Part two: “Breaking Out”

Note from Author: 

This is a continuation of my series of allegories (a story in which the characters and events reflect a deeper moral or spiritual meaning). I recommend, if you haven’t already, that you read part one before reading part two. I have also written a set of questions to help you reflect and apply the story to your own personal life.

…..

Three months later... 

Ava and Olivia have come together for their usual weekly coffee and catch up. 

“I think I have figured it out,” Ava announces as she places sugar in her cappuccino. 

Olivia raises an eyebrow as she swallows her mocha and then questions, “you have figured what out?”

“I’m trying to be a butterfly without going through the larva and pupa process,” Ava explains as she avoids eye contact whilst stirring her drink. 

Olivia responds with a slight giggle in her tone. “I’m not sure what confuses me more, larva and pupa or the fact that you say you have figured something out and look so defeated.” 

Ava hands Olivia a piece of paper from her hand bag and explains, “this is a teaching from Bible study last week.” 

The Four Stages of Metamorphosis (changes)

Olivia reads the notes and looks at Ava with a smile. “Oookay, I understand what you mean by larva and pupa. You’re referring to stages two and three right?”

As Ava responds, Olivia continues to examine the paper to understand what Ava is explaining. “Yes. I’m trying to be a butterfly like stage four without going through the process of being a caterpillar in stages two and three.”

Olivia looks over the paper at Ava and clarifies. “So, are you saying that what you have figured out is that you are trying to be like Christ without becoming like Christ?”

Ava smiles. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. This is why I feel so boxed in. I’m trying to be one person to people, but on the inside it’s like I’m someone else.” 

Olivia looks at Ava with compassion. “I understand that very well. You can be saying yes to everyone physically, but inside your heart and mind is screaming no.”

Ava leans forward in excitement and takes the paper from Olivia and places it onto the table. Pointing, she says, “exactly, but if you look at stages two and three you will see what should be happening.” 

Olivia reads over the teaching again, but then looks at Ava confused and explains, “I’m not sure I understand.” 

Ava leans back into her chair. “The scripture used to explain stage two was Hebrews chapter four verse twelve. The Word of God should be cutting away the layers of our fleshy thoughts and the arguments in our heart.” 

Olivia looks up from the paper at Ava. “So, the Word should replace what I think and silence the arguments?”

Ava places her coffee back down and leans forward. “Yes… kind of, but it’s not that straight forward. If you look in stage three the key word used is ‘do.’ ”  

Ava takes another sip of her coffee whilst Olivia looks at the paper again. Then she continues, “I read the Word of God all the time, but I don’t always apply it.” 

Olivia agrees. “Yes I understand that. Reading to forgive and actually forgiving are two very different things.” 

Ava looks at Olivia seriously. “This is what God was telling me in the dream I had three months ago, ‘say yes to My Word.’ I am saying yes on the outside, but inside my heart has been saying no.”

Olivia leans forward excited. “Ooo that’s why you were on the table in the dream. In order to live, your heart must beat again. So, your heart must say yes to God’s Word.”

Ava laughs out loud and shakes her head. “You sound excited. I think you are forgetting that this means that God is saying that my heart is hard.” Ava’s facial expression changed as she accepted her words. 

Olivia gives Ava a warm comforting smile. “Hard truth, but God only corrects us because He loves us.” 

Ava smiles, “this is true.”

Olivia takes another sip of her drink then asks, “so how do you move forward with it all this?”

Ava takes a big huff. “I need to make the decision to stop taking short cuts. I think I have made great progress turning back to God over the past three months, but I need to start examining my heart with prayer and allow God to show me my short cuts of performance.”

Olivia smiles. “I’m happy to pray with you if you need support. To be honest I think I need to ask for the recording of this message.” 

Ava laughs. “Thank you and I will take you up on it. But breaking out of this mind set and habit to perform is about me being honest with myself daily and taking responsibility for my heart, my thoughts, my actions and my relationship with God” 

Olivia agrees with a nod. 

“But I know that If I don’t make the decision to change that I will continue to feel boxed in, which leads me to feeling like a failure; frustrated and disappointed. 

“So, when are you going to make the decision,” says Olivia.

“Today!” Ava looks at Olivia surprised with her own response, but then smiles in agreement. “Yes I decide to break out of the box today by allowing my heart to say yes to God and choosing the path to freedom.”

To be continued… 

Reflection Questions 

1.  Have you made the decision to break out of the boxes that hold you back from being who God has created you to be? Do your actions demonstrate your decision? 

2.  Do you need to examine your heart with prayer and allow God to show you your short cuts of performance? (There is no time like the present). 

3.  Looking at the four stages of metamorphosis, what stage of your metamorphosis are you? 

4.  What decisions and actions do you need to take in order to move to the next stage of your metamorphosis? 

5.  Do you have a spiritual support system? If not, how can you develop a spiritual support system? 

Sources

Images courtesy of Pixabay.

Information: The Academy of Natural Sciences.

“I’m Boxed In”

Note from Author:

For 2018, I have decided to explore something different with my blog posts. I will be writing a series of allegories (a story in which the characters and events reflect a deeper moral or spiritual meaning). I have also written a set of questions to help you reflect and apply the story to your own personal life.

.....

September 12th 2017 5:30pm

       Ava storms past Olivia’s house upset and running. Being worried, Olivia runs after Ava. Ten minutes later, Ava; finally, has burnt out.

        "I’m … boxed … in!" Ava pants, throwing her knees to the ground and covering her face.

        "What box?" Olivia huffs, looking puzzled and trying to catch her breath. Olivia tries to identify their bearings.

       "Emm Ava, where are we?"

       Ava’s looks up at the unfamiliar territory around her with the same expression as Olivia.

       "Oh, you have got to be kidding? I’ve left my car open,” Olivia huffs in frustration as she turns around and starts walking back the way they came.

      "How have you got us lost?" says Olivia, turning with her hands on her hips, looking angry at Ava. Getting up and walking towards Olivia, Ava responds,

     "I didn't intend to get us lost. I just couldn't breathe."

     Scratching her head and then moving her hands to her face, Olivia questions,

     "Couldn't breathe? What? You was just running, have you gone mad?".

     Ava breaks down crying and Olivia comforts her. When Ava calms down she explains to Olivia that sometimes she feels like she is going mad. She explains that she is not referring to physical breathing but spiritual breathing. She feels overwhelmed, like change is impossible. Ava explains to Olivia the details of her life for the past year. How she feels boxed in, but not in a physical box. That she feels restricted, stagnant and limited in her mind, feelings, heart and relationships; especially her relationship with God.

    Regardless of her efforts, Ava remains spiritually frustrated in many areas of her life, causing her to feel overwhelmed like she cannot breathe. This is why she was running, she was trying to run away but gave-in because she realised you cannot run away from yourself. The box is internal, the inability and limitation is within. 

    Not knowing how to respond to Ava, Olivia comforts and encourages her, letting her know that things will get better. That she just needs to hold onto her faith in Jesus. Then they tried to find their way back home. 

September 12th 2017 10:00pm

    Later that evening, after getting her home in order, Olivia spends some quiet time thinking about Ava. Full of concern but feeling very powerless, she decides to pray for Ava. 

 “Dear Heavenly Father, I come to ask you to please help Ava breathe again. Lord you know and love Ava, please help her see and know your love at this time in her life. Father, I ask that you break the internal box that Ava feels she is in. Tear down the walls of her thinking. Melt the cement within her heart and stabilise her emotions so that she can breathe again, walk again and live again in a flourishing relationship with you. In Jesus name. Amen.”

September 19th  2017 12:30am

    Lying in the dark, tears running down her cheeks, Ava cries herself to sleep again.

    Ava finds herself in a theatre room, hearing the alarm of a monitor. A patient; covered, is on a table and the staff are just staring at the alarming monitor. 

    “Why is no one doing anything? Is the person dead?” Ava cries out.

    “Not physically dead,” speaks another.

    Ava looks around to find out where the other voice is coming from, but no one else is in the room. Ava, looking down defeated, whispering,

    “I don't understand?”

    The voice speaks again, “It’s like what you described to Olivia. It’s not physical death, but yes she is spiritually dying.” Ava looks up in surprise and asks,

    “How do you know what I said to Olivia?”

    “You know how I know Ava, just like you know who is on the table,” the voice replies.

    “Is it me Lord?” she whispers.

    "Yes, Ava it is you," the voice responds compassionately.

She falls to the floor in tears and asks, "why won't they help me?"

    "You know why?" the voice replies.

    Ava stands to her feet and examines the room as she shouts, "I do not know why!" She stands next to one of the staff, who is as still as a mannequin and throws her hands around in frustration and states,

    “I guess it's the same reason why everyone else can't help me… it's impossible!" The voice responds,

   “And that's why they can't help you because you do not believe you can be helped." She looks around in shock, then resigns speaking to the floor.

    "It is true… I'm too much of a mess."

    "Do you think a mess is impossible for me Ava?" the voice questions.

    "No Lord, but…" Ava looks for a distraction because He has caught her out. Walking over to the Doctors trolley, “Ahaha, that will do,” she thinks.

   "Why is there a big Bible on this trolley?” Ava asks.

   "My Word is waiting," the voice declares.

   "Waiting?" She questions.

   "Yes, for you Ava! My people are waiting for you, my Word is waiting for you and I am waiting for you," the voice announces. Ava, confused, asks,

   “Why are you all waiting for me, Lord?"

   "Because I have chosen you. I have presented life before you Ava. We are waiting for you to choose life," the voice boldly declares.

   “How do I choose life Lord?” she questions.

   “By saying yes to my Word,” the voice instructs.

    Ava wakes up and finds herself back in her bed, in the dark but something feels different… To be continued. 

Reflection questions

Place yourself in Ava's position and ask yourself:

1. Where am I at and what is going on inside me?

2. Am I seeking wise counsel?

3. Is God and those around me waiting for me to say "yes" to God’s Word?

4. What action can I take to move forward?

Place yourself in Olivia's position and ask yourself:

1.   How can I support those around me who are struggling?

BY CHARLENE KERR-SPENCER

All images courtesy of Pixabay

He Knows My Name

Hey guys, it’s Stephen… Yeah I know, it’s been a while!! I hope you’ve all been well.

Here at New Nation Destiny Centre church, we have some great revelatory truths and some equally challenging ones; but truths all the same. One Sunday, our Pastor, Apostle Michael DaCosta, spoke to us about the woman with the alabaster box (Luke 7:36-50), and although I’ve heard this story taught and preached hundreds of times, it was the way that our pastor pointed out something I hadn’t considered.

It wasn’t the obvious details that everyone knows about the story; you know, the example Jesus gave to Simon (the Pharisee), the anointing of Jesus’ feet, the woman being forgiven. No, it was the fact that what Simon was THINKING about that was wrong with this whole situation; verse 39 (KJV) says, “he spake within himself”, meaning he didn’t verbally say anything audible for anyone to hear. And yet, here comes Jesus and ANSWERS Simon’s thoughts! Wow!!

Put yourself in Simon’s shoes for a minute… What on Earth did he think Jesus wanted to say to him? Certainly not the very thing he was thinking about the woman who was a sinner!! But Jesus heard exactly what he was thinking and it needed to be addressed. This brings me to the title of this blog, “He Knows My Name”.

Now, I think I remember saying in a previous blog that God is omniscient, the all-knowing God! So, He doesn’t just know my name, He knows EVERYTHING about me, you and everyone else! So even when we choose not to talk to God, please know that He already knows all that we go through. I know… I hear you asking, “Stephen, if He already knows everything I’m going to say then why do I need to communicate with God?” That’s easy; God wants a relationship with us. He gave us free-will to do as we desire within the remit of His ultimate will for us. But He wants us to open up to Him willingly, to talk to Him like we would our friends and family. Not for His benefit, but ours! God is GOD!! There is nothing that we could ever give Him that He; in His infinite wisdom, power and authority, could gain from.

Hearing this word made me very uneasy at first, but I soon realised how important it is for me to keep a clear channel of communication with the Father. Having to hear, “Stephen, I have something to say to you…” has its pros and cons. It means that God is still speaking to me regardless but it also means that my thoughts can be heard as loud as thunder in a church hall. My thoughts have to be of a nature that is Christ-like, and not carnal. My thoughts; if misdirected, can turn into negative actions and manifest into undesirable behaviours. It’s only by His grace that we keep grounded but we cannot continue to operate from grace. Grace is the fail-safe, the “press button in case of emergency”, the back up plan, if you will. And with God, His grace is always there by the truckload. But in order to be who He called us to be, we have to walk in the same power and authority that Christ exuded every day.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying this isn’t a hard lifestyle to keep up. Trust me, let me be the first to say I struggle a lot with speaking to God and having positive thoughts. With all of the curveballs that life throws at me, I often drop the bat, run and hide in the bleachers. But sometimes, not swinging is not the same as giving up; for some of us, it might mean that we need to take a time out to re-strategise, change the size of the bat or choose a more comfortable stance. And in our Christian walk, we need to do just that; change things up a bit: adjust our prayer life, tweak how we study God’s word or spend more time with our brothers and sisters in the faith. The more open we can be about our current state, the easier it is to begin the transformation process. And guess what? The best part is that God never changes; He will still be the God who knows your name, knows your past, present and future, knows when you cry, and knows when you need Him the most.

Truth be told, we won’t always get it right. But we should endeavour to try. That’s all the Father would have us do. And I hope that with the sincerity of our hearts, we give Him all we have. Peace be upon us all and the love of Christ to all who read this.

BY STEPHEN MCCORMACK