I have rediscovered French Earl Grey Tea. I’ve had a Big Silver Canister of it in my tea cupboard for months and months untouched because I have been going through the process of changing the way I eat, and I didn’t think to try it without milk until last weekend when I made some into jubes… Dear Lord Jesus, I don’t know whether I like it better hot or in chewy gelatine form!
Years ago, I would not have been able to undergo this food journey with success. I know this because I spent most of my adult life trying to change things from an understanding of myself that was not grounded in peace. It didn’t work. Everything I did was always accompanied by frustration, pain, torment. When I was successful, success was fleeting and impermanent, and some hard work didn’t yield results at all.
In the midst of all this chaos, I had many conversations with the Father about life, the universe and everything (42). I drew mind maps with Him - which are charts of your thoughts in boxes on large pieces of paper, to help get ideas and etc out of the ether, and out in front of your eyes (very, very useful things) - we brainstormed, I prayed and prayed and prayed. I read St. John of the Cross’ Dark Night of the Soul [and loved it!]. There were a lot of other things as well, however eventually it came down to a definition.
Constancy, Consistency, Quietness, Elegance, Beauty, Strength.
It was how I wanted my life to be, both internally and externally and was not how I experienced life at the time. The beginnings of the habits of some of those things may have been there, but who I was, was split into several disjointed people, driven by whips and scourges both mentally and physically and mostly against my will. Habit is a good thing, but I have since learned, that it only goes so far. Unless the Blood of Jesus has really dealt with stuff within you, all the habit in the world will only help you to the extent that the stuff has been dealt with.
Once we had gotten to that point, that’s what I started praying. Over and over. That’s what I tried to concentrate on, in front of the throne, those six words. Then, miracle of miracles, He brought the right people across my path to help me deal with all the garbage, and with a little bit of initial work and learning to hold the ground, it’s gone.
The reason for sharing all that, is that the right words prayed in cooperation with Jesus have the power to redefine our lives as we know them.
Romans 8:34b says: Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. (NIV)
I would think that it is important to ask Him what it is that He is actually praying for us/me/you. He is God, after all. Wouldn’t it be better to pray for ourselves using His actual words, rather than trying to guess what the right thing is, or praying something out of our own head that isn’t actually what He knows is right for the situation or time? Selah.
I kinda hope that you guys don’t need huge life altering words like those. However, I also know that if you do, it’s more than possible for God to do the work with you, for you and in you, because He has done it for me.
My current words from Jesus are ‘Make, Write, Speak, Heal’. During this season, I am seeing the outworking of them, and He has enabled me to write, I am spending my time re-learning how to crochet, quilt and create, my body is healing in different ways and I am making sure I follow through to speak up when prompted.
My sister-in-law follows the My One Word principle. In December/January, spending time with Jesus, to find the one word that you will work on together for the whole year. Kinda like a Holy Resolution. It’s a great way of doing things. I don’t know what her current word is, but one from the past has been ‘Brave’. Learning to step outside our comfort zone and remember to be bold, even in what seems like the little things is itself a beautiful journey. It’s also life altering without tipping everything we know upside down! God is good!
I don’t know how you see yourself, or how your life is framed or what words you would use to define those things. I do know that God uses very strong words to describe His picture of who we are and who we are to Him. Those words are often very different to the words we think He would be using, and are a very positive surprise when we find out what they are. Please be careful not to dismiss them because your head finds it hard to understand why God would describe you in one way when you see yourself as completely the opposite. For example, if He says that He sees you as Strong, but all you see is weakness, don’t think you've heard Him wrong… firstly remember, He’s God and He sees things we’re not aware of, and then ask Him to show you what makes Him see you in that way, and THEN ask Him to help you see yourself the way He sees you.
Allow His words to sink into you. Let them take their time to work their way into your whole being. Allow yourself to sit with them for days, weeks and if need be months, until they find the bottom and realisation and acceptance dawns. There's a lot more to this journey, a lot lot more. Really, I'm writing starting points and encouragements. Each of our Journeys is unique and so special, His delight is in you!
You know what? You’ve so got this!
God Bless You Very Much.
Anita