Time does not stand still. Move Forward in 2016.

 

Time does not stand still.  Despite my dilemmas and my protest, the hands on the clock continue to move FORWARD!

It’s natural to move forward, to not be stuck. If the clock stops ticking this can mean a few things…the batteries are dead and needs to be recharged.  And if it’s an electric clock, it could have been unplugged.

RECHARGE. UNPLUGGED. DEAD.  Which one are you?

RECHARGE.  You lived life on fast forward in 2015.  You did not have time to sit and be recharged in His presence because you had life to live, bills to pay, and duties to tend to.  Pray and read His word?  Every now and then perhaps but it was not at the top of the priority list.  But here you are at the end of the year and you see the fruit of constantly being on the go and not being still.  You are depleted.  The money you hustled to get, did pay the bills but it left you spiritually bankrupt.  Yes you lived life in 2015, but it was not the abundant life you were made to live.  The duties seemed insurmountable because you didn’t have time to stop and ask for His grace and His strength.  Here you are desperately needing to be recharged!

Unplugged. The phone rings and you roll your eyes because it is one of those “I want to connect with you and see how you are REALLY doing” church people calling AGAIN. So things didn’t happen the way you thought they should in 2015. You began the year determined to be on fire for God. Determined to use your gifts for His glory. Determined to get in prayer and His word. But then life crept in, funny how often that happens…if you let it, if you chose not to fight. You are disappointed because there is only one week until the year ends and God still DID NOT answer that prayer?

For the husband you want. You cried and continued to ask, “When will it be my turn?”

For the husband you have because your marriage is falling apart.

For the children you have because training them was sometimes more than you could handle.

For the children you desperately desire to have.  You cried and continued to ask, “When will it be my turn?”

The healing.  You cried and continued to ask, “When will it be my turn?”

The job you have.

The job you want.

Whatever the prayer, the answer seemed to have eluded you. So out of spite, you unplugged. You may still show up to church but that’s about all you do…SHOW UP and checked out. UNGPLUGGED from the power source.

DEAD. Has the circumstances from 2015 knocked you down so many times that you just gave up and stopped ticking? You let your purpose DIE.  That dream DIE. You scoffed at the prophetic word because it was requiring more surrender than you were willing to give. So instead of going forward in who God has called you to be, you just plain DIED. Yes there is still breath in your body but you died a different kind of death…you stopped believing, you stopped having faith, you stopped obeying, you stopped pursuing. The real you died. This being stuck thing it can be numbing creating an odd kind of comfort.  But wake up from your slumber because you were made to live not die!

Time doesn’t stand still, so why should you? 2016 is around the corner and it is time to get RECHARGED! Time to start all over. Time to get plugged into Jesus, the ultimate power source. Time to grow up and fully embrace the fact that serving Jesus will never be convenient but ALWAYS worth it, ALL OF THE TIME! 2016 LETS GO FORWARD!

 

 

 

Anika Jones

About the Author

Anika Jones

Anika Jones is a speaker and author of the book Lessons Learned Along The Way: A 40 Day Devotional. She blogs about faith and family at LivingForLater.com and posts weekly videos on her YouTube channels, Living For Later (@livingforlater) and Living Life Now (@livinglifenow). Anika loves speaking about developing intimacy with God and understanding who we are in Christ. She serves alongside her husband in ministry. They live in Illinois with their 6 children.