March, 18 2020
On lock down, kids at home full time in need of structure and learning, balancing a new structure with homeschooling (something I’ve never done) and working from home. Life looks different right now. A little concerning, a little uncomfortable and and a complete change in how I’ve become comfortable in living. Comfort, false god?
I’m reading in the Old Testament right now, specifically Kings. A common thing I see is that even the good kings didn’t destroy the high places where other gods where worshiped and every time those ‘high places’ pressed in on them, they were over taken. Their life that they found to be comfortable was now in warfare.
I can’t help but compare what we’re going through now to that warfare. There is an internal battle of wanting back what I’ve grown comfortable with and a small voice inside that says I get to teach my kids who the real king of the world is and how to destroy their ‘high places’. I, too, have many high places in my life that need destruction. My selfish thoughts of, “this is going to put a kink in my plan”. Well, my plans do not matter, God’s do!
As believers we’re called to live set apart for God, doing things differently from the world. Saying things differently. Focusing on the kingdom and not letting the happenings around us cause us to doubt who’s really in control of all things. If it was up to me, I’d pretend none of this exists, sometimes the brokenness of the world pains me so much it hurts to hear about, but thinking about the Kingdom doesn’t mean we don’t think about the world. We are in the world, but not of it, therefore we can live differently. We need to see the happenings of the world and take them to prayer (not fear, anxiety or anger). We need to lay our concerns and dreams at the feet of THE KING and let him lead our days, our new schedules, our new normal.
My High Places
I am a type A person, so having structure and sticking to it is key to my sanity… or is it?Sometimes I’m so rigid in my plans that I don’t allow God to work in and around me. I get stuck on my agenda so much at times, that I live set apart for me and my ways not set apart of God and His. That’s one of my ‘high places’ another is eating and/or having a glass of wine when I feel stressed and anxious. I turn to a temporary solution to my emotions instead of turning to the eternal solution to my emotions – Christ! Time and my choice of comfort mixed with a bit of fear have hindered my ability to walk and live set apart for God. They hurt my ability to let Him work in my life so that others see Him and not me. I tend to give just enough that I can maintain the comfort I’ve grown accustomed to and that I can handle without help from anyone. I don’t tend to give my all so that what is happening in and around me shows that God is ruler of my life.
In your life, do people see your abilities or do they see explainable work of God’s and wonder how?
We’re called to love God and obey his commands with our WHOLE hear, soul and mind. All of it!!! To live set apart for God by discovering our high places and destroy them! The only way to do so it to lay our time and limiting beliefs at His feet and ask that He teach us and lead us out of our ‘high places’.
It’s scary because those high places, no matter how bad they are, have become ‘comfort’ for us. A security for the what ifs… but God – is our EVERY plan. We don’t need a back up plans or be prepared for a ‘what if’ because when we know God, we know He will NEVER fail us. He will NEVER leave or forsake us. We’ll never be able to live set apart and we’ll never be able to live above the pressures of the high places that the world has put into place. We are called to live above!
I encourage you to read Deuteronomy and other books of the old Testament. We are told to be careful to obey God. Full of Care to keep our eyes on Him in EVERY situation.
- When the world presses in, if we aren’t careful the high places in life press in harder
- The false/limiting beliefs in our life hold us back from living set apart for God and from walking in a committed and careful way
- We have one purpose in life – Make God known to all – what a better time to start than now!
