People Are Watching
Do you ever just sit and watch people, their mannerisms, their ticks, the way they move their hands when they talk? I do. I'm a people-watcher. I'm the one at the stoplight next to you that wanders over to see what you're doing and how your day has been based on your facial expressions. Hi, nice to meet you. We may never talk, I may never formally meet you, but…I see you. Don't be creeped out. I'm not a stalker. I'm just someone who believes with every fiber of my being that I can learn more by watching than I ever could from the words you speak to me.
I never really know what God's going to give me from month to month for these pieces. If I'm honest, I panic sometimes about the content because I don't know your heart. I don't know your season. I don't know what your soul NEEDS to hear, but the sweet news is this…JESUS DOES.
This month, I've felt alone. What's crazy is that I am ANYTHING but alone. I'm happily married to my best friend. I love my life and have 3 perfect children and some pretty wonderful parents. I have a job where I'm surrounded by people all day long, many of whom know the Lord and truly pour into my life. I have close friends, 2 full-time ministries, and an amazing church family. I am not alone, not by any stretch of the imagination, but the isolation is a familiar feeling. It's one that the enemy exploits at every turn, and that's not crazy. He wants me to feel out of place, inadequate, and desperate for change, but what I'm learning is this…we're not meant for this world. Let me say that again for those who really need to let it sink in: YOU'RE NOT MADE FOR THIS WORLD.
We've heard the words in passing. We've read the quotes and been encouraged by other believers in hard times, but God's Word is so clear about what we, as believers, are called to. Over and over again in scripture, we're told who we are, WHOSE we are, and what we're made for:
"I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world."- John 17:14-16
You are not of the world.
"If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." -John 15:19
You are not of the world.
"They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error." -1 John 4:5-6
You are from God.
""And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." -Ephesians 5:2
You were bought with a price.
"But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,"
-Philippians 3:20
Our citizenship is in HEAVEN.
SISTER, WE WERE MADE FOR GLORY!
Do you consider the eyes on you throughout your day? Eyes like mine, sure, but what about the eyes of non-believers? Maybe they, too, watch you in your car at the stoplight. Maybe they hear your tone as you talk to your children, or listen to your conversations at restaurants with your girlfriends. What can they take away from these encounters?
There's a day ahead of us, sisters. A day that we'll fall to the feet of our King. We'll remember every broken place, every sin that we had time and time again left at the altar, just to grab it on the way out. We'll remember the feelings of inadequacy, loneliness, and gut-wrenching fear and they'll fall into their rightful place on earth. There's a reason we feel displaced here. We are. We were made for a place of absolute holiness, so it stands to reason that the lack of holiness would knock us sideways. We were made for worship. It makes sense that our worry might shake us to those dark places, but our work here isn't done. We may not be made for this place, but we have a job to do. We're called to worship Him with our words, submit to Him with our actions, die to our flesh, and nurture the Spirit of God inside of us.
Consider me at the stoplight, sister. Consider them in the restaurants, in the grocery store, and in your posts on Facebook. They're watching. We may not be made for this place, but we have a job to do.
#gpdoneonpurpose
