Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be pulled up by the roots.
Matthew 15.13
This month has been more about being and less about doing. My team and team 180 are here on assignment for a specific purpose for such a time as this, but we have had more down time than physical ministry. Originally, it was difficult to abandon the concept of a missionary not working at every moment of the day because in the natural it seems ineffective… this is a nasty lie from the pit of hell! This month is actually most crucial because God is pulling up all the roots that are not of Him in order that He can prepare and equip the teams for things that are to come.
One day, I along with a few others, went to the Quinta to pull out weeds in their tomato patch. As I started pulling up the weeds I began to realize this process was going to take a little more time and effort. Why? Because some of the weeds were so deeply rooted in the soil that if we didn’t pull out the root, the weed would eventually just grow back. Then God began to speak to me concerning this: “Allison, there are some things so deeply rooted in you that it is going to take time to uproot. For if I only pull out the weed and miss the root, it will eventually start popping back up.”
This month has been a season of God pulling out all the roots He didn’t plant (Matt 5:13). Although it is not the most comfortable process, I embrace it because I know it is needed in order to grow into fullness and into the woman the Lord has created me to be.
Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does not bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
John 15.2
God desires a beautiful garden without any weeds corrupting beauty. The garden is living on the inside of us! Even though Adam lost the Garden, Christ redeemed it back when He conquered the Grave, and the Garden now lives in our hearts. I am no longer my own. I am His garden. When we allow Him to tend to us, He takes the weeds, uproots them, and fills those holes with life; He fills it with beauty.
And I have decided, I don’t want to waste my life living on the outside, I want to live from the inside-out.
So I don’t lose heart. Even though my outer nature is wasting away, my inner nature is being renewed day by day. (2 Cor 4.16).
I am so thankful for this month because it is only preparing me for things to come. I embrace it. There are going to be times in the next 9 months that seem futile in the natural, but I am learning these times are imperative in order to be transformed in His likeness and to accomplish the work of His Kingdom come without anything that is not of Him standing in the way of those plans.
God loves His children too much to keep us in the state in which we are at. He longs for us to be transformed from glory to glory. Embrace this season, beloved, for this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison! Amen!
UPDATE: It’s hard to believe month 2 is quickly drawing to a close! Our last day of ministry is December 2nd, and the squad will all meet at the hotel I am staying at for debrief to process the time we’ve had in Central America in order to prepare us for SE Asia! We will be here 4 days, and after over 2 days of travel, we will arrive in Thailand on December 10th!
God bless
xox
