Holy Unsettling

This morning I stopped to take this picture.

As I pondered it this evening the Holy Spirit asked me what was dwelling beneath the surface. I can see the power, beauty, peace and redeeming sun rise, see the feathered clouds and colors of the morning sun rays and I can even see how the sunrise reflects upon the river. But from this perspective I cannot see what dwells beneath. From past experience with the river I know that even if I were to be in the midst of the river I would not be able to see what was dwelling in the depths or even just below the surface.

If I allow my mind the freedom it will imagine all kinds of things swimming around down there. But if I keep my eyes on things above I am captured by the beauty and awe inspired and I am then set free from the monsters in my imagination.

There is a Holy Unsettling occurring. It is a beautiful thing. Maybe a little (or a lot) uncomfortable but beautiful. He is unsettling us so we can receive more of Him. So that we can rid ourselves of the monsters deep within us that want to rise up and consume us. So we can know true freedom. Unsettling us so we will refuse to sit still with His presence because we will want everyone to know Him the way we do. Unsettling us so we understand the comfort is the enemy of freedom.

As we begin to experience this Holy Unsettling we will be so very tempted to try to find earthly reasons why we feel this way. We will find ourselves saying to ourselves or to friends or in our prayer things like…. “I’m not happy with _____, my needs aren’t being met, I’m not feeling “it” anymore, I give & give & give & nobody gives to me, this is wrong or that is wrong or everything is just wrong, I need a new start or a fresh start, my time here is done, I’ve tried hard enough, long enough, I’m tired of being the only one who____, no one really notices or cares, why should I, I deserve… … The list can go on & on and to be sure there are occasions where those ring true. Healthy boundaries and relationships are a requirement.

But… So many times the Lord is trying to stir deep within us to take us to a new level with Him. Frequently that means He needs to help us get rid of some things inside ourselves. All to frequently instead of recognizing what is in the depths of us we look around us and see where we can place our unsettling. It’s easier and quicker and a lot less scary if we just place those feelings somewhere other than within ourselves. It’s the lie the enemy continually wants us to believe. When the Lord asked Adam what he had done in the garden, he placed the blame on the Eve. We totally get it and understand his complaint, but Adam is 100% responsible for his own actions and relationship with the Lord. Just as we are. The moment you begin to look outside yourself for the cause the enemy begins his persuasion.

I encourage you to sit in the very midst of your Holy Unsettling, ask the Lord to dig out all that He needs to dig out. Grab hold of the uncomfortable and tell the Lord you are not letting go until He pours Himself out upon you.

This can be a season of revival or a season of hurt and loss and grief and turmoil. We get to choose. If we let our own thoughts and imaginations to run free they will imagine all kinds of terrifying things, all kinds of justified wrongs, valid reasons and sound excuses. Or we can keep our thoughts and eyes on things above and let His peace and beauty, power and majesty wash over us, heal us, set us free and in return we look around desperately trying to figure out how we can share what He has done instead of pointing fingers and placing blame. Let your response be, Lord, let my response to be, falling on my knees in worship to this Holy Unsettling.