Are you carrying too much weight?

By John Young

There is a sense among many churches at the moment that we are in an 'in-between' time.

One door may have closed, but we are waiting for the next to open; we are waiting to step into the new season, and to leave the “old wineskin” behind and have something fit and ready for the new wine of this coming season.

What is God waiting for?

Have we missed it?

Have we got it wrong?

Should we just do what seems right?

I believe it is not us waiting on God, but God waiting on us. God puts us in situations where

He shapes us so we can enter the new. Think of the Children of Israel in the desert, or King

David anointed by God but waiting to take up the position of kingship. As it says in the song, “He’s in the waiting.” (Take Courage, by Bethel Music, Kristene DiMarco)

What do I do in the waiting?

This is a time of preparation, of getting rid of excess baggage that slows us down and

impedes our spiritual growth, and dare I say it, it's even a time of sacrifice.

We have been through a time of shaking and a time of sifting, both in the church and the

nation (and many feel it is not over yet.) God is doing a 'factory reset' on His church. We

need to keep the main thing the main thing, or rather the main person: Jesus!

If we are going to be ready to sprint off the blocks into the new, we need to be free of what

impedes us. Hebrews 12:1 says, "Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so

easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

Is your internal life in order?

Personally, I suggest a reading of Romans 12 and Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount

(Matthew 5). I think that it's really important alongside this to also 'do a spiritual health check'. I'd be incredibly surprised if there wasn’t an 'ouch' point or two that you find whilst doing this (or maybe it's just me!).

Essentially, what do you need to lay on the altar? We are called to be "Living Sacrifices" (Romans 12:1). That to me sounds like a sacrifice that is on-going, not a once-and-for-all event. What wrong attitudes, beliefs and actions will you give Him?

We're all looking for good things on the horizon and we don’t want to miss it. I don’t know about you, but I want to be ready for His Glory, His Presence and His Power to transform our families, our churches and our nation by His Grace.

God bless,

John