Arise
I took a new job. One I love. One I was not seeking. One that fell onto my plate at just the right time. One I prayed for not knowing it was the one I was praying for. One where I get to come alongside great people who care deeply for others. One full of opportunities to do what I am good at while loving others well.
But this job is also one that has me working a five day work week for the first time in almost two decades. One where I wake before sunrise more days than not. One that has me stepping into brand new circumstances in the midst of what I was trained to do professionally. There is the benefit of summers off. But arising on Friday mornings without wanting to hit snooze and keep my eyes closed has yet to happen. Paired with the uncertainty of what would be on my plate when I arrive at work, Fridays are simply hard.
From an earthly standpoint, I need to get up. I need to walk to the kitchen, grab a cup of coffee, and drive to work. I need to show up to keep my job for today. I need to work well so I can come back next week. I need to use all the knowledge my brain holds to continue next month. I want to care deeply for those surrounding me to return next year.
Bigger than all these needs, I want to get up and do the job God has so graciously opened the door for me to get to do. I want to give away all my heart holds to stay in this place for as many years God wants me to stay.
Walking with faith can be a lot like these Friday mornings.
Walking with faith is choosing to arise within the earthly circumstances surrounding us into the calling God has set before us. No matter our tiredness. No matter our desires for something less taxing. No matter the celebrations set before us. We arise. We swing our feet out from under the covers of our circumstances and set them on the ground. We stand and move. We step forward. Walking in faith takes trust. It requires confidence.
walking in faith
Jesus walked in faith as He walked out the last chapter of His life on earth. He arose in a less than ideal situation. People who claim God as their own hunting Him down, seeking to persecute Him for a crime beyond His doing. A sin He never committed. He arose in circumstances that, like a Friday morning alarm clock, left Him wanting to push snooze.
Jesus pleaded for another way.
But the work must be done.
His work must be done.
I believe Jesus loved the job God so graciously opened the door for Him to do. And His job was certainly abundantly above beyond bigger than me showing up for a job I like on Friday mornings. I know caring for others for an 8 hour shift is a far far cry from Jesus giving His life to save the lives of all the world. Yet in faith, we both wanted to walk through our undesired circumstances a different way. I want to rest after a long week of rising early, but God is calling me to do something different. So I choose to get out of bed to give away all my heart holds to do the job God has so graciously asked me to do for one more day. Jesus asks for another way and does not get the answer He wants. He chooses to continue His commitment to complete the mission His Father has called Him too. Jesus chooses to rise up and give away all His heart holds for all people on earth.
And rise up Jesus did!
He arose to the upper room for the last supper with His people – the disciples. He arose to be with His family and give them His blessing.
He arose in the garden of Gethemeane. Even as the disciples fell asleep around him, He rose. He arose to say ‘Here I am’ and stand in battle as our sin closed in.
He arose after stooping down to place a fallen ear back in place. A broken priest now healed as he stood in the crowd of sin.
He arose as He walked up the hill to Calvary carrying the cross. Mocked and bloody. Stripped and beaten.
He arose on the cross. Feet and body dangling in the air. Hanging in the in between place of heaven and earth. Separated from His disciples. Sandwiched between sinful criminals. Women sat beneath His feet.
He arose from the grave on Easter morning no longer dead, but alive. Our sin defeated. Jesus reunited with His Father.
He arose as He stood among His disciples saying ‘Peace to you’. In His death on the cross, their sins and ours were both covered by His blood. God opened the door for us to all be given a life in His forever family.
And after 40 days of appearing to His disciples in this resurrected state, Jesus stood on the Mount of Olives. Overlooking Jerusalem, Jesus arose into heaven.
By Jesus choosing to arise to the calling of His Father, His Father became Our Father.
the next piece
Jesus arose into heaven so God could send the next piece of Him down. Completing His plan to reside in us and carry us up: all the way home.
With the Holy Spirit, we get to choose to be pulled up into God’s presence here on earth.
By asking to have the Holy Spirit fall into us, we get to arise within the earthly circumstances surrounding us into the calling God has set before us. Yes, there will be moments we are tired. There will be days we desire for something less taxing. There will be occasions full of celebration. In all, we arise. We swing our feet out from under the covers of our circumstances and set them on the ground. We stand and move. We step forward. It takes trust. It requires confidence. It is faith.
We choose to give away all our heart holds dear and stay in this place for as many years God wants us to stay. Because one day we will get to arise and be seated next to God in heaven. The moments of tired will become fleeting. The days of desiring an easier way will shrink smaller. But the celebrations will spread wide and last for all of eternity!
