Each morning on the back patio, sipping from steaming cups, my husband, Mike, and I watch the sun emerge over the eastern horizon, lighting the day as its golden glow rises above the rooftops.
One recent morning, along with the beauty of the sunrise, thoughts of failures began to emerge in my mind. Failures I had already left in the Lord’s hands. Failures the enemy was trying to use to bury my mind and heart into a pit of condemnation. Why oh why is it so easy to allow things listed on our calendars and schedules, things we must accomplish, to get in the way of people? Particularly, how do we do this to the people closest to us, those we love and care for most dearly? How can I allow my work to postpone a sweet, simple conversation with my precious love of thirty-five plus years? I only needed to write one more paragraph the other day. Minutes I will never recover … UGH!
Emerge. To come forth. Emerge is a directional word. The imagery in my mind is of something moving upward or forward–much like the floatation of negative condemning thoughts opposing the joyful beauty of illuminating sunrise. Still, …
… the emerging sunshine of dawn erupting through night’s darkness SCREAMS, “THERE IS HOPE!”
On my rock patio, I have a hibiscus and every morning I take note of the many buds readying to emerge into gorgeous shades of peachy pink and yellow flowers in full bloom.
Just as a flower morphs from bud to full bloom or a caterpillar wrapped in its cocoon breaks through and emerges a glorious butterfly, emerging prescribes transformation.
With a flower or a caterpillar, transformation is a natural and innate progression in the growth of that particular life process. With people, transformation is a choice.
Emerging is the picture of promise. It speaks to stepping up, taking one’s place, and moving toward one’s intended destiny.
Our destiny is in front of us. To reach it, we must choose to move toward it.
When we seek to change from our current status to the status we desire, it requires us to do things differently. We shape our skills, develop our talents, and seek ways to grow in grace and kindness so we may take others with us on our journey. Transforming describes that process of moving from where we are to where we are going.
Thankfully, when we suffer from condemning thoughts as I did that morning, or thoughts of any kind that do not bring honor to God, we need only to capture them, ask our loving, merciful, gracious Lord, Jesus Christ, to change them to thoughts bringing glory and honor to Him, and He will do it, instantly! (2 Cor 10:5)
Transformation begins with our minds. We must think differently in order to act differently and emerge differently.
When our thoughts are transformed, as Paul taught the Romans and those at Philippi (Rom 12:1-2; Phil 4:8), we will emerge with a renewed mind, causing us to take new action, leading us toward our God-ordained destiny.
Paul also taught the people of Corinth, “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)
This fills us with the hopeful reality we do not have to remain where we are! We can be different. We can grow into the person and place we desire to be.
Just as dawn radiates hope into a new day, transformation offers promise–the promise of change, so we may emerge to reach out and enter into our destiny.
Seek the Lord.
Transform your thoughts.
Transform your actions.
Emerge into your destiny.
–Leah
