Have you ever struggled with something, spent time in a different environment where you seemed to grow and conquer your previous struggle, all to return for a visit or even move back and be completely discouraged by the battle of slipping back into old habits? (Yeah, me neither...)
Like breathing in higher elevation becomes significantly more difficult for the average person , it's also easy to be caught off-guard in situations that pull on who you "used" to be.
My summer of me, myself & I time of rental cars, dirt highways and fields for days is coming to a close, and I am a experiencing something I never thought I would. Growing up with an adventurous spirit and restless heart, I couldn't wait to get out and taste the world. For good. The highway to independence had my name written all over it, and there was no turning back. Thinking about it I've been a nomad for about 5 years now. Sleeping mats, air mattresses and cots have been the norm for me, and the question has always been "What's next?"
After a chorus of What's next?'s I find myself asking What now?
Graduating college left me chasing my dreams out in California, where there are no regrets. Guaranteed the most difficult year and season of my life so far, it was also the most rewarding and fruitful time I've ever experienced, which I am confident there is only more of that to come.
I had some incredibly appealing opportunities awaiting my return to Redding this Fall, but God has opened my heart to His heart for my family, and it's honestly something that I've ran from for years. Despite potential obstacles, I see this season as necessary for the breakthrough I've desired in my family, and for God to continue teaching me about His nature and plan for my life.
Chasing after my dreams in Cali has taught me about the importance of chasing my roots. Especially when there's still room for redemption, which is of course who He is!
I am saying NO! to the fears of falling back into old tendencies and habits. God has equipped me with everything I need to thrive in this season of learning and expressing myself in new ways. That's the truth!
I've been reading quite a bit about embracing and living out of our NEW natures in Christ:
"The finished work of Christ really has gone to the root of our problem and dealt with it. There are no half measures with God. He has made full provision for sin's rule to be utterly broken."
"Our reckoning must be based on (our) knowledge of divinely revealed fact, for otherwise faith has no foundation on which to rest. When we know, then we reckon spontaneously. We should never over-emphasize reckoning. People are always trying to reckon without knowing. They have not first had a Spirit-given revelation of the fact; yet they try to reckon, and soon they get into all sorts of difficulties. When temptation comes, they begin to reckon furiously: 'I am dead; I am dead; I am dead!' but in the very act of reckoning, they lose their temper. Then they say, 'It doesn't work. Romans 6:11 is no good.' And we have to admit that verse 11 is no good without verse 6. So it comes to this: that unless we know for a fact that we are dead with Christ, the more we reckon, the more intense will the struggle become, and the issue [result] will be sure defeat."
"'I have died.' Live like it. Know that your short-comings and mistakes are not who you are, and move forward. Dead unto sin through your death with Christ Jesus. Alive unto God IN Christ Jesus and through faith IN him. You look to the Lord, and know what He has done. 'Lord, I believe in thee. I reckon upon the fact in thee."
[Quotes from The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee]
