Upheaval!

The word upheaval has been on my mind for a couple of days and it has led to conversations about life events. This morning in my place between sleep and awake I was taken again to this not-so-pleasant-sounding word. The word is a noun and it means "a violent or sudden change or disruption to something" Similar is disruption, "an upward displacement of part of the earth's crust", (Google Dictionary).

While the latter is entirely possible during the time we are in, I heard "it's not about what was but about what is". Stop holding on to your life so tightly that you are stuck in the "what was" and unable to embrace the "what is".

What you may not be aware of is that my life has quite a lot of upheaval at the moment. The same for several friends and family. So many are in what I call transition periods, times of health challenges, and major life changes. Today is my last day packing my home of 13 years and tomorrow I will move my things into storage and begin a new chapter of my life without a permanent home for a time. This has been emotional, trying, stretching, and liberating. The extent of emotions is broad and real. But, I want to live the life that God has for me, not what I choose for myself.

I have always been a sentimental person. I have relics from great grandparents, grandparents, parents, and my son's childhood, as well as my own. I have let go of many things but perhaps not enough. This may take another go-round when I unpack as my time is running out to dig as deeply as I may need to now. God has helped me so much, and I pray He continues to.

Does your life look like an upheaval right now? Are you in a trial or transition? What is God saying to you in this season? Lean into God, trust that He has you in His hand and He has the answers. Sudden changes can be frightening but we do not live in a place of fear. "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us", Romans 8:37 (NKJV).

Jesus did not go and leave us alone, we have The Holy Spirit here with us. Even during times when changes happen suddenly and we don't understand fully why. I have relied so much on The Holy Spirit to help me during this process. I don't know that I have always gotten it right, but He has instructed me, comforted me, given me wisdom, and guided me to the best way to handle things. I couldn't have done this without Him.

I urge you to seek God and the infilling of His Spirit. If you have never been filled with the Holy Spirit, ask God to fill you to overflow and keep asking until it happens. We can not live a victorious life with ease in the world today without Him. The things to come require all of the firepower we have access to and that comes through the Spirit of God. If Jesus needed this, how much more do we need this? Following His water baptism, Luke 4:1, "Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness" (NKJV).

Growth takes strength. Even when children grow they need sleep because of the stress on their bodies. The changes are necessary but they can come with growing pains, hormone changes, and discomfort in multiple ways. But it doesn't last forever, that time passes and it was worth the discomfort to get taller, stronger, and wiser. The same goes for Spiritual growth, which can look much the same way. Do not despise the growth process and run from the increase that comes with it. Lean into God and let the Holy Spirit teach you new things in whatever season you find yourself right now.

We are in a new season, and like the early followers of Christ we find ourselves with new things to understand, and new ways of doing things, and the world around us doesn't agree with the Word of God on most levels, BUT God has not changed. Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus is the same, yesterday, today, and forever", (NKJV).

Our circumstances change, our view changes, and the world changes, but God is steadfast, just, and true. Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths" (NKJV).

Romans 8:31, "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" (NKJV).

Lean on God and go and conquer with HIm!

In His Love,

Charissa