S8 E40: Holy Discontent | The Divine Invitation to Purpose and Transformation

Happy February, friend. I hope you're doing well. You know, I've seen memes and posts on social again this year joking about how long the month of January feels and like it's just never-ending. And my first thought when I see these statements and posts is like, I don't get it. Because the tone I'm getting from these posts and comments seems to be leaning towards that they are just really ready for January to be over, and it just seems to be dragging on.

But it hit me the other day that I do feel like the month of January has been around for a while, and it has seemed to be moving slower, and I love that. You know, at the start of the year, I talked about how I love moving slowly into a new year, you know, lingering in the moments of all the year-end celebrations and the welcoming of a new calendar year. And I think it was in the last episode that I mentioned being a both-and-girl on a lot of things.

You know, I love the fresh start that a new year brings, but I also don't feel like I'm standing at the starting line of a race getting ready to run for my life. You know, I'm feeling more of a stroll vibe as opposed to a sprint.

So today is the first day of February, and this weekend, we will cross over the halfway point of walking through the Winter Seasonal Journal. And I have found myself in the last week thinking about the next season and what spring will bring. And as I've seen the barren tree limbs on my walks, I'm thinking about how pretty soon they are going to be filled back in with beautiful shades of green and I'm excited about that and there's nothing wrong with looking ahead and dreaming and thinking about what is to come it's a beautiful thing and can be full of faith and hope for us so I can look forward to what is is to come and not miss the beauty of the moment right in front of me.

You know, this journey of life is to truly experience and be present in every step in every season. Our life here and now isn't just about reaching a destination. It's about the joy and what is discovered and found in the journey itself. And so I want to be intentional all along the way. And I've heard something rising the past week or so in the voices around me, and I noticed I feel it myself too these past few days, and maybe you're feeling it too, as we have all collectively been inching our way to the month's end.

You know, I'm wondering if we've unknowingly been feeling the tension and weight of. Introspection and the coming off the high of expectations we feel walking into a new year, whether we have set goals or chosen lofty words or not, the arrival of a new year invites hope and it invites us to envision things being different.

So maybe we are all feeling a little weariness that a few weeks into a fresh start, for the most part, everything pretty much looks and feels the same. And it made me think about how it's a similar experience to the weekends and starting a new week.

You know, life can sometimes feel like this unending loop of repetition. And I think it's important that we recognize and understand what is happening if we are feeling these feelings and understand how to navigate them with intention to move through them towards purpose. Because that's what we're struggling with, you know, wondering if our days and our life matters.

We all want to feel like how we spend our days have purpose and matter now and for eternity. And when our hopes were sparked with the start of the fresh new year, and then we look around as we're closing out the very first month and we don't see much it's changed, you know, it can stir up some feelings.

Thoughts like, why did I even get my hopes up? Or that's why I don't even get my hopes up because things never change or work out for me or I just don't have what it takes. And that's a thought and lie that I would love to challenge today because you, my friend, have everything that you need to live out the life that you were designed and purposed for.

That desire for something more, you know, that nagging sense that there's got to be a grander purpose to this roller coaster called life. Well, welcome to the club of holy discontent.

You know, it's that divine discontentment within each of us that it's a whisper from the heavens that says, hey, I've got more in store for you. So could it be that this restlessness deep within us is a nudge from God, a reminder that there is a greater plan and that we're not just here for the daily grind of this realm.

This feeling, it isn't about being dissatisfied with life. It's a wake-up call to discover a deeper connection with God and understand our part. The whole thing from the beginning, you know, that we were created and built in the image of God to bring forth beauty and goodness into the world. And the things that we put our hands to in this realm absolutely matter more than I believe we understand and even imagine. And the beauty of winter seasons is they invite us to these slower days of connecting with God and with ourselves.

Times of prayerful introspection that lead us to growth and transformation and I believe so wholeheartedly that that is what we all desire none of us lack for information but we all desire transformation and these powerful times of connection with our God they open up our hearts and minds to seeing glimpses of heaven right here on earth, I love how the Lord's Prayer reads from Matthew 6 in the Passion Translation.

It says, pray like this.

Our beloved Father, dwelling in the heavenly realms, may the glory of your name be the center on which our lives turn.

Manifest your kingdom realm and cause your every purpose to be fulfilled on earth, just as it is in heaven.

I love that. God, I love that so much.

And it's so life-giving and it's so challenging and it's just so powerful how that reads and speaks to the purposes of God in us living out life in this realm. And, you know, life often mirrors the changing seasons and with each phase bringing its unique set of challenges and opportunities.

Opportunities and I'm still amazed how we will judge the blessings of God in someone's life on external evidence or circumstances and I've done it too and can still be tempted to do it and it's just so interesting when I think about it because most of the individuals that we read about in scripture and even Jesus the one we declare to follow walk through seasons of little and of much.

You know, seasons appearing to those looking on where they might appear to be on the top of the world and then seasons of being locked in prison and even death. And yet in all of the seasons, God was God.

You know, God was God in Joseph's life when he was thrown in a pit and later a prison, just as he was when he was promoted and was ruling over others. Life will change for you when you realize that God doesn't change.

Our circumstances don't define God's power in our lives. And when we believe that they do, then we live to that truth, which means that we aren't manifesting the kingdom of God around us because we think we are waiting for God to show up and to move in our lives. And he has already shown up and he is waiting for you and I to move in the power of all that has already been provided and accomplished.

So whatever you find yourself today as you're listening to this, whether you can relate more to being in a pit than a palace, I want to remind you that God is still God, and He desires to show Himself strong on your behalf.

I talk a lot about surrendering, surrendering to our seasons, surrendering our seasons to God, and this is why. God is and has provided all that we need, but we have to surrender to allowing him to be God in our lives. And that is different than us just proclaiming it with our mouths. We have to proclaim it with our lives.

Our beloved Father, dwelling in the heavenly realms, May the glory of your name

be the center on which our lives turn. Amen.