A close
friend’s family has recently moved away. I helped my friend get her house
packed up and ready to load the trailers that would take her belongings to her
new home. There was a lot of work to be done in this endeavor. There were many
items from the house to be sorted through and cleared out. Within this house
were all of the belongings not only of her and her husband, but also of her
four children. In the garage were boxes to be sorted through that had not even
been opened from the last move. The task was great indeed
This process of preparing for the
move was very long and tedious. As each room was sorted through things were
placed in one of three categories. Some items were to be packed to go on the trailer
to the new home. Other items were put in bags or boxes to be taken to charity.
And the third category was items that were simply trash which needed to be
thrown away. After living for several years at this location there was a lot to
go through.
Often God directs us to move on
to a new direction in life. “Behold,
I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know
it and will you not give heed to it? I will even make a way in the
wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19 AMP) As we
follow His path we will find that we will need to go through a similar process
to preparing to move from home to home. If God is planning a new thing for us
some of the old will no longer be a part of our lives. This is the time when we
will be required to evaluate everything that we currently hold dear. Some will
continue to be a valuable part of our lives, but other things must be given or
thrown away.
As we begin the sort through our
lives we will find that some things are just simply no longer important. Even
if once useful they have now served their purpose and have become quite worn
out. These things would now just be in our way and we must cast them aside. “Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a
cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip
off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that
sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles
us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active
persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us,” (Hebrews 12:1 AMP) These things are not all sin but will
all get in the way of God’s call. It is time to throw them away.
As we continue to sort we will also find other items in
our spiritual walk that may no longer be appropriate for what God is calling us
to do, but may be beneficial to others. Sometimes God may ask us to give away a
favorite book or CD series that has caused a lot of growth in us in the past.
He may be asking us to give away practical items such as clothing, jewelry,
household items and other things. This is when we see a need in the body of
Christ and can share with one another. We can be encouraging. “Therefore encourage
(admonish, exhort) one another and edify (strengthen and build up) one another,
just as you are doing.” (1
Thessalonians 5:11 AMP) And we can enhance the lives of our brothers and sisters. “Contribute to the
needs of God’s people [sharing in the necessities of the saints]; pursue the
practice of hospitality.” (Romans 12:13 AMP)
Finally,
our sorting will uncover the critical things that must go with us. The most
important of this is the Word of God that we have learned through the years. “Your
word have I laid up in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:11 AMP) God
has equipped us with many things along the way and He will continue to use
these in our lives. Our character growth and memories of God’s faithfulness
must go on with us. These we must pack and
keep close at hand for the journey. Much of what has been done in our past has
been preparation for the path ahead.
New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day
are times when many look back on their lives over the past year. As the year
2014 comes to an end today we can take a moment to evaluate where in life we
are right now. We can also look with hopeful expectation so what 2015 will
bring to us and consider what we will bring to it.
What will you hold dear to this
year? What will you give away? And what must you simply throw away?
No comments:
Post a Comment