2 Timothy 1:6: "Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God that is in you..."
Where does a year and a half of our lives go? Snap your fingers and it's gone just like that... and yet... and yet... there is so much to do for His Kingdom and for His Glory.
When I started this blog in 2009, I did so because I felt a stirring in my soul to minister to individuals who I knew, as well as those who only God knew, and also myself. Afterall, what better way can one get to know the Lord in a more intimate manner than opening His Word, studying it and allowing Him to work through you to communicate what He has laid on your heart?
Humans being falliable, however, I slowly allowed my own intimacy with God to be put on the backburner of job responsibilities, family life, social activities and - yes, it's true - episodes of "Modern Family" as well as the odd reality TV show, political blog or whatever other time waster I could find. A day stretched in to two, then to a week... before I knew it it was 2011 and I hadn't even bothered to crack open my Bible in prayerful consideration except for the odd time... I kept praying mind you, but on my terms -- not His.
And then, like 2009, I felt a stirring. Maybe it was the activities in the Middle East or perhaps the earthquakes, tornadoes, monsoons and other phenomena plaguing every part of the world but I could feel that knudging... that prodding... that insistent whisper that I get back to His Word, His Blog (because that is what THIS is afterall) and do the work He has called me to do. I don't know when He will return, but I do know that when He gives us a gift - and I am honoured that He has given me a spirit of discernment and communication - we have a responsibility to use it to further His Kingdom.
Let me take the idea of "stirring" and give you a visual -- imagine you're making banana bread. You assemble all your ingredients, pile them in to your bowl and then allow them to sit there. You don't touch them or move to lift a spoon but instead you will them to form into a loaf. What happens? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Without the action of stirring the ingredients, you have no way of forming them in to a product worthy of baking let alone eating. Essentially your failure to follow the recipes call to stir, whip or mix the ingredients will lead to a pretty sorry loaf of banana bread (or lack thereof).
But what happens when you lift the spoon or turn on the beaters? The ingredients - which while untouched are both lifeless and unappetizing - turn in to a smooth batter that you then put in to a pan and bake in the oven. The product emerges and, if you've followed the recipe, it is worth eating and sharing with others.
So too is the stirring that God uses to prompt us in to action. You are free to ignore it and allow your gifts to languish in an unappetizing heap that does nothing for your own growth or for God's Kingdom. Or you can heed the stirring and allow yourself to be mixed into a product that is beneficial to others, to the Lord and to yourself. Ultimately it is your decision, but if God stirs and you don't respond you're about as useful as that lump of ingredients that you hoped would form itself.
That's the crux of it, isn't it? We can allow ourselves to be distracted by the ups and downs of daily life -- the things that seem to matter now but will matter little in eternity -- or you allow God to continue to stir you, in soul, mind and body, to do something great with the gifts/ingredients He has given you. The choice is yours -- but be forewarned, you can't "bake" yourself.
It's with that in mind that I return to this blog with a heart open to His teaching and pray that He will communicate through me to all of you.
Don't ignore the stirring in Your Heart -- it's there for a reason and one which He wants you to explore for His Kingdom.
