your anchor in Him, so that when your next season comes along, when that move or job change or life altering decision happens, you are prepared. He has equipped you and will continue to equip you for each and everything thing that is thrown your way.  

I think 2020 is a start of something new. It’s been a rough and turbulence-filled start, but a start nonetheless. Some people would say a start to something bad, it’s all downhill from here. Others say this is a start of something great. God is doing good work here this year and it’s the start of Him doing even greater work in years to come. All year I've been leaning one way and then the other. One week I might say this is the worst and the start of something awful and inevitable. Another week I might say this is the start of something good and God will triumph over all of this. I’m still figuring out which one I choose to believe, but right now, I think it’s somewhere in the middle. I’m too realistic to think it’ll be all sunshine and rainbows once 2021 comes flying in, but I also have too much love and faith in my God to think it’s doomsday and death from here on out. All I know is... 2020 is the start of something new for me, for you, for America and for the world. I especially think 2020 is a start of something new for Christians. So many Christians I follow on social media and a few I've talked to have said they’ve felt the calling to start new ministries in new and creative ways. I really do think that 2020 is a year for creatives like you and me to use our gifts in out of the box ways to encourage others, share Jesus’s light and bring hope. I’m not sure what it’ll be like moving forward, all I know is I’ve felt God doing huge work in my heart and I know others have felt it too. He’s starting something and even though it’s scary and He might be calling you to take risks and step out in faith, your meant to be a part of it. 

Don’t be afraid to start that new thing. Start that next season of life whether it looks like moving to a new house, getting a new job, quitting your old job, writing that book or stepping into the calling God has placed on your heart without fear or worry because He’s got you covered. He knew this was coming and He won’t let you sink.