I have to admit that this most days in January looked very similar to the day before. It definitely takes effort and diligence to really shake up your routine and not to let your life run on auto-pilot. In my last post, I spoke about being intentional and one of my greatest joys has been to be outdoors in the presence of God more than ever. I have also followed a challenge to exercise for at least an hour every day. In order to change up the routine, I rediscovered cross country skiing as well. It is something I haven’t done with any consistency since before Sharon and I were married! We have also discovered new trails and we have taken long walks. I have to say the highlight was taking time to feed chickadees out at Starkey Hill.
As we enter another month of uncertainty with the lockdown here in
Ontario, it’s very easy to get antsy, frustrated and inpatient with the
process. However, I am learning about either
choosing a good “slow burn” process. It
is not the one where I smolder with an underlying anger against all the
unjustice of the current situation. No,
it is purifying! It is willingness to
let everything about my life, my sense of well-being go through the intense
heat of Jesus’ unfailing love.
Whether we like it or not we have all been forced to go on this journey
together, yet also alone. In Luke 17
there were 10 men seeking healing but only one really discovered full restoration.
As we will see, it is one thing to discover physical healing; it’s
quite another to discover emotional and spiritual well-being alongside the
physical healing.
11 Now on his
way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.
12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[b] met him. They
stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have
pity on us!”
14 When he
saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they
were cleansed.
15 One of
them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He
threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus
asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one
returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him,
“Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
It was only one leper that truly experienced “Zoso” the Greek word
for wholeness and it
came through thankfulness for everything that Jesus had done.
The most important thing that we can discover through this pandemic
is thankfulness…not for the virus, but for everything the virus has taught us
about life, about ourselves, about relationships, about who really is in
control.
In their
heart humans plan their course, but the LORD determines their steps.
Proverbs 16:9
It is one thing for this whole pandemic to be finally be solved;
it’s quite another to be fully free of the fear, the anxiety and the madness. My hope and my prayer is that we don’t miss
out on everything the LORD wants for us to discover in the midst of the
madness.
Ann Voskamp writes that thanksgiving is the manifestation of our
yes to His grace!
So, please live in 2021 with renewed hope, allow yourself to dream
again, to believe that God wants to do amazing things. He has truly been
faithful in the past to us and we will continue to see His hand tomorrow. Truly
become more aware of the time God has given us. There are two greek words
for time, chronos which literally denotes a space or time or succession of
times. In chronos time we are just
simply calculating times and seasons. However,
we are in another ‘kairos’ moment. We
are in a significant moment, an opportunity that presents itself for a specific
season. In order for us to be passionate about following Jesus, we need
to discover the ‘kairos’ moment we are in and what the LORD is teaching us
about ourselves, our relationships and the kingdom!
Never forget that Jesus didn’t come just to give you a life beyond
this one, He came to give you a unforgettable life that will continue
throughout eternity.
I have come that they may have life and life to the full. The same
Greek word here “sozo” wholeness!
Thanksgiving
— giving thanks in everything — is what prepares the way for salvation’s whole
restoration. Our salvation in Christ is real, yet the completeness of that
salvation is not fully realized in a life until the life realizes the need to
fully give thanks in everything. Ann Voskamp.
I love how the Amplified Bible describes a blessed life as it relates to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.
Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous -- with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions)!
I believe this is the blessed life worth pursuing with all of our heart!
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