God has been where you are going
In 5 days
Due to arrive at any moment and the pressure was palpable. At 8 months of pregnancy, the urge to paint, decorate and craft weighed heavier on me that my bulging belly. The internet pinged with the many ideas and the online shopping carts were full. The planned induction date was fast approaching, and time seemed limited. The night before, we were up until midnight putting together the crib and bassinet, washing and folding the new littles’ clothes and blankets to make for an easier time settling at home for her and us.
As I look over the creation story, it strikes me that this is how God operates too. “Behold, I go to prepare a place.” We have talked about Him being in our beginnings with us and He has a plan but let’s explore the space before our beginnings become apparent as we continue our walk through the creation story.
A prepared place
“But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him’”, 1 Cor 2:9. In the first 5 days of creation, God built, prepared a place for man to live. The sun was hung for its warmth, moon to light the night, fruits and vegetables called from the earth for food, flowers for beauty and trees for shade. Then, to add awe and joy, God filled the garden with animals of the air, land and sea. Everything man needed and everything he couldn’t even have imagined existed in the garden of Eden. God did all of this in the time before man arrived.
Before man opened his eyes and stared the beginning of his story on earth, God was already there creating the entire space for his children and checking along the way to make sure it is good. What was new for them, was not new for God. We are no different. Before we see our new beginning, God has already been in it, working out the details and the particulars. He has been orchestrating our paths to collide with others we need for the new season we are set to enter. He has been moving inside and outside to structure the space we are inhabiting so that it is good. To this end, He has placed the right mom, friend, business, retail space, home, church, church leader, neighbor, co-worker or developer in your space. He has been at work considering our needs and ensuring He has provided everything we need to accomplish His intended purpose. God is the ultimate nester! Is it any wonder the nesting inclination exists at all as a creation in the image of God!
For such a time as this
God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you. This signature attached to a friend’s email has blessed me since the moment I read it many years ago. God established at the start of the creation story that He is with us in our beginnings. Here we see not only is He with us but He has prepared our beginnings specifically for us. As He has gone along the way, He has reviewed it to make sure it is for good so let us step boldly into our beginnings with this knowledge. What we see is that God has planned well for us so there are no coincidences in our journeys. What exists instead in our beginnings are intentions and purposeful actions. If He planned it, then He intended it for a purpose. God prepared the place for a purpose so we should be sure to seek Him in our beginnings for insight into what purpose He has for us there. There are times when the space we enter seems overwhelming, confusing and ill-fitting but rest assured that God has prepared it specifically for us and in that space He has provided everything we need to not only survive but to thrive and to be better on the other side of it. He has called you forth for a purpose in that time and with the grand picture in His mind let us set ourselves to have the mind of God as we move forward in it.
Your place, His purpose
Previously, we considered the plans of God. We saw our plans will not look like the other mom’s. Here God is telling us He created the place we stand specifically for our arrival. Consider that no two seasons look the same as we go through each calendar year. Likewise, our beginnings will look different, will feel different and will progress differently in our own lives as well as the walks others around us. That’s the confounding part of beginnings, as moms, as people, we would love to know how things are going to turn out, to know that the experience of returning to work after our baby’s birth will be like our very first day on the job or if our new baby will behave the exact same way our last one did and if not will we be able to adapt. We wonder if the reoccurrence of an illness will remit the same way it did the last time or if the new diagnosis will respond the same way it did for the other person? Whatever the new beginning, God is not only there with you but He has also prepared it for you and He has stepped back and said it is good.
It is good even when it doesn’t feel good or look good so let us trust Him to show us the beauty and the blessings He has put in those spaces ahead of time to help us navigate through it.
Sow the seed: God has gone ahead of you in your beginnings.
Nurture the seed: “But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him’”. 1 Cor 2:9
Until next time,
happy sowing!
