Sunday, August 4, 2013

When God "Rearranges our Furniture"

   This morning in church our pastor used the phrase "allow God to rearrange your furniture." I love it! If I want God's will and plan for my life, sometimes it means I have to let Him rearrange everything in my life. But if we are being honest, sometimes it's the most painful and uncomfortable process. And on occasion it takes me a little while to fall in love with the paint color He chooses over the one I already had on the walls. But in the end, His design is so much more beautiful than my previous design or any design I could have even thought up in my head! Getting to the end, though, can take some time.

   I am totally guilty of getting caught up in our society's "need it now" mentality. The line is too long at the store? Fine, I will use the self check out where I get even more frustrated because I did not bag the item fast enough. The doctor's office doesn't call me back in my time frame? I will just call again. And again. And again. So when God starts changing my rooms around, I want it done quickly! And as painlessly as possible. The bad thing about this is that it doesn't leave room for me to have to totally trust Him with every fiber of my being.

   Recently, the Lord decided it was time to totally remodel my "living room." To me, it looked great! I loved the paint color, the furniture placement, and even the lighting in the room. When I looked at, I didn't see any need for any changes. Sure, there were some scratches on the walls and a lamp that didn't work, but it was comfortable. And it was my design...which was the problem. It was what I had designed, not what God had designed. Yes God was in the midst of the "room," but it wasn't His perfect design for the room. If we as Christians truly want God's will and God's plans for our lives, we have to be willing to take the uncomfortable moments of different paint colors and totally new furniture in order for His plan to come to fruition. I will be the first to admit that I do NOT like uncomfortable situations and change. I like my comfort zone. But if it takes going through those things to have God's design and not mine, then that is fine by me! And soon, God's design is going to be most comfortable to me and I won't think twice about the old design I had. This "living room" overall has been painful and has taken a lot longer than I would have liked for it to, but that's when God grows us more in Him. The pain allows us to rely totally and completely on Him and nobody else. The time "issue" allows these heart changes to truly cement themselves within us. God knows how much change we can handle and when it's time to let us see a part of the room He is designing. I am thankful that the Lord has painted the walls of my "living room" a beautiful color that I am loving more and more every day! I can't wait to see what kind of furniture He puts in there and the beautiful art work He will hang on the walls. But for now, I will enjoy this fresh coat of paint and throw my "need it now" mentality in the garbage and wait for God's perfect timing to finish the room. I wonder which room He will redo next ;)

   Being a Christian and surrendering your life 100% to Christ is not always easy. It involves uncomfortable periods and painful times. It takes a lot of trust and a lot of faith in God. But boy oh boy is it so worth it!!! God is welcome in my "home" every second of the day and He is also welcome to rearrange and redesign any room in my "home" to make it the way that He designed it to be. I pray that is your heart as well :)