Onward and upward: Positioned on God’s Spiritual Launching Pad

2018 is not over just yet, but so far it has been a year full of heartache, challenges, growth, and blessings. The heartache came from the passing of my little brother exactly 1 month ago. It was a surprise and my heart breaks because he is no longer here, but my comfort is in Jesus. I know that he is in heaven happy, smiling, pain free, and worshiping at the feet of Jesus. I still cry and I still miss him, but I know that God is in total control. God knows what He is doing at all times and I am learning to respect His will in this situation.

Aside from the pain of losing my brother, God has been growing me up in ways that I am learning to be comfortably uncomfortable with. God can use any situation to position us in Him. Some of those situations involve challenges, but those challenges are meant to evolve us, not destroy us. I am a person who hates conflict, but I have had so much of it as I get closer to reaching the personal goals that I have set for myself. I have had to do many heart checks and I have had to allow hardship to show me the truth about who I really am. Sometimes we get in a place where we like to think that we are ok, but God wants for us to be perfect as He is perfect.

We need people to come against us. We need hardships and challenges to come our way because in those times, we will see how our flesh really responds. In situations that involve conflict, we see the words that we really want to use and we see the eye rolls that we really want to give people. The responses that I have just mentioned is what God is after. He desires to position us in Him, but that old nature has to die first.

God wants for us to be the walking, talking, and breathing manifestation of His word. He wants to be able to be seen through us no matter who upsets us. God wants to be the response to our hardest situations, but we have to know what it is that is in us that is blocking Him from being that. Look at everything that you have been through and lay it at the feet of Jesus. It does not matter if the situation was good or bad; give it to Jesus and allow Him to oversee what you have been so protective of.

Some people are protective of their heart. They guard it although it is eating away at them. They check on it, nurse it from time to time, and re-bandage its brokenness, but they also refuse to show it to anyone else out of the fear that they will be hurt all over again.

As 2018 comes to a close, begin the process of deciding that nothing will hold you back from your destiny. Allow 2019 to be the year that you allow God to move you onward and upward. God wants to place you on a spiritual launching pad, but are you willing to be made whole? Are you willing to take God at His word and receive that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion?

Today, decide who you will serve. Will you keep serving hurt, pain, defeat, and low self esteem or will you decide to grab hold of the blessings that God wants to give you. There comes a time in your life when you have to become personal with God. Who is God to you? How has He saved you, delivered you, and kept you? Where has God brought you from? What has He spoken over you?

Know without a shadow of a doubt that God wants to be in your life so that He can transform it and you. Jesus loves you very much. Let’s move onward and upward in Jesus name.

Lord, as 2018 comes to a close, thank you for being so faithful to me. Thank you for protecting me. Thank you for loving me and thank you for growing me up. Lord, I pray that the plans that you have for my life will over shadow my emotions. Lord, help me to love as you love and help me to see as you see. Help me to look past my inadequacies in order to see and submit to your prefect will. God, I don’t understand everything that has happened over the last year, but I know that you are perfect in all of your ways. Give me a clean heart and your peace which surpasses all understanding. In Jesus name, Amen.

Recommended Reading: “ Trust in the Lord with all of your hurt and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

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