GET UP & EAT (liminality, part 2)

So, I ask again (a few hours later, after eating dinner -- I mean, I had to be obedient to the command to "get up and eat" didn't I?, ): What kind of message is that from a holy, mighty, all-knowing God in either of these circumstances? And what does this have to do with me?

Before I begin answer that, let me clarify that I'm not going to wade through the whole teaching -- so I'm not going to even attempt the first question; rather, I'm going straight to the application and the second question. What does this have to do with me?

When I'm in a betwixt and between place in my own life, what must I consider? Where must I direct my thinking and for what things must I seek? Gerald suggested four things that resonated with me and my own recent liminary places/times.

ONE: What is the NEW CHAPTER of God's mission for me? When I can tell that something has ended (and we sometime, maybe even often, know this before it literally ends), what am I doing to identify the new thing that is next? And am I doing this is a way that is unrushed and at peace -- resting in the assurance that God has had a plan all along and it's good?

TWO: What new destination is emerging? "Get up and eat" is good avice especially when I am preparing for a journey that will be long and for which I need to prepare myself. Can I see anything on the horizon? Any cues that would suggest I should start moving in a direction?

THREE: What baggage must I leave behind? Like Elijah who was nearly undone by the reality that some just couldn't see GOD, even when God demonstrated his power in huge ways, must I let go of my sense that there are formulas that govern the universe and that like a vending machine I can put in certian coin and pull certain levers and be assured of certain outcome? Or, like Peter, must I be willing for God to move me in a totally opposite direction and set aside the baggage of a life-long commitment and what any would agree are good habits or customs?

FOUR: What new partnerships -- holy alliances -- are ready for engagement? Is there someone God is brining into my life for just this season? Am I willing for this person to NOT be who I expected? AM I willing for this person to be my ultimate "replacement" in something I feel a little bit like I own?

And finally, a few nuggets that I wrote in the margins:

• Change has always been normal.
• God usually speaks to me with a message that is FOR me and not with a message for someone else.
• God is relentlessly committed to doing what He is doing.