Recently I was flipping back through a journal and reflecting on all that has happened and all God has done in 2019. I wasn’t praising or praying as I turned any pages, I was just wondering on the things that might be written with the blank pages still ahead. I felt the spirit whisper to me “IT’S STORY TIME, where the people of God are going to tell stories of things they’d never thought they’d tell, things they would only hope to tell.”
I felt an incredible excitement rise up for 2020 at the thought of all the things God is going to do with, for, and in us. I immediately had a picture of kids gathering around for a story time, like children do when their teachers read to them. I saw the Father about to share but waiting for others to scoot in and sit closer. I believe that’s His invitation to us as one chapter ends and another opens, is to scoot in and sit as close as we can.
I’ve been reading stories of war, reading to my kids about the wild, and listening in to different narratives of others getting free from circumstances that wouldn’t have pointed to a good ending but then the story takes a turn and the unbelievable happens…the unthinkable works. “Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what He’s done for me.” -Psalm 66:16
I have no idea of all that God has in store for us in the coming days but I believe that in 2020 we are going to be able to tell some really good stories to one another about things we didn’t see coming. Stories about the goodness, the faithfulness, and the kindness of God coming through for us.
Twist: A bend in a new direction/ to rotate, wind, or interlace different strands together. Let’s stay flexible friends and let Him direct the narrative this season.
I pray that with the arrival of 2020 we not only see better (2020 vision), we get to say better… “Come and see what God has done” (Ps.66:5) Blessings in the new, DeAnn Carpenter
We got on a plane last week to get away for some much needed respite, and as we landed the captain reminded us to make sure we got caught up in the new time zone. The time read 3:22 and no surprise there because for the last month I have seen, read, or have been alerted to 3:22. So I got quiet and I asked God what He was up to…
The next thing I saw in my minds eye was a clock that turned in different directions, though the time on the clock remained at 3:22 for every turn. I felt this to be different “times” or passages in the Bible that referenced 3:22. Just as some people will sit down to eat at 5pm tonight, it will inevitably be 7pm for those in another time zone. We will all be “fed” by different things and different readings this season, but I wonder if we might benefit by asking God what time zone He might want to take us to. What book in the Bible is He hi-lighting to us right now and then maybe, just for fun, take a glance at the third chapter and let your eyes gaze over to verse 22.
I’m just trying to get on His time, recalibrate, and adjust where it’s needed. I’ve looked up these 3:22 passages from Genesis (where God offers protection) to Revelation (where He calls His people with ears to hear what the Spirit is saying) and I’ve been so taken with what He has revealed in this hour. Whether it’s Him raising up prophetic voices (Acts 3:22), telling us not to fear because He has our enemies handled (Duet.3:22), calling for His priests (you and me) to make repairs (Neh.3:22), or talking about the kind of accessories we will have this season (Prov./Isaiah 3:22), I am so thankful I have checked “my settings.” Maybe your time zone looks different from mine, maybe 3:22 is just for me and your “appointed time” is of another passage…10:10, and so fourth. But let’s pay attention to when we are waking and what we keep seeing, because no doubt He has something to say to us.
Blessings as you re-set your agenda with His this season. There is an “appointed time” for everything and for every season a time to see what He is saying. -When we get up early, we can see things… 2 Kings 3:22. -DeAnn C.
