What Has God Put on
Your Heart to do?
Is there something
you've been considering doing lately? Do you have a thought rolling around in
your head that maybe you should be paying more attention to? What has God put
on your heart to do?
You are probably
familiar with Jesus' metaphor of new wine and new wineskins (Matthew 9:17). The
general explanation is that when God is doing something new, we need to be open
to it. Many of us rightly equate this metaphor to moves of God that seem large and
obvious, such as churchwide or citywide revival. But it can also apply to our
lives on a more individual, everyday scale.
Accept the New Wine
Some of us have been
Christians for so long that we have become rather set in our ways. Perhaps
we've even adopted a type of spiritual atrophy and aren't doing anything other
than what we have done in the past. However, throughout Scripture, the people
of God who are known for their great faith had to bend with the Holy Spirit.
They had to leave behind their normal schedules and typical behavior in order
to follow the plan of God for their lives. They accepted the "new
wine" when it was presented to them, and they were open to the often
radical change it had on their plans and life goals.
New wine - the new thing
God is doing - requires new wineskins: people who are willing to be soft and
pliable in God's hands. They change shape as God pours into them, and they
listen when He speaks.
What is God asking you
to do that may require a bit of bending on your part? What have you been
considering doing that maybe you should just go ahead and do? Is it getting up
earlier to spend time with Him? Is it exercising regularly? Is it being kind to
someone? Is it writing the book you've been thinking about writing or applying
for a different job? Perhaps this recurring thought you've been having is
something you should listen to.
The Next Step
Paul wrote in 1
Corinthians 2:10, "God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the
Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God." The Holy Spirit
is the Great Communicator who searches the very deepest parts of God and then
reveals them to us. The Spirit of the Living God dwells in, empowers, prepares
and equips us so that we can get where we need to go and do what God has called
us to do - so we reach the purpose for which He created us. Our next step could
be as simple as paying attention to the idea that keeps coming up, the thought
that keeps returning to us.
What is God telling
your heart to do? IT'S YOUR PASSION. Are you doing it? Whatever it is, it is sure to be a grand
adventure, and it is sure to produce change.
