Embrace a Change
Psalm 91 is one of my favorite scriptures. Along with words of safety and protection, verse 16 sums it all up: “With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” Most of us would agree that the goal is to all live long lives. If the plan is 100 years, I want to live my life fully with the people God has blessed me to grow old with: my husband, kids, grandchildren, family, and friends. The question is, how do you want to play out the strings of your life?
Recently, my husband and I made a significant change in our lives. We moved from the state and home where we raised our daughters and downsized to a small beach house. He retired from his job, so the gate of a new adventure swung wide open. From my perspective, I can write, volunteer in pregnancy centers, and podcast from anywhere, so the new location is a significant new chapter just waiting to be written.
After praying and feeling God's release, we decided to follow the new life direction, and the confirmations that God sent were beautiful. There were no glaring or negative aspects of why we needed to leave our Georgia home, but the new direction was full of hope and confirmation. It couldn't have been scripted any better.
While working through all the moving components in my mind, I opened a devotional that a dear Godly friend recommended. The book is Jonathan Cahn's Book of Mysteries. I opened to Day 59, a proverbial exclamation point confirming the enormous life change was right before me. In this book, a teacher leads a student in biblical life principles.
Here is a snippet.
Day 59 "THE EXODUS FACTOR"
WE WERE WALKING through a vast desert plain, spotted with small plants and shrubs and surrounded by mountains in every direction, far into the distance.
"Yes, and what did the Hebrews cross over to get the Promised Land?"
"The Hebrew," I replied.
"Yes, do you remember what Ivrim means, what Hebrew means in Hebrew?"
"The one who crosses over."
"Yes, and what did the Hebrews cross over to get the Promised Land?"
"The Red Sea and the Jordan River."
"They crossed the Jordan River to enter into the land of Israel. But they crossed land; they had to leave the old land. As important as the act of entering is the act of exiting. So you have an entire book of the Bible named after it, the Book of Exodus, which means the leaving or the exiting. Exiting is as holy as entering. You can't have one without the other." "You can't enter unless you leave." "It's a law of physical existence. It's simple but profound. Abraham is the first Hebrew, the first of the Ivrim. And what was the first thing he had to do?"
"Leave?" "Yes, the first call of Abraham was, 'Get out of your country...and to a land I will show you.' The first command was, 'Get out.' The rest, all the blessings, all the promises of the Promised Land, and the future, all rested on the words 'Get out.' You see, getting out is a holy act. Messiah called His disciples to come with Him. But in order to do that, they had to first leave, drop their nets, get out of their boats, and leave their old way of life. If they didn't leave, drop their nets, get out of their boats, and leave their old way of life. If they didn't leave, they couldn't come. God calls us to come, to move, to follow, to pilgrim, and to enter into leave. There are many who long for change, for something better, something new. But few are willing to leave. But the law is not only of the physical realm but of the spiritual. If you want to get to the place where you aren't, you must first leave the place where you are. Leave the old, and you will enter the new. Cross the Red Sea out of your Egypt, and you will also cross the Jordan River into your promised land."
What do you need to leave as an exit to enter the new season of life? In these short 100 years on this planet, what do you want to explore, learn, or experience? Stick close to the people God has given you and pray for Him to lead you to the green pastures He has waiting for you. Don't be gripped by fear; trust the one who has given you this life. As my life motto proclaims, go for the Front Parking Spot in a new parking lot of life and wait for the blessings He will unfold for you. He can only do this if you leave your comfort zone and wait for His new direction.
Leap and don't hesitate.
Welcome to what the Lord has waiting for you!
The Book of Mysteries: Cahn, Jonathan: 9781629991344: Amazon.com: Books
Genesis 12:1-3 NIV 1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you. 2 "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
Exodus 12:51 NIV- 51 And on that very day, the LORD brought the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV- 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV- 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.