Risen & Rooted

We had been in our new place for about 7 months & I decided one afternoon to go out & do an assessment of the garage. I had reached a breaking point with clutter, & the garage was going to be my first place of attack. I began savagely throwing away boxes without even looking inside of the majority of the boxes…after all, we had managed to survive for 7 months without whatever was in there anyway, so, out they went. When the job was done, I had managed to collect a few mementos I had been searching for & placed them aside to take into the house with me. As I stood there, looking at this big empty space that could be used for almost anything, excitement began to build! What could we put there? A makeshift music studio? New workout equipment? Trendy storage shelves? Oh, the possibilities!

God had something else in mind. A lesson. As always. One of the many things I just love about Him. He’s always got a lesson….

In Ezekiel 20:18-20, God was explaining to Ezekiel, that He had given this command & promise to the children of those Israelites that had wandered in the desert for 40 years:

“18. Walk ye NOT in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe THEIR judgments, nor defile yourselves with THEIR idols: 19. I am the Lord your God; walk in MY statutes, & keep MY judgements, & do them; 20. And hallow MY sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me & you, that ye may KNOW that I AM THE LORD your GOD.”

It occurred to me that in order for Israel to actual do what God had said, they had to take an assessment of the things they had learned from their parents! He could have just said “Obey Me” &left out the part about their parents, but He didn’t. Obviously no parent is perfect, but God was very clear about them not repeating the wicked things of the previous generation. That can be a very difficult thing to do. Looking into our pasts can be such a mixed bag of emotions & thoughts. So much to unpack, like the many boxes piled high in my garage. Unpacking the boxes of our past may seem unnecessary, but I have come to learn that some of the best little nuggets of God’s principles are found in Him revealing things from our pasts. For some this may take a while, & may require a delicate approach. Sometimes it’s easier to dump the past with no thought or care for what is found in those memories, because after all, we may assume that there is nothing good, pleasant or useful there. It’s hard, but committing to the examination of our childhoods with a prayerful heart, will never be a waste.

Let me tell you why…because God is there….In the past, present & future & He doesn’t want us repeating the wickedness of the previous generation. You think He’s going to leave you to figure out what the wicked things are? I bet you have recalled a few things as you have read this post. You think He’s going to bring you to that deep river of emotional upheaval & leave you to cross it on your own?

NEVER!

He will help you to unpack the difficult boxes of your past. He will take the junk – the trials & tribulations of mistreatment, abuse, neglect & anything else we may have faced in our childhoods- & toss it from our hearts so that it will not be repeated in our own homes, as we seek to serve Him there. He who is faithful, will also take what is useful from all of that ugly stuff & use it to teach, mold & shape us into the person He wants us to be. He will heal. He will comfort. He will help. He will renovate. He will renew. After all, like David said- God is the Lifter up of our heads! Nothing is wasted in the kingdom of God, not even an ugly past. He will work ALL THINGS FOR GOOD to those who love Him & are walking in His will & purpose for them – even our past. Begin today, prayerfully & carefully, unpacking those heavy boxes from your past that you carry around in your heart everyday. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the beautiful things He wants to build in its place.