The Orchestration

 

I wrote this blog post back in 2019 and I revisited it this morning. It's been interesting to see how the Lord has worked in my life since writing it. 

Isaiah 43:16-21 (HCSB) ~

This is what the Lord says—
who makes a way in the sea,
and a path through surging waters,
who brings out the chariot and horse,

the army and the mighty one together
(they lie down, they do not rise again;
they are extinguished, quenched like a wick)—

“Do not remember the past events,

pay no attention to things of old.

Look, I am about to do something new;

even now it is coming. Do you not see it?

Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness,

rivers in the desert.
The animals of the field will honor Me,

jackals and ostriches,
because I provide water in the wilderness,
and rivers in the desert,

to give drink to My chosen people.
The people I formed for Myself'

will declare My praise.

I've had the strange sense the past few months that God is orchestrating something within me in preparation for something He has for me to do. A preparation of what I'm not sure, but it's kept me a bit in awe as I've experienced a shift within me. It's made me sit up and pay attention. It keeps me listening intently for His voice as a feeling of alertness is happening within me. 

I've been experiencing a very strong sense of His call and His hand upon me as He is working within me towards an unknown future occurrence. I can't see what it is, but I know that He is molding me and shaping me towards a purpose. 

The only thing I know is that I've wanted to pray more, I've desired to know more of His word, and I'm watching, waiting and listening for Him to show me this new thing He has for me. I wake up in the middle of the night with an urgency to pray for specific people and situations. I have that same urgency at different points during the day.

There seems to be some symphony going on in the heavens that I faintly hear at moments, and long to hear more of it. And it makes me want to sing His praises for His work in my life.

Update:

Since writing this we are now in a different part of the state and so many mostly-hard things have occurred. And yet, I can very clearly see that the Lord has used those hard things to change me and use me for what He has for me at this time.

I have recently stepped into a dual-role on our national women's ministry leadership team. I'm also serving on our denomination's world women's ministry leadership team which consists of leaders from all the different regions of the world. My writing and speaking ministries have a natural ebb and flow of busy times and God is using them in both these new roles. 

My desire has always been to encourage other women and this past summer I was asked to step into a role for a program called, Empower, which equips, inspires and prepares women for effective ministry. I am part of a mentor support team,  which provides support and encouragement for mentors in the program. 

God has also opened up the door in my local church to begin working with refugees who are in our city. Since all of my other ministry parts deal with working with women from all over the world, as well as our denomination's international workers, it's kind of cool to see this fitting into that as well. 

I was talking to my husband the other day about how good God is and how amazing it is to see how all these different activities fit together into one big picture, much like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. None of these roles were anything I would have foreseen 6 years ago when I wrote the original blog post and yet, because of the circumstances that happened in my life, God has molded me into a woman that He can use in each of these positions.

When I'm tempted to hop down a bunny trail and get involved in something I shouldn't, it helps to look at the big picture and remind myself of my initial calling and how God is working in my life. 

This morning when I was having my quiet time, I opened up to Isaiah 6 and was reminded of the initial call on my life.

Isaiah 6:8 ~ 

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying:

Who should I send?

Who will go for Us?

I said:

Here I am. Send me

I remember saying that many years ago as a college student and it still holds true today. We can't always see how He is orchestrating things in our life, but when we get those moments of clarity, we can see that His plans are always better!