Tonight in life group, we mentioned just briefly understanding the trinity, and questioning if knowing your identity in Christ also means comprehending your relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I am going to say that for me, yes, evaluating my relationship with the trinity has helped me come to grasp with identity. I would argue that there is a large difference in knowing Jesus is your Prince, your Rescuer, your Savior, your Groom and so on and so forth and knowing God as King, Father, Everything, as well as knowing then too where the Holy Spirit is Comforter, Coach, Counselor, Encourager, etc. How can you say you understand your true identity if you don't recognize the different relationships to be had within the trinity?
For me personally, I experience difference seasons of all of these. For example, I have gone through extremely intimate seasons with Jesus seeing him as my groom, my husband, my love, the ultimate romancer of my soul! The current season I am in with Jesus is recognizing Him as Lord over my life. Not Lord because He IS Lord, but surrendering my life to His will because He Lord's over me. My Master. (Of course, every now and then He still romances me in a big way :) Ladies, picture if your husband brought flowers or chocolates home from work on a random Tuesday for no reason....except in my case, he like....shows me 2 angels!) :)
There are different seasons I go through with the God and the Holy Spirit as well. I am leaving a season where I needed and had been asking for the Holy Spirit to present itself to me as a coach-someone who was going to push me where I needed pushing and motivate me in times where I feel unmotivated. This upcoming transition with the Holy Spirit seems to be one of revelation-where not only is God constantly communicating (because He ALWAYS is trying to-with ALL of us) but the Holy Spirit is allowing me the eyes and ears to see and comprehend it on a level that I know I couldn't. Hence the activity in the spiritual realm I am seeing for the first time, the multitudes of revelations (and new blogs) lately, and the list goes on and on. This is PERFECT for the spiritual season I am in too because I am seeking and hungry for more! And God is showing me.
My seasons with God are always a little more difficult to dissect. He is always the same, don't get me wrong. But I am ever changing. So where He is always my Father, I guess our relationship is that of a growing child. Except, I am not always growing like say a human would (infant, toddler, child, pre-teen, teen, young adult, adult, elderly, dead?) Sometimes I am at young adult, then feel like I shrink back down to infant. (This is probably a faith issue and not really the topic of this blog, although it might make for an interesting blog later!) So often, because I do not have a living earthly father, it is easiest to see God in this parenting role with me. Because our relationship is most often that of a Father and His child.
So I mentioned that we were at life group tonight, and since the weather was so pleasant, we decided to have it out on the deck of the upper level. Down the stairs on the side of the deck, leading down to the yard, is where all of the kiddos played while we had our discussion and cooked dinner. There was a good number of adults there and we were dispersed on this deck. The deck being surrounded by railings (as to not fall off 2 levels) except for the opening where the stairs were on the side. Other than adults there were 2 babies left on the upper deck for the night-baby J and my sweet baby sister (I call her my little Bear so that's what I will call her for the purpose of keeping kiddos names off the internet).
Baby J is not walking yet, but Bear is-and that girl was on the go tonight. However, we had her outnumbered-like 12 adults to one 1 year old. The dynamic of this child to this group of people is what I took notice of. Everyone on that porch loves this child-we are a family so we all love each other like family. Here is what I took notice of with Bear on the porch and I will apply to it afterward what God has shown me through this.
When the big kids came up on the porch, they were oblivious that the opening near the stairs could be dangerous for my little Bear. We kept having to remind them "don't lead her over there" or "could you block her from going to the stairs" and things of that nature. Some of the 12 adults constantly had their eye on her, waiting to rescue her at any sign of danger. Others would stop her in her tracks as she was heading toward danger, maybe hold her there a second or redirect her in her path toward something not so dangerous. At moments some would pick her up and love on her, especially when she would get frustrated she couldn't go somewhere she wanted. At times, she was simply called by voice to change her direction. There were even a few moments she knew it was dangerous and wouldn't go further than she felt safe but would stay and wait for someone to come and get her.
Doesn't this describe our relationship with God the Father So SO well? I will break it down. We might call the big kids our other influences. Could be the Enemy, could be non-believing friends, or even other believers maybe who are not so mature in their faith. They are oblivious to what could be dangerous. Maybe they're not watching our for our well-being. Maybe they're too concerned with their own. Or maybe simply intelligently they really can not comprehend the danger because their mind has not developed that ability yet-a spiritual immaturity if you will.
Then there are the adults who constantly have their eye on Bear, waiting to Rescue her from any upcoming danger. I don't think we picture God like this often enough but He is always there, ready to see us grow but always prepared (because He knows before it happens remember?) to catch us when we fall. There are also those moments, where He stops us in our tracks. Essentially stopping us from making horrible horrible mistakes. This looks like closed doors in our lives, maybe what seem like unfortunate things that really might be God directing you elsewhere. He always opens a door (and if not a door a window maybe) especially after one has been closed. He is directing us somewhere safer, and somewhere CALLED. Where we are being sent to do His will.
He knows we get frustrated when He stops us and "our plans" for ourselves (so laughable isn't it?) so He is ALWAYS there to pick us up and love on us. He can take our anger and our doubt and our confusion and frustration. He is the perfect Father and a BIG God at that, so He can handle us at our worst. But without fail He picks us up, loves on us, reminds us how much He loves us and that we are protected and safe, then sends us back out in the world to do spread His word! God is so faithful too in not only picking us up or holding us back but CALLING our voice to redirect our focus back to him. Like the adults calling Little Bear from the edge of the dangerous porch, He calls us back to Him. But, we can only respond if we know and HEAR His voice. How do we Hear God's voice??
We LISTEN.
And last, the times where Little Bear would sit and wait at the edge of danger. Knowing she was about to get hurt, or be rescued. God is a faithful rescuer--but sometimes He has us sit and wait a while. It's in those moments of question and testing and wonder and contemplating does the most character build as well as the lessons and character of God being learned in those moments where we simply sit still and know that He is God.
And just like with Little Bear, who goes home every night knowing she is protected and safe and loved, we know that too about ourselves. When we think about the things God does sometimes we don't understand-especially in the moment. But if we take a step back and see Him as our Father then sometime's his plan seems much clearer.
I am so thankful God showed me this tonight. He took a simple evening that could have potentially not meant anything really, except good friends food and fun. But He turned that into a message from Him. I am BEYOND thankful and blessed that God shows me these things-especially in everyday situations. It's one of those ways that He is whispering into my heart "I am here. Just listen. Be still, and know."
In HIM,
Meg
