Reorient

Have you ever had moments in your life where it seemed as if the Lord stepped in to do a little course correction? Like, maybe things were good. 


Fine. 


Okay. 


And then things start happening. Rather abruptly sometimes, right? Like big, “OH, this is really happening” things or subtle “I can’t quite place my finger on it but things seem different” sort of things. 


Either way, you may begin to notice as the Holy Spirit brings your attention to these things and even the subtler things feel magnanimous when the Lord is turning your attention toward them. 


And so, on the cusp of something new, something at the very least, in part, unknown, our status quo comes under scrutiny. Maybe there are some parts of your life, some habits or lack thereof, that you began to be convicted of- but you’ve just seemed to lack the determination to do much about it. That’s the worst, isn’t it? Knowing the thing you ought to do and yet not doing it?


That’s sin, by the way. (And you know, maybe that’s just me, since I’m realizing I journaled a prayer for myself from James 4:17 earlier this week and now whoomp, there it is.) 


Okay, okay, the point is- there is something in our lives that needs to change. Something cannot stay, something needs to go or something needs to be done. And it’s right in our faces now. 


What are we going to do about it? 


Because we can’t ignore it anymore. No. Those rumblings have grown louder and louder, to the point where we can hardly hear anything above the noise. It’s like something’s about to fall and maybe that something ought to be us, right to our knees. 


“Lord, I know I am not living in the fullness of life that you have promised me because of this thing in my life. God, it is hard for me to imagine scrapping this and living a completely different way, but I want YOUR way. I want YOUR will. I want my desires to be YOUR desires and I want my utmost desire to be YOU. 


So right here on the floor, I yield to you. I ask that you give me the strength to turn, to flee, and to instead follow you where I have not followed you before. To invite you into the places of my life where I have gone my own way. To allow you to transform the parts of me I have not yet submitted to you. 


Your will, God. Not mine.” 




Truth is, this life is too much for us to handle on our own, try as we might. The stakes are much too high. God has prepared good, good works for us. We cannot afford to stand in the way because of fear or discomfort or complacency. 


The greatest thing we could ever do with these disruptions (to our status quo) would be to recognize, acknowledge, repent and allow the Lord to reorient us. 


He knows where we’re going, friend, and so, often, this orientation enables us to not only get there, but to get there well. With excellence. 


Tonight, I felt the enormity of the call on my life. And it felt heavy but not like a burden. Just weighty. And I sobbed. For a lot of reasons. 


For the time I have wasted because I have missed what great importance being faithful in the small things holds. 


For the absolute honor and privilege it is to get to take part in the good work that God has prepared for me, for His Kingdom and His glory. 


For all of the things I settled for and believed were better than the Lord Himself because I sought to satisfy my flesh rather than walking by the Spirit. 


I know, though, that faced with this merciful reorientation by the Spirit of the Lord, there is a “washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” that will happen if we will only surrender. 


He strengthens us so that we may throw off all that hinders and the sin that ensnares us- so that we can run the race set before us. 


So now we’ve got our bearings. He’s set us on our marks and we can see more clearly the direction we are heading. 


Let’s run. 

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Written by: Olivia Caldwell

Photo by Emma Simpson. https://unsplash.com/photos/mNGaaLeWEp0?unsplash.com/photos/mNGaaLeWEp0?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content =creditShareLinkutm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditShareLinkn