New Places...

Greetings, Dear Friends!

Susie Larson here...

And to those visiting, I say welcome! I post every Wednesday and my goal is to nourish your soul and encourage you along the way.

You know, this journey of faith constantly beckons us onward. We are pilgrims, which means we are a group of people traveling to a sacred place. With our feet on the ground and our eyes fixed on Heaven, we walk the walk of faith; believing God is who He says He is, and counting on His Word to be our sustenance.

Certain seasons call us to camp for a while, to rest our weary legs, and to remind ourselves again why this journey is an important one.

Other seasons call us to run; to work, to gain ground, and to not relent until we reach the goal God has given us.

And still other seasons call us to change; to leave one place in order to attain another.

And this is where I am today.

Maybe you are too.

As Beloved children of God, we all have a next place of promise waiting for us. Not just in Heaven, but in the land of the living too.

Jesus asked us to pray, "May Your Kingdom COME to earth, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN...and may Your will be DONE on earth, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.

I've mentioned this many times but my life verse is Psalm 116:9 and it says, "And so I walk in Your presence as I live here on earth."



In God's presence we find power, promise, and provision.



Try interchanging the word "promise" for "presence" in the verse above.

And so I walk in the Lord's promise as I live here on earth.

Part of praying for God's Kingdom to come to earth is to walk out His promises right where we live. Part of praying for His will to be done is to get a vision for His will for our lives, our communities, and our world.

So...to wrestle with God for such things is to know and believe that we all have a next place of promise.

Which leads me to the point I made at the introduction of this email.

I spend a lot of time with God and I strongly sense He is about to take me to a new place. Not geographically per se, but spiritually and ministry wise. My toes are at the edge of my new place of promise and I can already tell there are giants in the land.

The only way I can possess that which God supplies is to leave some of my heavy, old baggage behind.

Always, before stepping up to new places, God in His mercy reminds us of our need for Him. And as poetic as that sounds, it's not such a fun process.

For me to be reminded of my moment-by-moment need for Christ's life and presence in me, is for me to see my tendency toward doubt, fear, small thinking, and irritability. Only when I see my smallness, am I reminded of how MUCH I need His greatness to be at work within me.

I am called by faith to possess new land, but I cannot claim a blade of that grass unless I've allowed Christ to lay claim to the unconquered areas of my soul.

God can only do above and beyond all I ask or think according to the extent He is allowed to work within me (Ephesians).

I want to go. I want to possess. I want to please God by my faith.

But before I go, I must confess my need. I must leave my baggage behind.

Where is God taking you next? Do you have a sense of your next place of promise?

What is holding you back?

Fears? Doubts? Worries? Insecurity? Judgments against others?

Leave them behind and cross over to the new land.

God has more for you.

Follow His lead.

Have a blessed week and don't forget to pick up a copy of my new release, Alone in Marriage: Encouragement for the Times When it's all up to You

Until next week...