A NEW SEASON

As God brings us into a new season, it’s crucial that we prepare our hearts for change. As we set our hearts on pilgrimage (Ps. 84:5), I’ve come to the realization that God doesn’t have the phrase “That’s good enough” in His vocabulary. He is constantly processing us for a more authentic representation and expression of Him upon the earth. These changes may not always be fun, but are absolutely necessary for our own good and that of His Kingdom.
Consider, from time to time, lobsters have to leave their shells in order to grow. They need the shell to protect them from being torn apart; yet when they grow, the old shell must be abandoned. If they do not abandon it, the old shell would soon become their prison and finally their casket.
The tricky part for the lobster is the brief period of time between when the old shell is discarded and the new one is formed. During that terribly vulnerable period, the transition must be scary to the lobster. Ocean currents gleefully cartwheel them from coral to kelp. Hungry schools of fish are ready to make them a part of their food chain. For a while at least, that old shell must look pretty good.
We are not so different from lobsters. To change and grow, we must sometimes shed our shells- a structure, a framework- that we’ve depended on. Discipleship means being so committed to Christ that when He bids us to follow, we will change, risk, grow and leave our ‘shells” behind.
Like the lobster, the new shell is forming; therefore let us embrace the process of change, knowing that it is God at work in our lives, birthing a new thing in our hearts.