Sunday, January 04, 2009

Unsettle Me Too

For the past four days there has been an unease in my spirit. Words have gripped my heart so deeply and refuse to let go. They have consumed me so completely that at every turn I hear them repeated over and over again. Words that have taken full residence in my heart and forced me to come face-to-face with what has been and what can be.

Reading my friend Lysa's blog post on New Year's Day, her prayer ignited a fire in my soul. Her writing began with two words, "Unsettle me".

Just the day before I had been reading how the Lord had "settled" David in Hebron. I was reading how He "settled" Abraham and Moses and I began to long for the "settled life". Time to rest, build strength, develop roots. A time to catch my breath and maybe even coast a bit on the ship of contentment and complacency. There's hazards here. Such idle floating preceeds drifting. In less than twenty-four hours the Lord had my attention.

Unsettle me.

God extended and invitation through Lysa's words and I accepted.

Leaving complacency behind, I want to have courage to embrace all the Lord has for me. I desire that He purge every part. As my thoughts have been focusing on what the "unsettled life" might bring, He has also warned me of the danger of the settled life that can look so appealing.

Settled things grow stagnant. Mold forms. Disease develops. A settled pond, birdbath or puddle of water attracts mosquitoes that carry virus. Settling can cease the flow of living waters that need to flow through our lives.

I bake a cake, (not often, but it does happen :o) take it out of the oven, and as it cools it settles...and falls. I was thinking how settling preceeds falling. There's no such thing in God's economy as standing still. We are either growing closer to Him or falling away. Settling is a step closer to falling away.

When my Mom had her hip replacement last year, the Dr's didn't want her to stay 'settled'. Rehabilitation started almost immediately to get the blood flowing to avoid clotting. The settled life clogs our spiritual arteries as well. I want the flow of Christ's life-giving blood to impact me.

When a business deal is settled it speaks of a decision being made. Finality. Closure. Deal done. Completed. In this respect I don't ever want to be 'settled' or 'finished'. I am a work in progress. The handshake on this 'deal' doesn't happen until heaven.

Within all this unsettling though, I do desire a settled heart in Christ. I want to stand firm on His promises and not waver. I want to hang unto that "Anchor that keeps the soul, steadfast and sure as the billows roll".

God wants me sitting at His feet, but not settling there. I can't be so heavenly minded that I'm no earthly good. I take what He speaks to my heart and go. After fellowship comes followship.

I pray that He will unsettle me. I want to feel the discomfort. I don't want the past to dictate my future. I want to abandon acceptance. I want to surrender, not to tolerance of the belief that transformation is out of my reach, but surrender to My King who searches every part, reveals wickedness, cleanses me from every stain and sets me free. I want to be changed. Changed by a God who never changes. A God who is the same yesterday, today and forever. A God who within His sameness gives new mercies every morning and who can't be predicted or fathomed. Oh for the holiness that comes with the unsettled life.

Thank you Lord, for so quickly calling me from yesterday's longing of contentment to today's yearning for holiness. Father, I am Yours. Unsettle me.

**If you are visiting here looking for my daily writing as we read through the chronological Bible this year, please visit my other blog, "Pondering In His Presence". Thanks.

9 comments:

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

I sense an unearthing in you, even as I sense it in myself. A soil being tilled for something further...something greater, perhaps not in the eyes of the world, but in the eyes of the One whose vision matters.

As I ponder the imagery of stagnant water, I think of the holy feet of God dipping their feet within and stirring up the complacent wet. It's a vivid picture, alive and breathing with the sacred possibility of the kingdom. Rather than running from such a stirring, I embrace it...

knowing that wherever the living, breathing God touches his feet is, in fact,

holy ground.

You are so precious to me. Tend to this stirring, Joy, with your words. We need them.

Keep to it.

I love you.

peace~elaine

Anonymous said...

It is exciting to see to process in work in your heart through your writing. You may be interested in the book The Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson. Have you heard of it? My husband is reading it now and just did a sermon on it today! I'll be posting more about it later tonight. =) with love, Shane

Beth E. said...

We have been singing a Chris Tomlin song, "God of This City" in our worship services the past two Sundays. Here is the chorus:

"Greater things have yet to come
Great things are still to be done
In this city
Greater things are still to come
And greater things are still to be done here..."

We still have so much to do for the Lord! We can't accomplish His purpose for our lives if we become too settled in our ways.

Thanks for a great post. You've given me a lot to ponder. :o)

Joy said...

I'm glad I came to visit today and read you post. I'm reading on a lot of different blogs how God is speaking to women all over this world. It's exciting to read. I don't want to be stagnant either. I just got a Chronological Bible for Christmas so I'm going over to check out your other blog.

Joy

DeeDee said...

I really like your idea of another blog to post each day about your daily bible reading. I have another blog (Holding On) that was started for a group of us to blog together - but we have not kept it up. I think I will try to do something along the same lines. I have the Chronological Bible too. (Need to write a review for it) But for this year - I am doing a read-through of the New Testament and Blogging together on Tuesdays.
Sweet blessing to you!

Vickie said...

This is such a powerful post, and one that I can identify with.

I absolutely want to be unsettled.

The last two nights I have been looking at the strongholds in my life that are keeping me in 'my comfort zone.' I intend to demolish them through the word of God and prayer because I don't want to stay where I am. I want to go forward in Him, wherever He leads.

Thank you for posting this.

Blessings,
Vickie

Joy said...

Joy, Thank you, Thank you for sending me the words to that hymn. I have two hymnals in my piano bench. I checked them both but neither of them have that hymn in it. I've never heard it. It is beautiful and exactly the thought I wanted to convey in that post and my desire to grow deeper and stronger in the Lord this year. I just haven't developed those writing skills yet. haha.
Glad that God gave those words to Charles P. Jones.
I'm printing it out and putting it in my Bible.
Thank you again,

Joy

Yolanda said...

I love how He spurs us on, don't you Joy?

As Beth says....THERE IS NO HIGH LIKE THE MOST HIGH!!

Love,
Yolanda

Bonita said...

When I think of settling I think of Abraham's father, Terah, who settle for Haran instead of journeying to his real destination of Canaan. I truly believe God called Terah to do what Abraham eventually did, but Terah settled for something less. Sometimes it can be a really good thing to become "unsettled".