Life

This is me accepting that I won’t always be right, and that’s fine…

Whilst everyone focuses on the getting better and all the limitations and issues in life, trying to understand life's unpredictability, on my journey of answering the questions given me by God:

“Who are you?”

“Who do you want to become?”

I am seeing, slowly, but seeing nonetheless, that life is all encompassing.

The Good. The Bad. The Ugly. The Painful. The Storms. Even the Bottom of The Deepest Pits. The Mistakes. The Wrong Steps.

These are the characteristics of life.

Hate. Love. Selfishness. Sacrifice. Progress. Stagnation. Unmet expectations. Misunderstandings. Misalignment….the list goes on.

This is our reality.

I am a Christian, so I boldly claim statements like:

I am the righteousness of God. I am no longer of this world. I sit with Christ at the right hand of God in Heavenly Places.

A reality even Paul admonished us to consciously hold on to in Ephesians 2:6.

Guess what?

He wrote this from prison.

Life is all encompassing. It's every scar. Every tear. Every heartbreak. Every hurt. Every flaw. Every fault. Every mistake. Every experience. Our journey is all of this. As long as we are on this earth, says Jesus Christ, my Master, we will face trials and tribulations, but we are to take heart, because He has overcome the world! (

It's so easy to say. “We aren't promised a smooth ride.” “Life wasn't promised to be easy.”

But in the thick of whatever it is we are going through, we forget. We always forget. I know this because I forget too. Something doesn't work out, our first instinct is to attack the devil and pray for things to work out.

Whilst not a bad tactic, as we go deeper with God, we switch from that being our immediate response, to asking God,

“What's going on, Lord?”

“What is this for?”

“Why is this happening?” But not from a place of despair, but a place of knowing that:

“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” - 1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT.

Meaning, we go to God to find out what kind we are experiencing, and why. So He leads us in the ‘how’ to handle it. And God always covers His Own.

We owe it to Him to remember this.

We owe it to Him to not let the enemy take this from us.

We owe it to Him to see life as life and become the labourers that are needed to face life head on so we can bring in the harvest.

We owe it to Him to know what He meant when He said in 1 Corinthians 10:12 NLT - “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.”

He and I have been facing my selfish desires and wants. He and I are on this journey of unearthing every part of me, the good, the bad, the ugly, my flaws, faults and mistakes. And embracing every single part. So that just like Paul, I am very much aware of my weaknesses, enough to boast in them, because then the strength that truly holds me up, the grace that covers me, the mercy that speaks for me, is highlighted and projected. And I never forget who keeps me all the days of my life. He feeds me all the days of my life. In my inconsistencies. My inadequacies. My flaws and faults.

In my being human.

It's funny because somehow I still covet how people write and post consistently, forgetting that this is not my page. I know now because He has given me my page.

So this comes when He has something to say through me. I never write this myself.

When will Christians come to the full realisation that life is not what society says it is. We feed on it every day, unknowingly and unconsciously through our physical senses. We don't know when it becomes what we begin to chase after and desire and want.

God is not saying don't want these things. In fact, He tells me, “If that's what you want, own it. Tell me. Be honest with yourself.”

Because it's in the subtlety, the ignorance that it thrives. One of the devil's devices. It's in trying to repel these thoughts that are part of our flesh, our humanity, that the devil hides.

All needs to be unveiled, by us, for the light of God to pass through us freely. For His complete manifestation in us. Because He knows we are weak. But it's in that weakness His strength thrives in us. Not that it needs us to be weak, but that's when we are our most honest and raw.

God uses us as we are.

He truly qualifies the unqualified.

So embrace life. All its ups and downs.

Don't try to understand or figure anything out without Him.

Why?

We will never completely see. Especially His big picture and His grand plan, through our lenses, our intellect, without embracing us (as uniquely as He has made us, works in progress, every learning, growing, maturing every day), if we are not approaching Him as we are.

He reveals things to the simple minded for a reason.

Be careful you're not wanting after the wrong things and claiming them as God's plan and blueprint for you.

In His blueprint, there are many hurdles, dare I say, hurts, along the way. But for Him, it's more who you are becoming. How you are being stretched. Molded. Refined. Made.

The Scripture says:

[2] “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.”

[3] “For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.”

[4] “So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” - James 1:2-4 NLT.

It also says:

[3] “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.”

[4] “And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.”

[5] “And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” - Romans 5:3-5 NLT.

The depth of these scriptures reveal themselves during these times. When we are truly in the thick of it.

But I wonder...

Are we truly ready for the life we are called for? Are we truly mentally prepared for the reality of this faith we carry?

Don't get me wrong, life is also beautiful. Extremely even. But this is a focus on the times it isn't, and ensuring our perspective, our reasoning doesn't change just because our circumstances shift.

This is for Christians who say they will live for Christ, they want to (myself inclusive, because it is tough), but don't really realise the depth of its meaning.

There's a reason why Jesus says to His disciples:

[37] “…….“The harvest is great, but the workers are few.”

[38] “So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” - Matthew 9:37-38 NLT

Truly, not everyone can stomach this. This is not for everyone. But if you truly see yourself as a worker, this is what it likely means.

Are we truly ready to lose this life?