Before you think to yourself, “Wow, that’s the shortest blog theme ever written…,” let me explain!
In the two weeks since I wrote the Royalty Realm introductory post, a lot of hard work and sore muscles has ensued. My husband and I moved the counseling office to a more suitable location. We now have in one suite two private offices whereby Wayne can continue the counseling / prayer ministry and I can begin growing the life coaching practice. Best of all, we have a sizable open room that is perfect for offering classes and workshops as we have long desired to do.
Myriad details consumed the latter part of December and all of January. In the midst of the busyness of moving and the distraction of getting electronically functional (code for “we need the (unnamed service provider) technician out here. Now.” To which they responded and threw in a $20 credit for unfinished technicianing, by the way!), the Lord was bringing clarity of thought and approach to this blog theme. I’m so glad. There’s little worse as a writer (in my opinion) than knowing you’re to write about “this,” then having the hardest time getting going.
One thing I have learned…when the flow isn’t flowing, don’t try to fake it. At times, like in the past two weeks, my focus had to be redirected to the preparatory details and physical tasks at hand. Otherwise, the move wasn’t going to happen! And when I least expected it, the Lord put in my hands another author’s writing in the form of a 40-page booklet. In the mornings during my quiet time with the Lord and my coffee, it was in my hands. When I needed to rest, it was in my hands. When the move was completed, things put in order, and the first class kicked off three evenings later, it was in my hands.
God has always used perfectly timed books throughout my life to speak into my life. Looking back, I can see the thread of how each one drew me into a new phase, a new season of learning to live more deeply in Him. He who created us knows us so well. Some experience His drawing through music; others through art; still others, like me, through literature. Some hear Him most clearly through visions and dreams. Though not an exhaustive list, the point is: God knows best how to call our spirit to larger living.
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To know the end from the beginning belongs to God. But being the Unselfish One that He is, He has pointed throughout His Word to The End. A time when “The kingdom of the world of our Lord and of his Christ is come, and he shall reign to the ages of ages.” (Revelation 11:15)
That faith-filled chapter, Hebrews 11, recounts the many that looked toward the future with eyes of faith. They believed there was a far better country than this transient world. Indeed, God has promised a City to them and to us. A City designed and built by Him; a true and faithful promise to be fulfilled by the True and Faithful One.
In the long meantime between Genesis 1:1 and Revelation 22:21, God has never withheld from His people the opportunity to live and walk in close, intimate communion with Him. I love the way Eugene Peterson (The Message Bible) describes this standing invitation: “God is the country in which they live.”
What a perfect depiction of the Royalty Realm; this place of bearing the kingdom of heaven on earth.
To ponder such a thing urges a shift in our thinking. Do we live in the USA, India, Australia, China, Canada, Ghana, or any other country defining our natural world? The obvious answer is ‘yes.’
Yet our faith-filled ancestors of Hebrews 11 fame did not grasp too tightly to the bricks and mortar of life. Instead, they lived life with The End in view. They lived in God as their country. Wherever they went, they were home in Him.
Can the same be said of us? I believe that in these last days as the return of Christ draws ever nearer, God is calling us to rediscover what the ancients did not see in their lifetime but chose to believe in by faith. Today they cheer us on from the grandstands of Heaven because they know that without us, they are not yet complete.
And all of these, though they won divine approval by [means of] their faith, did not receive the fulfillment of what was promised, because God had us in mind and had something better and greater in view for us, so that they [these heroes and heroines of faith] should not come to perfection apart from us [before we could join them]. (Hebrews 11:39-40)
The protocol of the Royalty Realm is not a set of rules made by man. It is not a procedure to be followed, nor a program to be installed. As the lives of those listed in Hebrews 11 show us, the protocol of living “in God” meant they lived their lives – their real, daily experiences – in responsive obedience to what He asked of them.
God has not changed. He invites, even longs for us to trade the lesser things of this world for the greater privilege of living in His largeness. We risk missing His best by being content with the good. The world was not worthy of that great cloud of witnesses who have borne testimony to the Truth. The world will not be worthy of us either if we choose to embrace Jesus’ larger life. It is not easy. But it will be worth it.
To begin or to continue without growing weary in your faith, fasten the eyes of your heart on The End.
Gracefully Free
Nancy, Stated very well!