2023 - Coming, ready or not!

Are you ready to go?

Looking back over my new year posts from the last few years, (you can check a couple of pertinent ones out HERE, HERE and HERE) it seems quite plain that these years have been times of preparation, times of cleaning out the old, the unnecessary, the unhelpful, or just plain past their “use by” date. For many of us, we have been doing this in the physical, the emotional and the spiritual. It might be ways of doing church, ways of thinking or seeing, how we do relationship, even how we process life and our circumstances, or simply that jar of Vegemite still at the back of the pantry with “Best Before Sept 2008” on it that we have been dealing with. However, I believe we are at the tail end of this process and now it is time to move.

A couple of months back, as I went through my morning routine, the words “boots on the ground” randomly popped into my mind. With it was the sense that “it’s time”, that it is now. It has become the theme of my latest painting (still in process, but you can see the central portion here), and I have been ruminating on it since: “what does this look like for me, Lord?”

Getting “boots on the ground” was a term associated with the armed forces, but like many such terms, we have widely expanded its use. One dictionary source explains it to mean

“people who are physically present in a place doing the work to achieve something”*

which resonates deeply with what I perceive God is saying in this season. The picture I see is like a board game, where He has put all the pieces and parts into place and set up it all up, and now it is time to start playing for real.

Most of us are well aware of the analogy of the church as an army. More often than not it has had negative connotations. Countless individuals, groups, governments and everyone in between have abused this concept to justify many an atrocity over the centuries. However, here we can focus on the positive side of what it means to be serving in God’s army.

First and foremost, an army has authority to carry out the activities assigned to them. Not more, and not less. That in itself is a bit confronting.

Secondly, an army has tactics. Ours are to look like outrageous, unconditional love and generosity in the face of those we see as our enemies. God continuously invites us to respond in love and generosity no matter how badly we are treated. And, of course, the fruit of the Spirit are always available in unlimited measure, as long as we keep the supply chain clear – get rid of all bitterness, rage, malice, envy, hatred, unforgiveness…these are the disobediences that grieve our Lord the most.

For an army to perform well, we must ruthlessly eliminate self-protection and self-promotion. Both these lead to a continuation of failure, and defeat by the enemy of our souls as he whispers in our ears then steps back and allows us to destroy ourselves and each other by our unhelpful responses to any perceived misdemeanour from another.

We must put our money where our mouth is and trust God both to position us correctly and to be our protection where He places us. We must turn from (repent!) transactional relationship (where I will only support, love, encourage, help you if you do right by me – if you offend or hurt me, I will happily disconnect at least at some level from relationship with you), and turn to covenantal relationship, where I choose (covenant) to respond lovingly no matter what, and will actively pursue relationship with those who offend me. (OUCH!)

Finally, taking a quick dive into Ephesians 6, (one of the most examined passages about the spiritual war we are in), given the repetitive use of the verb, “stand” (four times in some translations), it might be inferred that our main action in the battle is simply to stand firm. We are to stand firstly with the belt of truth firmly buckled around our waist – perhaps holding the rest in! And an important aspect of the truth we need to hold on to, one which the enemy will repeatedly attack, is around our identity in Christ.

When we have a deep understanding and belief about the fact that we can have the fullness of Christ dwelling in us (see Eph 3:14-19), meaning that we have everything that He has at our disposal, the enemy knows we will be unstoppable. If we are not secure in this knowledge, it is a prime weakness that impacts every other area of our lives. If you are struggling to live out of this knowledge, ask Him to show you what is blocking you from agreeing with Him on it and how to deal with it. It may be breaking another agreement you have made, either with an emotion (the idea that the emotion tells you the truth), or some other lie, or it may be someone you need to forgive – or both. It is time to clean out this stuff, so that we can run the race unhindered and light on our feet.

There is so much more coming in the year to come. Have you got your rucksack packed? It’s time to finish with boot camp and it’s time to march out. Get excited, because this is what you have been training for!

“Finally, grow powerful in union with the Lord, in union with his mighty strength! Use all the armour and weaponry that God provides, so that you will be able to stand against the deceptive tactics of the Adversary. For we are not struggling against human beings, but against the rulers, authorities and cosmic powers governing this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm. So take up every piece of war equipment God provides; so that when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist; and when the battle is won, you will still be standing. Therefore, stand! Have the belt of truth buckled around your waist, put on righteousness for a breastplate, and wear on your feet the readiness that comes from the Good News of shalom. Always carry the shield of trust, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. And take the helmet of deliverance; along with the sword given by the Spirit, that is, the Word of God; as you pray at all times, with all kinds of prayers and requests, in the Spirit, vigilantly and persistently, for all God’s people.” (Eph 6:10-18, CJB)

*www.dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english

On the road...(Or Lessons from the road - Part 1)

I went on a trip back in time a few weeks ago.

Heading off to pick up the motorbike my husband had bought me was like going down memory lane as we travelled some 350km out west, to the other side of the rural city I spent most of my childhood in.  I have rarely been there in the ensuing thirty-something years since we moved away, but on the occasions I have, the memories come flooding back at every landmark, town and hamlet.

We decided to make a bit of a road trip out of the journey, leaving early so we could take it easy. It was nice not to have to rush, not to have to be anywhere by a certain time. Our day was largely unplanned, stopping morning tea when we felt like it in a lovely old rural town, complete with the Saturday market. By lunchtime we had made it to my home town. As we sat outside the main street bakery in the summer sun, eating our pies, I felt waves of nostalgia for days gone by.

Reflecting on my feelings, I realised that we had left there at a point where I was gaining greater independence and freedom, which I didn't have to the same level in the place we moved. There was a part of me that still felt I had missed something because of the move. However, there was also the problem that although many things were just the same as I remembered, so much was different.

My heart was yearning to go back to that simpler place in that simpler time, but it is no longer there and neither am I.

The desire to go back in time has been a temptation for me at a number of significant points in my life, particularly in the pain of divorce. Thinking about what life might have been like if things had been different, if I had made a different decision, if I had been more emotionally healthy, the "if only..." scenarios can seem like an escape from dealing with the difficulties of the current situation. I have realised, though, that these thoughts don't actually help at all. They keep me stuck and can simply lead to bitterness and disappointment colouring all that comes after.

I can't live there.

The past is gone and it is unalterable, just as the person I was back then no longer exists. And besides, I still have more past to create, I still have a road to travel. If I try to do that looking backwards, I will either come to a grinding halt or I will crash. Consider Lot's wife. Looking back inappropriately brought her to a permanent standstill!

However,  looking back at the past with nostalgia is not our only problem.

Looking back on the journey of our lives in any capacity can be a dangerous occupation.

Reflecting on the past with the rose-coloured glasses of time can be wishing for something that really never existed. We forget the less than perfect bits. When we reflect and feel, "I wish it was like the 'old days", or "life was better back then", we can also diminish our enjoyment of the present.

On the other hand, we can dismiss the past in its entirety, deciding that because there were bad bits, none of it has any value. Doing this, we lose a significant part of who we are and can become a little rootless. It makes it easier to disconnect from any part of life we find unpleasant, leaving a shallowness in our relationships.

Recollections are important at some level, though. God was pretty adamant about it with the Israelites, urging them to remember all the lessons, good and bad, from their past with Him. It helped them remember who He was (and is) for them through tough times, and was to keep them from straying back into past errors. 

Celebrating and being grateful for the good times, for the positive experiences and input, and learning from mistakes - our own as well as those of others - is an important part of the fullness of life. It can keep us grounded.

Embrace the past. Make peace, however you can, whatever it takes, with those aspects you'd rather forget. They are part of what makes you who you are - make them count for something good! Give thanks for every opportunity for growing and learning, whatever form they came in. I promise you, it will change your perspective on the worst experiences. Share the joy and sadness with others.

But remember to come back to living the present you have been given, looking forward to future joys and challenges, so when they are done with they too can become part of the ever-changing scenery of a life well traveled.