Luke 1:26-30 ESV In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, (27) to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. (28) And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” (29) But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. (30) And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
The vision of the Christ child was clear and brilliant once Mary was eased through her surprise and confusion. But you have to believe that over the course of the thirty-three years of her son’s life that at times this vision wavered and dimmed. Please don’t misunderstand. I am not criticizing Mary, just trying to help us understand the process of God bringing inspiration to us and bringing said inspiration to pass.
Like with heaven. So real and so far away at the same time. Do I believe it? Oh, yeah! Is it always crystal clear and at the front of my consciousness? No.
Of course, none of us will have an experience like Mary did, but God will come to us through his Spirit and direct us to the road ahead, the life assigned to us, our inspiration. Maybe God directs us to a particular ministry or a relationship he wants us to build in our neighborhood or on the job.
We must keep walking toward these things that God pointed us to in these intimate moments with him, even when the curtain closes and things quiet, even when that moment in prayer or reading seems far away.
We must keep these things in our hearts, as Mary did.
To often we let go of what God has promised us because the excitement dies down or things seem to stall.
Another example: What a calling it is to be “the servants of the Most High,” what a vision of our lives to grasp. But if you are like me, you let it wain at times. And that is okay too, because that is part of the process. But we keep moving toward the goal, even if we stumble, even if we have to crawl at times, even through our tears and disappointment, we keep moving toward the good thing that God has set our eyes and hearts on.
Because he is God.
Job is maybe the best example of this. Poor old buddy had the hell beat out of him, he whined and fought but he clung to God during his entire ordeal. His fighting with God was more an example of faith than many realized. His belief in God went to the absolute core of his being, and he related to God in honesty and faith, even if it meant battling as he did.
Maybe I haven’t articulated that very well, but hopefully you get the point: The book of Job is all about real, true, genuine, sincere, honest, bodacious, audacious, gutsy FAITH.
And as I write this that is what bubbles to the top. That is what our lives are to be about, isn’t it? Audacious, bodacious, gutsy, “I ain’t lettin’ go” FAITH.
Can you imagine all the back and forth David did between being called from the hillside watching the sheep to be anointed until he was actually king? Well, we don’t have to imagine as we can read about much of his journey in the Psalms.
My particular thing at this time is this book that God has called me to write. Beyond Pretend – The Grass Really Is Greener on the Other Side.
I don’t think I have had an experience like this before, not this specific, not this different, not sure how to express.
But we keep going, tired. . .keep going, discouraged. . .keep going, distracted with life. . .keep going. Treasure the things God calls each of us to. Grasp a vision of being his ambassadors, his ministers, his servants, his children.
And don’t let go, my friend. Never let go till heaven.
(1 Corinthians 7:17 ESV) Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches.
