How often do you notice that you’re living life from a position of “I have to” instead of “I get to?” God woke me up at 4:15 a.m. on Friday. He wanted to talk to me. I tried tossing and turning in bed for an hour because I wanted to sleep, not to talk. When I grumbled my way downstairs @ 5:15 a.m., I knew exactly what I was supposed to do: listen. The Lord had so much to say. Not what I had expected. His thoughts and His plans are always exponentially greater than mine.
I had to go to Wooster, OH, for a mandatory training on my day off, the same training that I received two years ago. I was in a “have to” mindset. On my drive to Wooster, God reminded me of the Words that I had read earlier in the morning from Colossians 3:14, “And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful.” Busted in the chops again!
As the Holy Spirit convicted me that my heart wasn’t full of love, peace, or thankfulness, He changed my heart, my mindset, and my readiness. Early morning prayer and Bible reading cultivates the soil and plants and waters the seed, but we have to be open and responsive to the work of God’s Spirit throughout the day, especially when He exposes our “have to” hearts. Once the Lord had recaptured my heart and changed my focus, He reminded me of a previous day that I was driving to Wooster and saw a beautiful bald eagle stretching out its massive wings in the Amish farmer’s field. Awesome!
An hour later as I was sitting in the horse barn, and our trainer Krista asked us to look at the horses and to see if one of them was calling us. I looked over and Carbon was just looking at me. Has God ever spoken to you through an animal? Within moments, I was standing next to Carbon and petting him. As we were connecting, the Lord led me to pray for this horse’s ministry in healing the hurts of His broken people who will be riding him. I felt the peace and love of Christ melt me through this horse. As my colleagues were supposed to be having their one-on-one time with Carbon, he kept leaving them and coming back over to me and nudging me for more love and attention.
God has a way of breaking through all of our “have to” moments and days to recapture our hearts and to call us back to His amazing love. Sometimes our stubbornness gets in the way of getting up or getting close enough to the Lord for Him to change our hearts. Sometimes God uses the least likely people, pets, and processes to change us. Did you know that rebellious, problem-focused, resentful people don’t represent Christ well? But when we allow the love of Christ, the peace of Christ, and the Word of Christ to dwell in us richly, we get changed from the inside-out. When we surrender our hearts and parts to Him, we “get to” live with and for Christ by serving His beloved children each and every day. What an incredible privilege!
My boss took this blog picture during my God-encounter with Carbon. She sent the picture to me and to my wife in the middle of our training. When was the last time that God used your boss or a larger-than-life animal to break through your stubbornness to remind you of His endless and loving pursuit of you? He works together in all things to melt us and to refine us from “have to” to “get to” positions–all because He loves us. My pastor Arden Gilmer called this work of the Holy Spirit “deep-heart change.”
How does God get your attention and invite you into the process of deep-heart change?