What It Really Means

I promised that I would share what I thought God was saying in the collapse of the awning on the front of the church. Here goes........

Ecclesiastes 3:1
There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven.
We are entering a new season in which God is going to reveal himself through a "revealing" of our own hearts.

In the natural, the collapse of the awning exposed the weak places that couldn't be seen or detected with the natural eye. No one was injured or killed when the awning swung free from the building, which speaks to me of God's mercy and grace.

When we first looked at the job of removing the awning, it looked (with the natural eye) like a job that was too large for us to handle. Jokingly, the comment was made, "Maybe we need to hire a demolition crew!"
The one thing that was for certain, it was going to take time and effort to see the job through to completion. And in the end, we had everything we needed to address the problem. God gave strength and wisdom to do what as needed so that the task was taken care off without any further injuries. So what does all this mean?

We are entering a season where what we have relied on in the past will not be sufficient for what we are going to encounter and go through. God in his mercy is going to reveal those places in our heart that we either don't think about or refuse to take a look at, that stand in the way of our relationship with Him. Attitudes and behaviors that we sometimes cloak in a religious covering. We've carried them so long that we perceive them to be from God when, in fact, they are from our own flesh. Like I wrote earlier, what was sufficient, or what we were able to get by with, in the past, will not be allowed in the coming days.

Think of it like this...
Baby aspirin is really good........
If you are a baby or a toddler. But baby aspirin will not address an adult need. This is tied to the need for us to mature as part of the body of Christ. Never forget that the circumstances and situations you face are used by God to show you your character defects. He does such to help us grow to a place of spiritual maturity where we are not easily shaken or swayed by life when it comes at us full tilt.

James 1:2 (Message)
Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open ans shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed not deficient in any way.

As I wrote earlier, I truly believe that we are entering a time and a season where what was sufficient, what we relied on to get by in the past, will not be sufficient for what is to come. Now more than ever, we need to be open to allowing God to show us who we really are inside. Our true motives and intentions will be revealed through the coming problems and situations we will encounter.As we allow God's Holy Spirit to work in us..........as we surrender our will over to His care, we will receive instruction on what needs to change in us, and how we can apply what we are being taught. It truly will be a time of us cooperating with God, allowing Him the freedom to "build" in us His nature and His character.
Thanks for letting me share.......

God on you.....
mb