Stepping Out to Step Into…….
Stepping out to step in…..I am a person of wholehearted devotion, committed and firmly rooted in the faith. I desire to be gentle and pure in my thoughts and my actions. I want to be securely grounded in grace. Some call this yearning the practice of contemplative prayer, some call it hearing from God but both require slowing down and listening to God.
I read a quote recently that challenged my thinking…”no amount of natural or acquired knowledge will bring one to taste the spiritual experience of God, for this is a pure gift of grace. So I urge you: go after experience rather than knowledge. On the account of pride, knowledge may often deceive you, but this gentle, loving affection will not deceive you. Knowledge tends to breed conceit, but love builds. Knowledge is full of labor, but love, full of rest.”
To have my spirit rest in freedom from anxiety and self-doubt would be a JOY. To have God confidence in my relationships is something I have experienced and it makes me feel alive, so I desire to live in that certainty. To be able to discern where God is calling me to serve and then rest in serving an audience of one instead of worrying about living up to the expectations of man, would bring freedom to my soul.
I naturally have a lot of courage, tenacity and determination. For most of my life, I have used these God given character qualities to develop my relationship with God seeking to know Him through studying His word and gaining knowledge and wisdom. This style of growing in my faith has served me well. I am passionate about learning and driven by research, Hebrew and Greek word study, listening to commentaries and podcasts to increase my knowledge about Him.
Recently I have begun to have a longing to know God more intimately, experience His presence and sense His nearness.
Here are the lyrics to a song I really love that says what I am thinking and feeling…..
NOT IN A HURRY
Lord I don’t want to rush on ahead
In my own strength
When You’re right here
I’m not in a hurry
When it comes to Your spirit
When it comes to Your presence
When it comes to Your voice
I’m learning to listen
Just to rest in Your nearness
I’m starting to notice
You are speaking
Lord I want to love like You
I want to feel what You feel
I want to see what You see
Open my eyes, I want to see You more clearly
Open my ears, I want to hear You speak
Tell me your thoughts whats on Your mind
I’ll be your friend, I want to see through Your eyes
So if I am being called to STEP OUT of BUSYNESS…..What am I being called to STEP INTO?
I do not think it is as important to know what I am stepping into as it is for me to decide WHO I am being called to be and HOW I am going to get there……
I have been trying to listen to God, to hear His voice and I remembered one of my favorite passages of scripture that describes the woman I want to be. The Proverbs 31 woman often is read by women and becomes a check list of things “TO DO” in order to become this woman and please God in the process….. BUT that would put me right back to my starting point……So this time I am read through Proverbs 31 and allowed my heart to be drawn to her character. I am focusing on WHO this woman is on the inside and HOW she became that woman. She is called a woman of excellence….she is an “aishes chayil”. Aishes chayil is a woman of valor, strength, courage, a helper, selfless, compassionate, wise, brave, one who knows and trusts the character of God. (The real life example of this woman in the scriptures is Ruth.)
So this is what I am striving to step into-
the WHO…..a woman of valor, an AISHES CHAYIL
the HOW…..not by increasing my busyness but by spending more time pressing into and getting to know the character of God…I do not know the specifics of HOW but this will be the greatest part of this adventure. The decision to STEP OUT of BUSYNESS is the first step, the step that takes the most courage. I am excited to see all the opportunities that open up to me as I discover all that is ahead for me and those I love-the ways I will grow, the challenges I will face, the ways I can serve, the ways I will grow.
A Woman of Valor, who can find? She is more precious than corals.
Her husband places his trust in her and profits only thereby.
She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
She seeks out wool and flax and cheerfully does the work of her hands. She is like the trading ships, bringing food from afar.
She gets up while it is still night to provide food for her household, and a fair share for her staff. She considers a field and purchases it, and plants a vineyard with the fruit of her labors.
She invests herself with strength and makes her arms powerful.
She senses that her trade is profitable; her light does not go out at night.
She stretches out her hands to the distaff and her palms hold the spindle.
She opens her hands to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.
She has no fear of the snow for her household, for all her household is dressed in fine clothing. She makes her own bedspreads; her clothing is of fine linen and luxurious cloth.
Her husband is known at the gates, where he sits with the elders of the land.
She makes and sells linens; she supplies the merchants with sashes.
She is robed in strength and dignity, and she smiles at the future.
She opens her mouth with wisdom and a lesson of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks after the conduct of her household and never tastes the bread of laziness.
Her children rise up and make her happy; her husband praises her:
“Many women have excelled, but you excell them all!”
Grace is elusive and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears God — she shall be praised.
Give her credit for the fruit of her labors, and let her achievements praise her at the gates.
Proverbs 31:10-31
What do you need to STEP OUT OF in order to STEP INTO something new?
