Day 8 ~ Walking With God ~ In A Long Line Of Leavers

A Disciple’s response to Jesus calling, “Follow Me.” is to stop. drop. and GO.  Matthew 19:27


I’ve given mental assent to that statement for most of 26 years. And I’m guessing I am not alone when I say “I’ve left a lot.” Because there really is no escaping leaving. Leave today, leave the year, leave the season, leave, leave, leave . . .


Adam and Eve left the garden. [forced to exit]
Enoch left the earth without experiencing death. [Enoch 
walked with God and he was no more because God took him]


Abraham left his country, people and family. [choice to follow]
Jacob left his family to flee from his brother. [choice to flee]
Joseph left his father to find his brothers and his brothers sold him and left. [despised and rejected by his brothers]
Moses left Egypt, left the desert, and left Egypt. Again. [a choice to flee, then called by God]
Rahab left her people. [choice to go with God]
Ruth left her people. [choice to go with God]
Esther left her uncle. [selected to be in the harem of the king.]
***
Jesus left Heaven to come to earth [Choice to rescue us]
And yes, we can look at the lives of Peter, Paul and even Mary. They each left a lot as they walked with God.


Family. Home. Religion. Glory. Accomplishment. Reputation.


And so as I walk with God during a time of ‘leaving’ yet again, I’ve been considering the common traits of “leavers”
Faith ~ believing God who promises to work all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Hope ~ Looking for Heavenly rewards instead of instant gratification.
Love ~ A loyalty to God so fierce that nothing compares to being with Him.


And I’ve also been pondering where their journey took them after leaving . . . a desert, a prison, a harem, a barn . . . but all of the barren, hard and stinky places were just layovers on the way to glory. Both in this life and the next! Mark 10:29-30


Every saint’s story ends in glory. A palace, a kinsman-redeemer, a heritage, a rescue, a Savior . . .

This is our peace.
This is the joy set before us [
Hebrews 12:2] – no matter the circumstances.

I am preaching truth to myself a lot lately.
I am praying a lot lately too. I told the Lord tonight that I needed HIM to help me let go, to do what He’s called me to do, because I don’t have it in me.


Goodness, I just realized it’s like I have the chicken pox!!!


MOOOOOMMMM!!! πŸ˜‰


And you’ll never guess what happened right after I prayed that prayer! This song came on!


And I’m considering putting a large red blotch with a Sharpie marker in the palms of my hands.
So I can remember . . . it’s not about me and this world is not my home.

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11:13-16


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