Ecclesiastes 3:1-81To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
Okay let us just get to the meat of things. Sometimes we just can not stand change, we do not want to change anything as it is difficult for some of us to go through. On some things I have no problem with change but in other areas I am probably like most people resisting the change. Then again, maybe not, for as I sit here and type, I am trying to think what areas do I have a problem with change and not finding much.
Sure it was a change when Minister Merv moved to Pittsburgh, but not to the point where I was resisting it. I was happy about it and even now when I am trying to adjust to his presence, I just do it. I might grumble a little bit but not much about the stuff…without any major resistance. As long as I am heard out…I am good! I have had a few Jonah experiences but after two of them…I am done…God says do it…I am doing it – no questions asked!
Yet as I look over my life, I think my background growing up made it so I could do change with little resistance. I guess that is good in a sense. As we did the Encouragement Hour last night on Domestic Violence, Sister Casandra and I were talking about our past experiences and it crossed my mind that due to always being told to keep silent as things changed in our family, I learned to go with the flow. I learned to go with the flow for survival. I had to change to survive and yet that same mentality is with me today. I have to allow change to survive.
Yet it keeps me on my toes, it keeps me aware of my surroundings, it keeps me looking at things in a new way and perspective. Yet, I see so many struggling with change, not wanting to have change in their lives. I thank the Lord for I have learned that change is what God uses to mold us into what He wants us to be. As we look at the different areas in our lives where there has been changes…does it not work out that we learn more about ourselves and more about the Lord too.
I read the above verses and I used to look at them as scripture that I needed to read when I was going through something as a reminder that “this too shall pass” but today it is singing about changes. Changes are good and though we may not see it that way while we are going through it, it is still a good thing. It is a season, a passing into a new walk with the Lord, a new appreciation of Him and what He has done for us.
As I was on the Encouragement Hour last night, Sister Casandra and I were talking about a few things that we were talking about earlier that day and it turned to talking about WL4J…which is not rare between us because we are both on the Board of Directors, yet there is much change going on with WL4J. There is change coming in the structure of that….the Lord does what He does for a reason and though things are changing it does not mean you have not heard Him right, it just means that where you were no longer serves a purpose and it is time to move to a new purpose.
Now wait, WL4J is not going anywhere and neither am I – at this time. It was something as Sister Casandra had made a comment after mine about how open and honest I am with my life. My life is all over the internet. She had said that eventually I will have nothing left to say or to write, and as she said that I had to smile for I just had this conversation with the Lord and it was nothing but confirmation for me as I answered her.
First let me say this…I truly enjoy doing the Good Morning Inspirations, the Honesty Today, and the WL4J Newsletter and just writing for different things. I love talking to my sisters in Christ on the phone and via email; it just encourages my very spirit to keep pressing on. Each day someone new requests to receive the Good Morning Emails or to be notified of the update of the newsletter, it brings joy to my soul, yet there is a sense of responsibility too. I was saying to the Lord…what if I run out of words to say, what if what I say becomes like all that fluffy stuff I read all the time that is so nerve-racking to me…what if….
Oh the “what ifs” can really hurt us in our walk with the Lord! Yet God in His awesome way started showing me things and how He does. WL4J as it is today did not start out that way…I was the moderator/owner of 3 different support groups on Yahoo…God’s Survivors (for those that are going through or overcome abuse), Single Parents for Jesus (for those that were single and parents – both female and male), and Infidelity for Life (for those that knew that they would never be a parent due to their physical incapability to have children such as their uterus no longer being in their body), then over time the Lord started speaking to me about reaching out to all women, not just those that are going through what I was or had been through but to all women, strong and weak…black and white…US and Non US…by taking the limits off of it all. So I closed down the other groups and moved to one group Women Living 4 Jesus yahoo group…but it just was not what it really needed to be….tada…here came Ning.
The Lord then started showing me things about the bases of WL4J and how things are needed to be done…here comes the newsletter, the support line and things of that nature. The Good Morning emails started because I was tired of those forward this email and watch God bless you...with nothing in the email about the truth of the Lord…there was nothing but fluffy in those emails…promises that were not meant to keep.
I watched a group of 10 women turn into a group of over 100 women. Sure all the sisters are not active but a lot of them are reading. (I can see the statistics for the site) I watched a daily email that went out to only my closest friends of about 10 sisters grow into an email that is sent out now to about 60 people – which is growing rapidly daily!
So as I am watching this stuff happening…looking at what is going on in my neighborhood trying to make a difference there. Trying to be the sister in Christ that is needed in my church home by being prepared with all that I have and to give of myself freely…all I kept hearing in my ear…To whom much is given, much is required. Luke 12:48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. So the enemy started messing with my mind and telling me that I was not good enough to do all of this. I was not good enough and then after I started to talk to the Lord about it, He begins to remind me that He gave me this assignment. Well that shut down the thoughts of not being good enough, for I am truly not good enough, but the Lord is directing me and in that – all things will work out.
Yet here comes the enemy yet again with the thoughts as new sisters come to the WL4J group and new people sending email requests to receive the Good Morning emails, what if you forget to do the email or if you have nothing to say or you begin to repeat yourself and people start requesting to no longer receive the email….yes I was thinking this…yet again God spoke to me.
He reminded me that He gave me this task, He reminded me that everything is not for everyone and everything is done in a season, so what I am saying maybe good for a sister for a season but just as I grow in the Lord so do others, so they may no longer “need” or “desire” to read the honesty of Sister Alissa or they may no longer need a morning encouragement. It is not for me to judge but to follow what God is telling me to do. He reminded me that I will not be doing this forever, there is going to come a time that I will no longer do the Encouragement Hour, or Encouragement Hour will change to a different title, I may no longer do the Good Morning Email or even the newsletter. I look at it now and say…oh please no, I love this, I do not want to stop…but who knows in 5 years what I will be doing in Jesus.
He is always cultivating us and having us do things that bring Him glory. He has us doing things for a season so that we learn and grow from it along with those around us. It may come that I will pass this onto a sister who is called to do it while I move forward doing other things in the Lord. As I told my sister last night…there is a difference between me and some people that the Lord has called to do things. I know that it will not last forever; I know that something new and different is going to come, so I know that one day I am going to have to sit down and/or step aside. I have no problem with that. Some people do not want to let go of things that God is truly telling them that it is time to let go of and move on in Him
He does not want us to be stuck in one place forever and He truly wants us to grow in Him…to do that…we have to go through change and we have to accept what comes our way in Him. It may seem like a challenge that we can not rise to do but with the Lord directing our path…how can it go wrong? It can not go wrong because the Lord does not fail! AMEN!
Things are always changing and change is good…you are growing as a person and you are moving closer to the Lord…embrace your change…love your change and know that it is the Lord molding you into whom He wants you to be!
Praise the Lord and have an awesome day in Jesus…I know I will because He has plans for me to love my day every single day…all I need to do is follow Him to have it! AMEN!
Love you all in the name of Jesus!
Sister in Christ,
Sister Alissa Lynne
RSS Feed