• About
  • #JWGirl4Life – Where the Light Meets the Dark
  • Just Susan – #BrandNewKindaFree
  • My Name is Victory

Coming Full Circle

~ The Blog of Julie B

Coming Full Circle

Tag Archives: fellowship

The Lonely Pelican

30 Monday Jan 2017

Posted by Julie B in 1 Corinthians, Matthew

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

1 Corinthians, approval, commitment, fellowship, fish, fish for men, fishermen, God, Jesus, love, love God, love others, Matthew, obedience, obey, pelican, seek, seek God

Chaos, something not created by God but something that still very much exists, sometimes at the very center of our being, mostly created out of own impatience as we hopefully anticipate long awaited desires and trudge through the days lined out for us with complaining attitudes and broken hearts, thus creating confusion, doubt, and worry in the wake of the unlimited space in our minds.

pelican1As I escaped the craziness of my own thoughts last night and chose instead to seek solitude at the waters edge, I expected to find what I always do…wave after wave pounding the beach which would have given relief to my weariness in a way that would almost justify my own pounding, relentless feelings. Instead, I was met with a water so calm and peaceful that it almost gave the illusion of a stagnant pond, the water barely lapping against the shoreline…just barely. The only real clue that I was situated by a massive gulf teaming with life was a lonely pelican, sitting with me in the darkness under the expanse of the starry host in the magnificent sky. I watched his silent form only feet from me and I prayed that God would show my why He chose to bring that solitary bird into my view. Then it hit me.

For so long, I have been running on empty, completely depleting myself, unable to say “No”, always afraid of what others would do or say if I did. For so long, I “fished” alongside people whose approval I was seeking above God’s instead of casting my own net at His command.

With every step I took toward that lonely, beautiful creation that God put before me, with only the best of intentions, the pelican moved further away until eventually he flew into the darkness. Upon further research a bit later of the pelican, I stumbled across a statement that took my breath away.

“The pelican has been persecuted because of their PERCEIVED competition with commercial fishermen.”

pelican2It’s all in the MIND…perception is key.  Who am I working for? Who am I truly seeking? God wants nothing more than for me to take a step back into the solitude that He created for me. I am to give myself completely to Him and to walk side by side with Him in this season is to be in His perfect will. I have an audience of ONE and He is my Master. The pelican flew away from me because of his ingrained lack of trust in failing humans, but He flew directly into the arms of our God, going only where he was told to go. Fear breeds chaos.

Lord, guide my every step as I step out in faith and cast my net where you tell me to. Direct me, Lord, and balance my steps. Show me the way to go as I fear not the path you have chosen…for me.

Matthew 4:18-20 (NIV) – As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.

1 Corinthians 3- 16 (MSG) –  I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate—I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it—and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God’s Spirit and God’s power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God’s power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.

pelican36-10 We, of course, have plenty of wisdom to pass on to you once you get your feet on firm spiritual ground, but it’s not popular wisdom, the fashionable wisdom of high-priced experts that will be out-of-date in a year or so. God’s wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don’t find it lying around on the surface. It’s not the latest message, but more like the oldest—what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene. The experts of our day haven’t a clue about what this eternal plan is. If they had, they wouldn’t have killed the Master of the God-designed life on a cross. That’s why we have this Scripture text:

No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this,
Never so much as imagined anything quite like it—
What God has arranged for those who love him.

But you’ve seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you.

10-13 The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along. Who ever knows what you’re thinking and planning except you yourself? The same with God—except that he not only knows what he’s thinking, but he lets us in on it. God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us. We don’t have to rely on the world’s guesses and opinions. We didn’t learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we’re passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way.

14-16 The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can’t receive the gifts of God’s Spirit. There’s no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit—God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God’s Spirit is doing, and can’t be judged by unspiritual critics. Isaiah’s question, “Is there anyone around who knows God’s Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?” has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ’s Spirit.

Advertisements

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 527 other followers

Archives

  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014

Categories

  • 1 Chronicles
  • 1 Corinthians
  • 1 John
  • 1 Kings
  • 1 Peter
  • 1 Samuel
  • 1 Thessolonians
  • 1 Timothy
  • 2 Chronicles
  • 2 Corinthians
  • 2 John
  • 2 Kings
  • 2 Peter
  • 2 Samuel
  • 2 Timothy
  • 3 John
  • Acts
  • Amos
  • Colossians
  • Daniel
  • Deuteronomy
  • Ecclesiastes
  • Ephesians
  • Esther
  • Exodus
  • Ezekial
  • Ezra
  • Galatians
  • Genesis
  • Habakkuk
  • Haggai
  • Hebrews
  • Hosea
  • Isaiah
  • James
  • Jeremiah
  • Job
  • John
  • Jonah
  • Joshua
  • Jude
  • Judges
  • Lamentations
  • Leviticus
  • Luke
  • Malachi
  • Mark
  • Matthew
  • Micah
  • Nahum
  • Nehemiah
  • Numbers
  • Obadiah
  • Philippians
  • Proverbs
  • Psalms
  • Revelation
  • Romans
  • Ruth
  • Song of Solomon
  • Titus
  • Uncategorized
  • Zechariah
  • Zephaniah
Julie B

Julie B

There was a time I didn't even know what to believe in other than the lies the enemy told me. I idolized all the wrong things and ended up making excuse after excuse in order to continue to check out of my self-inflicted, painful life that was created out of my own victimization, guilt, shame, remorse, and FEAR. “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7) I suffered from several selfish behaviors that had me bound for over 20 years. I suffered in silence and harmed everyone who loved and cared for me. Life as I knew it was a living hell. I was playing roles every moment of every day. I can say I tried, but to me trying means being inactive and complaining about it. I did a lot of that. I was always searching for truth in all the wrong places. And then it happened. He found me!! Jesus picked me up out of my brokenness and the only Being in the universe that has the power to save and the power to transform entered my life. His sacrifice for me allows me to wake up every morning and do everything I can to get it right, to continue to press on even when things are tough, to see the potential in every single thing I touch. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20) Today, I sit in victory over satan because of the sacrifice Jesus made for me on the cross. He died in my place so I could be set free! “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36) The battle is still raging around me, but I am safe in the storm. I came into the world free and intend to leave the same way. The Lord is using my test as a Testimony to His saving grace and I want to give a voice to those suffering in silence. He is bringing it all back around for His glory! I am Coming Full Circle and this is my journey.

Personal Links

  • #JWGirl4Life Book
  • My Name is Victory
  • Open the Doors, See All the People

View Full Profile →

Bible Gateway

Bible Gateway Blogger Grid member badge

Copyright

© Julie Keene and Coming Full Circle Blog, 2014-Present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Julie Keene and Coming Full Circle Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Protected by Copyscape
Advertisements

Blogroll

  • Get Mobile
  • Jacob's Well Recovery Center

Search Bible Gateway

Lookup a word or passage in the Bible


BibleGateway.com
Include this form on your page

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel