Chosen Grace

Hey everyone! I know I’ve been gone for a while, but I’m back with what I believe (and know) to be a very special word from our Father. I pray you enjoy it!

As you guys know, I have been working for an after-school program for a while now. Well, this same program has a summer camp, and of course, I signed up to be a part of it.

During summer, the kids play games, participate in crafts, and go on field trips. This past week, we celebrated different decades and on one particular field trip- we went roller skating.

Now, skating is one of my favorite things to do (when I have time!). Each chance I get to skate, I’m going to! Well, this time, I wasn’t skating with my family or my friends. Nope. This time, I skated with children ranging from 5 to 11 years old.

Now, y’all, I’m sharing this information because as I was preparing myself to take off skating around the rink, singing to my favorite songs of the 70s, 80s, and 90s, I had several little friends asking me this question:

“Ms. Malaysia, can you help me skate?”

Verbally, I said yes, but internally I was screaming NO! Why? Because I wanted to zoom on my skates, and I knew that helping my little campers would slow me all the way down. But I kept my word, and one at a time, I helped my campers skate.

As I helped one, he said, “Ms. Malaysia, I keep falling!” Almost immediately, I smiled and said, “That’s ok. Falling is a part of the process. You’ll keep trying and falling, and soon you’ll get better, and you won’t fall as much.”

As I heard those words come out of my mouth, I felt the Holy Spirit remind me of something He told me a few days before. You see, God said, “I’m establishing you.” Now, while this word is a personal one, I believe this word is applicable to all, and He is doing the same for many of His children in this hour.

You see, there are times in our walk with God when He may give you a promise, a word, or a vision of what He wants you to do or something He wants you to have in the future. But with this promise comes preparation. And that preparation is what we are going to talk about today. Let’s dig in.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. “

– John 15:1-2, NIV

In the Scriptures above, Jesus is talking to His 12 disciples in the upper room just before He is led out to the Garden of Gethsemane. Here, we see Jesus comparing Himself to a vine and the Father as a gardener. In this analogy, we are branches and the Gardener prunes (cuts intentionally) the branches so that they can produce more fruit. As long as the branches are connected to the Vine, they will produce fruit, meaning they will be in need of pruning more often than not.

So, what do branches, vines, and gardeners have to do with being established by God? Well, everything. In the season of being established, God will work in us to become ready for whatever He has called us to. This work can look and feel good at times, such as being promoted at your job or being able to rest more. But, a lot of the time, pruning is just that – a cutting away.

Like my campers falling when they were trying to learn how to skate, our Father may allow us to fall when we’re being pruned. This may look like us not being comfortable when God calls us to or away from something. And that is perfectly normal.

I shared earlier that this word is personal for me, because it is. You see, this season of being established for me is difficult. I look fine on the outside, but on the inside, I can feel God working some things out. He’s making the hardened places soft and the high places low. And while I know the end result will be amazing (and I look forward to it!), the process is not easy – nor was it meant to be. And I’m ok with that.

Some of you reading this post may be in a season where God is establishing you. And if you are (and aren’t) may this next piece of Scripture encourage you.

“By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.  Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.“

– Exodus 13:21-22, NIV

As we find ourselves in Exodus, we see that in this Scripture, the children of Israel were being led by God as He made his presence known as a pillar of fire at night and a pillar of cloud by day. What I love about this portion of Scripture is that it emphasizes that God in both forms never left His place in front of the people.

What we can take away from this is that yes- our Father will break us to bring forth good fruit in us. But at the same time, He walks us through the process. He will never leave us nor forsake us ( Deuteronomy 31:6, 8 and Hebrews 13:5).

We can be encouraged that as our Father is establishing us, He is walking ahead of us, making straight our paths. The Prophet Isaiah says that He is making the rough places plain and every mountain and hill made low (40:4). To make it plain God not only challenges us but sits with us through the challenge- not wavering in His position.

And that, my friends, is worth the pruning. To have the God of the universe come walk side by side with you on this journey is nothing short of amazing. He was with David in the cave, Joseph as a slave in Egypt, and Jesus on the cross- He will be and is with us in every moment…even in the establishing.

As this post comes to a close, I want to remind y’all that God is kind. And in his kindness, He’ll establish you. This establishment period is not easy, but in the end it will all be worth it.

With joy and a new appreciation for God’s establishing,

Malaysia

P.S: I didn’t have any notes for this post. I just let the Holy Spirit guide me so I pray that it blessed you as much as it blessed me.