As the water I had just splashed on my face ran down my chin I stared back at myself and asked my reflection, "Dan, are you ready for this?"
Little did I know that God was about to answer my question in a way that I certainly was not expecting.
The last four years of my life and my walk with my Father have been transformational to say the least. I have spent the majority of my life viewing God through the lens of "Divine Employer".
My motto was, "God has no hands but our hands, no feet but our feet, no voice but our voice..." and the list went on and on. If you really stop and think about that view, you might walk away thinking that God to me was a quadriplegic.
The bottom line was that my viewed value to God was based upon my level of performance for Him. So God, in His love, took me to a place where I was fully able to see production value based thinking on full display. It was the straw that was needed to break the camels back, or in this case, the faulty paradigm of God and His relationship with us.
God's value on me was not about me or anything I could do for Him. God's value on me was about Him,who He is, and what I could now be through Him!
Once I figured out where this piece in the puzzle fit, God very plainly gave me His clearance to move on to the next assignment.
This is where the "Mirror, Mirror on the wall" conversation kicks in.
To be completely transparent here, I was more than a little apprehensive about my first day of work at the "New Assignment". This was the mark of the next chapter of my life and like your first day of school, you just hate the idea of change.
I stared into that mirror this past Monday, and I said to the reflection I saw, "Dan, you are just a bit scared huh?"
I flipped off the bathroom light and went to get ready for the day.
I was finishing up my devotions for the morning when my eight year old son Clark came out of his room to say goodbye.
He asked me if he could watch a cartoon and I suggested that he go to his DVDs and ask God which one he should watch.
What???
Yep, there are two things that I want to teach my kids before it is my time to check out:
1) How to hear and see God in their life.
2) Who they are to Him.
"Why don't you go in your room to where the dvds are and ask God which one you should watch", I suggested.
"But I want to watch Ninja Turtles Dad", he answered.
"Do you know for sure what is going to happen in your day today?", I asked.
He thought for a minute and said, "No, I guess not."
"Well God does son, and I believe that if you ask Him what you should watch that He will tell you and if He tells you, you can be sure that it will be just what you need."
He walked back out into the living room a short time later holding the vegi-tales DVD "The League of Extraordinary Vegetables".
"This is really weird dad", Clark exclaimed. "It was like He said for me to pick this one, but I have seen it like a jazillion times".
I asked him what it was about and what he said floored me because I saw where it came from!
"It is about fear and how if you let it, it can freeze you. God did not give us the spirit of fear dad, but one of power, love and a sound mind. If God gives you the mission, then there is no need to operate in fear or be scared."
My mouth must have dropped wide open. This kid was speaking a messaged answer to the question that only God heard!
"Dad", He continued, "God sees me and He sees you...He is with us y'know?"
I sat him down on the couch and explained to Him why God gave him that movie choice. "Buddy, He knew that Daddy was a little scared about change and He used you to speak to me about that fear!"
I will never forget the look on Clark's face.
"That is so cool Dad!!!! I can't wait to hear how your day went when you get home!!!!"
So if there was not a Spirit of fear given at our new birth, what Spirit was I given to operate in?
"But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." ~Galatians 4:4-7
"Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:" ~ Colossians 1:25-28
If you are a child of God you have Christ in you!
It is a tremendous servant of God and am mentor of mine by the name of Walt Shankle that I heard say, "Where God guides, God provides!"
My Pastor, Bro. Fred Wolfe has said it this way, "If God ain't seein it, then you ain't needin it!"
God sees the things that we go through and God hears the conversations that we have with our bathroom mirror!
You have His Spirit if you are His child!
"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." ~Philippians 4:11-13
Climbing with you,
~Dan
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