winter

The Frozen Flags of Faith…

/ www.LivingLarger.life

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It was warm and windy for a few days last week and the Lord removed all signs of our recent snow..but things can change overnight. This morning the flags on the front porch were frozen and each little breeze caused them to crack. One day they’re blowing in the breeze and the next day they’re inhibited by ice. The drastic temperature differences in Virginia aren’t always easy to adjust to but I wouldn’t have it any other way. As I met with the Author and Perfecter of my Faith this morning, the drastic changes from warm temperatures to frozen flags on the porch kept running through my mind and I realized that this is the way it is with Life. One minute it’s warm and cozy and the next minute it’s cold as ice and that’s not so easy to adjust to either. But as long as we know how to prepare for the changes, and as long as we know Life is Destined to change overnight sometimes, we don’t fight against the flow of the Hand of God. We aren’t promised smooth sailing all the days of our lives but we ARE Promised an easy ride if we cling to the Will of a Mighty God frozen flags and all. Isn’t that the way it is with you sometimes too?

It’s mind-boggling how much people have to say about the weather. Second to politics (these days) they seem to talk about the weather more than anything else…including God. When you think about it, there are similarities in how people handle something as simple as the weather and how they handle Life. Virginia has four beautiful seasons and I wouldn’t trade them for a one-season, constant-temperature place for anything in the world. I like the drastic differences of the seasons, and the beauty that each one brings makes me appreciate the others even more. It’s as if God designed the timing of each season so that just when we think we’ve had enough, we switch to a new one with its own unique beauty…AND its own unique challenges. When it comes to this Journey called Life, the ONLY constant we have is the Living God. He’s the same “yesterday, today, and forever more” but everything else is subject to drastic change in the blink of an eye. Life can go from warm and cozy to cold as ice faster than we can say “Amen”- and it’s only when we accept that God Almighty has a Master Plan that we can find our Peace no matter the Temperature.

Some people cringe at the mere thought of freezing temperatures as if they’d be forced to sleep outside. Some people begin to sweat at the mere mention of higher temperatures as if they’d be forced to scorch in the sun. Some people run from the rain and others run from the snow and most of the rest are thrown for a loop when they experience a drastic change in either direction. I believe if we’d pause to consider how we handle something as unpredictable as the weather, we’d see some similarities in how we handle our Unpredictable Life too. Some dread the changes before they ever happen. Some lie awake at night imagining the worst. Some run and try to hide, while others are thrown for a loop when things drastically change overnight as if they thought things would always be the same. But nothing is the same except God Almighty, and He’s forever changing things around for His Purpose. He brings the storms to raise our Core Temperature and He’ll make it rain in our lives for as long as He thinks we need it. But just like the four seasons in Virginia…just when we think we’ve had enough, God brings the New Season along with its own Beauty and its own set of Challenges. It’s a wonderful Life when we understand that it comes with Drastic Changes and when we’re willing to surrender to the Will of an Amazing God no matter what.

God used the drastic change in the weather to Remind me that He’s the ONLY constant in my Life. He’s the same yesterday, today, AND FOREVERMORE and He’ll be there for me through it all. When my Life goes from warm and cozy to cold as ice I won’t whine or run, because I’ve lived through His Changes countless Times and I Trust His Plans for me. Just when I think I’ve “had enough” He’ll change the Season in His Time…a Season with beauty of its own and a whole new set of Challenges.

How about you?

A Different Day…But The Same Heart Still…

/ www.LivingLarger.life
No photo description available.

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I met with the Living God before the sun came up and I gave thanks for a warm dwelling on this cold day; a luxury many others don’t have. It’s 9 degrees this morning and the ice on the trees and the fields won’t be melting any time soon even though the sun is bright and beautiful. The temperature of the sun never changes, but even it can’t melt the ice if the atmosphere around the ice remains cold. As I stood there admiring the beauty of the icy limbs and the blazing sun, the Lord spoke to my Heart with a reminder of how this is what life will look like as we draw closer to the End. The Light of God will always be there and His “temperature” never changes…but there will always be icy ones that refuse to be melted no matter how Bright the Light of His Love shines. What an Amazing God to speak to my Heart through the icy limbs on a cold day.

It’s a dark world riddled with turmoil as the Spiritual war rages in the heavens. The more the Light of God shines, the icier the world becomes as the limbs relentlessly fight to remain just where they are with no interest in being warmed by the Son whatsoever. Sometimes when the Warmth seeps through even just a little, the icy ones fight even harder for their “right” to remain where they are. Jesus said “they will hate you because of me” and that’s true – but it’s not until we Shine the Light to Warm things up do we Understand just what Jesus meant by that. Fear of being hated will often silence Carriers of the Warmth so the ice keeps clinging to the trees like never before. All it ever takes for ice to melt is for the atmosphere around it to warm up, and when that happens the ice is powerless. I dream about what the icy world would look like if more Carriers of the Warmth were willing to Shine despite the hate they’d experience if they did. The “temperature” of the Living God never changes and He has the Power over all…BUT His people are commanded to Share the Warmth so we can change the atmosphere of the ice, and yet so many refuse to be hated because of Him.

The icy conditions don’t exist just because of the lost ones, they exist because of some Proclaiming to Know Jesus Christ too. There are lots of enemies in the Camp and they freeze over often when they hear things they don’t like or they choose to spread hate over Love. Sometimes they talk about Warmth, but the icy condition of their heart is what the world really sees, and the enemy rejoices to see one of God’s Warmth Carriers spitting out ice instead. We talk a lot about Revival but that’s a “be careful what you wish for” kind of thing. When Revival begins, the ice will rage even more than it does today, and those Willing to Share the Warmth of the Son will be hated like never before. The Good News is that One Day the Son will show Himself to the world again, and when He does, all the icy ones will melt at His feet and confess that He is Lord too. Now that’s a Good Dose of Warmth the icy ones need to hear and it’s what the Warmth Carriers share despite the hate we experience when we do.

God used a simple image of ice clinging to the limbs to ignite my Heart this morning. I’m Armed and Ready to Carry the Warmth of the Son to everyone, everywhere, despite what it might “cost” me. I experience more hate than most people can imagine but that only Propels me to Share more when I do. The Atmosphere around me is so warm that the icy ones feel it by what I say and how I Live. There’s absolutely nothing the icy ones can do to harm me but the harder they try, the harder I Work to be the best Carrier of Warmth I can possibly be. He died for me…I Live for Him. You can’t go wrong when you look at the Journey called Life what way!

How about you?