Monday, July 10, 2023

CN | Icebergs, Delayed Destinies, Patience & Alert Availability


Iceberg Underwater 6 by Tobias Friedrich


Onlookers saw only the tip of the iceberg of who Jesus truly was, and they could have never imagined the indestructible greatness growing just beneath the surface of Jesus' unapplauded life. + Dr. Alicia Britt Chole


Our last post, "The Gardener of Hidden Moments Never Wastes Time," drew heavily from the wisdom of Dr. Alicia Britt Chole's Anonymous: Jesus' Hidden Years ... and Yours, a book that has quickly become a favorite summer read this year.

This is a bonus complementary post featuring more of Chole's wonderful writing that I need during these humid days that often reveal the state of my soul in need of repentance and renewal.

A Delayed Destiny

During uncelebrated years, Jesus submitted to a seemingly delayed destiny. ... Onlookers saw only the tip of the iceberg of who Jesus truly was, and they could have never imagined the indestructible greatness growing just beneath the surface of Jesus' unapplauded life.

What would that experience build in someone?

What does it build in us? What grows in that underestimated gap between God's calling and others' perceptions, between our true capabilities and our current realities? Most of us struggle if our dreams are delayed one year, let alone twenty! We find God's pauses perplexing. They seem to be a waste of our potential. When those pauses extend beyond what we can comprehend or explain (say, for instance, three days; see also Holy Saturday | Trusting Jesus' Work While We Wait For ... ), we often spiral into self-doubt or second-guessing.

But in anonymous seasons we must hold tightly to the truth that no doubt strengthened Jesus throughout His hidden years:

Father God is neither care-less nor cause-less with how He spends our lives. ... 
Something in surrendering to hiddenness strengthened Jesus to not make a name for Himself ... Something in embracing that prolonged season of obscurity enabled Him to appear to be less in order to be able to do more. 
Hidden years, when heeded, empower a soul to patiently trust God with their press releases. All that waiting actually grants us the strength to wait a little longer and not rush God's plans for our lives.  
Reflections
At present, I am attempting to rest in alert availability. "Alert" because I am not living in denial of the dreams in my heart. "Available" because God is a gentleman and I am quite comfortable waiting for Him to open doors. Truth is, I do not have enough character to walk through doors I open for myself. 
I liken God's purposes to a pure but unpredictable river. Impatient self-promotion actively seeks out a speedboat to outrun the current and rush toward the future. Fear of failure stands on the banks cautiously to observe before even getting her feet wet. But perhaps obedience simply wades into the center and lets the current of God's presence set the pace, be it swift or still. 
Because, after all, is not our true aim and aspiration just to be near God? Jesus seems to exemplify this perspective. Whether "Not yet, My Son" tucked Him away in obscurity or "Now is the time" made Him the news, Jesus appears to have walked unstressed and unhurried. His peaceful pace seems to imply that He measured Himself not by where He was going and how fast He could get there but by whom He was following and how closely they walked together. 
Patience grows well in such soil.
+ Excerpts above from chapter 8: a delayed destiny, chapter 9: it is time! and chapter 10: reflections in Dr. Alicia Britt Chole's Anonymous: Jesus' Hidden Years ... and Yours   
 
+ Bonus: If You Feel Anonymous: Finding Growth in Invisibility Interview by Jennie Allen w/ Dr. ABC 
+ Bonus: Although Faith Shines in the Sun, It Grows in Depth in the Dark RAPT Interview w/ Dr. ABC


Here are links to other recent City Notes (CN) books:

Christ is all,

Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan


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Location: Worcester, MA, USA

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