Christmas is over and my family who were staying have left. I have put away the temporary beds and all the Christmas decorations. Things are back to normal, tidy but quiet. I am left to think about all the anticipation before they came, the preparations, the chaos and fun of the visit and the memories I will treasure. All of the work and the small sacrifices of comfort and routine were worth it and I look forward to doing it all again next year.
I never make New Year resolutions but I do like to look back over the last year and assess my progress in growing more like Jesus. This can be discouraging but I quickly move on to focus on God’s grace for the days ahead and determine to press on. When I look ahead to the coming year and plan how I will spend my time and resources, my thoughts turn to the One I want to please the most, to Jesus. I want to prepare for His coming, to be ready if it should be tomorrow and to be faithful if it should be many years. The problem with all this thinking and planning is that it can be goals based on human effort for self improvement which leads to discouragement when we fail or pride when we succeed.
One day last year I woke up with the phrase “I am laying down a new layer of rock” echoing in my ears. This is far more exciting than any plan or goal I could dream up. God is about to do a new thing and I want to be part of it, so I must align my hopes and dreams with His.
We have had moves of God in past generations and we can still see the remnants. Christian history is composed of layer upon layer of teaching, tradition, revelation and revival. This is our heritage but it can also be a stumbling block for us as God challenges our generation if we expect Him to repeat the past.
When a volcano erupts lava rises from deep within the earth to the surface. Sometimes this happens suddenly and violently a great explosion destroying the cone of the volcano. The lava cuts a path burning forests, houses and entire towns. It is unstoppable in its demolition and leaves a new landscape as it cools.
Sometimes God bursts through our structures, remnants of past moves, to create something new. It may mean destruction of the old and a complete change in the way things look for a while. Fire comes from the deep places of God and if we have never touched the heart of God it may seem strange to us. It may not make sense to us at first or even make us wonder if it is the work of the enemy. We must be prepared to lay down our preconceived ideas and choose to accept God’s way. Just as past generations have left a layer for us to build upon we must lay down our lives for future generations.
What is this “new layer”? I am eagerly anticipating what God is doing, watching and waiting for it to become clear.
