Shifting

Ever since I was a child, I've had a love for cars. Back then, most young girls collected doll babies, but not me. No, I had a collection of cars.  And, instead of dream houses, I had gas stations and parking garages. I even had the tractor-trailers that opened up to carry cargo. Yes, I loved my cars, and my favorite of them all was the 1965 Ford Mustang.

It’s no secret, I'll take muscle over sport any day. And make no mistake, most muscle/sports cars aren't worth their salt if they aren't a stick shift and don't have the growl. My car lovers understand what that means. Although I'll admit, driving a stick shift, or standard shift as they used to call it, is becoming a lost art.

Nowadays, most cars come with an automatic transmission with a manual option, which means you can switch gears manually without losing your automatic functions. But really, what's a stick shift without the 3rd pedal? It’s just not the same.

I remember the first time I drove a car. It was a standard shift Nissan Sentra. I was fourteen, and my aunt took me to an empty parking lot to teach me how to drive. What an adventure that day was. It started off a little rough, but I was willing to learn and eventually got the hang of it.

Anyone who has ever driven a standard shift knows the hardest gear to get out of is first. There is a certain finesse required in balancing the gas pedal and the shift pedal when pulling off; otherwise, the car will start shaking and jerking back and forth until it eventually stalls out. Do this too many times and you're bound to get whiplash. However, once you catch the rhythm of getting out of first gear, shifting to higher gears is easy, and it becomes a beautiful, accelerated ride.

I don't know if you've ever experienced a God shift, but sometimes it can feel much like driving a standard shift, especially when we’re not on board or having a hard time adjusting to what he’s trying to do in our lives. This year, as Yahweh has been shifting me in a slightly different direction, I've felt, at times, like things were stalling out on me. Imagine my surprise when I realized that I was the cause of the stall that I was experiencing. And no, I don't think I'm perfect. However, I do strive to be as obedient as possible to what God asks of me. So, when I realized that the "stalling" was a result of my unwillingness to let go of how I thought things were supposed to be… (tears emojis).

I remember a few months ago, I was reading my daily Bible plan. I was in the book of 1st Samuel, where God was preparing to shift the kingship of Israel. As I got up to prepare for the rest of my day, I heard the Holy Spirit say, "Allow God to shift you." Initially, I thought it was a word God wanted me to share during the weekly small group. However, I soon discovered the word was for me as well. As I continued to meditate on my reading from earlier that day, the scripture 1 Samuel 16:1 kept sticking out.

It reads, “The LORD said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel?’” 

You see, at the beginning of the year, God gave me three things that I was to focus on in this season. I was excited until I realized everything I had to let go of to carry out this assignment. I didn't know it, but over the years, I had lowkey tied my identity to the very things that God was now shifting me away from. So, who would I be now that these things were no longer? And, since some of these things hadn’t reached the level of success that “I” envisioned, what was that going to say about me? Much like Samuel, I was grieving, and that grief was slowing my obedience to God’s directives.

Sometimes, we can become so accustomed to things being a certain way and automated that when it's time to re-engage to shift gears, we're slow to move or frustrated that things aren't going the way we anticipated. I'll admit, sometimes I think that just because I did what God told me means that things are going to happen smoothly and swiftly. But that's not always the case.

There are times when what Yahweh tells me to do leads me to a journey of growth and development like Noah, who, in obedience, spent over one hundred years building an ark to prepare for rain that no man had ever seen. And other times, it very well may be the catalyst to swift mountain movement like Moses and the children of Israel experienced when leaving Egypt. Either way, the important thing is to do what God tells you, when He tells you, and how He tells you. When we resist the shift: 1) we tell God that we know better than He does; and 2) we block not only ourselves, but those who are waiting on us.

So today, I stopped by to remind you to allow God to shift you. Shifting gears can be exhilarating once you get the hang of it. And if you find yourself like me and Samuel grieving what was, it’s ok. Just know you can’t stay there. Someone is waiting on your obedience.

As always, thank you for stopping by. I pray this message has blessed you, and if it did, be sure to share it with someone else who needs it. Until next time, continue to walk in obedience to Yahweh and replicate His love to your neighbors.