Monday, November 21, 2011

changing lanes. are you with Me??

Over the weekend, we were able to stay in a local hotel...our home was in the Holiday Home Walk...so, I'm assuming they definitely knew that a beautiful table setting of china & goblets didn't mix too well with a family of 6---------->>>>>>>>>

Anyhow, after winding down after a full day of swimming...the kiddos gathered their books & I grabbed a great new local paper..."The Great Plains Examiner." I came across an article that caught my attention. The title of it read..."It's time to change lanes." If you are interested in a thought-provoking read that you will probably read at least 20 times....keep reading!!

   Change is coming. It's inevitable. With it  comes potential for new growth-personally & spiritually. It also harbors the seeds of self-defeating doubt & fear. Satan would use it for your demise.
 But God uses change to bring you through something you normally wouldn't follow Him through in order to answer the prayers you prayed long ago. He uses change so you will be forced into the valley of utter dependance on Him so that your mountaintops will be places of power in your life.


I'm cool with that. Way cool.


 If the road of life is a six-lane super highway, then I pray that God causes me to change lanes & experience each one of them. Others, however, wouldn't like to see that happen. there's a world of people who want to see that happen. There's a world of people who want us both to stay exactly where we are righht now: friends, family & most of all Satan.


 They will get mad because you are making changes to grow. they will tell you to stay in your lane, don't disrupt the status quo & play the same game everyone else is playing.


   It's easy to cave when everyone around you is trying to put you into a place of powerlessness, whether they realize it or not. Lets' face it: staying in the same lane is comfortable, easy & safe.


    However, if we stay where we are right now, then we will not be effective for the next season God is bringing us into. Instead, we become afraid of what might happen if we step away from what's familiar.


  For God has not given us a spirit of fear & timidity. Not at all. Rather, He has given us a spirit of power, love, and focused self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7)


  Don't seek God from a place of fear and insecurity. Seek God from a place of power. One of the most self-sabotaging things we can do is believe the lie that the anointed place we were called to occupy is not 
ours to claim. This creates in us a culture of fear and a spirit that was never a part of God's original design for our lives.
   A refusal of fear and doubt is in order. Prayers of fear will turn to prayers of love infused with power and purpose, and that's a spirit that God stops the world to hear!
  Above all, don't ask others for permission to do the things God has already told you that you can do. There comes a time when change in your life is demanded, a time when you don't need confirmation because you have a conviction from God about what you should do.


  The Holy Spirit will teach you everything you need to know and will remind you of everything I, Myself, have told you. (John 14:26)


  As we catch this as a pattern for our lives, we will begin to drift into the other lane that our entire existence has been longing for. And God will call you to do something foreign to even some of the most devoted Christians. He will call you to let go of what's easy for the sake of embracing the hard road that few are ever wiling to engage.
  This is not choosing a good decision over a bad decision. It's choosing to make a God-driven decision.


   This sets you up to let go of those things keeping you in that lane you know you need to leave. This will make your breakthrough all the more sweet:) It will be like driving 25 miles per hour through a construction zone and finally getting to break free and put the pedal to the metal!!!


 God's plan starts with you changing lanes. You can't live off of yesterday's experiences, promises and callings. A new season equals new things. Who you are now and who you were created to be is separated by a white dotted line. It separates life from mere existence.




          That line is begging to be crossed. Merge NOW!!!





 Thanks to Terry Parkman for writing this fantastic article!!! It feels as if it was written specifically for me!!!                                                    xo Kristen

3 comments:

  1. Wow! thanks for sharing this article. It hit home for me too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Such an encouragement to me tonight-thanks for sharing this! I'm going to need to come back and read this again tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great article. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete