realities collide.
So often I find myself between two realities:
The place I have been. The place God called me to. This place is where I learned new things, grew in areas I needed growth, found joy in what I was called to do, and knew with certainty God had led me to this place.
Then there is the place I have not been yet. The place God is calling me to. This place is where I will learn other new things, grow in new areas I still need growth, find joy in what I am called to do, and know with certainty God is leading me to this place.
Between these two realities, the middle seems like a tug-of-war mentally and emotionally. I’ve so enjoyed where I was called and what I learned, did, and grew from being in that season of calling. It can be hard to move from that season. It’s become comfortable and familiar to enjoy and know it was a place God called me to, purposed me for, and blessed me with the gifts to do. At the same time, there is this longing and excitement building and swelling from the new direction, calling, and purpose that God has in store.
When these collide, we can so easily be caught holding on to the last place of comfortability and confidence, while also trying to dip our toes in the deeper waters where we have not yet been. This can seem too far to reach, too deep to jump, and too unknown to fully commit. Without trusting our Savior and Lord, we can easily build a new place of residence “in the middle” by continually saying yes to things that are easy, comfortable, and in keeping with our last season. These things tend to be familiar, exciting, and very easy to say yes to.
Because we’ve already walked through that season, we have all the tools, growth, and pieces needed to do the things associated with that calling from that season. This can also create a dangerous rhythm of saying yes to things we believe we can do, without seeing a need to ask the Lord or depend on His strength to do them.
But what I hear His Spirit say to me is “I love you and I have something new in store for you. I can’t bring you into this new season, into this new calling I have for you, until you choose to let go of the last season and walk with me into the next place and purpose I have for you.”
As this collision of realities meet in the middle, this is what Truth says:
Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.
Proverbs 19:21 ESV
‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.’ Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose. Romans 8:28-30 AMP
Scripture is clear. For those who love God, He already knows the good plans He has for us, and they will stand, working together for good.
Experiencing a calling into a new season can happen during an increase in spiritual hunger. In the physical realm, we squelch hunger by eating. Physical hunger subsides when we feed our physical body with food to nourish it. In the spiritual realm, we increase our hunger by partaking the Word of God and His Spirit speaking to us. Each time that happens, there is a fire that continues to build within us that makes us want more and more of His words, His presence, and His Word.
This isn’t to say that we will always be shifting from one calling to another. At the same time, we must always be attentive to any shift the Lord may be calling us to for a new or next season.
When you think of letting go, what is image that comes to your mind?
Most of us would have some version of seeing a person with their arms or hands up, open, and free.
This is also a posture.
Letting go is simply put: surrender.
Surrendering our comfortability, our plans, our grip, our time, our familiarity to Him. He who loves us beyond what we can possibly fathom. He who knows the plans He already has for us. He who has plans not to harm us. He who causes all things to work together for good for those who love Him. He who has good plans to prosper us.
What do you need to let go of and surrender by placing it in the trusting arms of our Father and Savior to move into His calling and purpose He already knows and has in store for you?
