As we prepare to end this year and launch into 2022, it seems so fitting for “propel” to be the final word God has given me for 2021. We’re finishing the year with vision and movement toward what lies ahead.
Google defines propel as “drive, push, or cause to move in a particular direction, typically forward.” Its Latin roots contain the meanings of “forward” and “to drive.”
Propel isn’t a timid word. It’s a force and has intention behind it. We’re not in a time or a season of being allowed the luxury of sitting back, watching what happens around us. We’re being propelled forward - and we have the ability to choose what’s driving us.
Will it be fear?
Will it be the news?
Will it be the church?
Will it be the government?
Will it be our family and friends?
Will it be the Holy Spirit?
We get to choose. God created us with free will. We only give that up when we give our choices away to others, allowing them to make decisions for us, or when others exercise their will over ours and take our freedoms away. Even in those situations and circumstances, we still choose how we’ll move forward, either with acquiescence or refusal.
Recently, I was given the invitation as part of a group I’ve been in to go through our house and get rid of things God would highlight to me that I no longer needed. It was a “culling” or “purging.” The funny thing? I’d already begun doing that in June and had been continuing the process in different areas of our house over the last several months. This was a “last push” for me of going through spaces I hadn’t addressed yet and this time, it was freeing like never before as I threw bags out and dropped others off at Goodwill.
Why were we encouraged to do this? Because, as it was shared with the group, there’s an end to what was and the new has begun. “The end of a thing is better than its beginning . . . ” (Ecclesiastes 7:8a) It was explained that there are times when, in order to be propelled into destiny, we need to let go of things that could be obstacles or hindrances to us being able to move forward. For instance, some things have memories associated with them that can trigger feelings of shame, failure, sadness, anger, or any myriad of emotions that can make us feel stuck. Others are encumbrances chaining us, even invisibly, to places we’re meant to move on from in our lives.
I really sense the invitation of the Lord to lean in and listen to His leading regarding how we’re to intentionally advance into 2022. What do we need to let go of and purge from our lives? What direction is He leading us to move forward in? Where do we need additional drive to make it happen? What voices need to be silenced in our lives so we can better hear the Holy Spirit? Are there any ways we’ve allowed others to make decisions for us that we were intended to make for ourselves?
I see both a slingshot and a change of shoes this month.
As a stone is pulled back in the sling to be propelled forward to hit its mark, tension builds on the bands, but it’s that tension that provides the force for the stone to be shot out in the direction it’s intended to go in. Don’t be surprised by the tension you experience this month. Over these last few months, you’ve been shifted into place, adjusted, and positioned. Now, it’s time for that drive and push forward. Things just might get a little “taut” (strained or stretched) in the process.
You’re also going to need a new pair of shoes – whether in the natural or in the spiritual. Where you’re going, you haven’t been before, and you need the proper footwear to walk the path set before you. Maybe it’s dress shoes for the business or political realm He’s propelling you into or trendy footwear for the arts, entertainment, and media realms or comfortable shoes to be worn as an educator who always seems to be on their feet. It may be hiking shoes for the adventure that awaits! Ask the Lord what your pair of shoes are that will equip you for what you’re being propelled into now and in the New Year.
Be driven forward by Holy Spirit.
Make intentional decisions.
Let go of anything hindering you.
Don’t fear the tension of the moment.
Wear the right shoes.
Drive forward - don’t let anything stop you.
Let GOD propel you!
(And . . . send me a picture of any shoes you happen to purchase!)
Living for Him,
Andrea & Brian
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same
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