Devotional: Prepared and Protected by Keona J Tann

I’m in a strange season. It’s one that I’ve often found confusing and confronting. It’s confusing because its not at all how I planned life to go. I didn’t look at my diary in May 2014 and say: ‘ok I’m going to bed for 28 months, I’m not going to work for the next 4+ years.’ Rather those things just became my new reality. It’s been confronting because I’ve had to accept my new reality of limited ability despite the fact that I REALLY didn’t want to.

I know that I’m not alone in my struggle, in my confusion and frustration. As Don Baker shares:
“I’m often hustled out of my spirituality—sometimes to the point of exhaustion. It’s then that I’m forced to rest. The forced rests that occur when He makes me lie down are often humiliating and painful.”

I’ve been thinking a lot about the term ‘He makes me’, I get this picture of God’s hand coming and pushing me to the ground (gently of course) and saying: ‘just sit here for a moment please!’. I see now that I was like an extremely active toddler rushing ahead of God. That my actions led to an over tiredness that ran my body down. During my time in bed I did not feel as if a hand was forcing me to lie down rather I felt as if my entire body was simply too weary to rise. I see now that it was because I did not listen to the smaller gentler promptings urging me to embrace rest.

As I’ve spent the past 2 years in recovery mode, I’ve been learning SO much. I’ve learnt a few very basic truths:
• God invites us to rest
• I can’t do God’s will my way
• Callings are born in the middle of our crisis

God invites us to rest

In a crazily busy world we can easily forget to rest and it’s extremely difficulty to take time out. But I’ve learnt that rest is VITAL. I’d much rather go willingly to the quiet still waters than be forced to crawl and collapse there. It might be something simple like going for a short walk in your lunch break or sitting at the beach watching the waves roll in on your way home from work, or it may be that you can take a weekend away. I’ve found resting can be found in many different ways and that it’s OK to rest.

I can’t do God’s will my way

The cry: ‘let Your will be done’ is a HUGE prayer to pray and, as Pastor Steven Furtick declares, we simply CANNOT do God’s will our way. It’s easy to say the prayer but much harder to live it out because we have an expectation of how God should do it. When we see things unfolding different to how we anticipate or expect we easily get frustrated and start to meddle. It’s hard, believe me I know, but we have to keep surrendering and remembering:

“You can’t do God’s will YOUR way.” Pastor Steven Furtick

Callings are born in the middle of our crisis

“Callings are born in times of crisis. Callings are forged in the crucible of crisis.” Pastor Steven Furtick

Its important to unpack the word crucible here:
– a crucible is a vessel that is used to heat materials up and high temperatures of heat are used
– a severe test
– a place or situation that forces change or development

I think most of us face a crisis and we feel as if the ‘heat has been turned up’ because it’s an uncomfortable and confronting situation. But to know that God grows us in the hard times does bring some comfort, right? In times of crisis, there comes great strength of perseverance when we know that we are being changed for the better, the revelation that we are being developed into people who are more Christlike enables us to endure the pressure and heat.

I know that the long-term dream, and calling, of writing has unfolded because of the season I’ve been through. At the start of my recovery, I started to explore work options and every path I tried that wasn’t writing was blocked in some way. But I’ve found writing hard too, with limited ability it’s difficult to try and keep the thoughts in my head rational. It’s difficult to try and make sentence structures when my mind swims with exhaustion.

But then I read Psalms‬ ‭139:5‬ ‭(TPT): “You’ve gone into my future to prepare the way, and in kindness you follow behind me to spare me from the harm of my past. With your hand of love upon my life, you impart a blessing to me.” ‭‭

And I was reminded:
– That God has gone into this moment and prepared the way, I see now how my whole life has had an undercurrent calling me to write, so I call upon His great and unending strength to get the words out.
– As I pour out the pain of the past, I grasp hold of the fact that He will spare me from the harm of it. I share things that are difficult to disclose, they are close to my heart, and the response is not always kind but when I go to God with that pain He comforts and heals me.
– That He will work ALL things out for His greater good and impart a blessing to me. I simply need to be obedient and leave the results up to God.

This verse was a great reminder that God has prepared and protected me. I was prepared because when I was stuck in bed, I was able to call upon promises from the Bible. I was protected because even though my health failed, I did not die despite that feeling that I was close to death many times.

It is my prayer that my story will remind you that:
[bctt tweet=”It’s OK to rest, in fact God invites us to. Whatever you’re facing today surrender it to God and rest in His great love and protection.” username=”acwriters”]
If you’re struggling with direction, really mediate on the words ‘let Your will be done’, remember that you can’t do God’s will YOUR way.
If you’re in the middle of a crisis, cry out to God and ask Him to reveal what the lessons are. Know that He will grow you.

Praying that whatever comes your way you feel prepared and protected.

Many blessings, Keona

Notes:
‘He Makes Me Lie Down in Green Pastures’ by Don Baker can be found at jewsfor jesus.org
Crucible definition taken from Merriam-Webster.com