Laying It Down

Today's post comes to you straight from Lisa Whittle, an inspirational author/blogger/speaker that I follow on Facebook.  And, like God always does, I happened to read this Facebook post while I was wrestling with the story of Abraham and Ishmael.  If you missed that discussion, check it out here.

Photo courtesy of Lisa Whittle

So I'm sitting in the airport, probably about to get snowed in, trying to find words for this morning, but how do you explain revival? All I know: God met us and surprised us and the Spirit was so thick even the womanly instinct to freak out over impending bad weather and bolt for home went away and everyone just wanted to linger to get more of God, including me.

I ask the women to bring their slip of paper to the altar that says what they want God more than and lay it down. (p.s. It's not that papers with words on them are magic...but there's something about the act of laying down that's powerful.

A woman in a black sweater comes up, clutching her paper, and stands there for what seems like hours. At this moment, all the others have already gone and she's the only one left. All eyes on her, but she obviously doesn't care. And right about as she is going to lay her paper down, her shoulders start to shake and she sobs. And I break, right along with her. And I think: we should agonize over a laying down like that because it's that hard sometimes. And let's not lay things down flippantly and unless we really mean it because we're committing something to a God that deserves us to take it seriously and really change. And it convicted me to weep over commitments more.

Do you see?  Just like Abraham, we can be torn up when we have to send our flesh packing.  It can be brutally difficult, if we are honest about it.  But, man, does it bring about pure revival in each of our hearts and allows us to live in the fullness of God's blessings and promises!