Happy New Year!
What a whirlwind of a year 2021 was, right? And just because we leap from December 31st to January 1st does not mean the world suddenly calms down or circumstances change overnight. I know most of us would like to think we just hit a giant reset button by ringing in the new year.
As I pondered what to write about on my very first blog post of 2022, I was prompted to seek out my word for the year. I suppose this is how I push my internal reset button.
In my January newsletter, Footsteps Worth Following, I mentioned how the word posture revealed significant meaning as I reflected on my spiritual life. If you have not yet subscribed to my newsletter, click here.
Just as spontaneous leaping brings emotional joy, I discovered that praying on my knees brings a spiritual breakthrough. This is not a regular practice for me. But when I recall the few times I have prayed or worshiped on my knees, the spiritual atmosphere changed for me. Physical posturing makes a definitive effect on my soul. Where or how I am positioned can impact my spiritual posturing.
When I began dating my husband in 2016, we made the six-hour drive to Los Angeles to attend Chris Tomlin’s Worship Night in America. The Forum was sold out and we had floor seats, only fifty feet from the stage. Among the speakers were pastors, Louie Giglio and Max Lucado. They led us in prayer for our world leaders, our nation, local communities, and schools. Max Lucado asked everyone to kneel on one knee, if not both knees. Seating was cramped, but that did not stop eighteen thousand of us from getting on the floor to pray in unity. It was a sight to behold, really. Moreso, it was a powerful spiritual encounter.
Posture also suggests how God positions us in life.
You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will remain and be lasting, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name [as My representative] He may give to you.”
John 15:16 Amplified
We are chosen because of God’s grace and nothing more. It blows me away to think that He chose to position me at a specific place, at an intentional point in time, for a purpose He planned long ago.
It was a time of heartbreak and questioning of God’s plan for me. I nearly left my church and moved away to start new. I came upon John 15:16 and it spoke directly into my heart.
“I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you…”
I received this word as a directive, and I was not going anywhere. It was an act of reverence and obedience for me, and the reward was great.
We will dig deeper into how God postures us next week. Until then, my friend.
Believe. Belong. Be loved.
