Swimming in Canals

I was jogging down one of my neighborhood main streets, which bridges over a canal. I felt God telling me to stop at a point on the sidewalk that looked over the middle of the water. I looked down and watched the canal curve and stretch before me. It was going in a different direction than my current path, and it lead into a part of the bay that I didn't quite know.

God said, "You're about to jump."

Of course, I knew God didn't mean for me to physically jump, but He was alluding to some kind of change in my life. A change that I was going to have to jump into. I was excited. I have several God-promises on the back burners just waiting to be served. I couldn't wait to find out what life circumstances God was going to shake up.

A day later, I read a book that has changed my life. As I read each chapter, it felt like a door was being opened in my mind -- a door that I had closed and forgotten about. While reading, I had to take little naps because the Holy Spirit was doing a lot of rewiring in my mind and spirit, and I was exhausted.

I didn't understand what was going on, but I knew it was special. My entire outlook on who I was in Christ and my relationship with Him began to focus with clarity, but this focus shot me into the depths of the unknown. After finishing the book, I realized that I had jumped from the bridge into the canal. I found myself flaying about in the water not knowing what to do next. I thought God was going to change my circumstances. I didn't know He was just going to change me.

What do you do when you jump into a canal? You swim. I'm determined to swim in this knew awareness that God has given me, and I know that it's part of my route to Jesus in Zion. I'm excited and intimidated about growing into this new stage of Christlikeness, but I'm ready for the challenge. I want to know God on a deeper level, and I'm willing to make the sacrifices to do so.

I'm realizing that this change is more important than any change in my circumstances. I know that God can and does use circumstances to change us, but I'm eager to try out a change that can't be seen with the human eye. I want a spiritual change; one that is initiated by my obedience.

I'm still learning, but I'm figuring out that Jesus is the core of all existence. He is the seed of life. If I can grow into my awareness of Him and into the fullness of who I am in Him, I believe that I'll be on the right path.

"For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross" (Colossians 1.16-20 NIV).

What about you? Have you ever experienced a book, conversation, a situation or a moment that changed your life? Were you able to take the plunge into the canal or did you keep jogging on your current path? How did this change effect who you are in Christ and your awareness about God's purpose for you?