LACED WITH GRACE....have you hung up your harp?

Nobody likes change.


I don't really know why change is so difficult for us. Perhaps it is because adapting to new things is difficult or could it be that anything out of the norm for us is just too hard to identify with? I don't know what the answer is for you, but for me, some change is easy and some change not so much.
I've recently seen some changes in my life. About 6 weeks ago, I decided in order to improve my health, I better make some changes. I put the cokes down, left the fast food lane and picked up a new eating routine. Fruits, Vegetables and lots of water combined with some exercise has really made a difference in my life.


Was the change easy? No way! The first and second week was BAD, but now that I am six weeks into this "change", I can actually see the benefits.


Sometimes when we travel into things that seem foreign to us, we get lost or get frustrated and just want to throw our hands up and QUIT! You don't think I've wanted to quit in the past 6 weeks? Sure I have. Those weeks that I've weighed in and instead of losing I actually gained ... I wanted to quit. When people close to me got irritated at me for always counting my calories and not wanting to order pizza ... I wanted to quit and be more like the norm. I wanted to come back to what I once knew, what I was comfortable with.


But God has reminded me in this journey that sometimes He will lead us into a place that may seem like a foreign land but He will be the One to decide when enough is enough! The children of Israel experienced this...


When the Babylonians swept through their country, taking them captive and burning down Jerusalem and tearing down the holy temple, those held captive sat down and wept and hung up their harps on the willow trees. Their frustration and feeling of defeat was growing even more great as the Babylonians tormented them by saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" Those captive, who felt like quitting, replied...

"How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?" (Psalm 137:4)

Sometimes we can get so off balance with our thinking and even our "doing" when things seem strange to us. When things get out of our comfort zone we often regress or pull back or just hang up whatever gift that God has given us. I remember a time, just a few years ago, that I became so discouraged in my ministry. In fact, because of negativity and discouragement that was being fed into me and spoken over me, I just wanted to walk away. And I did for a short while, I hung up my harp.
Ever so gently one day, God asked me an important question and I would like to ask you the same ..."When did I (God) give you permission to hang up your harp?"


I don't know what kind of season of change you may be experiencing in your life or your ministry. But if you have crossed a path that makes you want to quit or just hang it up, take into consideration that it may not be time for your music to stop. Change isn't always bad, even if it feels alittle uncomfortable, your change may be influencing someone else for the good. So keep your harp in hand and keep on keeping on until God says "no more".


PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank you for giving me the gifts and talents that only You have given to me! Even though I may feel like I have gotten to a place of change, may I see that You and You alone empower me to embrace this climb. Help me to not give up, to not throw in the towel, help me to NOT quit until You say it is time. Thank you for placing my harp in my hands, may it be a pleasing and joyful sound to Your ear. AMEN