Dear Lord,
I do not have to be enlisted into National Service. Phew. But now I understand better the two AREAs that Ps Henson was teaching: Assembly Area and Area of Operation. Assembly Area is where I receive Christ in order to reveal Him in the Area of Operation. Was Archippus an ‘army man’ in his time?
I think Paul addressed Archippus as a ‘fellow soldier’ to explain that there is a spiritual battle between the Kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. Yes, this spiritual war is real and we must be battle ready with the full armour of God (Ephesians 6:1-4).
Archippuses are bond servants, as Ps Henson explained, love servants. I am His Archippus, a love servant who gives my life to Him wholeheartedly in obedience because I love Him. So I seek His Kingdom and His righteousness. Will I do His bidding to feed His sheep – my kingdom assignment as a mother – starting with my little lambs at home? Home is my Area of Operation. Ps Henson has exhorted us to start where we are, even as we focus on the aligning and let God do the assigning.
I now understand through the teachings at #awe2020zoom that ‘discipleship requires relationship and relationship requires time’ and I hope my girls will not grow up to be ‘strawberry Christians’. In carrying out my motherhood kingdom assignment, I want to invest my time in them as their mother, disciple them in the Way, the Truth and the Life, point them to Jesus who loved them that He gave up His own life as their Friend.
Today, as Ps Henson taught on “Empowerment”, an aspect of the Alignment Check framework that focuses on resting in Christ, I thought of how the Holy Spirit gave me a personal word to confirm my assignment, 6 months after I obeyed Him to rest.
In the last 6 months, due to COVID-19 and the circuit breaker, I spent both quality and quantity time with my daughters in their home-based learning without having to juggle between zoom meetings with the girls’ teachers and my colleagues. I consider this as a privilege and gift by the grace of the Lord. I believe that the Lord knew the desires of my heart. I would like to describe this desire as a ‘godly discontentment’ to reclaim back my rightful place in the lives of my daughters as mother. I pray that through my life, my girls will see that He is dependable, reliable and trustable, and will enjoy and flourish in this covenantal relationship with Him.
I will end by recording my Aha! moment on the first day of AWE2020: When I trust in the Lord and wait upon Him to give His assignment to me, He will thrust me forward to do His will. He is the pilot and I am the co-pilot. My rest in the Lord was intentionally directed by the Holy Spirit in His perfect timing, not early and not late.
Dear Lord, whenever I shift out of alignment, please use Your fine hole sieve to sift out all that holds me back from being set apart solely for Your assignment. Let me not rush You in the refinement and empowerment processes that I need to go through. Help me not shrink back from the tests that will deepen my faith and allow God to mould me to be become like Christ. The fiery furnace is the only way my Heavenly Potter can set me in the shape of Christ. Sometimes He even breaks the pot and moulds all over again for His perfecting.